Lawyers advise and represent individuals, businesses, and government agencies on legal issues and disputes. Most lawyers work in private and corporate legal offices. Some lawyers work for federal, local, and state governments.
Education and Qualifications
- 4 years of undergraduate degree (no specific major is mandatory; law schools accept candidates with different majors. But, choosing a major based on your career goals is highly recommended; for example, if you are planning to practice tax law, having a bachelor’s in accounting could be helpful).
- 3 years of law school (Juris Doctorate or J.D.) at an institution accredited by the American Bar Association ABA). To apply to law school, applicants must take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). During the 2nd year, students can generally choose to specialize in specific areas in law.
- After the J.D, some may decide to take a 1-year Master of Law degree to specialize even further in certain fields. In the United States, this is almost exclusively done for tax practice.
- Others choose 3-year Doctor of Judicial Science degree, though pretty rare; this degree is not required to become a law professor. One interesting thing to note is that law professors are among the highest paid in the teaching profession.
You must pass bar examination in the state in which you want to practice law and to qualify to practice in federal courts. In most states, you must pass an ethics examination as well.
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of a lawyer vary by area of specialty and employment type (private, public, small firm, large firm, corporate, self-employed, etc.), but, in general, the following are some high-level responsibilities that fall on a lawyer’s shoulders.
- Interpreting laws and regulations for individuals and businesses.
- Advising clients on business transactions, liability claims, prosecuting/defending lawsuits, or other obligations.
- Gathering evidence to defend or initiate legal action by interviewing clients and witnesses to find the facts.
- Representing clients in court.
- Evaluating findings and developing strategies to present the case.
- Analyzing the probable outcomes of cases based on legal precedents (past/historical cases).
- Negotiating settlements of civil disputes.
- Selecting jurors and witnesses during the course of a trial.
- Presenting evidence to defend clients/prosecute defendants in criminal or civil cases and summarizing cases to judges and juries.
- Filing appeals in state and federal courts of appeal.
- Consulting with colleagues and/or specialists.
- Performing administrative/management functions and supervising legal assistants.
- Preparing legal documents like wills, deeds, patent applications, mortgages, contracts, etc.
- Acting as an agent, trustee, guardian, or executor (the person who carries out the instructions to manage the affairs/wishes of the deceased) for individuals/businesses.
- Probating wills and represent and advise executors.
A Day in the Life
Most lawyers work full time and many work more than 40 hours a week.
The attorney in a small firm must be prepared to accept a broad variety of cases, but large firms often specialize in specific areas like income tax law, labor law, etc. A typical day for a lawyer could vary based on the type of law being practiced and employment type. In general, it could be as follows:
- Arrive early in the morning to read client emails, or messages/memos from junior associates or paralegals and respond to them.
- Seek updates and documents/reports on active cases.
- Meet or call clients, attorneys, insurance claim adjustors, etc.
- Review legal data, laws, and evidence that needs to be presented, prepare pleadings or appeals, etc.
- Assign work to paralegals and juniors
- Prepare and review legal documents
- Attend court hearings OR attend potential settlement meetings between the parties
- Hire and train staff members
- Market to attract new clients
- Take courses to stay up to date with the latest developments and also meet bar association requirements.
Other Necessary Skills
- Listening
- Excellent communication
- Strong writing
- Creative problem-solving
- Attention to detail
- Analytical skills
Career Progression
Junior Associate ->Â Senior Associate ->Â Partner ->Â Managing Partner
Various Employment Paths
Private practice lawyers can practice law in his/her own firm or a firm that employs hundreds of attorneys. The private practitioner may be a trial lawyer, or engage in an office practice, which includes negotiating and preparing contracts, deeds, wills, and other legal documents as well as giving written opinions and advice to a client.
Corporate/Business lawyers work in the law department of a large law firm or business, performing legal work as varied as the activities of the firm or company. If the company has diverse interests and the counsel staff is large, attorneys may specialize just as in a large law firm.
Federal, state, or local level lawyers involve themselves in activities like hearings conducted by regulatory agencies, prosecuting criminal defendants, and representing a government agency in court, etc. Government lawyers also draft regulations or ordinances and evaluate the legal aspects of policy and other decisions made by a governing body or its chief administrator.
Public interest lawyers provide representation to people and interests that have historically been unrepresented or underrepresented in the legal process.
Judiciary lawyers have the opportunity to serve the public as a municipal, state, or federal judge, and preside over criminal and civil court proceedings.
Academic positions include teaching law and law-related courses, such as law enforcement, business law, and real estate law at universities and colleges. Other academic positions include law librarians, editors, and administrators.
Military service in armed services’ legal offices may provide a variety of legal experiences and an opportunity to live in many places. Like private practice, military legal offices may be small or large and may offer an opportunity to gain experience in specialty areas.
Areas of Law
Admiralty (Maritime) Law regulates economic transactions and property disputes involving marine trade, sailors, navigation, or land-based activity that is maritime in nature.
Bankruptcy Law applies to the insolvency (inability to pay one’s debt) of individuals, organizations and other types of businesses. Lawyers in this field can represent debtors or creditors.Â
Civil Rights Law aims to balance competing interests between institutions of government on one hand and individuals or groups of individuals on the other.
Corporate Law involves the formation, dissolution, and all other legal aspects of the administration of corporations and other types of businesses associated with mergers, acquisitions, internal reorganization, or disputes between corporations and individuals concerning liability, patents, and compliance with state and federal law, as well as international accords. These lawyers are called in-house counsel. These businesses may be for profit, non-profit, or charitable.
Criminal Law focuses on behaviors that are sanctioned under criminal code and defined as illegal. Prosecutors and District Attorneys sanction illegal behavior, while criminal defense lawyers represent clients accused of criminal activity.
Entertainment Law predominantly relates to Intellectual Property Law but is more specifically centered on rights and royalty issues to media in the arts, music, television, cinema, or athletics. Sports lawyers ensure compliance with regulations for professional or amateur athletics and may represent an athlete for a contractual transaction.
Environmental Law focuses on cases involving natural resource management, the curbing of pollution, or disputes about land and littoral use. Public health components are increasingly common in the practice of environmental law.
Family Law focuses on legal relations between individuals in the context of the family. Lawyers in this field typically work in smaller firms and specialize in a variety of areas ranging from child welfare to divorce.
Health Law focuses on legislations and transactions related to health care and health professionals. Health law attorneys may represent patients, clinics, insurance companies, or individual health practitioners. Health law specialists also work at academic institutions and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Â
Immigration Law works with individual clients at all stages of the naturalization process. Other aspects of the profession relate to refugee and asylum seekers, as well as to individuals in the country without legal permission and the needs of businesses relating to foreign nationals.
Intellectual Property Law focuses on protecting the rights of inventors, authors, and businesses to their tangible and intangible creations, inventions, and symbols. Â Legal professionals in this field are often experts in a particular domain, such as science, the arts, or an industry.
International Law is broad in its conception and can be broken down into private and public sectors. In the private sector, specialists in international law may work in finance and trade divisions of multinational corporations. In public international law, practitioners would work on cases that involve dealings between sovereign nations or individuals and businesses involving sovereign nations.
Labor Law is concerned with the relations and disputes between workers and their employers on matters ranging from wages and compensation to discrimination based on gender, disability, or age.
Military Law involves codes and procedures that govern legal matters in the armed forces.
Personal Injury Law deals with intentional or unintentional wrongdoing that affects individuals physically or psychologically. Experts in the field work on cases involving medical malpractice, accidental collisions, product liability, wrongful death, or workplace injury. Many cases are settled out of court in this field of legal practice.
Public Finance Law entails structuring financing for the government (local or state, including public universities) and some qualifying charitable institutions (such as large hospital systems).
Real Estate Law involves land or construction ownership, development, litigation, tenant rights, or landlord disputes. Attorneys in this field may work on residential or commercial transactions, review contracts, or work in planning and other government offices.
Tax Law is a dynamic field that deals with domestic (federal and state), and international transactions. Because of the frequent modifications to local, state, and federal codes and the complexity of fiscal policy that guides these changes, experts in tax law engage in continuous education at greater rates than in many other fields of law.
Salary
The median pay for lawyers is $128K.
Total compensation for lawyers significantly varies by years of experience, position, location, firm type, etc. The following range is an approximation:
- Junior Associate: $60K to $150K
- Senior Associate: $75K to $180K
- Partner: $110K to $300K
- Managing Partner: $180K to $400K
Partners may be compensated in a variety of ways such as collections minus expenses/overhead.
Job Growth
- Current number of jobs: 800K
- Employment of lawyers is projected to grow 9 percent from 2020 to 2030, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
- About 71K openings for lawyers are expected by year 2030.
In recent years, new lawyers may include nearly equal numbers of male and female graduates.
Summary
The law profession comes with a variety of career options based on employment type or areas of specialization and compensation is good in general. As every client and the client’s needs are unique, the job can come with plenty of intellectual stimulation. As a lawyer you will be helping individuals or businesses, this can provide intrinsic emotional rewards (satisfaction). On the other hand, this profession can come with a high level of stress and long working hours to meet deadlines. As law changes constantly, you need to invest a significant amount of time to do research to ensure that you are following current practices and regulations.
