Lawyers

Law, Public Safety, Corrections and SecurityO*NET 23-1011.00United States

Represent clients in criminal and civil litigation and other legal proceedings, draw up legal documents, or manage or advise clients on legal transactions. May specialize in a single area or may practice broadly in many areas of law.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning

Median annual earnings: $153,408
Projected change: +4.7%
Typical education: Doctoral degree or more
Employment: 924.51K jobs

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

The work

What lawyers do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

Interpret laws, rulings and regulations for individuals and businesses.
Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents.
Gather evidence to formulate defense or to initiate legal actions by such means as interviewing clients and witnesses to ascertain the facts of a case.
Represent clients in court or before government agencies.
Evaluate findings and develop strategies and arguments in preparation for presentation of cases.
Advise clients concerning business transactions, claim liability, advisability of prosecuting or defending lawsuits, or legal rights and obligations.
Prepare, draft, and review legal documents, such as wills, deeds, patent applications, mortgages, leases, and contracts.
Examine legal data to determine advisability of defending or prosecuting lawsuit.
Study Constitution, statutes, decisions, regulations, and ordinances of quasi-judicial bodies to determine ramifications for cases.
Negotiate settlements of civil disputes.
Supervise legal assistants.
Negotiate contractual agreements.
Confer with colleagues with specialties in appropriate areas of legal issue to establish and verify bases for legal proceedings.
Search for and examine public and other legal records to write opinions or establish ownership.
Perform administrative and management functions related to the practice of law.

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile: $69,880
25th percentile: $95,903
50th percentile: $153,408
75th percentile: $233,564
90th percentile: $368,253

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $153,408 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

+4.7%average or slower

2025924,507 jobs

2035 projected968,015 jobs

43,508 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

Doctoral degree or more: 77.2%
Master's or Professional degree: 22.8%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

Lawsuits
Legal Research
Legal Discovery
Legal Pleadings
Legal Hearings
Legal Depositions
Mediation
Civil Law
Personal Injury Law
Appeals
Legal Risk
Regulatory Compliance
Finance
Legal Support
Trial Preparation
Case Management
Real Estate
Risk Management
Labor Law
Artificial Intelligence

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Negotiation: Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Systems Analysis: Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Systems Evaluation: Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

01Associate Attorneys10,011 postings
02Litigation Attorneys6,015 postings
03Attorneys5,704 postings
04Staff Attorneys3,277 postings
05Corporate Counsels3,157 postings
06Personal Injury Attorneys3,098 postings
07Family Law Attorneys2,977 postings
08Legal Counsels2,821 postings
09Associate General Counsels2,797 postings
10Assistant General Counsels2,651 postings
11Litigation Associate Attorneys2,590 postings
12Litigation Associates2,164 postings
13Civil Litigation Attorneys2,104 postings
14Insurance Defense Attorneys1,982 postings
15Counsels1,978 postings
16Commercial Counsels1,803 postings
17Trial Attorneys1,584 postings
18Workers' Compensation Attorneys1,566 postings
19Immigration Attorneys1,437 postings
20Family Law Paralegals1,380 postings

Top employers

01GPAC9,974 postings
02Jobot4,113 postings
03Robert Half3,435 postings
04Beacon Hill Staffing Group3,409 postings
05CyberCoders1,468 postings
06W3Global1,076 postings
07DLA Piper952 postings
08Leoforce847 postings
09Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith Llp811 postings
10Onebridge Search697 postings
11United States Department of Justice618 postings
12Turing575 postings
13Perkins Coie520 postings
14State of Florida497 postings
15Adams & Martin Group494 postings
16Jackson Lewis P.C.491 postings
17Travelers468 postings
18Wilson Elser462 postings
19Goodwin Recruiting452 postings
20Larson Maddox442 postings

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