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Legal Professionals

Legal professionals interpret and apply laws to resolve disputes, protect rights, and ensure justice within the court system and alternative resolution settings. These professionals work in courtrooms, law firms, government agencies, and mediation centers, where they research legal precedents, prepare legal documents, represent clients, and make or facilitate decisions on various legal matters. Their expertise spans from litigation and legal counsel to judicial administration and conflict resolution outside traditional court proceedings.

Median Annual Pay
$142,918
Range: $35,960 - $210,890
Training Time
8-12 years
AI Resilience
🟡AI-Augmented
Education
Doctoral degree

🎬Career Video

🤖AI Resilience Assessment

AI Resilience Score

Score 3/6: balanced factors means AI will assist but humans remain essential

🟡AI-Augmented

How we calculated this:

AI Exposure
Medium+1

42% of tasks can be accelerated by AI

Job Growth
Stable+1

+3% projected (2024-2034)

Human Advantage
Moderate+1

EPOCH score: 17/25

Total Score3/6
Methodology: v2.0 - GPTs are GPTs / BLS / EPOCH Additive ScoringUpdated: 2026-01-09

📋Key Responsibilities

  • 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.
  • Examine legal data to determine advisability of defending or prosecuting lawsuit.
  • Prepare, draft, and review legal documents, such as wills, deeds, patent applications, mortgages, leases, and contracts.

💡Inside This Career

Legal professionals spend their days immersed in the intricacies of law, whether they're researching complex regulations in quiet law libraries, conducting heated negotiations in corporate boardrooms, or presiding over formal hearings in courthouses. Their mornings might begin with reviewing case files and legal briefs, analyzing statutory language, or preparing for depositions and trials. Throughout the day, they draft legal documents ranging from contracts and motions to judicial opinions and settlement agreements, ensuring every word is precisely crafted to withstand scrutiny. Many find themselves switching between solitary research and writing tasks to collaborative discussions with colleagues, clients, or opposing counsel.

The work environment varies dramatically within this field—some legal professionals spend most of their time in traditional office settings, poring over documents and precedent cases, while others divide their time between offices and courtrooms, hearing chambers, or mediation centers. A single day might involve interviewing witnesses, conducting legal research on emerging issues, facilitating settlement discussions between disputing parties, or evaluating evidence to make binding decisions. Technology plays an increasingly important role, with legal databases, video conferencing for remote hearings, and digital case management systems streamlining many processes.

Collaboration is essential, whether it's working with legal teams on complex litigation, consulting with experts to understand technical evidence, or coordinating with court staff to manage case schedules. Legal professionals regularly interact with diverse groups—from individual clients facing personal legal challenges to corporate executives navigating regulatory compliance, and from law enforcement officers to community members seeking resolution to disputes.

📈Career Progression

What does this mean?

This shows how earnings typically grow with experience. Entry level represents starting salaries, while Expert shows top earners (90th percentile). Most workers reach mid-career earnings within 5-10 years. Figures are national averages and vary by location and employer.

1
Entry (10th %ile)
0-2 years experience
$35,960
$32,364 - $39,556
2
Early Career (25th %ile)
2-6 years experience
$78,743
$70,869 - $86,617
3
Mid-Career (Median)
5-15 years experience
$142,918
$128,626 - $157,210
4
Experienced (75th %ile)
10-20 years experience
$176,904
$159,214 - $194,594
5
Expert (90th %ile)
15-30 years experience
$210,890
$189,801 - $231,979

📚Education & Training

Requirements

  • Entry Education: Doctoral degree
  • Experience: Extensive experience
  • On-the-job Training: Extensive training
  • !License or certification required

Time & Cost

Education Duration
8-12 years (typically 9)
Estimated Education Cost
$133,662 - $332,502
Public (in-state):$133,662
Public (out-of-state):$223,269
Private nonprofit:$332,502
Source: professional association (2024)
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💻Technology Skills

Legal research (Westlaw, LexisNexis)Microsoft OfficeCase management softwareDocument managementE-discovery toolsBilling softwareAderant CompuLawAdobe AcrobatAdvanced Technologies Class ActAmerican Legalnet eDocketsAmerican Legalnet Smart DocketsCanyon Solutions JcatsCompugov DocketViewCorel WordPerfect Office SuiteInfocom JACS

Key Abilities

Oral Expression
Oral Comprehension
Written Comprehension
Written Expression
Speech Clarity
Deductive Reasoning
Problem Sensitivity
Inductive Reasoning
Information Ordering
Fluency of Ideas

🏷️Also Known As

Legal ProfessionalsAdmiralty LawyerAgency Legal CounselAttorneyAttorney at LawAttorney GeneralBarristerBusiness LawyerChief CounselCity Attorney+20 more

📑Specializations

This career includes 5 specialized roles with different focuses and compensation levels.

🔗Related Careers

Other careers in legal

🔗Data Sources

Last updated: 2026-01-09

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