According to the American Bar Association’s 2020 ABA Profile of the Legal Profession, there are currently about 1.3 million lawyers in the US. Specifically, for every 1,000 residents in the US, there are only four lawyers. Knowing the status and size of your industry helps you understand your playing field in the legal marketplace.
The lawyer job market is expected to grow by 8.2% between 2016 and 2026. How employable are lawyers? Are lawyers in demand? What's the supply of lawyers? How employable are lawyers? CareerExplorer rates lawyers with a C employability rating, meaning this career should provide moderate employment opportunities for the foreseeable future.
The majority of lawyers work in private and corporate legal offices. Some work for federal, local, and state governments. Most work full time and many work more than 40 hours a week. Lawyers must have a law degree and must also typically pass a state’s written bar examination. The median annual wage for lawyers was $126,930 in May 2020.
That’s the conclusion of U.S. News & World Report, which rated working as a lawyer the ninth best job on its list of 100 Best Jobs of 2022. Above the Law has a story, while a U.S. News & World Report press release is here.
Employment Outlook for Lawyers Employment of lawyers is projected to grow 9 percent from 2016 to 2026, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Demand for legal work is expected to continue as individuals, businesses, and all levels of government require legal services in many areas.
Despite a temporary dip in demand for lawyers at the onset of the pandemic because of economic uncertainty, 2021 saw an overall increase in demand for lawyers. This trend is expected to continue in 2022, albeit at more modest growth rates.
4% (2019)6% (2014)Lawyer/Projected 10-year growth
National estimates for Lawyers:Employment (1)Employment RSE (3)Mean annual wage (2)681,0101.0 %$ 148,030Mar 31, 2022
New York State has the highest concentration of lawyers compared to any other state, resulting in higher demand for the profession — nearly double the average national demand.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of lawyers is expected to grow 4% from 2019 to 2029, on pace with the growth for all occupations. 4 Every year, there are more students that graduated law school than there are jobs available.
Every now and then, or more often, we hear news about how the legal profession is dying. Whether it's robot lawyers, the apocalypse, or the robot lawyer apocalypse, you don't have to worry about the legal profession dying. The profession isn't going anywhere.
Law as a profession is in great demand these days. Due to the changing social and economic circumstances and the ever-increasing regulatory role being undertaken by the government there is a rising demand for the lawyers. Besides being financially lucrative, Law is an adventurous and exciting career option.
Fiona Trevelyan Hornblower, president and CEO of the NALP Foundation, said at the time that the decline, in part, is due to firms postponing the start dates for first-year associates, and because fewer existing associates left their jobs last year.
Employment is projected to increase by 11.9 million jobs from 2020 to 2030. Employment is projected to grow from 153.5 million to 165.4 million jobs from 2020 to 2030. Pandemic recovery and growth in healthcare-related occupations are expected to account for a large share of projected job growth.
Number of law graduates in the U.S. 2013-2021 The number of law graduates in the United States steadily declined between 2013 and 2021. As of 2021, 35,287 students graduated from law school in the United States.
At 38,202 new JD students, we're still nowhere near the hog-high 52,404 1Ls who started in 2010. Even so, 38,202 is way more new lawyers than the legal job market is likely going to be able to absorb in three years, and it looks like even more people are going to start law school this fall.
The job market for lawyers in the United States. There are currently an estimated 792,500 lawyers in the United States. The lawyer job market is expected to grow by 8.2% between 2016 and 2026.
These roles include managerial, business, and administrative positions with banks; insurance and real estate companies; and government agencies.
Some graduates may jumpstart their careers by joining legal staffing firms which place lawyers in short-term jobs. Willingness to relocate and take another state’s bar exam, as well as experience in specialty areas such as tax, patent, immigration, or copyright will improve law school graduates’ employment prospects.
The growth in population and general business activity is creating more legal transactions and generating increased need for legal services in a wide range of areas including health care, environmental issues, intellectual property, mediation, and antitrust.
Specifically, for every 1,000 residents in the US, there are only four lawyers. Knowing the status and size of your industry helps you understand your playing field in the legal marketplace.
The job outlook for lawyers—according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook —is overall positive , with a 4% projected growth rate for lawyers between 2019 and 2029, which is in line with the projected average for all jobs.
The 2020 Legal Trends Report also notes a collection rate (that is, the percentage of hours collected divided by the number of hours invoiced) of 88%—which means that lawyers are not paid for 12% of hours that they’ve worked and billed to clients. Finding a way to increase this rate could mean more potential revenue coming in for the hours already worked.
When it comes to hourly rates by state for lawyers, the 2020 Legal Trends Report shows that lawyers in DC charge the highest hourly rate, followed by $338 per hour by lawyers in California.
15. 72% of consumers would prefer to pay their legal fees via payment plans. Another key statistic about lawyers from the 2020 Legal Trends Report is that today’s consumers want convenience and options when it comes to paying their legal fees.
Tracking performance and productivity impacts your success as a lawyer, so lawyer facts and statistics that highlight how attorneys spend their time are invaluable performance indicators. The 2020 Legal Trends Report, for example, reports a utilization rate (i.e. the number of billable hours worked divided by the number of hours in a day) of 31%—which means that 69% of a lawyer’s work day is spent on non-billable activities.
The American Bar Association’s 10-year look at lawyer demographic trends shows some movement towards equality (in 2010, only 31% of lawyers were female and 89% of attorneys were white), but the statistics about lawyers show that the profession still has work to do.
Leslie Garfield Tenzer: Research and writing. I would encourage every student eligible to participate in their school's law review or law journals. Participation communicates to employers that you are committed to taking on extra work and demonstrates that you have developed your legal research and writing skills beyond the core curriculum.
Leslie Garfield Tenzer: Eye contact, clarity of expression, willingness to work hard, ability to accept criticism, and strong networking skills.
Leslie Garfield Tenzer: In the short run, the skill of providing the partners with quality work. In the long run, cultivating clients.
Adam Chodorow: When the pandemic first hit, just about everything ground to a halt. However, after an initial adjustment, legal work came roaring back. The pandemic does not appear to have affected our students' job prospects because there is plenty of work to be done.
Adam Chodorow: Most students come to law school, thinking that they are there to learn the law. However, being an effective lawyer requires far more than simply knowing the rules. Lawyers need to be creative problem solvers who can understand their clients' needs and advise them on minimizing risk best while achieving their goals.
Adam Chodorow: Law firms often say that they are looking for practice-ready attorneys - that is, attorneys who can come in and contribute on day one. The fact is - no matter how much experience law students get, there will always be a steep learning curve once they graduate.
Christina Bohannan: Graduates will need to have excellent analytical and communication skills. They will need to understand how the law intersects with their clients' business or other interests. They will also need to have cultural proficiency to work with diverse clients and coworkers with different ideas, cultures, and backgrounds.
Demanding work hours. Many lawyers, particularly those in corporate law, work more than the standard 40 hours a week. Most attorneys use the "billable hours" style of tracking work time, meaning they bill clients for the work they do specifically on their cases. Often, this alone takes up 40 hours a week, leaving daily responsibilities like ...
All lawyers must complete a bachelor's degree before going on to law school. At a minimum, lawyers must get seven years of additional schooling after high school to become a lawyer. After law school graduation, presumptive attorneys must take and pass the bar exam, which is a grueling, multi-day test proving they have the necessary knowledge to work as a lawyer.
The job itself is often high stress, depending on the type of law you practice. While contract lawyers or tax attorneys may occasionally have a few stressful days here and there, prosecutors and defenders, the lawyers who argue cases in court, often feel tremendous stress. These lawyers play an enormous role in their client's future, and the stress of that responsibility can be overwhelming.
Guilty clients. Occasionally, particularly for defense attorneys, you'll have to protect guilty people. Even if you're not working as a trial attorney, you might have clients with whom you fundamentally disagree, but are duty-bound to represent.
The field of law is not immune to the ever-changing world of technology. Some lawyers find it's necessary to have a relatively solid understanding of how their client's online data and activity are tracked and stored for trial. This sort of technology changes all the time, so staying aware of the latest information can be a challenge.
Working as a lawyer, just like any profession, has its advantages and disadvantages. Some of the challenges that accompany a career in law can be hard to overcome for everyone. Consider all angles, both positive and negative, before deciding if the law profession is right for you.
Law school is prohibitively expensive. Paired with possible debt from earning a bachelor's degree, most law students graduate with an extensive amount of student loan debt. Looking for a job with the stress of student loan debt can cause lawyers to take positions they might not otherwise consider because they know they have to pay off their exorbitant loans.
Another alternative career option for lawyers is public relations. If you're any good at networking and building professional relationships, PR is a viable option for you. Most positions are within large corporate firms, but there is a number of smaller, boutique agencies popping up, where you may find a more hands-on role. Many agencies niche by industry as well, so if you're interested in sports, you might well find a PR agency that specialises in just that.
Options for Australian lawyers include the ACCC, Federal Police, ASIC and the ATO, just to mention a few.
Lawyers typically have stellar interview and investigatory skills, and a real interest in telling people's stories. The road to the top as a journalist is a long one, but there are opportunities in various formats if you're willing to start at the beginning. You might need to re-learn how to write non-legalese, but that should be fun.
Career change is part and parcel for professionals at all levels, particularly as our economy continues to move in the direction of more flexible, casualised and part-time work. The career trajectories of full-time professionals are also at the mercy of the economy and technological change, which are causing huge flux. As a result, the best of any profession will always need guidance on their options and how to move up their current hierarchy or step sideways to a new one. Career management requires you to build deep industry knowledge and networks.
The upside is that you get exposure to a wide range of businesses and industries and can choose to specialise over time. This role requires high-level analytical skills (which usually isn't an issue for lawyers) and a high degree of creativity (which can be a problem for some). ‍.
Whether it is in legal recruitment, or working in a myriad of other niche areas, recruitment is a real career option for lawyers. If you love to be paid for what you put in, enjoy helping people, have high EQ and some commercial nous, it could be a good fit for you. Recruitment also massively expands your network, give you useful industry insights and allows you to keep being a trusted advisor to your candidates and clients.
If you're more on the creative side, marketing is an alternative career for lawyers to consider . You can easily teach yourself the digital marketing skills required with one of the many online courses out there. Once you've learnt the ropes, you have the option of working in-house (at a start-up or an established business), at an agency or freelancing.
Employment law associates, or employment and labor lawyers, work with both employers and employees to provide support and counsel on the state and federal employment laws. These attorneys typically help employers ensure their workplaces are in compliance with these employment laws and that all employees are treated fairly and consistently. Additionally, employment lawyers will commonly represent employees in discrimination cases.
An attorney at law or (trial lawyer) is a practicing lawyer who counsels and represents their clients and legal rights in both civil and criminal cases. Attorneys at law are most commonly trial lawyers, where they'll assist clients in pre-trial counsel, prepare legal documents and pleadings and even appear in court to represent their clients.
Primary duties: Patent attorneys deal with similar cases as IP lawyers and paralegals do, however, patent attorneys deal specifically with the processes and legal implications surrounding patenting intellectual property. Typically, patent attorneys help inventors prepare, file and submit their patent applications. If another individual or entity tries to infringe upon a patent attorney's client's patent, the attorney assists the client in raising a lawsuit against them.
Litigation attorneys will meet with and collect information and documentation from clients, whether plaintiffs or defendants. They'll also work with clients to prepare court and trial documents, draft pleadings and enter pleas. In serious cases, litigation attorneys may also appear in court to testify on behalf of their clients.
Primary duties: Bankruptcy paralegals and attorneys frequently work in public agencies, corporations and lending institutions where they prepare and file proofs of claims on behalf of their clients. These paralegals must understand financial laws and regulations regarding bankruptcy claims and they provide direct support to practicing attorneys in the preparation of financial documents, claim applications and additional documents their clients will need in a bankruptcy case.
Primary duties: Personal injury paralegals work with practicing attorneys in much the same way as litigation paralegals. They'll typically help prepare legal documents for personal injury cases involving either the plaintiff or the defendant. Personal injury paralegals will work under the supervision of a lawyer, where they'll commonly interview clients, gather medical records, collect insurance information and documents from defendants and assist in organizing and preparing settlement demands.
Primary duties: Immigration attorneys and lawyers provide their clients with guidance and advice concerning immigration matters like green cards, visa applications, naturalization and citizenship, issues regarding deportation and employment for foreign citizens. Many immigration attorneys will also handle cases involving immigration as it relates to criminal laws.
These include roles such as legal secretaries. Further than that, a recent Deloitte report suggests that over 114,000 legal jobs could be automated in the next two decades as the industry begins to adopt new technologies such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence.
If you want to be totally bulletproof from the claws of progression, though, author and futurist Martin Ford recommends pursuing a career in industries that require creative and interpersonal skills, such as art, science, business and medicine.
According to a report by the Jewelers Board of Trade, the jewellery industry shrunk by 4% in 2018, with hundreds of jewellery stores going out of business in the US.
There has been speculation about the future of the print media industry for some time now, with various publications investing more time and content into their online versions. Additionally, Millennials prefer to get their news from less biased, less mainstream sources, meaning that the printing industry needs to adapt and evolve – or become extinct. This means that print press operators could be facing a significant decline in business.
While imports of seafood and farmed fish are cheaper and increasingly more common , both the UK and US have been guilty of overfishing. This causes major disruptions within ecosystems, affecting food chains and survival rates of marine life; at the same time, the effects of climate change are also having an impact on the available stocks of fish.