Numerical skills are valuable as you will need to understand financial statements and account information. Laws evolve as society changes. You need to think logically and find case studies to back up your legal argument. Reasoning skills help you anticipate arguments from the other parties involved.
The day-to-day duties of a lawyer depend on your specialism and area of law you choose to work in. Duties may include:. Most lawyers work for private firms although you may choose to work as in-house legal counsel for a company. You could also choose to work in the public sector. The Crown Prosecution Service is a government agency in England and Wales, existing to make prosecution decisions independent of the police and government.
Lawyers are often based in offices, but travel will be required when you meet clients and contacts. If you are a criminal lawyer then you will spend a large amount of time in court. Being a lawyer means working in a high-pressure environment with long and demanding hours. Working hours range from 37 to 50 hours a week. Occasional weekend and late-night hours may be required when preparing for a trial. Lawyers charge clients for billable hours, so you need to keep track of the time you spend on different cases.
Lawyers are known for being highly paid. What you earn will depend on your specialism, employer, level of experience and location. In larger firms and in London you could earn much higher than the industry average. Guideline salary information from National Careers Service.
Following this, qualifications you need to become a lawyer include:. Find out the qualifications and training you need to become a lawyer in the UK and where this career can take you. Your career path will often depend on the firm you work at after you graduate and qualify. Law is a highly competitive industry with a broad range of practice areas. As a solicitor, you could work your way up to becoming a partner in a firm. With experience, it is also possible to become self-employed working as a consultant.
The role is highly competitive to get into and it is unlikely before you have 20 to 25 years of experience. As it is based on your career achievements, it is something you have to aim towards for a long time.
Banking and finance lawyers advise and negotiate on transactions, deals and loans of money between banks and companies or individuals. As advocates, they represent one of the parties in criminal and civil trials by presenting evidence and arguing in court to support their client.
As advisors, lawyers counsel their clients about their legal rights and obligations and suggest particular courses of action in business and personal matters. Whether acting as an advocate or an advisor, all attorneys research the intent of laws and judicial decisions and apply the law to the specific circumstances faced by their clients.
Although all lawyers are licensed to represent parties in court, some appear in court more frequently than others. Trial lawyers spend the majority of their time outside the courtroom, conducting research, interviewing clients and witnesses, and handling other details in preparation for a trial. Lawyers may specialize in a number of areas, such as bankruptcy, probate, international, elder, or environmental law.
Those specializing in, for example, environmental law may represent interest groups, waste disposal companies, or construction firms in their dealings with the U. Environmental Protection Agency and other Federal and State agencies. These lawyers help clients prepare and file for licenses and applications for approval before certain activities are permitted to occur. Other lawyers advise insurance companies about the legality of insurance transactions, guiding the company in writing insurance policies to conform to the law and to protect the companies from unwarranted claims.
When claims are filed against insurance companies, these attorneys review the claims and represent the companies in court. Most lawyers are in private practice, concentrating on criminal or civil law. In criminal law, lawyers represent individuals who have been charged with crimes and argue their cases in courts of law. Attorneys dealing with civil law assist clients with litigation, wills, trusts, contracts, mortgages, titles, and leases.
Lawyers sometimes are employed full time by a single client. These issues might involve patents, government regulations, contracts with other companies, property interests, or collective-bargaining agreements with unions.
A significant number of attorneys are employed at the various levels of government. Some work for State attorneys general, prosecutors, and public defenders in criminal courts. At the Federal level, attorneys investigate cases for the U. Department of Justice and other agencies. Government lawyers also help develop programs, draft and interpret laws and legislation, establish enforcement procedures, and argue civil and criminal cases on behalf of the government.
These lawyers generally handle civil, rather than criminal, cases. Lawyers are increasingly using various forms of technology to perform more efficiently. Although all lawyers continue to use law libraries to prepare cases, most supplement conventional printed sources with computer sources, such as the Internet and legal databases. Software is used to search this legal literature automatically and to identify legal texts relevant to a specific case.
In litigation involving many supporting documents, lawyers may use computers to organize and index materials. Lawyers must be geographically mobile and able to reach their clients in a timely matter, so they might use electronic filing, Web and videoconferencing, mobile electronic devices, and voice-recognition technology to share information more effectively.
Work Environment Lawyers do most of their work in offices, law libraries, and courtrooms. They may travel to attend meetings, gather evidence, and appear before courts, legislative bodies, and other authorities. They also may face particularly heavy pressure when a case is being tried. Preparation for court includes understanding the latest laws and judicial decisions.
Salaried lawyers usually have structured work schedules. Lawyers who are in private practice or those who work for large firms may work irregular hours, including weekends, while conducting research, conferring with clients, or preparing briefs during nonoffice hours.
Lawyers often work long hours; of those who work full time, about 33 percent work 50 or more hours per week. To meet the needs of students who can attend only part time, a number of law schools have night or part-time divisions. Regardless of major, a multidisciplinary background is recommended. Courses in English, foreign languages, public speaking, government, philosophy, history, economics, mathematics, and computer science, among others, are useful.
CareerOneStop includes hundreds of occupational profiles with data available by state and metro area. There are links in the left-hand side menu to compare occupational employment by state and occupational wages by local area or metro area.
There is also a salary info tool to search for wages by zip code. Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators facilitate negotiation and dialogue between disputing parties to help resolve conflicts outside of the court system.
Paralegals and legal assistants perform a variety of tasks to support lawyers. Postsecondary teachers instruct students in a variety of academic subjects beyond the high school level. American Bar Association. National Association for Law Placement. Law School Admission Council. National Conference of Bar Examiners. The requirements for admission to the bar in a particular state or other jurisdiction may be obtained at the state capital, from the clerk of the state Supreme Court, or from the administrator of the State Board of Bar Examiners.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. Last Modified Date: Wednesday, September 8, The What They Do tab describes the typical duties and responsibilities of workers in the occupation, including what tools and equipment they use and how closely they are supervised. This tab also covers different types of occupational specialties.
The Work Environment tab includes the number of jobs held in the occupation and describes the workplace, the level of physical activity expected, and typical hours worked. It may also discuss the major industries that employed the occupation. This tab may also describe opportunities for part-time work, the amount and type of travel required, any safety equipment that is used, and the risk of injury that workers may face.
The How to Become One tab describes how to prepare for a job in the occupation. This tab can include information on education, training, work experience, licensing and certification, and important qualities that are required or helpful for entering or working in the occupation.
The Pay tab describes typical earnings and how workers in the occupation are compensated—annual salaries, hourly wages, commissions, tips, or bonuses. Within every occupation, earnings vary by experience, responsibility, performance, tenure, and geographic area. For most profiles, this tab has a table with wages in the major industries employing the occupation.
The Job Outlook tab describes the factors that affect employment growth or decline in the occupation, and in some instances, describes the relationship between the number of job seekers and the number of job openings. The Similar Occupations tab describes occupations that share similar duties, skills, interests, education, or training with the occupation covered in the profile.
The More Information tab provides the Internet addresses of associations, government agencies, unions, and other organizations that can provide additional information on the occupation. The wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. Additional training needed postemployment to attain competency in the skills needed in this occupation.
Work experience that is commonly considered necessary by employers, or is a commonly accepted substitute for more formal types of training or education. The employment, or size, of this occupation in , which is the base year of the employment projections.
The projected percent change in employment from to The average growth rate for all occupations is 8 percent. Menu Search button Search:. Summary Please enable javascript to play this video. What Lawyers Do About this section Lawyers often specialize in a particular legal field.
Work Environment About this section Lawyers typically work in law offices. CareerOneStop CareerOneStop includes hundreds of occupational profiles with data available by state and metro area. Similar Occupations About this section This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of lawyers. Contacts for More Information About this section For more information about law schools and a career in law, visit American Bar Association National Association for Law Placement For more information about the Law School Admission Test LSAT and the law school application process, visit Law School Admission Council For a list of state and jurisdiction admission bar offices, visit National Conference of Bar Examiners The requirements for admission to the bar in a particular state or other jurisdiction may be obtained at the state capital, from the clerk of the state Supreme Court, or from the administrator of the State Board of Bar Examiners.
Suggested citation: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U. What They Do The What They Do tab describes the typical duties and responsibilities of workers in the occupation, including what tools and equipment they use and how closely they are supervised.
Work Environment The Work Environment tab includes the number of jobs held in the occupation and describes the workplace, the level of physical activity expected, and typical hours worked. Pay The Pay tab describes typical earnings and how workers in the occupation are compensated—annual salaries, hourly wages, commissions, tips, or bonuses. Job Outlook The Job Outlook tab describes the factors that affect employment growth or decline in the occupation, and in some instances, describes the relationship between the number of job seekers and the number of job openings.
Similar Occupations The Similar Occupations tab describes occupations that share similar duties, skills, interests, education, or training with the occupation covered in the profile. Contacts for More Information The More Information tab provides the Internet addresses of associations, government agencies, unions, and other organizations that can provide additional information on the occupation.
On-the-job Training Additional training needed postemployment to attain competency in the skills needed in this occupation. Entry-level Education Typical level of education that most workers need to enter this occupation.
Work experience in a related occupation Work experience that is commonly considered necessary by employers, or is a commonly accepted substitute for more formal types of training or education.
Number of Jobs, The employment, or size, of this occupation in , which is the base year of the employment projections. Job Outlook, The projected percent change in employment from to Employment Change, The projected numeric change in employment from to Employment Change, projected The projected numeric change in employment from to Growth Rate Projected The percent change of employment for each occupation from to
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