Lawyers
Also called Attorney, Attorney General, Counsel, or Lawyer
What Lawyers do
Lawyers 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.
Who tends to enjoy it
Leading
People who like persuading, selling, starting things, and taking charge.
Organizing
People who like keeping things accurate, orderly, and running on schedule.
Curious
People who like figuring things out, research, science, and solving problems.
What you'd actually do
- 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.
A typical day involves
Skills that matter most
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Complex Problem Solving
What you'll need to know
- Law and Government
- English Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administrative
- Computers and Electronics
Where to study for this
College programs that commonly lead to this career, and how many US colleges offer each.
- Law 212 colleges
- Advanced Legal Research / Studies 90 colleges
- Programs for Foreign Lawyers 52 colleges
- Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies, Other 55 colleges
- American / U.S. Law / Legal Studies / Jurisprudence 50 colleges
- Tax Law / Taxation 33 colleges
- Health Law 33 colleges
- Banking, Corporate, Finance, and Securities Law 32 colleges
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA), occupation 23-1011.00, used under CC BY 4.0 and modified by Whittle. Program links: NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. How we build these pages.