Work Environment
Salaried lawyers usually have structured work schedules. Lawyers who are in private practice may work irregular hours while conducting research, conferring with clients, or preparing briefs dur- ing non office hours. Lawyers often work long hours; of those who work full time, about 37 percent work 50 hours or more per week. Private practice lawyers may also spend a lot of time traveling while working on a case.
They may also face particularly heavy pressure when a case is
being tried. Preparation for court includes keeping up to date and understanding the latest laws and judicial decisions. Lawyers increasingly use technology to perform more efficiently. Most now supplement law libraries and conventional printed sources with the Internet and legal databases. Special software is used to search this legal literature automatically and to identify legal texts rel- evant to a specific case. In litigation involving many supporting doc- uments, lawyers may use computers to organize and index material. Lawyers might use electronic filing, web and videoconferencing, and voice-recognition technology to share information more effectively.
In May 2006, the Bureau of Labor Statistics OES survey esti- mated the median annual earnings of all wage-and-salaried lawyers at $106,120. The middle half of the occupation earned between $69,910 and $145,600. Median annual earnings in industries employing the largest num- bers of lawyers were:
Management of companies and enterprises $128,610 Federal Government 119,240 Legal services 108,100 Local government 78,810 State government 75,840
Most salaried lawyers are provided health and life insurance, and contributions are made to retirement plans on their behalf. Lawyers who practice independently are covered only if they arrange and pay for such benefits themselves. Top paying States for this occupation: District of Columbia, California, New York, Delaware, and Georgia. Salaries grow with experience, but even entry level positions pay well. Median salaries of lawyers 9 months after graduation from law school in 2005 vary by type of work:
All graduates Private practice Business
Government Academic/judicial clerkships Source: National Association of Law Placement
Information on law schools and a career in law may be obtained from the following organizations:
Job Outlook
Employment of lawyers is expected to grow 11 percent between 2006 and 2016, even though businesses are increasingly using large accounting firms and paralegals to perform some of the same func- tions that lawyers do.
Competition for job openings should continue to be keen but graduates with superior academic records from highly regarded law schools will have the best job opportunities. Bilingual and/or bicul- tural lawyers are also in demand. Lawyers with good work experi- ence and willingness to travel or relocate are also highly sought after. Lawyers are also increasingly finding work in less traditional areas for which legal training is an asset, but not normally a require- ment—for example, administrative, managerial, and business posi- tions in banks, insurance firms, real estate companies, government agencies, and other organizations. Employment opportunities are expected to grow in these organizations. Temporary staffing firms that place attorneys in short-term jobs are another way to find employment.
Salaries
Salaries of experienced attorneys vary widely according to the type, size, and location of their employer. Lawyers who own their own practices usually earn less than those who are partners in law firms. Lawyers starting their own practice may need to work part time in other occupations to supplement their income until their practice is well established.
American Bar Association
www.abanet.org National Association for Law Placement,
www.nalp.org
Information on the LSAT, the Law School Data Assembly Service, the law school application process, and financial aid avail- able may be obtained from Law School Admission Council,
www.lsac.org
Information on job opportunities with the Federal Government is available from the Office of Personnel Management through USAJOBS, the Federal Government’s official employment information system.
www.usajobs.opm.gov
For advice on how to find and apply for Federal jobs, see
www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/2004/summer/art01.pdf.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. DOL, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-09 Ed., on the Internet at
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos053.htm
The Hispanic National Bar Association (HBNA) is a non-profit, nationwide association representing Hispanic persons in the legal profession—attorneys, judges, law educators and law students.
www.hnba.com
Other Hispanic organizations include: California La Raza Lawyers
www.larazalawyers.net Mexican American Bar Association of Los Angeles County
www.mabalawyers.org
S A L U D O S H I S P A N O S
$60,000 $85,000 $60,000 $46,158 $45,000
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