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.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Lawyers. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $78,360 | $37.67 |
| 25th | $102,990 | $49.51 |
| 50th · Median | $159,670 | $76.76 |
| 75th | $221,370 | $106.43 |
| 90th | $351,600 | $169.04 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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Compare an entered wage with the published thresholds for United States. Your entry stays on this page.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (48)
Typical tasks
- 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.
Expand more tasks (16)
- 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.
- Study Constitution, statutes, decisions, regulations, and ordinances of quasi-judicial bodies to determine ramifications for cases.
- Negotiate settlements of civil disputes.
- Supervise legal assistants.
- Negotiate contractual agreements.
- Confer with colleagues with specialties in appropriate areas of legal issue to establish and verify bases for legal proceedings.
- Search for and examine public and other legal records to write opinions or establish ownership.
- Perform administrative and management functions related to the practice of law.
- Present and summarize cases to judges and juries.
- Select jurors, argue motions, meet with judges, and question witnesses during the course of a trial.
- Present evidence to defend clients or prosecute defendants in criminal or civil litigation.
- Probate wills and represent and advise executors and administrators of estates.
- Prepare legal briefs and opinions, and file appeals in state and federal courts of appeal.
- Act as agent, trustee, guardian, or executor for businesses or individuals.
- Help develop federal and state programs, draft and interpret laws and legislation, and establish enforcement procedures.
Skills used in this work
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Expand more skills (29)
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
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