As a professor, I prepare lessons on and teach classes in law centered around 1) negotiations, and 2) eradicating the New Jim Crow via litigation and policy advocacy. As a lawyer, I focus on litigating, organizing, educating, and crafting legislation to ensure that individuals with criminal records are not unjustly denied employment or occupational licenses.
CAREER
Lawyers
Overview
Salary Median (2023)
$145,760
Projected Job Growth (2023-2033)
+9.6% (as fast as the average)
Career
Roadtrip Nation Leaders in This Career
What Lawyers Do
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.
Other Job Titles Lawyers May Have
Attorney, Attorney at Law, Attorney General, Counsel, County Attorney, District Attorney, General Counsel, Lawyer, Prosecuting Attorney, Prosecutor
How Leaders Describe a Typical Day at Work
I spend most days as an attorney working on a variety of cases including trials, arrests & arraignments, sentencing, and sentence modification. It involves reading and researching the case I am working on, getting to know my client, and then developing a defense or prosecution depending on the case. I also work with the Innocence Project to review potential false imprisonment cases and bring those back to trial to get them overturned.
Tasks & Responsibilities May Include
- 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.
Education
Level of Education Attained by Lawyers
Most common level of education among people in
this career: Doctoral degree (77%)
Doctoral degree
Professional degree
Majors Related to Career
Additional Skills & Experiences That Can Help You Excel
Use all of your past experiences to inform the decisions you make for the better.
Knowing how to communicate effectively is crucial. You have to build relationships and network. You never know when you are going to meet someone who will help you become someone.
Getting Started
Recommended First Step for:
High School Students
You have to really start challenging yourself as early as high school and keep challenging yourself throughout your undergraduate schooling. When prospective employers and prospective law school admissions counselors are looking back at your transcripts, you need to prove that you're a valuable candidate and that you're someone people will want in their community or their workplace. Take your education seriously, and you'll show everyone that you have the drive to be a successful attorney.
The most important tangible step is to apply yourself to the best of your abilities and achieve top grades and scores. But in addition, try to listen to yourself. For many years I listened to the advice of everyone around me, and didn’t take enough time to look inside and investigate what it was that I truly wanted. Try to do that from a young age.
Going to community college is a great first step to get your foot in the door and help you build the relationships needed to succeed. Getting an AA in something general like Liberal Arts sets you up to study almost anything you want.
Gain experience (paid or unpaid) in the summers before and during college and graduate school.
College Students
Everyone
This page includes information from theO*NET 29.2 Databaseby the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under theCC BY 4.0license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
