Legal Occupations
Employment of legal occupations is projected to grow 5 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average, which will result in about 64,600 new jobs.
The median annual wage for legal occupations was $79,650 in May 2016, which was higher than the median annual wage for all occupations of $37,040.
| OCCUPATION | JOB SUMMARY | ENTRY-LEVEL EDUCATION  |
2016 MEDIAN PAY |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators |
Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators facilitate negotiation and dialogue between disputing parties to help resolve conflicts outside of the court system. |
Bachelor's degree | $59,770 |
|
Court Reporters |
Court reporters create word-for-word transcriptions at trials, depositions, and other legal proceedings. Some court reporters provide captioning for television and real-time translation for deaf or hard-of-hearing people at public events, in business meetings, or in classrooms. |
Postsecondary nondegree award | $51,320 |
|
Judges and Hearing Officers |
Judges and hearing officers apply the law by overseeing the legal process in courts. They also conduct pretrial hearings, resolve administrative disputes, facilitate negotiations between opposing parties, and issue legal decisions. |
Doctoral or professional degree | $109,940 |
|
Lawyers |
Lawyers advise and represent individuals, businesses, and government agencies on legal issues and disputes. |
Doctoral or professional degree | $118,160 |
|
Paralegals and Legal Assistants |
Paralegals and legal assistants do a variety of tasks to support lawyers, including maintaining and organizing files, conducting legal research, and drafting documents. |
Associate's degree | $49,500 |
Publish Date: Thursday, December 17, 2015
