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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Occupational Requirements Survey > Publications > Factsheets

Legal occupations

Two lawyers looking at page in a book This occupational group includes lawyers, judicial law clerks, judges, arbitrators, mediators, conciliators, paralegals, legal assistants, court reporters, title examiners, abstractors, and searchers.

For terms and definitions in this profile, see definitions of major terms.

Cognitive and mental requirements

The qualifications that workers need to use judgment, make decisions, interact with others, and adapt to changes in jobs.

In 2025, more than basic people skills were required for greater than 95 percent of legal workers. Basic people skills were required for less than 5 percent.

Table 1. Percentage of legal workers with cognitive and mental requirements, 2025
Requirement	Yes	No
Work schedule varies	37.9	62.1
Ability to pause work (and take brief unscheduled breaks)	93.4	6.6
Working around crowds	<0.5	>99.5
Telework routinely allowed	58.2	41.8
Supervising others	13.1	86.9
Supervisor present in immediate work area	57.0	43.0
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey

Education, training, and experience requirements

The minimum level of formal education required, credentials necessary, on-the-job training, and prior work experience necessary for average performance in jobs. The time associated with these requirements is combined to calculate the specific vocational preparation level needed for the job.

In 2025, prior work experience was required for 65.2 percent of legal workers and on-the-job training was required for 76.8 percent.

A professional degree was required for 55.9 percent of legal workers.

Environmental conditions

The various hazards or difficulties that are in the area where workers perform their critical tasks.

In 2025, a quiet noise exposure was present for 39.8 percent of legal workers. Another 60.2 percent were exposed to moderate noise, less than 0.5 percent were exposed to loud noise, and less than 0.5 percent to very loud noise. Personal protective equipment (PPE) was used by less than 0.5 percent of workers to mitigate noise exposure and was not used by greater than 99.5 percent.

Physical demands

The physical activities required to perform tasks in jobs. The presence and, in some cases, duration of these activities are published.

In 2025, speaking was required for greater than 99.5 percent of legal workers and was not required for less than 0.5 percent. For less than 0.5 percent of workers, speaking was seldom required, for 57.8 percent speaking was occasionally required, for 41.3 percent speaking was frequently required, and for less than 5 percent speaking was required constantly.

Performing work in low postures was required for 5.3 percent of legal workers and was not required for 94.7 percent.

The choice to sit or stand when performing critical tasks was available to 87.6 percent of legal workers. On average, workers spent 87.7 percent of the workday sitting and 12.3 percent of the workday standing.

Table 2. Percentage of legal workers with physical demands, 2025
Requirement	Yes	No
Ability to choose to sit or stand for tasks	87.6	12.4
Driving	37.1	62.9
Climbing structure-related ramps or stairs	7.6	92.4
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey