Legal Education Resources

Patience, persistence, creativity, and sharp reasoning ability are necessary traits for someone entering the legal field. Lawyers and their assistants make up the majority of legal occupation roles. Lawyers serve as advocates for a single party in civil or criminal trials. Lawyers also can fulfill the role of advisor for their clients, counseling them on their legal rights and obligations, and advising them on the best course of action. In either capacity, lawyers research the intent of specific laws and judicial decisions with the special circumstances of their clients in mind. Lawyers have significant help in these important tasks. Paralegals, or legal assistants, assist lawyers in research, preparation for trials or meetings, and by drafting necessary documents. There are a number of areas in which a lawyer or paralegal can specialize. Some specializations include international, environmental, probate, bankruptcy, entertainment, intellectual copyright, and elder law.

Legal occupations are expected to experience a 16.2 percent growth through 2012, a change of 190,000 positions. Lawyers will see the biggest increase, claiming 118,000 of those positions. Legal assistants are projected to have the fastest growth in the industry as they take on more tasks formerly assigned to lawyers. The median annual income in 2002 for all lawyers was $90,290; for legal assistants, the median was $37,950. Source: 2002-2012 Occupational Employment Outlook compiled by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Source: 2002-2012 Occupational Employment Outlook compiled by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics

• Judges
• Magistrates
• Law Clerk
• Title Examiner
• Hearing Officer
• Abstractor
• Paralegal
• Court Reporter