Lawyer

What does a lawyer do?

• Advise clients on their legal rights, duties and options.
• Research laws, regulations and earlier court decisions that apply to a case.
• Draft and review contracts, wills and other legal documents.
• Negotiate settlements and agreements on behalf of clients.
• Prepare cases and present arguments in courts and tribunals.
• Help organisations understand and follow the laws that apply to them.

Where do they work?

Lawyers work in private law firms of every size, in the legal departments of companies and banks, and for governments, courts, prosecution services and non-profit organisations. Some work alone or in small partnerships that serve local clients. Most of the work is office-based, with time in court, at meetings or with clients. Long hours are common, especially in large commercial firms and before trials or deal deadlines.

What skills do you need?

• Legal research and analysis
• Clear and precise writing
• Persuasive speaking and negotiation
• Attention to detail
• Critical thinking and sound judgement
• Professional ethics and discretion
• Commercial awareness
• Managing heavy workloads and deadlines

Official skills profile (ESCO)

Essential skills listed for this occupation in ESCO, the European Commission's multilingual classification of skills and occupations.

• negotiate lawyer's fee
• negotiate in legal cases
• analyse legal evidence
• represent clients in courts
• respond to enquiries
• observe confidentiality
• present arguments persuasively
• compile legal documents
• interpret law
• present legal arguments
• protect client interests

Essential knowledge: court procedures · legal case management

How do you become a lawyer?

In most of the world, including the UK and civil-law countries such as France, Germany and Brazil, you study law as a first degree that lasts three to five years. In the United States and most of Canada, law is a graduate degree: you first complete a bachelor's degree in any subject and then a three-year Juris Doctor (JD). After your studies, most countries require you to pass a bar exam or other professional exams, often with a period of supervised practical training. Graduates in other subjects can often switch through a law conversion course or a JD.

1. Law as a first degree. In most countries you can start a law degree straight after school. It usually lasts three to five years and covers core areas such as contract, criminal, constitutional and property law. You then complete professional exams, a vocational course or a traineeship before you are admitted as a lawyer.
2. Graduate law degree (JD). In the United States and most of Canada, you need a bachelor's degree in any subject before law school. The Juris Doctor usually takes three years of full-time study. In the United States you must then pass a state bar exam, and in Canada provincial licensing usually includes exams and a period of supervised work called articling.
3. Conversion course or apprenticeship. Graduates in other subjects can often retrain through a law conversion course or a shortened second degree in law. In England and Wales, you can also qualify as a solicitor through a long apprenticeship with a law firm, which combines paid work with study. These routes still end with the same professional exams.

Degrees that lead to this career

• Law

  A law degree teaches how legal systems work and how to find, interpret and apply the law, from contracts and crime to human rights.

  6 linked careers

• Politics

  A politics degree, often called political science, studies how power works: how governments are chosen and run, how laws and policies are made, and why people and countries cooperate or come into conflict.

  6 linked careers

• History

  A history degree studies how societies, cultures, economies and ideas have changed over time, using evidence such as documents, objects and people's memories.

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• Philosophy

  A philosophy degree trains you to think clearly about difficult questions, such as what we can know, what is right and wrong, and how minds, language and societies work.

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• Criminology

  A criminology degree studies crime, why people commit it and how societies respond through policing, courts, prisons and prevention.

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Do you need a licence to work as a lawyer?

Law is a licensed profession almost everywhere. To practise, you must be admitted by a bar association, law society, court or national regulator, usually after passing exams and character checks. Admission applies to one jurisdiction, so moving to another country, or in the United States to another state, often means more exams. In several legal systems, such as England and Wales and Ireland, the profession is split between solicitors and barristers. Check the rules with the regulator where you plan to work.

How much does a lawyer earn?

Pay in the United States

• $159,670Median annual wage, May 2025
• $78,360–$351,600Range from the lowest-paid 10% to the highest-paid 10%
• 754.5KPeople employed in the US

US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, SOC 23-1011, May 2025. National estimates across all industries; excludes the self-employed.

Earnings of Professionals around the world

Most countries do not publish pay for single job titles. The International Labour Organization collects median monthly earnings for broad occupation groups instead. This career belongs to ISCO-08 major group 2, "Professionals". The table covers the whole group, which includes lawyer and many other occupations.

Source: ILOSTAT, median monthly earnings of employees, latest year available. PPP$ adjusts for price differences between countries so figures can be compared. "vs all employees" compares the group's median with the median for all occupations in the same country.

Career progression

1. Trainee or junior lawyer
2. Associate
3. Senior associate
4. Partner or head of an in-house legal team
5. Senior partner, general counsel or judge

Job outlook

People, businesses and governments keep needing advice on contracts, disputes, regulation, employment, data protection and crime, so demand for lawyers is steady in most countries. Competition for training places and jobs at large firms is intense, and many law graduates build careers outside law. AI tools are taking over some research, document review and drafting that junior lawyers used to do, so employers increasingly value judgement, client skills and specialist knowledge. Legal qualifications are tied to one country, which limits mobility.

Questions about becoming a lawyer

How long does it take to become a lawyer?

It depends on the country. Where law is a first degree, it usually takes three to five years of study plus one to three years of professional exams and training. In the United States, you need a four-year bachelor's degree, a three-year JD and the bar exam, so about seven years after school. In countries with long practical training, such as Germany, it can also take around seven years.

Can you become a lawyer without a law degree?

It depends on the country. In the United States and Canada, your first degree can be in any subject, but you then need a JD from a law school. In England and Wales, graduates in any subject can qualify through a conversion course or the solicitor exams, and solicitor apprenticeships accept school leavers. In most civil-law countries, such as France and Germany, a law degree is essential.

What is the difference between a solicitor and a barrister?

In countries with a split legal profession, such as England and Wales, Ireland and parts of Australia, solicitors usually advise clients directly, handle documents and transactions, and prepare cases. Barristers specialise in arguing cases in court and giving expert legal opinions, and they are often self-employed and hired through a solicitor. The line has blurred over time, and in most other countries one lawyer can do both types of work.

Can a lawyer practise law in another country?

Not automatically. Law qualifications are linked to one legal system, so you usually need to pass extra exams or a transfer test and meet local admission rules. Some countries let foreign lawyers advise on the law of their home country. International law firms, arbitration and in-house roles in multinational companies also offer ways to work abroad. Check the rules with the regulator in the country you plan to move to.

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Sources

1. US Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — SOC 23-1011, national estimates, May 2025
2. ILOSTAT — Median monthly earnings of employees by occupation — ISCO-08 major groups, latest year per country
3. European Commission — ESCO occupation profile — ESCO code 2611.1

How to cite this page: CourseToJob (2026). How to become a lawyer: degrees, skills and salary. https://coursetojob.com/careers/lawyer/ (accessed September 26, 2026)

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