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Career Exploration

Lawyers

Also called: Attorney, Attorney at Law, Attorney General, Lawyer

What they 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.

On the job, you would:
  • Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents.
  • Advise clients concerning business transactions, claim liability, advisability of prosecuting or defending lawsuits, or legal rights and obligations.
  • Select jurors, argue motions, meet with judges, and question witnesses during the course of a trial.
On the job, you'll need:

Safety and Government

  • law and government

Arts and Humanities

  • English language

Business

  • customer service
  • management

Engineering and Technology

  • computers and electronics

Basic Skills

  • listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
  • talking to others

Problem Solving

  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

People and Technology Systems

  • thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one
  • figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it

Verbal

  • communicate by speaking
  • listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
  • use rules to solve problems

Attention

  • pay attention to something without being distracted

Enterprising

People interested in this work like activities that include leading, making decisions, and business.

  • Analytical Thinking
  • Dependability
  • Integrity
  • Attention to Detail
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Initiative

Data base user interface and query software

  • LexisNexis CaseMap
  • Microsoft Access

Presentation software

  • IDEA TrialPro
  • Microsoft PowerPoint

Document management software

  • Adobe Acrobat
  • Microsoft Office SharePoint Server MOSS

Video courtesy of CareerOneStop.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for this position is Bright.

New job opportunities are very likely in the future. This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Median Annual Salary: $135,740

Education

Professional degree or doctoral degree is usually needed.