Hiring Lawyers

What do lawyers do?

• Interpret laws, rulings and regulations for individuals and businesses.
• Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents.
• Gather evidence to formulate defense or to initiate legal actions by such means as interviewing clients and witnesses to ascertain the facts of a case.
• Represent clients in court or before government agencies.
• Evaluate findings and develop strategies and arguments in preparation for presentation of cases.
• Advise clients concerning business transactions, claim liability, advisability of prosecuting or defending lawsuits, or legal rights and obligations.

Core tasks, O*NET OnLine, 23-1011.00.

What does it take to become one?

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

O*NET Job Zone 5, SVP (8.0 and above). O*NET OnLine.

Employers commonly list experience with Microsoft Office software, Adobe Acrobat, Google Analytics, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Excel for this role.

What do lawyers get paid?

BLS OEWS, May 2025 publishes a wage for lawyers in 90 of the metro areas in this build. The median ranges from $97,870 to $301,320 a year depending on the metro, with a midpoint of $133,220. This is what employers pay, place of work, not a single national figure and not what any one person takes home.

BLS OEWS, BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 23-1011.

What does hiring one cost?

The same as any role: tier, not location or salary, sets the fee. Across all six tiers the published range is $6,240 to $54,340 per search. For scale, the highest published median for lawyers in this build is $301,320. A contingency firm hiring at that level would bill roughly $60,264 to $90,396 on the first year salary alone, 20 to 30%.

Frequently asked

How fast can a lawyers search fill?

23 to 35 days, 2 to 3x faster than a typical contingency search, per the recruiting provider's published figures.

What if the hire does not work out?

A 45-day replacement guarantee, at 50% off a repeat search for the same role.