What does an attorney do? Duties, job types and how a law career works

An attorney's work runs through four core functions: advising, researching and analyzing, drafting and negotiating, and representing clients when disputes arise.

The weight shifts with the job — a trial lawyer's week looks nothing like a transactions lawyer's — but these four functions are what the work is built from.

• Advising clients. Attorneys explain what the law requires, what rights and obligations a client has, and what each available course of action would mean — before a dispute starts and while one is underway.
• Researching and analyzing. They read statutes, regulations and case law and apply them to a specific set of facts, which is the raw material for every piece of advice and every argument that follows.
• Drafting and negotiating. Attorneys put advice into enforceable form — contracts, corporate agreements, wills and trusts, pleadings, motions, settlement terms — and negotiate with the other side to reach those terms.
• Representing clients in disputes. That can mean negotiating a settlement, arguing a motion, taking depositions or trying a case in court. Litigation is one branch of the job, not the whole of it.

How those duties fill a week varies with the setting.

Per BLS, most lawyers work full time and some work more than 40 hours a week, while self-employed lawyers may set their own schedules.

In everyday American usage, largely no. The two words overlap heavily, and BLS counts the occupation once, as "lawyers" (SOC 23-1011) — the same occupation every job and pay figure on this page describes.

Where anyone draws a distinction, it is about licensure rather than job function.

"Lawyer" is the broader term for a person trained in the law; "attorney" usually signals a lawyer who is licensed to practice — to advise clients, sign filings and act on a client's behalf.

For career purposes, both words describe the same job: earn the law degree, get licensed, practice.

The differences that actually shape a legal career are the settings, titles and practice areas below.

Law firms are the largest employer.

BLS's 2025 employer breakdown puts legal services at 52% of lawyer jobs, with self-employment next at 11%, then local government (8%), state government (7%) and the federal government (5%).

• Law firms (legal services, 52%). Firms range from solo practices to organizations of hundreds of lawyers. Among new graduates, NALP counted 26.4% of Class of 2025 law-firm jobs at firms of 1–10 lawyers and 33.2% at firms of 501 or more.
• Government. Local government employs 8% of lawyers, state government 7% and the federal government 5%.
• In-house. Companies and other organizations hire attorneys directly as in-house counsel to handle the organization's own contracts, compliance and disputes — serving the business rather than outside clients.
• Public interest and public service. Government, public interest organizations and judicial clerkships together took 31.0% of Class of 2025 jobs — 12.0% government, 9.0% public interest and 10.0% clerkships — per NALP. Public defense attorneys, one part of that world, represent criminal defendants who cannot afford a private attorney, per BLS.

Two counts describe the profession's size, and they measure different things.

BLS counted about 863,700 lawyer jobs in 2025.

The ABA's National Lawyer Population Survey counted 1,374,720 lawyers in 2025 — a 1.38% increase from 1,355,963 in 2024.

The first is employment; the second is the population of lawyers the ABA surveys, so the two numbers are not interchangeable.

The license is one; the titles it supports are many.

These are the titles that structure a law firm and a legal career.

• Associate attorney. The entry-level lawyer title at a law firm — a licensed lawyer who is not a partner, taking on more responsibility with experience.
• Senior associate. A firm lawyer past the first years who has not made partner.
• Of counsel. An experienced lawyer with a close, ongoing affiliation to a firm that falls short of partnership — a title firms use for senior lawyers who are neither associates nor partners.
• Law firm partner. The senior tier of a firm: partners lead the practice, carry the client relationships and, at the equity tier, share the firm's profits.
• Judicial law clerk. A lawyer working for a judge. Clerkships are typically 1- or 2-year terms, and some new graduates complete one before going into practice, per BLS.
• In-house counsel. A company's own lawyers — from staff counsel up to the general counsel — handling its contracts, compliance and disputes.
• Government attorneys. BLS counts prosecutors, public defenders and general counsel among the titles government lawyers hold, and notes that public defense attorneys represent criminal defendants who cannot afford a private attorney.
• Contract and document review attorneys. Licensed lawyers engaged for defined projects or periods rather than a permanent seat in one firm, for work like document review or contract coverage.

Practice area is the second axis of the profession: alongside the setting and the title, what kind of law you practice shapes the work.

These are the practice areas with dedicated attorney roles.

• Personal injury. Claims for people hurt in accidents, brought against insurers and the parties held responsible.
• Criminal law. Defense of people accused of crimes — and, on the other side, prosecution for the government.
• Family law. Divorce, child custody, support and related domestic matters.
• Corporate and business law. The deals, governance and contracts behind running a company.
• Litigation. Disputes in court or arbitration, across subject matters.
• Employment law. Workplace disputes, policies and compliance, for employers or employees.
• Immigration. Visas, permanent residence, citizenship and removal defense.
• Estate planning. Wills, trusts and the transfer of wealth.
• Real estate. Transactions, leases and land use.
• Bankruptcy. Debt relief and reorganization for individuals and businesses.
• Workers' compensation. Claims for workers injured on the job.
• Insurance defense. Defending insured parties and insurers in claims and lawsuits.
• Tax. Tax planning, compliance and controversy.
• Intellectual property. Patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Patent law has its own entry requirement: BLS notes patent lawyers typically need a science or engineering background and must pass a USPTO-administered exam.

The requirements come down to two.

Education: BLS lists the typical entry-level education for lawyers as a doctoral or professional degree — the law degree (Juris Doctor) earned at law school.

Licensure: lawyers typically need a state license, which usually requires passing a bar examination.

Everything around those two requirements — applying to law school, paying for it, choosing the state where you will practice — varies by person and by state.

The license itself is a state license: admission is decided state by state.

The BLS median annual wage for lawyers was $159,670 in May 2025 — half of lawyers earned more, half earned less.

The spread is wide: the lowest 10% earned less than $78,360 and the highest 10% earned more than $351,600.

Two caveats keep that figure honest.

It covers the single occupation "lawyers" (SOC 23-1011) across every practice area and setting, so it is not a per-practice-area number.

And BLS wage data exclude self-employed lawyers and owners and partners of unincorporated businesses — so the median does not describe what a solo practitioner or a law firm partner takes home.

It depends on what you weigh against what.

The demand side is steady: BLS projects lawyer employment to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations, with about 28,700 openings a year on average over the decade — many from replacing workers who retire or change occupations.

BLS also expects some routine legal work to be automated but does not expect that to reduce overall demand for lawyers.

The personal side is where the pay spread above matters: a single median sits on top of very different outcomes across the profession, so the real question is usually not "is law worth it" but "which version of this job is worth it for me."

LawFirmHires is a job board built only for legal jobs — attorneys and every role that supports them, from paralegals to firm administration.

Current openings are listed at attorney jobs, and the board is updated as firms post new roles.

Career information, not legal advice. Bar admission rules are set state by state, and they change — confirm anything that matters to your plans with the admitting authority in the state where you intend to practice.