A lawyer is a person who has studied the law and represents and advises clients, who may be individuals or corporate entities. Lawyers prepare and file legal documents, but they cannot represent their clients in court because they are not licensed (a licensed lawyer is an attorney). Lawyers provide legal counsel or information and conduct legal research on laws and legislation to interpret them for individuals or business corporations.
Often the terms lawyer and attorney are used interchangeably in the United States. Still, the fundamental distinction between them is that a lawyer has not passed the Bar Examination for the state they wish to practice. Lawyers have a multitude of legal knowledge and may assist attorneys in court but are legally not allowed to represent the client.
Since you’ve decided to take up this profession, we’re here to show you the ropes of becoming a lawyer and how to construct a resume to ensure a job that kick-starts a successful career.
Knowing the different formats of a resume is the first step in writing a good one. Let’s look at the three main types of resumes:
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Job Duties of a Lawyer
A lawyer performs various tasks depending on their specialization and place of work. Their job consists of tasks required to obtain verdicts in favor of their client or advance their client’s interests in a legal setting. A lawyer’s most common job duties are as follows:
Providing legal counsel and advice to the client for the future course of action. The client may be an individual, a business, a consortium, or another legally viable entity.
Applying knowledge of laws and interpreting the legal provisions to solve client issues.
Verifying and analyzing facts by interviewing clients, witnesses, and other parties.
Understanding the client’s position and expectations concerning the case.
Informing clients about their legal rights, obligations, and available alternative routes.
Formulating a plan of action and figuring out how to accomplish the client’s goals.
Researching and studying laws, statutes act, and their amendments to design arguments to be used by an attorney. This may include reading through thousands of pages in digital journals, law books, and other information sources from many years in the past.
Maintaining professional relations with clients.
Discussing and setting fees with the client.
Drafting documents such as wills, contracts and deeds.
Checking and reviewing if the individual’s/corporation’s activities and legal material comply with laws.
Performing arbitration (an alternative to legal dispute resolution) and dispute settlement.
Lawyer Median Salary
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, lawyers’ median annual wage in May 2019 was $122,960. Lawyers’ employment rate projects to grow at 4% from 2019 to 2029, on par with other occupations.
Top Skills for Lawyers
Lawyers work as advocates and advisors, representing the clients’ best interests when drafting arbitration information and providing legal advice. Their skills enable them to perform these tasks successfully. A blend of technical knowledge and soft skills makes a good lawyer.
Here are the top skills:
- Tactful communicator: Persuasive ability and verbal manipulation skills are a lawyer’s ammunition. Extracting the opposing party’s truth is vital for a lawyer and requires tact and communication skills. Moreover, good communicative ability comes in handy in interactions, especially when presenting case updates, facts, and sensitive information to clients and colleagues. A powerful argument and tactful questioning can result in the favorable outcome of a case or help maneuver client interactions and tip the scales in your favor, making diplomatic communication crucial.
- Collaborative spirit: Working in tandem with other legal professionals such as secretaries, assistants, paralegals and members involved in the investigation is a crucial skill. It can help you gain access to meaningful and relevant information, evidence and facts. Moreover, it helps create a positive workplace atmosphere and facilitates synergy. You can successfully collaborate with your peers and colleagues by initiating a positive and constructive dialog, providing encouragement, and giving feedback.
- Competent research and investigative skills: Often, you’ll have to analyze and dissect evidence, testimonials and facts to get to the truth. In such situations, it is necessary to have an eye for factual disagreements. Furthermore, you need research abilities to find applicable laws and regulations to provide advice accordingly. One way of conducting effective and accurate research is by using e-discovery software. Legal e-discovery software like Logikcull and DISCO Ediscovery speed up the research process and provide litigation-relevant information at the drop of a hat.
- Forceful legal writing: Lawyers have to draft legal documents and paperwork regularly. Many lawyers also brief courts about cases in the reports. Fulfilling this job’s obligations and duties requires assertive writing skills. You also use legal writing knowledge while preparing for trial hearings and forming oral arguments. Additionally, a lawyer needs to be fluent in legal terms and have a vast legal vocabulary. For example, lawyers use Latin frequently, such as pro bono (for the public good, i.e., for free), and legal writing is part of a lawyer’s legal education.
- Knowledge of rules of professional conduct: Compliance with the Moral Rules of Professional Conduct, as specified by the American Bar Association (ABA), is necessary since these provide guidance and a structure to lawyers. As a member of the justice system, compliance to a set of rules and regulations affirms the credibility of a lawyer. Knowledge and obedience to these rules facilitate self-regulation and discipline.
- Legal design thinking: For legal students, a degree isn’t enough anymore. Developing your skills in different areas such as social media, marketing, and accounting is key to legal practice. Stanford Law School and the d.school have a team called the Legal Design Lab that develops strategies to progress the industry’s legal goals. The group focuses on researching the importance of better legal practices in court and online and raising the standards for better legal communication across all channels, contracts, notices and policies, among many others.
Here are some special skills:
When completing their studies, lawyers can choose to specialize in a particular field of law. They can make this choice and change it while they pursue their Juris Doctorate. They would still need to pass the Bar Examination to litigate and represent clients within these concentrations.
Some law specialization areas include Banking and Finance Law, Criminal Law, Property Law, Corporate Law, Environmental Law, among others. These specialty skills are good practice no matter which area you decide to specialize in. Each of these areas requires extensive study of existing law in that industry and a person to have a passion for their selected area to be successful.
- Contract law: Contract Law is a subcategory of Civil Law that focuses on the legally binding agreements between two or more individuals or businesses. This specific law skill is developed during a Juris Doctorate program. Still, we recommend pursuing other course electives related to specifically Civil or Contract Law to build your skills further.
- Evidence of law skills: This set of rules determines whether specific evidence can be used during a trial. These rules vary by level including, local, state, and federal. Many Juris Doctorate programs offer a course on evidence that allows you to expand your knowledge and significantly increase your chance of passing the bar exam to become a licensed professional.
- Real estate law skills: Real Estate Law, also called Real Property Law, is the law that determines the buying, selling, and use of land or property. This type of law typically only applies on the state level and varies significantly across each state. To pursue Real Estate Law, select courses centered on this subject while you follow your Juris Doctorate. You should also apply for internships during your studies at law firms that practice Real Estate Law.
- Wills and trusts knowledge: Wills and Trusts are documents drafted by an Estate Planning Attorney on behalf of a client to determine a course of action when an individual is deceased. To legally prepare these documents, you must obtain your Juris Doctorate and pass the Bar Exam.
- Remedies: This is a crucial complex skill. A remedy is a type of court-enforced legal right after an individual or person successfully wins a civil lawsuit. There are three types of possible treatments including damages, coercive remedies, and declaratory judgment. To experience remedies, you must practice under the branch of Civil Law, which deals with non-criminal disputes between two parties. While remedies are executed by judges, as a lawyer, you need to be familiar with the possible outcomes to represent your clients effectively.
Educational Requirements for Lawyers
As mentioned earlier, a lawyer may or may not have a license to practice the law. In case a lawyer does not have a permit, they cannot provide legal services and counsel or represent an individual in court. A lawyer can only provide legal information without a license. A lawyer needs a permit to obtain the right to practice law, for which they need to sit for and pass the bar examination of their jurisdiction.
A degreeYou need a bachelor’s degree, good LSAT (Law School Admission Test) scores, and various other requirements to get into a law school for a J.D. (Juris Doctor) degree. Although law schools accept qualified students from any major, taking up undergraduate majors and subjects like Business, Mathematics, Political Science, and Criminal Studies prepares students for the demanding nature of a law school education.
As per the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), a nonprofit law school support organization, the J.D. is the first law degree in the United States. This means that before practicing the law, you will need at least a J.D. The American Bar Association (ABA) has a list of 199 approved and accredited law schools that offer the Juris Doctor degree.
Although you can pursue a J.D. in a non-American Bar Association accredited law school, it won’t carry the same prestige and credibility of abiding by ABA’s standards. In a J.D. program, topics like Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Civil Law, and Legal System History are taught compulsorily. ABA-accredited law schools also have to offer at least two legal writing experiences, one in the first year and an additional one after the first year, as per accreditation guidelines. You can choose to pursue a J.D. in various fields, such as Business Law, Intellectual Property Law, Immigration Law, Family Law, etc.
CertificationCertificate programs are suitable for skill upgrading and as proof of ethical conduct, special knowledge, etc. Although these aren’t mandatory, they’re a welcome addition to your credentials. Certificate programs are usually beginner-level and more informative.
- Universities and colleges: Universities and colleges provide beginner-friendly and diploma-level courses in Law and Justice. For example, the International Career Institute provides distance-learning certificate courses in Criminal Psychology and Criminal Justice & Criminology. The latter course is a diploma-level course with no prerequisite education for enrollment and teaches psychological perspectives of crimes and psychology of civil and criminal law.
- Member associations: The American Bar Association has a complete list of ABA-accredited private organizations and state-sponsored certification programs for lawyers. For instance, the American Board of Certification (ABC) accepts written applications for certifications in Consumer Bankruptcy Law, Business Bankruptcy Law, or Creditors’ Rights Law. Only attorneys have continuously engaged in law practice for the past five years, ending on December 31 of the calendar year. The applicant files the long-form application and is eligible to apply.
- For-profit educational companies: MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) companies like Coursera and edX to beginner-level law certificates in collaboration with universities. Coursera offers a certificate course in Healthcare Law, offered by the University of Pennsylvania. Among other topics, the course teaches healthcare law and intellectual property. EdX collaborated with Harvard to offer a course in Contract Law.
LicensureAfter the completion of the J.D., a lawyer needs to obtain a license from the state bar or jurisdiction to become a licensed lawyer or an attorney. The state bar examination tests knowledge of state law and includes professional responsibility requirements and character and fitness evaluations. The (MPRE) Multistate Professional Responsibility Evaluation is mandatory in all jurisdictions except Puerto Rico and Wisconsin.
A lawyer, or an unlicensed attorney, may work as a notary, legal consultant, or paralegal. They may work in a judge’s office assisting in cases, as associates, or as clerks. It is important to note that judicial clerks or litigation associates, as confusing as the title may be, have passed the Bar Exam and practiced law for years before being in those positions.
Lawyer Resume-Writing Tips
All your toil boils down to the job you get. No matter how impressive your grades or experience, it pays off only if you get the job you want. And that requires a powerful resume that highlights all the exemplary achievements and sets you off on your career path. To boost your candidature, you need to follow these tips while writing your resume:
- Write a captivating resume summary: Often, the resume summary is the make-or-break decision for employers. If your professional summary is magnetic, the employer will read the rest of your resume. If it’s terrible, they’ll throw it out. A professional summary provides all the critical information at a glance and saves the hiring manager’s time. It should be concise and thoughtfully crafted, ensuring your best qualities and accomplishments.
- Mention quantitative achievements: The most compelling and attractive quality in a resume is numerical data. If you can quantify your achievements, for example, your exemplary grades in law school, you’ll have a better chance of getting hired. A person with a history of growth, excellence and dependability comes off as a better choice.
- Tailor your resume for each application: We do not live in a one-size-fits-all world but a custom-made one. Customize your resume for every new employer, organization, or corporation you apply to, according to the essential skills and good-to-have skills they request on a job application.
- Make your resume clean, systematic and logical: An organized resume reflects an organized mind and promotes readability and industry legitimacy. Writing your lawyer’s resume in a clean template, without over-the-top color schemes, pictures or photographs portrays professionalism.
Do I have to provide pro bono services once I become a lawyer?
Pro bono services or services for the public good "provided to people of limited means or nonprofit organizations that serve the poor" are not compulsory. However, in Rule 6.1 of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, the ABA mentions lawyers or attorneys should aspire to render at least 50 hours of Pro Bono Publico legal service per year. If the case requires legal representation, a qualified attorney takes it. If it requires legal assistance or information, a lawyer takes it.
If admitted to the bar in a state/jurisdiction, can I practice in other states/jurisdictions?
No, but there are certain exceptions. Usually, you need to take the bar exam in every state or jurisdiction you wish to practice. But, certain states have reciprocity, i.e., they have agreements with other states to enable lawyers to practice there without retaking the bar exam. There may be additional requirements to avail you of this benefit. For example, California offers a shorter bar examination to lawyers with at least four years of good standing in another state. Another example is the reciprocal agreement between Pennsylvania and other states found here.
Another exception is that a lawyer may have to provide services in a state or jurisdiction they aren’t licensed in if directed by federal or another law, statute, court rule, or judicial precedent. Check out Rule 5.5,  of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct for more.