Lawyers are known as advocates, counselors and advisers and their prime role in society is to represent the needs of their clients. Lawyers are also called “attorneys” and their daily work consists of, among other duties, interpreting laws to specific clients as well as drafting new laws. While their prime role is the same, lawyers vary in terms of their specializations. Some lawyers deal with human crimes, some with corporate issues, some with international law, some with real estate, some with environmental law, and some on other fields.
Lawyers have various job duties and students who aspire to be lawyers need to have multi-tasking abilities, excellent communication skills in both oral and written, strong analytical skills, and a rigid discipline and dedication to the study of the vocation. A law degree is a must. Formal law education usually takes 3-4 years, depending on the school. The more prominent and recognized a law school is, the better it is usually for the graduate. But regardless of school, grades are highly valued as well.
Lawyers generally earn high salaries ranging from $70,000 to $140,000 in annual earnings. State and local government lawyers earn around $70,000 to $80,000 per year while federal government lawyers average $100,000 to $110,000 per year. Those who entered practice in large law firms started with salaries ranging from $34,000 to $80,000 per year. The District of Columbia not only has the highest number of lawyers in all states; its lawyers also receive the highest salaries with annual earnings of around $143,520.