How To Become A Criminal Defense Lawyer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a criminal defense lawyer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Hanna Royce,

Jennifer Brobst

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a criminal defense lawyer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $29.46 an hour? That's $61,271 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 80,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a criminal defense lawyer?

Hanna Royce

Assistant Dean of Career Services, University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law

Graduates should keep their network active. This includes them taking the time to re-engage with the members of their network on a regular basis and continuing to make new contacts. They should make it a priority to stay in touch with their classmates and professors. They might be looking for a new position in the future, and their legal network can help them locate opportunities through the hidden job market.

Many graduates are securing remote positions. To be successful in a remote environment, employees need to make the extra effort to communicate and stay connected with colleagues. Even when employees are telecommuting, they should dress as if they are going into the office. This can help them with productivity and illustrate their professionalism when meeting with colleagues or clients.

ScoreCriminal Defense LawyerUS Average

Salary

4.8

Avg. Salary $61,271

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.31%

Asian 6.41%

Black or African American 5.58%

Hispanic or Latino 7.81%

Unknown 4.38%

White 75.50%

Gender

female 50.50%

male 49.50%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a criminal defense lawyer

Explore criminal defense lawyer education requirements

Most common criminal defense lawyer degrees

Bachelor's

41.2 %

Doctorate

27.8 %

Associate

16.5 %

Start to develop specific criminal defense lawyer skills

Skills	Percentages
Trial Preparation	22.67%
Litigation	17.70%
Law Firm	16.73%
Criminal Cases	12.32%
Legal Research	8.35%

Complete relevant criminal defense lawyer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New criminal defense lawyers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a criminal defense lawyer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real criminal defense lawyer resumes.

Research criminal defense lawyer duties and responsibilities

Create PowerPoint presentation used to train staff on managing copyright and trademark infringement risk.
Represent clients at all phases of litigation from investigations to case filing, jury trials, and appeals.
Issue and serve subpoenas for personal appearance at trial or hearing.
Major personal injury, wrongful death litigation (construction site, auto-trucking, products etc .).

Prepare your criminal defense lawyer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your criminal defense lawyer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a criminal defense lawyer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable criminal defense lawyer resume templates

Build a professional criminal defense lawyer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your criminal defense lawyer resume.