What does a defense attorney do?
A defense attorney serves as an advocate for individuals accused of committing crimes, representing and defending them at court to prove their innocence or negotiate plea bargains. As a defense attorney, they are responsible for studying everything about the case, preparing legal documents, gathering evidence, conducting interviews with the client and potential witnesses, coordinating with paralegals, and developing different strategies to defend the client during the court proceedings. They also provide counseling to clients, offer legal advice, give them updates about the case, and help them understand the procedures and risks.
Defense attorney responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real defense attorney resumes:
- Manage cases from intake through arbitration, trial, or settlement.
- Excel at client relations, court advocacy, arbitration, counseling, and composing demurrers and motions for summary judgment.
- Provide legal representation covering all facets of insurance litigation, including extensive fraud and exaggerate claims.
- Represent clients in civil litigation matters including workers' compensation, automobile liability, commercial, and general liability cases.
- Experience with plaintiff's personal injury from inception through settlement.
- Enforce compliance with state ethics, education, and business laws.
- Guide clients through every stage of the court process from arraignment to appeals.
- Exercise special statutory authority to enforce compliance of state ethics, education, and business laws.
- Prepare and argue extraordinary writs in the trial court, appellate division, and appellate court levels.
- Represent indigent clients charge with and/or convict of criminal offenses in trials and appeals ranging from drug possession to homicide.
- Represent defendants in the mediation and conciliation process.
- Provide presentation and legal defense of insure persons in personal injury actions through mediation and/or trial.
- Draft motions, settlement agreements, respond to discovery and prepare various other pleadings in basic and complex foreclosure litigation.
- Handle probate matters such as the opening of estates for wrongful death cases and prepare accounts and inventories.
- Coordinate prosecutions with other federal and state prosecutors' offices.
Defense attorney skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of Defense Attorneys are proficient in Litigation, Insurance Defense, and Law Firm. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Defense Attorneys that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Litigation, 23%
Provided legal representation covering all facets of insurance litigation, including extensive fraud and exaggerated claims.
- Insurance Defense, 12%
Specialized in trucking insurance defense.
- Law Firm, 7%
Manage all business operations of the law firm including bookkeeping and marketing.
- Legal Issues, 7%
Participate in client development and marketing, including drafting blog entries and articles regarding legal issues.
- Legal Research, 7%
Conduct extensive discovery investigations and legal research.
- Civil Litigation, 6%
Conducted and drafted settlement negotiations for civil litigation matters, offered credit counseling, loan modification and short sale assistance.
Most defense attorneys use their skills in "litigation," "insurance defense," and "law firm" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential defense attorney responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a defense attorney to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what defense attorneys do because "lawyers interpret the law as it applies to their client’s case." Additionally, a defense attorney resume shows how defense attorneys use analytical skills: "perform analysis of voluminous discovery documents in complex litigation. "
Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform defense attorney duties is interpersonal skills. Defense attorneys responsibilities require that "lawyers must build relationships with current and prospective clients, as well as with their colleagues and other members of the legal community." Defense attorneys also use interpersonal skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "leveraged interpersonal skills to explain to juries complex legal issues and obtain convictions. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of defense attorneys is problem-solving skills. This skill is critical to many everyday defense attorney duties, as "lawyers must evaluate information to propose viable solutions, mediate disputes, and reach agreements or settlements for their clients." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "represented clients in mediations, arbitrations and settlement negotiations from the first notice of a claim through trial or other resolution. "
Research skills. A big part of what defense attorneys do relies on "research skills." You can see how essential it is to defense attorney responsibilities because "lawyers need to find laws and regulations that apply to a specific matter in order to provide appropriate legal advice for their clients." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical defense attorney tasks: "researched and wrote briefs and motions for pre-trial litigation. "
The three companies that hire the most defense attorneys are:
- Liberty Mutual Insurance16 defense attorneys jobs
- Progressive7 defense attorneys jobs
- Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp5 defense attorneys jobs
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Compare different defense attorneys
Defense attorney vs. Bankruptcy specialist
The bankruptcy specialist is responsible for filing and documentation loan bankruptcy materials with the appropriate attorneys. They ensure full compliance with loan bankruptcy regulations and monitor accounts throughout the loan bankruptcy process to contact the appropriate party when necessary. A bankruptcy specialist might be an administrator or lawyer in a bankruptcy office and supports bankruptcy law. They are likely to evaluate state declaration and affidavits for legal progression, interact with customers and outside counsel about bankruptcy proceedings through written and verbal communication, and work with local counsel and upper management in effectively reviewing client's files.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between defense attorneys and bankruptcy specialist. For instance, defense attorney responsibilities require skills such as "insurance defense," "law firm," "legal issues," and "legal research." Whereas a bankruptcy specialist is skilled in "relief," "pacer," "foreclosure," and "msp." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Bankruptcy specialists really shine in the finance industry with an average salary of $47,222. Comparatively, defense attorneys tend to make the most money in the professional industry with an average salary of $104,923.On average, bankruptcy specialists reach similar levels of education than defense attorneys. Bankruptcy specialists are 0.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 49.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Defense attorney vs. Lawyer
A lawyer is a legal practitioner who specializes in understanding and interpreting laws and other legal matters. Their responsibilities revolve around providing legal counseling and advice, representing clients in different kinds of court proceedings, conducting research, collecting evidence, and coordinating with various experts. A lawyer must also manage and oversee the performance of assistants, paralegals, and other team members. Furthermore, there are instances when a lawyer must draft or manage documents such as contracts, trusts, deeds, and wills, assisting clients as needed.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that defense attorney responsibilities requires skills like "insurance defense," "oral arguments," "motion practice," and "legal representation." But a lawyer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "real estate," "civil law," "legal advice," and "intellectual property."
Lawyers earn higher levels of education than defense attorneys in general. They're 10.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 49.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Defense attorney vs. Council member
A Litigation Associate offers legal advice for individuals involved in lawsuits and represents them in court. They prepare pleading, collect evidence, defend depositions, and manage the client database.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, defense attorneys are more likely to have skills like "litigation," "insurance defense," "law firm," and "legal issues." But a council member is more likely to have skills like "public policy," "finance committee," "community outreach," and "alumni."
When it comes to education, council members tend to earn higher degree levels compared to defense attorneys. In fact, they're 9.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 46.6% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Defense attorney vs. Litigation associate
Types of defense attorney
Updated January 8, 2025
