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What does a Lawyer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted Expert
Shelley Sadin
What does a Lawyer do

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.

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Lawyer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real lawyer resumes:

  • Participate in drafting legal documents and prepare business contracts, perform taxation duties for the enterprise and settle disputes with employees.
  • Handle all types of civil claims and provide notary services
  • Review of complaints relate to judicial ethics and employee misconduct.
  • Draft, proofread and ensure filing and service of criminal motions.
  • Draft a variety of pleadings and motions on behalf of the plaintiff.
  • Assist clients at the notary public office and negotiate licensing agreements for virtual data rooms.
  • Promote legality and transparency of the ministry s actions through interpretation and legal analyses.
  • Track and supervise successful case management of European, German, and international IP and commercial litigation proceedings.
  • Provide litigation support by leading case investigations, gathering underwriting, claim, and agency information and subpoena responses.
  • Represent individual and institutional clients in all aspects of commercial and residential real estate acquisition, financing and leasing and foreclosure.
  • Conduct successful mediations on behalf of clients.
  • Represent clients in mediations; conduct negotiations with defense attorneys and claims adjusters.
  • Prepare cases for emergency removal hearings and trials before the court including preparing witnesses and filing motions and subpoenas.
  • Handle arbitration hearings and relate matters.
  • Serve as guardian ad litem as appointed by circuit court judges to represent children in insurance settlement hearings.

Lawyer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 14% of Lawyers are proficient in Litigation, Law Firm, and Legal Issues. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.

We break down the percentage of Lawyers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Litigation, 14%

    Listed in first edition of Best's Directories of Recommended Insurance Attorneys and Adjusters Quarterly Communication -Member Council for Litigation Management

  • Law Firm, 8%

    Handled various administrative responsibilities within a Law Firm or Legal Department.

  • Legal Issues, 7%

    Conducted investigative research on legal issues related to international intellectual property and trade as well as IP and international trade matters.

  • Real Estate, 6%

    Provided legal advice to corporate clients regarding business, taxation and real estate transactions and oversaw in corporate negotiations.

  • Legal Research, 6%

    Performed legal research and drafted interoffice memorandums regarding Nevada law, including consolidating multiple cases and peer review privilege.

  • Civil Law, 5%

    Conducted criminal and civil lawsuit, drew up legal document and advised clients as to legal rights.

Most lawyers use their skills in "litigation," "law firm," and "legal issues" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential lawyer responsibilities here:

Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a lawyer to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "lawyers interpret the law as it applies to their client’s case." Additionally, a lawyer resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "document review and analysis fnma litigation case with specific attention to accounting details. "

Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform lawyer duties is interpersonal skills. Lawyers 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." Lawyers also use interpersonal skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "demonstrated effective interpersonal skills through working closely with office of general counsel and administrative appeals judges. "

Problem-solving skills. lawyers are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to lawyer responsibilities, because "lawyers must evaluate information to propose viable solutions, mediate disputes, and reach agreements or settlements for their clients." A lawyer resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "represented international clients in litigation and resolution of anti-counterfeiting actions worldwide. "

Research skills. A big part of what lawyers do relies on "research skills." You can see how essential it is to lawyer 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 lawyer tasks: "prepared cases for litigation by performing legal research and gathering necessary legal documentation. "

Most common lawyer skills

The three companies that hire the most lawyers are:

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Compare different lawyers

Lawyer vs. Student attorney

A Senior Attorney supervises all activities of junior attorneys and deals with all complex legal transactions. They identify legal issues and offer businesses and their customers optimum solutions, as well as ensure that businesses respond appropriately to any legislative changes.

The annual salary of student attorneys is $10,623 lower than the average salary of lawyers.Even though lawyers and student attorneys are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require legal issues, legal research, and legal advice in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a lawyer are more likely to require skills like "litigation," "law firm," "real estate," and "civil law." On the other hand, a job as a student attorney requires skills like "domestic violence," "fact investigation," "irs," and "low-income clients." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

The education levels that student attorneys earn slightly differ from lawyers. In particular, student attorneys are 8.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a lawyer. Additionally, they're 1.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Lawyer vs. Senior attorney

An Assistant Staff Attorney performs a wide range of clerical and administrative work that requires knowledge of legal terms, documents, and procedures. They also communicate with clients to keep them informed on case progress.

A career as a senior attorney brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a lawyer. In fact, senior attorneys salary is $4,806 lower than the salary of lawyers per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Lawyers and senior attorneys both require similar skills like "litigation," "law firm," and "legal issues" to carry out their responsibilities.

Each career also uses different skills, according to real lawyer resumes. While lawyer responsibilities can utilize skills like "real estate," "civil law," "corporate law," and "contract law," senior attorneys use skills like "eeo," "internal clients," "excellent interpersonal," and "risk management."

Average education levels between the two professions vary. Senior attorneys tend to reach lower levels of education than lawyers. In fact, they're 7.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Lawyers in the next 3-5 years?

Shelley SadinShelley Sadin LinkedIn Profile

Associate Dean of Professional and Career Development, Quinnipiac University

We cannot predict this, given how rapidly technology is advancing. We can say that remote meetings have taken over. Zoom use has increased exponentially, and distant court proceedings in Connecticut are being held via Microsoft Teams. Graduates will generally need to adapt to new technologies as they are introduced to keep up with the people and businesses they hope to represent.

Lawyer vs. Assistant state attorney

A Document Review Attorney reviews various types of legal documents, such as contract and employment law, intellectual property, and commercial litigation, to identify any areas of risk or information that may need correction.

An average assistant state attorney eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of lawyers. The difference in salaries amounts to assistant state attorneys earning a $33,553 lower average salary than lawyers.By looking over several lawyers and assistant state attorneys resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "litigation," "legal issues," and "legal research." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from lawyer resumes include skills like "law firm," "real estate," "civil law," and "intellectual property," whereas an assistant state attorney is more likely to list skills in "appeals," "rehabilitation," "law enforcement agencies," and "criminal division. "

Most assistant state attorneys achieve a lower degree level compared to lawyers. For example, they're 10.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 24.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Lawyer vs. Document review attorney

Document review attorneys typically earn lower pay than lawyers. On average, document review attorneys earn a $34,627 lower salary per year.According to resumes from lawyers and document review attorneys, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "litigation," "law firm," and "legal issues. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A lawyer uses "real estate," "legal research," "civil law," and "legal advice." Document review attorneys are more likely to have duties that require skills in "complex litigation," "e-discovery software," "qc," and "attorney-client privilege. "The average resume of document review attorneys showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to lawyers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 8.5% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 33.6%.

Types of lawyer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.