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What is a senior attorney and how to become one
A great deal of legal work, including civil and criminal litigation, is done with lawyers' teams. A senior attorney is a person who helps to manage such teams. They are usually a partner in a firm or a high-level specialist retained by one. They typically direct the preparations of the team in representing a client. The senior attorney also meets with the legal representatives from the case's opposing side. If the issue is to be argued in court, typically, the senior attorney takes the lead in conferring their team's information and arguments.
A senior attorney must possess a law degree from an accredited university law school. You must also be a member of the bar association's good standing or accrediting organization with jurisdiction in the area. A senior attorney typically works in an office environment, but you should anticipate that long hours, fieldwork, and travel are integral aspects of this job. On the other hand, you can expect your salary to lie around $90,000 annually.
What general advice would you give to a senior attorney?
Frank Alcock Ph.D.
Director of Academic Initiatives and Special Projects, Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies, New College of Florida
Avg. Salary $111,002
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 10%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.31%
Asian 6.24%
Black or African American 5.41%
Hispanic or Latino 7.62%
Unknown 4.36%
White 76.06%
Genderfemale 39.85%
male 60.15%
Age - 45American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 45Stress level is very high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Senior attorney career paths
Key steps to become a senior attorney
Explore senior attorney education requirements
Start to develop specific senior attorney skills
Skills Percentages Litigation 14.26% Law Firm 8.14% Legal Advice 7.54% Juris 7.06% Legal Research 6.94% Complete relevant senior attorney training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior attorneys 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 senior attorney based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior attorney resumes.Research senior attorney duties and responsibilities
- Manage and respond to corporate subpoenas including drafting appropriate objections and preparing witnesses for deposition.
- Manage the death administration department with approximately thirty-five plus estates through trust administration, Medicaid estate recovery or probate.
- Draft charging instruments, pleadings, subpoenas, consent agreements, orders and other documents pertaining to administrative enforcement litigation proceedings.
- Experience litigation attorney, with emphasis on management of civil and matrimonial litigation, from initial interview through trial or settlement.
Get senior attorney experience
Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a senior attorney. The most common roles before becoming a senior attorney include attorney, associate attorney team lead and associate.Prepare your senior attorney resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior attorney 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 senior attorney resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable senior attorney resume templates
Build a professional senior attorney 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 senior attorney resume.
Apply for senior attorney jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a senior attorney job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first senior attorney job
Are you a senior attorney?
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Average senior attorney salary
The average senior attorney salary in the United States is $111,002 per year or $53 per hour. Senior attorney salaries range between $67,000 and $183,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do senior attorneys rate their job?
Senior attorney reviews
As a civil litigation defense attorney I love the fact that every day is different. I enjoy assisting clients who have a problem to solve that problem in the most cost effective way, and how to avoid such problems in the future. I like that I basically set my own work schedule (other than court dates).
Billing hours. Unscrupulous opposing counsel. Occasional biased judges who do not follow the law.
Updated January 8, 2025
