Do lawyers make a million dollars a year?

Asked by: Ewald Ward  |  Last update: December 3, 2025
Score: 4.6/5 (17 votes)

Lawyers in these states earn the highest median salaries: California ($175,680) New York ($172,880) Massachusetts ($161,530)

Can you make millions a year as a lawyer?

Can Lawyers Earn a Million Dollars? Despite your legal expertise, the chances of making a million dollars as an independent attorney are low. However, you might earn a million-dollar salary if you become a senior partner at a major firm or start your own practice.

What is the highest salary for a lawyer?

Highest-Paid Types of Lawyers
  • Patent attorney: $180,000.
  • Intellectual property (IP) attorney: $162,000.
  • Trial lawyer: $134,000.
  • Tax attorney: $122,000.
  • Corporate lawyer: $115,000.
  • Medical lawyer: $113,000.
  • Real estate lawyer: $98,000.
  • Family lawyer: $93,000.

Can being a lawyer make me a millionaire?

Yes, a corporate lawyer has the potential to become a millionaire, just like professionals in many other fields. Corporate lawyers often work on complex legal matters, mergers and acquisitions, high-stakes negotiations, and more.

What type of lawyer makes millions?

Patent Attorney Salary

Patent attorneys are the highest-paid type of lawyers, with an average salary of $185,351, ranging from $119,88 to $285,530. Various factors contribute to a patent attorney's average salary, including experience, firm, location, and subject matter expertise.

She Makes a MILLION Dollars a Year as a Lawyer

44 related questions found

What type of law is the richest?

Highest Paid Types of Lawyer: Which Law Specializations Lead
  • Corporate Lawyers.
  • Tax Attorneys.
  • Trial Lawyers.
  • Intellectual Property Lawyers.
  • Medical Lawyers.
  • Real Estate Attorneys.
  • Immigration Lawyers.
  • Admiralty (Maritime) Lawyers.

Can lawyers make 7 figures?

Corporate Lawyer (Partner)

Though that's far from pocket change, it's certainly not landing you in the earnings tier of a millionaire. That said, corporate lawyers generally stand to make the most and can pull in seven figures a year — if they make partner.

Are lawyers generally rich?

Although some lawyers are extraordinarily wealthy, being a lawyer alone is rarely a means to achieve extreme wealth. Indeed, the vast majority of lawyers earn relatively modest incomes among other professionals in the workforce.

Do lawyers make good CEOs?

We found that CEOs with legal training were associated with higher firm value, but only in a subset of firms, specifically, in high-growth firms and firms with large amounts of litigation. Outside of this setting, however, the effect of CEOs with legal training on firm value was negative.

What percent of lawyers are millionaires?

My math says 0.3%-0.35%. There are 4100 biglaw attorneys who rake in a million a year or more, which is 0.31% of all attorneys; the 100 highest paid GCs average $2.7 million per year, and there are easily just as many solo or small-firm attorneys who also make that much.

Can a lawyer make 500k a year?

Absolutely, that is an achievable income. It all depends on your area of expertise and the client you work for. Attorneys who specialize in corporate law or work closely with companies to battle litigation cases or draft terms and conditions can earn more than those who work with smaller clients.

What is the highest paying job in the world?

Topping the list, being a CEO gets you the highest paying job in the world, no matter where you work. A CEO is the highest-ranked position in any organisation's structure. Irrespective of the company's size, a CEO handles all its day-to-day corporate affairs, manages resources and handles all managerial processes.

Is being a lawyer worth it?

Lucrative career

They make a national average salary of $50,979 per year . Though you may not earn this income as a new lawyer, you can work your way toward this salary with enough hard work and experience. However, finding satisfaction in your specific field may be worth more than your annual salary.

How to make 500k a year?

13 jobs that can pay over $500k a year
  1. Actor.
  2. Author.
  3. Accountant.
  4. Insurance agent.
  5. Investment banker.
  6. Professional athlete.
  7. Entrepreneur.
  8. Hedge fund manager.

How hard is law school?

In summary, law school is hard. Harder than regular college or universities, in terms of stress, workload, and required commitment. But about 40,000 people graduate from law schools every year–so it is clearly attainable.

Can lawyers make 300k a year?

More experienced lawyers, those with 11-15 years of experience, earn notably more. Of those in practice 11-15 years, 35% earn between $200,000-$249,999, and 18% reported earning $250,000-$299,999.

Are lawyers highly intelligent?

According to the American Bar Association, various studies have shown that lawyers overall score high in certain forms of intelligence—typically the cognitive intelligences of linguistics and logical/mathematical—but low in emotional intelligence.

What type of lawyer is the most successful?

What are the highest-paid types of lawyers? The highest-paid lawyers typically specialize in fields such as corporate law, intellectual property, tax law, medical malpractice, and entertainment law. These areas command higher salaries due to the complexity, demand, and financial stakes involved.

How many CEOs have a law degree?

I collaborated with Irena Hutton, Danling Jiang, and Matt Pierson to compare the behavior of CEOs with law degrees with those who earned a bachelor's degree, MBA, or other degree. We looked at about 3,500 CEOs, about 9% of whom have law degrees.

Can I become a millionaire as a lawyer?

With the right combination of determination, strategic planning, and resilience, becoming a millionaire lawyer is an attainable goal. Pursue your career with ambition and the understanding that your financial success is deeply intertwined with your professional development and dedication to your specialty.

Are lawyers or bankers richer?

On Wall Street, Lawyers Make More Than Bankers Now - WSJ.

Are lawyers richer than doctors?

According to the BLS, medical doctors which include both medical doctors (MDs) and doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs) earned an annual median salary of $208,000 per year in 2016. Lawyers, according to the BLS, had an annual median salary of $118,160 in 2016, a significant difference between them of $89,840.

What is a 1 figure salary?

How much does a 1 Figure make? As of Jan 21, 2025, the average annual pay for a 1 Figure in the United States is $167,480 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $80.52 an hour.

Do lawyers make 200k a year?

The median starting salary is $215,000 in 11 cities and geographic areas. They are Austin, Texas; Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Houston; Los Angeles/Orange County, California; New York City; San Diego; San Francisco; Silicon Valley in California; and the Washington, D.C., area.

What jobs pay 7 figures?

7 figure income jobs
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