Is the demand for lawyers increasing or decreasing?
Asked by: Jenifer Moore DDS | Last update: April 21, 2025Score: 4.6/5 (24 votes)
What is the current law career outlook? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts the overall employment of lawyers to increase by 10% from 2021 to 2031. This rate is faster than the average for all occupations and translates to an average of 48,700 openings for lawyers each year over the next decade.
Why is the demand for lawyers increasing?
As modern industries (like tech, healthcare, and intellectual property) evolve, the need for specialized legal expertise grows. Lawyers now often need familiarity with fields like cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, or environmental science to address increasingly complex legal problems.
Are lawyers in high demand right now?
Are Lawyers in Demand? Yes, lawyers in all sectors of law are in demand. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job outlook for lawyers is expected to grow 8% from the years 2022 to 2032. This translates to just over 39,000 job openings for lawyers each year in this time frame.
Are lawyers growing or declining?
Growth of the legal profession
Over the past decade, the number of lawyers nationwide has grown by more than 41,000, according to the survey — an increase of 3.2% from 2014 to 2024.
Will lawyers be in high demand in the future?
As technology continues to reshape industries and global regulatory environments become more complex, legal professionals who are equipped with a combination of legal expertise and technical knowledge will be in the highest demand.
As the Amount Of Lawyers Increases, Are the Number Of Law Firms Decreasing? & More on M&A LMP
Is the law industry growing?
Overall, with demand high across law firm segments through most of the year, the industry is “stable,” and the practice areas that drove activity this year will likely continue to be strong next year, wrote the authors of the 2025 Citi Hildebrandt Client Advisory, published Thursday.
Is being a lawyer demanding?
Lawyers often work long hours under intense pressure. Many grapple with high volumes of cases, work to extremely strict deadlines, and come into conflict with clients and opposing counsel. This also impacts lawyers' work-life balance, affecting their life outside working hours.
Are lawyers becoming oversaturated?
Law School Myth 5:
The job market for lawyers is oversaturated. While it is true that there are more law school graduates than there are jobs available in some markets, the job market for lawyers is actually quite strong overall.
What field of law is most in demand?
- Intellectual property law. ...
- Family law. ...
- Immigration & naturalization law. ...
- Real estate law. ...
- Contract management. ...
- Compliance. ...
- Labor and employment. ...
- Corporate transactions. Also known as mergers and acquisitions, or M&A, this work navigates the buying and selling of companies and their assets.
Are lawyers losing their jobs?
Sept 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. legal services sector lost 4,200 jobs in August, new Labor Department data showed on Friday, reaching its lowest level so far this year. Legal sector jobs totaled 1,175,700 last month, according to preliminary seasonally adjusted data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Will lawyers become more or less popular?
Legal trends in 2025 and beyond
There currently are more than 1.3 million lawyers in the US, with job growth projected to increase up to 15% between 2023 and 2033. As the emerging areas of law grow, the need for lawyers practicing in these specialized fields will also grow.
Are lawyer salaries going up?
Wage trends
The average lawyer wage shot up 19.2% over the two years from 2021-2023 — the biggest two-year leap this century, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As of May 2023, the average lawyer wage was $176,470. That does not include profits for law firm partners and shareholders.
Why are so many lawyers quitting?
Senior lawyers have previously said that young lawyers leave firms because they suffer from high burnout rates, making it difficult for them to maintain teams that can meet the high volume of work.
Who is the most famous lawyer of all time?
- Thomas Jefferson. We'll start at the beginning. ...
- Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln was also a lawyer, though he didn't go to law school. ...
- Clarence Darrow. ...
- Thurgood Marshall. ...
- Sandra Day O'Connor. ...
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg. ...
- Alan Dershowitz. ...
- Johnnie Cochran.
What is lawyers on demand?
Lawyers On Demand (LOD) is a business providing flexible legal services. In light of the differences in the regulation of legal services and legal resourcing in the jurisdictions where LOD has offices, there are differences in the way LOD operates and is structured in each country.
What kind of attorney makes the most money?
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.
How hard is the bar exam?
The bar exam is hard. In fact, it may be one of the most difficult challenges you ever embark on. You must memorize numerous laws and consume a lot of knowledge to answer questions correctly. For many, it feels like trying to hold sand in your hands, knowing that you'll inevitably lose much of it.
What is the future need for lawyers?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median annual wage for lawyers in May 2023 was $145,760. Employment for lawyers is projected to grow 8% annually through 2032, which is faster than the average for all occupations. This equates to roughly 39,100 job openings each year over the next decade.
Will I be poor as a lawyer?
Lucrative career
Lawyers have the ability to earn a generous income. 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.
Is it hard to find a job with a law degree?
Many law students and graduated law students struggle to find a job after law school. It is no secret that the legal job market is at an all-time low.
What percentage of lawyers quit?
The 2023 findings from 128 participating firms in the U.S. and Canada, reflect data from 5,236 associate hires and 3,875 associate departures. The findings also revealed an overall 2023 associate attrition rate of 18%, continuing the decline from 2022's 20% and 2021's historically high 26%.
What is the future outlook for lawyers?
Employment of lawyers is projected to grow 5 percent from 2023 to 2033, about as fast as the average for all occupations. About 35,600 openings for lawyers are projected each year, on average, over the decade.
What is the easiest lawyer to become?
The easiest law to practice is often considered to be estate planning. This involves helping clients prepare for the distribution of their assets upon death or incapacitation, making it relatively straightforward compared to other legal fields.
What lawyers are most in demand?
Some of the most universally in-demand legal specialties include intellectual property law, family law, immigration law, real estate law, and corporate law. Other quickly growing areas of law also include intellectual property law, data privacy and cybersecurity law, litigation, and labor and employment law.
Are lawyers in high demand in the US?
According to data by AccessLex, most lawyers (98%) secured employment in their first year as J.D graduates in 2022. This trend will likely continue as the BLS projects an average of 35,600 new job openings for lawyers every year from 2023 to 2033.