Which field of lawyer makes the most money?

Asked by: Tre Hill DVM  |  Last update: July 31, 2025
Score: 4.2/5 (35 votes)

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.

What type of lawyer gets paid most?

Corporate and tax lawyers tend to be the highest earners, with patent and IP lawyers not far behind. Trial lawyers also pull down a lot of money, particularly in the civil litigation field.

How to make $500,000 a year as a lawyer?

How can a lawyer make 500k a year?
  1. Create an SEO for Lawyers Strategy.
  2. Build a Solid Law Firm Website.
  3. Write Engaging Attorney Content.
  4. Start a Lawyer PPC Campaign.
  5. Register Your Law Firm in Relevant Listings and Directories.
  6. Engage in Reputation Management for Lawyers.

Which law field earns the most?

Highest Paying Law Career #1: Corporate Tax Lawyer

Big sort companies and prominent individuals always aim to comply with tax-related issues. To avoid legal problems with smaller industries or government agencies, they hire top lawyers in India for tax management and legal assistance when necessary.

What is the best lawyer to make money?

As of 2024, the top five highest paid types of lawyers are:
  • Patent Attorneys.
  • Intellectual property (IP) Attorneys.
  • Trial Lawyers.
  • Tax Attorneys.
  • Corporate Lawyers.

Big Law's Big Paychecks: Partner Compensation, Explained

29 related questions found

What field of law is most in demand?

Which Legal Fields Are 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.

Can lawyers be millionaire?

Regions that are financial and business hubs, like New York, California, and Washington D.C., boast a significant portion of the lawyer millionaire demographic.

What branch of law pays the most?

Highest-Paid Types of Lawyers
  • 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.
  • Criminal defense lawyer: $86,000.
  • Immigration lawyer: $83,000.

What is the lowest paying law field?

We find that within the legal industry, certain segments are known to offer lower compensation. Typically, public defenders, legal aid attorneys, and lawyers working for nonprofit organizations are among the lowest paid.

Which field of law is best?

Corporate law, criminal law, human rights law, and tax law are some of the most popular specialities in law that students can select from their law school among the legal courses given in various specialisations. It takes a lot of patience to practise law as a profession. Law is one of our most prosperous professions.

Is 700k a good salary?

Earning $700,000 a year would put your household in the top 1% nationwide — and well above the middle class — and in any state in the South or Midwest. But that still won't cut it in seven states. The Northeast dominates the rankings, with five of the 10 states with the highest 1% thresholds lying in this region.

How rich is the average lawyer?

In general, the five highest-paying states for lawyers are as follows: California ($201,530) Massachusetts ($196,230) New York ($188,900)

Can lawyers make 300k a year?

Well, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for attorneys in the US is just over $125,000. The highest-paid lawyers (10% of the legal workforce) make over $208,000 However, the top 1% of attorneys make $500,000 or more per year.

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.

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.

What are the most in demand law fields in 2024?

Legal industry insiders, such as SeltzerFontaine, have deemed elder law, labor law, privacy and cybersecurity, cannabis, energy and environmental, intellectual property, and health law as the hot and emerging legal specialties of 2024.

What kind of law pays the best?

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 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 hardest law degree to get?

The hardest law school to get into is Yale Law School, with an acceptance rate of 5.5%. Followed by: Stanford Law School: 7% acceptance rate. The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School: 3.8% acceptance rate.

What is the best major for law?

The best major for prospective law school students is Political Science. Political Science offers a deep understanding of government, legal systems, and political theory. It also hones your critical thinking, analytical skills, and communication— key to law school and being a successful lawyer.

How to make more money as a lawyer?

How to Make More Money as a Lawyer
  1. Establish Your Thought Leadership. It doesn't matter if you're a personal injury lawyer or patent attorney. ...
  2. Get More Positive Testimonials and Manage Your Reputation. ...
  3. Focus on Business Development. ...
  4. Build a Million-Dollar Digital Marketing Engine. ...
  5. Hire Experts to Handle Non-Billable Work.

What type of lawyer makes the most money in the world?

Patent Attorney

Patent lawyers are the highest-paid types of lawyer in the legal world. Patent attorneys are responsible for protecting the intellectual property rights of inventions. Usually, the job of patent attorneys is to help inventors or creators to prepare, file, draft, and submit their patent applications.

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 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.