Headline risk
2%
Very Low RiskLawyers
United States AI Work Index tracks this occupation on the shared structural baseline and then layers on local demand resilience, wages, and confidence.
Why This Score
Share of job tasks that overlap with current AI capabilities
Median annual wage
Projected employment change over 10 years
Typical preparation needed for this occupation
Occupation profile
Represent clients in criminal and civil litigation and other legal proceedings, draw up legal documents, or manage or advise clients on legal transactions. May specialize in a single area or may practice broadly in many areas of law.
Task evidence
95% weighted task match · 12% effective coverage
Scores combine AI task overlap, human advantages, and local demand. How it works
United States Now
Median Wage
USD 151,160
Employment 2024
864.8K
Projected Change (2024–34)
4.1%
Openings (2024–34)
31.5K
Wage distribution
Demand outlook
Employment of lawyers is projected to grow 4 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Role Profile
Tasks
- 1. Interpret laws, rulings and regulations for individuals and businesses. AI use: 75%
- 2. Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents. AI use: 0%
- 3. Examine legal data to determine advisability of defending or prosecuting lawsuit. AI use: 0%
- 4. Prepare, draft, and review legal documents, such as wills, deeds, patent applications, mortgages, leases, and contracts. AI use: 0%
- 5. Gather evidence to formulate defense or to initiate legal actions by such means as interviewing clients and witnesses to ascertain the facts of a case. AI use: 0%
- 6. Confer with colleagues with specialties in appropriate areas of legal issue to establish and verify bases for legal proceedings. AI use: 0%
Technologies
Requirements
Work context
Worker profile
Median age 46.4 · 1.1M employed
Under 25: 0% · 25–54: 69% · 55+: 30%
Related
Source coverage
11/11 source families · O*NET 30.2 / OEWS 2024 / ORS 2025 / OOH 2025-08-28 / Projections 2024-34 / CPS 2025 / Anthropic task penetration
Mapping quality
crosswalk_exact · employment series present
Narrative & sources
Lawyers advise and represent clients on legal proceedings or transactions.
Lawyers work for a variety of organizations, usually in office settings. Some work for federal, local, or state governments. Most work full time, and some work more than 40 hours per week.
Lawyers typically need a law degree and a state license, which usually requires passing a bar examination.
The median annual wage for lawyers was $151,160 in May 2024.
Employment of lawyers is projected to grow 4 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Published limitations
This page shows the local country layer, not realised individual job outcomes. The global structural baseline is shared across countries; only the local demand and wage layer changes here.
Built from O*NET occupation descriptions, task statements, technology skills, work context, Job Zones, Anthropic task penetration, BLS OEWS wages, BLS projection tables, BLS ORS requirements, BLS OOH narrative content, BLS skills data, and BLS CPS occupation age tables.