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Legal Career Guide

A law or legal degree is among the most versatile academic credentials, as many industries would fail to operate effectively without legal or regulatory oversight. This means there are wide-ranging career opportunities for people with legal training.

Lawyers, paralegals, and legal assistants are often sought after by large corporations. Hospitals, pharmacy chains, insurance companies, medical equipment manufacturers, and a slew of other employers beyond the healthcare industry also hire legal professionals to help them navigate the nuances and intricacies of new and existing laws with far-reaching implications.

Showing employers and recruitment specialists that you have a unique insight into a particular specialty area may help you stand out in a large pool of job candidates. And one way to acquire specialized expertise and skills is to earn a Master of Legal Studies (MLS) or a Master of Laws (LL.M.), both of which require an earned Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree.

The job titles for law and legal studies graduates are numerous, so we compiled some legal career options and a guide by work setting, job title, and type of degree for students to browse:

Career Guide by Job Title

The legal career guides below share general steps to begin or continue your legal career. Be sure to check with relevant universities and states for credentials, licensure, and other information.

How to Become a Paralegal

The prefix “para” means beside or side by side. Paralegals work closely with attorneys. Paralegals conduct client interviews, locate and interview witnesses, conduct legal research, draft legal documents, summarize depositions, and more.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of paralegals and legal assistants is projected to change little, if at all, from 2024 to 2034. BLS projects about 39,300 openings for paralegals and legal assistants each year, on average, over the decade, with most openings expected to come from workers leaving the occupation or exiting the labor force. Law firms are expected to remain the largest employer of paralegals and legal assistants, but BLS notes that employment growth may be limited by advances in technology, including artificial intelligence, which may make some legal research and document-preparation tasks more efficient.

If you’re interested in working as a paralegal, explore our career guide on how to become a paralegal or our other resources on:

How to Become a Compliance Officer

These specialists ensure that projects and tasks are carried out and completed “by the book.” In other words, compliance officers are responsible for carefully examining and evaluating all aspects of a project and ensuring that all stakeholders adhere to all laws and regulations within the governing contract.

This profession can take you to a variety of settings, including the financial services industry, telecommunications companies, and healthcare facilities. Tax examiners and construction and building inspectors are just two types of compliance professionals.

Learn more about how to become a compliance officer or our other resources on:

How to Become a Lawyer

A Juris Doctor qualifies you to sit for the bar exam to become a practicing attorney – and may open the door to a challenging but rewarding legal career. Lawyers have the opportunity to provide services in a specialty area of their choosing, such as divorce, property, or tax law.

Learn more about how to become a lawyer or our other resources on:

How to Become a Mediator

A mediator, as a neutral third party, facilitates communication and negotiation between parties and helps them reach a mutually acceptable solution. Mediation areas may include business, family, employment, intellectual property, and more.

Learn more about how to become a mediator or our other resources on:

Career Options by Types of Legal Degrees

While different types of law degree programs may share similarities in the foundational courses offered, each degree has its own requirements, unique electives, and career paths. Read the guide below to learn more about legal career options associated with each degree type.

What Can You Do with a Master’s in Legal Studies?

An MLS is a graduate degree for people who’re interested in working in law but don’t want to become licensed attorneys. With a master’s in legal studies, you can pursue a career in many of the same niches as those with a J.D can, such as taxation, labor law, or intellectual property.

Learn about what you can do with a master’s in legal studies.

What Can You Do with a Law Degree?

A Juris Doctor degree may qualify students to sit for the bar exam in most states. Apart from becoming a lawyer, there are a number of careers you can pursue with this degree, even without passing the bar exam.

Learn about what you can do with a law degree.

Career Options with a Master’s in Tax Law

This graduate degree equips you with the expertise to go beyond handling accounting matters to advising businesses and individuals on tax strategies. You may help corporations legally limit their tax liabilities, or work with families to flesh out estate and retirement plans.

Learn about career options with a master’s in tax law.

Careers in Dispute ResolutionArbitrators. Claims adjusters. Mediators. Ombudsmen. Jobs in dispute resolution go by many names. But what they tend to have in common is that they call for someone with diplomacy, strong communication qualities, deep listening skills, problem-solving chops, and emotional intelligence.

Learn more about career options in dispute resolution.

Legal Careers by Work SettingBelow is an overview of three common work settings where students can pursue a career in the legal industry.

Work in Law Firms

Law firms hire people with varying levels of legal training, from attorneys with Juris Doctor (J.D.) degrees on their walls down to legal assistants with two-year associate degrees. Hires may be expected to complete tasks including researching case law, writing briefs, and preparing cases for depositions and trials. The responsibilities you are given are typically based on your level of education, years of experience, and whether or not you are a licensed attorney.

Legal practices can be small with less than 100 employees, or multinational. They may handle civil or criminal cases, or both. Some law firms specialize in acquisitions and mergers, environmental issues, estate planning, divorces, tax law, or a myriad of other niches.

To learn more about the scope of work at law firms, explore our Guide to Law Firm Work.

Work in Government

Government bodies enact, adjudicate, and enforce laws and regulations. Lawyers may work for federal, state, or local government agencies in roles related to prosecution, public defense, regulatory compliance, litigation, policy, and legal advising. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, lawyers held about 897,900 jobs in 2024, with 18% employed in local, state, or federal government.

Here are some examples of U.S. executive agencies legal professionals can consider working for:

With so many agencies to choose from, the key is to look for roles that align with your interests, training, or professional background. If you’re an MLS graduate who’s passionate about urban planning, for example, you might decide to work for your city’s zoning board. State child welfare agencies do hire legal, policy, compliance, contract, and program staff, but “writing statutes” is usually legislative work. Agency staff may help interpret, implement, draft policy around, or advise on laws and regulations. For example, New York’s child welfare materials describe manuals and guidance that incorporate current law, regulation, guidelines, and procedures.

With so many agencies to choose from, the key is to look for roles that match your interests, education, and professional background. An MLS graduate interested in urban planning, for example, might look for law-adjacent roles with a city planning department, zoning board, or board of appeals, where legal knowledge can be useful in work involving land use, public hearings, permits, variances, and local regulations. Someone interested in child welfare might consider roles with a state or local child welfare agency focused on policy, compliance, contracts, investigations support, or program administration. Other options may include compliance-focused roles related to workplace safety, such as OSHA compliance work, or, for those who also earn a JD and meet attorney licensing requirements, government attorney roles in areas such as intellectual property, regulatory law, or agency counsel.

To learn more about legal careers in government, explore our Guide to Government Work.

Work in Private Sector

Private employers include businesses, health organizations, educational institutions, consultancies, nonprofits, and more. Depending on the employer, certain positions may require a J.D., a master’s-level law degree such as an MLS, or simply a bachelor’s or degree with or without a legal concentration.

Types of legal jobs in the private sector include:

  • Lobbyist
  • Arbitrator
  • Policy Researcher
  • Compliance Officer
  • Patent Expert
  • Mediator
  • Paralegal
  • Administrative Manager
  • Legal Journalism

No matter the job title, legal professionals in the private sector act as legal advocates on behalf of their employers, drawing on sharp thinking, attention to detail, and a robust knowledge of legal terminology and best practices. If you’ve earned an MLS degree, your program may have taught you compliance skills, which can be particularly useful in contracting and sales departments of large firms — or conflict resolution skills, which can come in handy if you end up working in the human resources or labor relations department of a company.

Information on this page was last retrieved in June 2026.