Legal
Lawyers
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.
Also called: Attorney, Attorney at Law, Attorney General, Counsel, County Attorney, District Attorney
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $183,350
- $88.15/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- 20,080
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- 0.0%
- 790 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- Doctoral or professional degree
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $84,280 | $128,670 | $183,350 | $309,920 | $379,350 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d do
- Interpret laws, rulings and regulations for individuals and businesses.
- Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents.
- 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.
- Represent clients in court or before government agencies.
- Evaluate findings and develop strategies and arguments in preparation for presentation of cases.
- Advise clients concerning business transactions, claim liability, advisability of prosecuting or defending lawsuits, or legal rights and obligations.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Higher exposure86 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 89
- Language-model AIOE 93
- GPTs-are-GPTs 76
Observed AI use today: Substantial (Anthropic Economic Index)
AI exposure for this job is higher, and observed AI use is substantial. AI tools can help with legal research, reading rulings and regulations, drafting documents, and comparing past cases. They do not replace representing clients in court, interviewing witnesses, or using judgment on strategy.
Likely to change
- Legal research and reviewing past cases
- Drafting and reviewing legal documents
Still relies on people
- Representing clients in court
- Interviewing clients and weighing case strategy
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
0 programs near Boston (plus 20 graduate)
No programs below a master’s degree near Boston map to this job. Tick the box above to see graduate programs.
Related occupations
- Judicial Law Clerks
- Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers
- Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates
- Compliance Officers
- Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators
- Law Teachers, Postsecondary
- Labor Relations Specialists
- Financial Specialists, All Other
- Chief Executives
- Paralegals and Legal Assistants
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