Lawyer jobs: skills, pay and how to get hired
Updated 5 Nov 2026. Figures from the jobs in our search, not the whole market.
Contents
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What a lawyer in a company or a law firm does
This page is about lawyers who apply for jobs with a CV: in-house counsel in a company's legal department, and associates, senior associates, counsel and partners in a law firm. In a company, the lawyer works for one client, the business: contracts with customers and suppliers, staff questions, disputes, new rules and the deals the board plans. In a law firm, the lawyer advises many clients in one area of law and records the time spent on each.
The work is reading, writing and negotiating more than standing in court. A good day ends with a signed contract, a clear answer to a manager or a risk stopped early. The steps from associate or in-house counsel to partner or general counsel are in the career paths of this role.
The skills the ads ask for
We read a sample of the ads every day and count the skills they name. On a computer, hover a skill in the text to see its share; on a phone, the table has the same figures.
| Skill | Share of ads | What is expected |
|---|---|---|
| Compliance | 3% | Turn rules into processes a business follows, and check that it does: policies, training, reporting. |
| Corporate Law | 3% | Company structures, boards and shareholders, and the documents of a sale or a merger. |
| Negotiation | 3% | Prepare the positions, know what can be given, and reach a text both sides sign. |
| GDPR | 3% | Personal data in contracts and systems: lawful basis, processors, transfers, rights of the people concerned. |
| Employment Law | 7% | Contracts of employment, dismissals, works councils and disputes with staff, in the law of the country. |
| Litigation | 7% | Run or steer a dispute: the facts, the evidence, the deadlines of the court and the chance of a settlement. |
| Independent work | 7% | Own a file from first question to signed result, and know when to ask a senior. |
| Communication skills | 8% | Explain a legal risk in a few plain sentences, with a recommendation, to people who are not lawyers. |
| Microsoft 365 | 27% | Word with tracked changes and comparison, clean templates, and email that a business reads to the end. |
| Stakeholder management | 2% | Work with sales, HR, finance and the board, each with their own deadlines and appetite for risk. |
| English | 17% | The language of most cross-border contracts, international groups and many legal databases. |
| German | 31% | Asked for in most ads in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where the courts and most contracts use German. |
Shares of the lawyer ads we read in the last 7 days, as of 5 Nov 2026. Our ads, not the whole market.
The areas of law come first: contract lawDraft, review and negotiate the contracts a business signs every week, and know which clauses carry the risk. in nearly every role, corporate lawAsked in 3% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Company structures, boards and shareholders, and the documents of a sale or a merger. for groups and deals, employment lawAsked in 7% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Contracts of employment, dismissals, works councils and disputes with staff, in the law of the country. where staff questions arrive daily, and litigationAsked in 7% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Run or steer a dispute: the facts, the evidence, the deadlines of the court and the chance of a settlement. for disputes. Many ads add complianceAsked in 3% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Turn rules into processes a business follows, and check that it does: policies, training, reporting. and data protection under the GDPR, the EU's rules on personal data, and some ask for enough tax lawEnough to see when a deal or a contract has tax effects and to bring the tax specialists in early. to spot the tax side of a deal.
The working skills are named as often: negotiationAsked in 3% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Prepare the positions, know what can be given, and reach a text both sides sign. with the other side, plain explanationsAsked in 8% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Explain a legal risk in a few plain sentences, with a recommendation, to people who are not lawyers. for people who are not lawyers, practical solutionsFind the real question behind the request and the practical way through, not only the legal answer., owning a fileAsked in 7% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Own a file from first question to signed result, and know when to ask a senior. from start to end, working with many departmentsAsked in 2% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Work with sales, HR, finance and the board, each with their own deadlines and appetite for risk. and the everyday tools of Microsoft 365Asked in 27% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Word with tracked changes and comparison, clean templates, and email that a business reads to the end.. EnglishAsked in 17% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).The language of most cross-border contracts, international groups and many legal databases. is asked for in most international roles, GermanAsked in 31% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Asked for in most ads in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where the courts and most contracts use German. in most ads in German-speaking countries, and FrenchAsked for in parts of Switzerland and in groups with French-speaking companies or clients. in parts of Switzerland.
Where the jobs are, country by country
Each country below has its own figures: which cities have the most jobs in our list, whether the number is going up or down, how often ads offer remote or hybrid work, the titles used in the country, and pay ranges from published research, in the local currency.
Germany
20% of the ads offer hybrid work, and 30% are fully remote.
Pay (Base salary)
- Entry level: €50,000 to €59,600 a year
- Mid-level: €59,600 to €80,200 a year
- Senior: €82,500 to €115,790 a year
Total pay: the German sources give base salary only, with no figures for bonuses.
Entry level runs from StepStone's starting figure for Juristen to the low end of its legal counsel range; mid-level is StepStone's legal counsel range; senior runs from StepStone's figure for experienced Juristen to the top of Indeed's legal counsel range. No source used here covers the starting pay of large law firms.
Sources: StepStone: Jurist (2026), StepStone: legal counsel (2026), Indeed: legal counsel (Oct 2026).
Pay researched on 28 Oct 2026.
Admission: in Germany, lawyers study law and pass two state exams, with a practical legal training of about two years between them; with both exams a lawyer is called Volljurist. To work under the protected title Rechtsanwalt, a lawyer is admitted by a regional bar, the Rechtsanwaltskammer. A lawyer employed by a company can be admitted as Syndikusrechtsanwalt for the legal work done for that employer.
Titles: German ads say Rechtsanwalt, Syndikusrechtsanwalt, Jurist, Unternehmensjurist or Legal Counsel, and many ask for both state exams. GermanAsked in 31% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Asked for in most ads in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where the courts and most contracts use German. is asked for in most ads, often with EnglishAsked in 17% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).The language of most cross-border contracts, international groups and many legal databases. for international work.
Job figures as of 5 Nov 2026.
United States
43% of the ads offer hybrid work, and 28% are fully remote.
98% of the ads that say are full-time.
Pay (Base salary)
- Entry level: $65,000 to $95,904 a year
- Mid-level: $95,904 to $141,166 a year
- Senior: $141,166 to $202,000 a year
Total pay: Payscale gives associate attorneys bonuses of about $1,000 to $21,000 and profit sharing of about $500 to $16,000 a year, and corporate counsel bonuses of about $5,000 to $35,000 and profit sharing of about $2,000 to $31,000.
Entry level runs from the low end of Payscale's associate attorney range to its average; mid-level from there to Payscale's corporate counsel average; senior from that average to the top of the corporate counsel range. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the top tenth of lawyers above $351,600 (May 2025). Law firm partners share profits, for which no comparable source exists.
Sources: Payscale: associate attorney (Sep 2026), Payscale: corporate counsel (Jun 2026), US Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025).
Pay researched on 28 Oct 2026.
Admission: in the US, lawyers usually complete a law degree, the JD, and are admitted to the bar of each state where they practise, after that state's bar exam and a review of character. Many US states let in-house lawyers admitted elsewhere register to work for their employer.
How the work is offered: US ads mostly offer full-time employment, in law firms with a target of billable hours and in companies with a legal department.
Job figures as of 5 Nov 2026.
United Kingdom
Most lawyer jobs in our list are in London, Leeds and Nottingham.
17% of the ads offer hybrid work, and 39% are fully remote.
Pay (Base salary)
- Entry level: £34,089 to £60,698 a year
- Mid-level: £46,000 to £68,422 a year
- Senior: £68,422 to £114,000 a year
Total pay: Payscale gives UK legal counsel bonuses of about £2,000 to £21,000 a year.
Entry level runs from the low end of Indeed's range for legal counsel to its average; mid-level from the low end of Payscale's legal counsel range to its average; senior from that average to the top of Payscale's range, which was last updated in September 2025. York, Bristol, Edinburgh and London lead Indeed's city figures.
Sources: Indeed: legal counsel (Oct 2026), Payscale: legal counsel (Sep 2025).
Pay researched on 28 Oct 2026.
Two professions: in England and Wales, solicitors qualify through the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, the SQE, with two years of qualifying work experience, and are regulated by the SRA, the UK's Solicitors Regulation Authority. A barrister is called to the bar after the bar course and a pupillage, and is regulated by the UK's Bar Standards Board. Scotland and Northern Ireland have routes of their own. Most law firm and in-house roles that ask for a CV are written for solicitors.
Job figures as of 5 Nov 2026.
Switzerland
Pay (Base salary)
- Entry level: CHF 56,000 to CHF 85,168 a year
- Mid-level: CHF 85,168 to CHF 125,919 a year
- Senior: CHF 138,453 to CHF 187,000 a year
Total pay: Payscale gives Swiss legal counsel bonuses of up to about CHF 40,000 a year, from few salaries.
The Swiss figures are thin. Entry level runs from the low end of Payscale's legal counsel range to the low end of Lohncheck's middle range for Juristen; mid-level is Lohncheck's middle range; senior runs from Indeed's legal counsel average, which rests on very few salaries, to the top of Payscale's range.
Sources: Lohncheck: Jurist (Q1 2026), Payscale: legal counsel (Sep 2025), Indeed: legal counsel (Sep 2026).
Pay researched on 28 Oct 2026.
Admission: in Switzerland, lawyers complete a law degree, a traineeship and the bar exam of a canton, and are entered in a cantonal register of lawyers, which lets them represent clients in court across Switzerland. The register asks for independence from clients, so lawyers employed by a company are usually not entered in it. Ads in French- and Italian-speaking cantons ask for FrenchAsked for in parts of Switzerland and in groups with French-speaking companies or clients. or Italian.
India
Pay (Base salary)
- Entry level: ₹2.37 lakh to ₹5.84 lakh a year
- Mid-level: ₹3.66 lakh to ₹12.52 lakh a year
- Senior: ₹12.52 lakh to ₹30 lakh a year
Total pay: Payscale gives legal counsel in India bonuses of about ₹50,000 to ₹5.5 lakh and profit sharing of up to about ₹4 lakh a year.
Entry level runs from the low end of Payscale's associate attorney range, which rests on few salaries, to its average; mid-level from the low end of Payscale's legal counsel range to its average; senior from that average to the top of the range.
Sources: Payscale: associate attorney (Oct 2026), Payscale: legal counsel (Mar 2026).
Pay researched on 28 Oct 2026.
Enrolment: in India, law graduates enrol as advocates with a State Bar Council and pass the All India Bar Examination of the Bar Council of India before they practise in court. Under the rules of the Bar Council of India, an advocate who takes a salaried job in a company usually suspends practice, and the role is then called legal manager or counsel.
Routes into the profession by country
Each country has its own route into the profession: in Germany two state exams and admission as Rechtsanwalt or, for lawyers in companies, as Syndikusrechtsanwalt; in the US admission to the bar of each state; in the UK the solicitor route through the SQE or the barrister route through the bar course and pupillage; in Switzerland the cantonal bar exam; in India enrolment with a State Bar Council and the exam of the Bar Council of India. Each route takes years of study and supervised practice, and each country's section above says more.
Many roles in companies do not need the admission itself, only the law degree and the training behind it, while court work and some titles do. This page describes the routes in plain words; it is not legal or career advice. The bar, law society or regulator of your country sets the rules that apply to you, and they change.
Your CV for a lawyer job
A lawyer's CV is read twice: by hiring software that matches the ad's words, and by a general counsel or a partner who wants to know which matters you handled, for which kind of client and how far you took them yourself. Give both the keywords and the matters.
Use the keywords the ads use
- Name the areas of law as the ad does: "commercial contracts", "corporate", "employment", "litigation", "data protection", "compliance". The skills table above shows which keywords the ads use most.
- Describe matters, not only employers: the type of matter, the size or value where it can be said, your part and the result.
- Write your admission or exam stage as it stands, with dates, and anything you are still taking, such as the second state exam in Germany or an SQE stage in the UK, as "in progress" with the planned date.
- Name the languages you work in, because many legal roles are cross-border.
Prove each skill
A legal line proves itself with a matter you ran, a risk you removed or a process you set up: the kind of problem, what you did and what the business gained.
| Skill | Weak line | Strong line, with proof |
|---|---|---|
| Contract lawDraft, review and negotiate the contracts a business signs every week, and know which clauses carry the risk. | Drafted and reviewed contracts. | Rewrote the company's sales terms and the template for software licences; sales signs most deals now without a legal review. |
| NegotiationAsked in 3% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Prepare the positions, know what can be given, and reach a text both sides sign. | Negotiated with counterparties. | Negotiated the supply agreement with the company's largest customer, capping liability at a year's fees after two failed rounds. |
| DisputesAsked in 7% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Run or steer a dispute: the facts, the evidence, the deadlines of the court and the chance of a settlement. | Handled litigation. | Steered a warranty dispute with outside counsel to a settlement below the reserve the board had set. |
| Data protectionAsked in 3% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Personal data in contracts and systems: lawful basis, processors, transfers, rights of the people concerned. | Data protection experience. | Set up the processor agreements and the record of processing for a new HR system before it went live. |
| CorporateAsked in 3% of lawyer ads (as of 5 Nov 2026).Company structures, boards and shareholders, and the documents of a sale or a merger. | Corporate work. | Ran the legal due diligence on a small acquisition with a team of three; findings closed before signing. |
Keep clients and confidential matters anonymous unless they are public; describe the industry and the type of matter instead, which is what hiring partners expect.
How we read our data
- The jobs: the lawyer jobs in our job search (lawyer, attorney, solicitor, legal counsel and the German titles Rechtsanwalt, Syndikusrechtsanwalt and Jurist), matched by their titles the way the search matches them. Our list is not the whole market, so we give shares and rankings, never counts.
- The skills: every day we read a sample of these ads and count the skills in them with a fixed word list. Only the counts are kept, never the text of an ad.
- Pay: from published salary research, each source named with its date, as a range from entry level to senior. Our ads are not used for it.
- Dates: every figure is worked out again each day and shows the day it was worked out.
Frequently asked questions
- What does a lawyer in a company do?
- Advises the business on contracts, staff, disputes and new rules, negotiates with other companies and works with outside law firms on the largest matters.
- What is the difference between in-house counsel and a law firm associate?
- In-house counsel work for one company and its decisions; associates in a law firm advise many clients in one area of law and record their time.
- Do I need to be admitted to work as a lawyer in a company?
- It depends on the country and the role; each country's section names the route. This is not legal or career advice; the bar or regulator of your country sets the rules.
- Which area of law has the most jobs?
- The skills table on this page shows which areas of law the ads name most, with the current shares and the day they were worked out.
- What should a lawyer's CV show first?
- The areas of law, the matters you handled and how far you took them, the kind of clients, your admission or exam stage, and your working languages.
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