How Much Does a Business Lawyer Make?

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<b>Education Required</b>
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Bachelor's degree (business or accounting is preferred); a law school degree and passing the bar examination are additional requirements before practicing law.</td></tr> <tr><td>
<b>Key Responsibilities</b>
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Analytical skills; writing, speaking, and researching skills; problem-solving skills</td></tr> <tr><td>
<b>Job Growth (2020-2030)</b>
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9% (about as fast as average, for all lawyers)*</td></tr> <tr><td>
<b>Median Salary (2020)</b>
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$126,930 (for all lawyers)*</td></tr> </table><p>Source: *<i>US Bureau of Labor Statistics</i> </p><h3 id="section---WhatAreTheTypesOfBusinessLawyers">What are the Types of <a href="https://Learn.org/articles/What_is_the_Average_Entry-Level_Salary_for_Business_Law_Graduates.html">Business</a> Lawyers?</h3><p>Business lawyers have multiple functions in corporations. They represent their companies as corporate attorneys in civil and criminal litigation, represent the company in bankruptcy matters and handle other legal tasks to look out for the best interest of the company. Specifically, business lawyers can be involved in transactional, company litigation and regulatory law. </p><h4 id="section---TransactionLawyer">Transaction Lawyer</h4><p>Transactional lawyering involves negotiating sales, crafting important documents and offering legal advice in the corporate arena. The main goal of transaction lawyers is negotiating and documenting the complex contracts that make up a small or large enterprise. </p><h4 id="section---BusinessLitigators">Business Litigators</h4><p>Sometimes transactions do not go well and court-based litigation is required. Business litigators may handle corporate takeovers, suits against shareholders and bankruptcy issues. Litigation may take place in front of a judge or between the parties and a mediator. </p><h4 id="section---RegulatoryLawyer">Regulatory Lawyer</h4><p>Government regulations control business activities and are the focus of regulatory law. Regulatory lawyers work with businesses in ironing out problems that may arise with government agencies. Businesses that generally employ regulation lawyers are banks, insurance companies and firms governed by security laws. In addition, since taxes are within the scope of government rule, tax lawyers are a part of regulation law. </p><h3 id="section---WhatAreTheSalaries">What are the Salaries?</h3><p>According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for all lawyers was $126,930 in May of 2020 (<i>www.bls.gov</i>). The salary of business lawyers may vary based on what specialty area they work in. According to <i>PayScale.com</i> in December 2021, corporate attorneys earned a median salary of $117,827, while lawyers who worked in litigation made a median salary of $99,906. Regulatory law attorneys, meanwhile, earned an annual median salary of $110,248. </p><h3 id="section---WhatAreSomeRelatedAlternativeCareers">What Are Some Related Alternative Careers?</h3><p>Arbitrators, mediators, conciliators and judges are career options that have some aspects of their work that are similar to the work lawyers do. Arbitrators, mediators and conciliators listen to opposing sides in a dispute and try to reach a compromise. They need to be familiar with legal rights and how to modify or create a contract for the parties. Judges must have extensive knowledge of the law, and listen to opposing positions and offer a ruling. Most judges have prior experience as a lawyer; mediators, arbitrators and conciliators are only required to have a bachelor's degree.</p>