Law Degrees


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Salaries For Degrees in Law

Graduates in Law can work in a variety of jobs. While no one can say with certainty what you personally will do with a degree in Law, our survey panel picked the following occupations as likely options:

The median salary for people with a degree in Law is $83,941.33. The lifetime value of this degree is approximately $1,689,464.00.


Salaries are highly dependent on individual negotiating skill, seniority in the field, your employer, location, and more. The estimates we show on these pages are just that: estimates. Your individual experience will likely vary.

Where does this come from?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the US government, classifies all workers into some 800-odd occupational categories.  We paid a team of freelancers to solicit their view on what type of degree a holder of each type of job would likely have majored in.  For pairs which had a high degree of consensus, we created a link between the degree and the job.

From this, we calculated the average salary for Law degrees and converted it into a lifetime value.  We then compared it against other degrees at the same level of schooling (such as associate's, bachelor's, or master's), so that you can make informed educational and employment decisions.

What Can a Law Student Expect to Learn?

The study of law is a broad and diverse one. It can be applied to many different fields, including the medical, political, and entertainment fields. Law students learn about legal reasoning, legal history, researching legal cases, courtroom procedures, and the ethical considerations of practicing as an attorney. They will learn about legal writing, property law, contract law, and family law. There are many other areas of legal scholarship, and once the students have a practical grounding in the basics, they will choose to specialize in one or more of these areas.

Online Schools Offering Accredited Law Degree Programs

There are many schools offering online law degrees for people who are too busy to go to a brick-and-mortar school. Most are master’s degrees, but some are juris doctorates.

Taft Law School

Taft is a distance learning school that offers juris doctorates versus both telecommunications or through independent study. Students will learn about various aspects of the law, including contracts, torts, criminal and civil law, constitutional law, and evidence law, among others.

Concord Law School

Concord Law has been online since 1998. This school offers both a juris doctor program and an executive juris doctor program. The goals of the juris doctor program are to teach a student how to use analysis and research to handle a wide range of legal situations. The executive juris doctor program is a shorter program than the juris doctor and allows students to either focus on the law and technology or the law and criminal justice. The school also offers a subsequent law degree in small business practice, available to people who have previously graduated from law school.

Champlain College

Champlain offers a Master’s of Science in Law degree. This degree is meant for people who want to have an in-depth knowledge of the law and how it applies to their chosen professions. Mangers, people who work in human resources, and people who work in the health care field can all benefit from this degree. This degree will enable students to be able to better see implications in the business world that could result in legal action, and to prevent the need for litigation, in addition to helping them become familiar with legal jargon.

Herzing University

Herzing offers a Bachelor’s of Science in Legal Studies provides an education in the legal field in a number of aspects, including civil law, estate law, bankruptcy law, environmental law, property law, business law, and legal writing. The degree will also provide a solid grounding in business administration training.

Kaplan University

Kaplan offers a Master of Science in Legal Studies offers students training in the legal field without requiring them to take the bar exam. This degree is suitable for someone interested in law and social sciences and who wants to enhance their career with this knowledge. The curriculum covers resolution of disputes, ethics, and legal writing. Students will learn how to apply the knowledge gained to real scenarios that they may face.

Top Colleges & Universities Offering Campus-based Law Degrees

Students who wish to study law in more traditional settings can do so, as well. Some of the more famous law schools are listed below:

Yale University Law School

Yale is often ranked near the top of the law school rankings. The school prides itself on its student-to-teacher ratio and its reputation. This university offers a juris doctorate, and a Master of Laws degree for anyone interested in teaching law.

Harvard University Law School

Harvard is another high-caliber law school. This school boasts faculty with a wide range of interests and fields of expertise. Students can take advantage of the school’s law clinic, which allows for the practical application of what they learn at Harvard. Students are encouraged to submit independent writing projects and are mentored by the faculty into the future scholars in the legal world. Students will benefit from the international viewpoint of the Harvard law professors that will enable them to see their world in a different way.

Stanford University Law School

Stanford is a nationally ranked school that offers juris doctorates for those who want to be practicing attorneys. During their first year at Stanford students will study legal analysis and learn about the practices of researching cases. Students will also analyze recent judicial decisions. From then on students are encouraged to follow an individualized program.

Columbia University

Columbia University, an Ivy League university, offers a top-notch legal program. Students at Columbia will train in law through rigorous courses and practical law clinics. There are many opportunities to learn about areas of international law as well. This is an especially valuable skill given the global nature of commerce and business.

The University of Chicago

UC offers both a juris doctorate degree and an LLM degree. This school provides students training that will allow them to be both innovative and pragmatic in their legal practice. The curriculum serves students with a wide range of legal interests, from legal history, legal culture and legal theory to animal and anthropology law.

New York University

NYU offers its students an interdisciplinary approach to their legal training, and has many resources for fledgling lawyers, including clinics and legal student organizations. Some of the specialties students can choose from include business law, constitutional law, environmental law, international law, and tax law.

The University of California at Berkeley Law School

Cal-Berkeley takes an interdisciplinary approach to legal training, and combines elements of business, finance, politics, and social sciences into their teaching. The school offers several combined-degree programs for students with a wide variety of interests. Many students at Berkeley Law are able to study legal situations relevant to today’s most visible challenges, including analyzing the law as it relates to war crimes, natural disasters, biotechnology, and insider trading.

The University of Pennsylvania Law School

Penn offers students the opportunity to create their own unique program that fits their needs, interests, and ambitions. Students can also take advantage of the university’s innovative juris doctor/master of business administration combined program. In order to graduate, students must complete 70 hours doing pro bono legal work, plus fulfill all other program requirements.

The University of Michigan

Michigan in Ann Arbor Law School offers a broad education to its students, including dual degree programs and study abroad opportunities, where students may expand their knowledge by visiting law schools around the world, such as in Amsterdam, Geneva, London, Tel Aviv, and Tokyo. The school also offers externships to South Africa and independent study opportunities.

The University of Virginia School of Law

UVA School of Law was founded by Thomas Jefferson and has a rich heritage. This university has several law clinics dealing with a variety of specializations, including elderly advocacy, housing advocacy, mental health advocacy, nonprofit law, and immigration law. Students can learn in real-world scenarios with these clinics according to their individual interests and passions related to the study and practice of law. This school offers a juris doctorate and a masters of law degree, along with several different concentrations for students to choose from, including animal law, law in public service, land use law, law in business, and the law and humanities.

Famous Law Students Barack Law Student

There are many well-known people who have studied law. Having a law degree is a requirement for many jobs in politics, for example, so famous politicians all have law degrees. Some of these well-known people include President Barack Obama (pictured right), First Lady Michelle Obama, and actor and comedian John Cleese.

 

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