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.
754,500 people do this job in the US. $159,670 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 63%
- 19%
- 18%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 6%. Today's estimate: 10%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 22 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.Done daily by most who do it. | 11% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.1 work days | 7%Half by Nov 2027 | |
| Prepare, draft, and review legal documents, such as wills, deeds, patent applications, mortgages, leases, and contracts.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 5 h50 min to 3.1 work days | 8%Half by Feb 2028 | |
| Negotiate contractual agreements.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 8% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 4.2 work days | Stays with people | |
| Probate wills and represent and advise executors and administrators of estates.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 7% | 1 work day1.7 h to 4.2 work days | 4%Half by Mar 2028 | |
| Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents.Done daily by most who do it. | 7% | 2.5 h50 min to 1.3 work days | 35%Half by Jan 2027 | |
| Select jurors, argue motions, meet with judges, and question witnesses during the course of a trial.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 7% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Present evidence to defend clients or prosecute defendants in criminal or civil litigation.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 6% | 1.3 work days2.5 h to 1.3 work weeks | Stays with people | |
| Negotiate settlements of civil disputes.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 6% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.1 work days | Stays with people | |
| Study Constitution, statutes, decisions, regulations, and ordinances of quasi-judicial bodies to determine ramifications for cases.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 5 h1.3 h to 2.5 work days | 12%Half by Sep 2027 | |
| Examine legal data to determine advisability of defending or prosecuting lawsuit.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.7 work days | 21%Half by May 2027 | |
| Evaluate findings and develop strategies and arguments in preparation for presentation of cases.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 4% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 3.1 work days | 7%Half by Nov 2027 | |
| Help develop federal and state programs, draft and interpret laws and legislation, and establish enforcement procedures.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.7 work weeks | 1%Half by Sep 2028 |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Judicial Law Clerks26% now, 92% by 2028
- Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers44% now, 88% by 2028
- Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates40% now, 94% by 2028
- Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators21% now, 92% by 2028
- Equal Opportunity Representatives and Officers15% now, 83% by 2028
- Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators37% now, 63% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).