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Lawyers

SOC 23-1011.00Job Zone 5 · Extensive Preparation

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.

Context coveredBig-law, mid-size firm, in-house, and government practice across litigation, transactional, regulatory, and specialty areas; first-year associate through equity partner / general counsel.

Sources:O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.SkillsCrosswalkSkillsCrosswalk — O*NET enrichment + adjacency index. Opens in new tab.
Emerging
Entry / Apprentice
  1. Legal research (Westlaw, Lexis, Bloomberg Law) — execute on assigned questions under a senior associate's direction.
  2. Memorandum writing — produce on discrete research questions with senior-attorney edits.
  3. Document review for discovery — perform per protocol on a tier-1 substantive review.
  4. Case file organization — maintain to firm standards across an active matter.
  5. Citation checking and Bluebooking — apply consistently in legal-writing assignments.
  6. Court filings and procedural deadlines — track and meet under a paralegal's and senior's review.
  7. Client correspondence and engagement letters — draft for senior attorney sign-off.
  8. Deposition and hearing transcripts — summarize accurately for case team review.
  9. Confidentiality and conflict-of-interest screens — apply consistently across new-matter intake.
  10. Time entry and billable-hours discipline — record contemporaneously per firm standards.
Developing
Mid-level / Established
  1. Discrete substantive sections of briefs and motions — draft for partner review on owned cases.
  2. Discovery production and response — manage on routine cases with reduced senior oversight.
  3. Deposition preparation — assist with outlines, exhibits, and witness prep on standard cases.
  4. Client meetings and calls — attend substantively and contribute to follow-ups.
  5. Routine court appearances (status conferences, motion arguments) — handle solo on familiar matters.
  6. Junior associates and law clerks on assigned sections — review and coach during their first year.
  7. Substantive expertise in a practice area — develop over a 2–4 year specialization period.
  8. Settlement negotiations under partner direction — participate substantively in mediations and conferences.
  9. Witness interviews and fact-development — conduct on case-relevant fact patterns.
  10. Engagement management and budgets — track on owned matter components.
Proficient
Senior / Expert IC
  1. Full case ownership — manage from intake through resolution on mid-complexity matters.
  2. Trial-team second-chair responsibilities — handle witness exam, opening or closing, and motion argument on substantial cases.
  3. Client relationships at controller/GC level — manage across a portfolio of matters.
  4. Negotiation of complex transactions or settlements — lead with senior backstop on owned deals.
  5. Substantive specialty expertise — recognized within the firm or industry niche.
  6. Junior and senior associates — mentor on practice technique and career development.
  7. Practice-area thought leadership — contribute through publication, CLE, or industry-group participation.
  8. Engagement profitability and team economics — manage to firm targets on owned matters.
  9. Cross-practice collaboration — coordinate with tax, IP, litigation, regulatory partners on integrated matters.
  10. Pro bono leadership — own significant pro bono matters in addition to commercial work.
Advanced
Lead / Principal / Executive
  1. Practice group, transactional team, or trial team — lead with origination and supervisory responsibility.
  2. Major matters with bet-the-company stakes — drive to defensible outcomes with executive and board engagement.
  3. Client relationships at CEO / board / general-counsel level — steward across multi-year arcs.
  4. Practice-area strategy and origination — develop business that sustains the team's pipeline.
  5. Hiring, partnership-track, and equity-share decisions — shape across the practice.
  6. Major regulatory or governmental engagements — represent clients at agency, court, or congressional level.
  7. Profession-level contributions (rule-making, bar leadership, judicial appointment, academic) — make credibly over time.
  8. Crisis and high-profile representation — lead client through media, regulatory, and reputational complexity.
  9. Cross-practice and cross-office initiatives — drive firm-level outcomes.
  10. Successor pipeline and partner development — shape the practice's next generation.

AI-at-Work Competency Framework

Sources:Anthropic Economic IndexAnthropic Economic Index — release_2026_03_24. Opens in new tab.Jadhav & Danve, 2026Skill Automation Feasibility Index — Jadhav & Danve, 2026 (arXiv:2604.06906). Opens in new tab.WEF Skills TaxonomyWEF Skills Taxonomy 2021 — Building a Common Language for Skills at Work. Opens in new tab.

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Sources:Pathsmith™ Durable SkillsPathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework — America Succeeds + CompTIA. Opens in new tab.O*NET v30.2O*NET Resource Center — Occupational Information Network, v30.2 (Sept 2025). Opens in new tab.
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Show O*NET source anchors59 anchors · skillscrosswalk.com

O*NET enrichment · skillscrosswalk.com

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Source anchors that ground each statement

Related titles
Admiralty Lawyer · Agency Legal Counsel · Attorney · Attorney at Law · Attorney General · Barrister · Business Lawyer · Chief Counsel · City Attorney · City Solicitor · Civil Lawyer · Civil Litigation Attorney
RAPIDS apprenticeships
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O*NET skills
SpeakingCritical ThinkingReading ComprehensionActive ListeningWritingComplex Problem SolvingJudgment and Decision MakingPersuasionNegotiationActive LearningSocial PerceptivenessTime ManagementCoordinationSystems AnalysisMonitoringLearning StrategiesInstructingService OrientationSystems Evaluation
Knowledge domains
Law and GovernmentEnglish LanguageCustomer and Personal ServiceAdministrativeComputers and ElectronicsCommunications and Media
Abilities
Oral ExpressionOral ComprehensionWritten ComprehensionWritten ExpressionSpeech ClarityDeductive ReasoningProblem SensitivityInductive ReasoningInformation OrderingFluency of Ideas
Work styles
IntegrityAttention to DetailDependabilityIntellectual CuriosityAchievement OrientationCautiousness
Technology
Data base user interface and query softwareDocument management softwareBilling and invoicing softwareProject management softwareElectronic mail softwareCalendar and scheduling softwareAnalytical or scientific softwareOffice suite softwareTime accounting softwareEnterprise resource planning ERP software
Tasks · seed anchors for statements
  1. Interpret laws, rulings and regulations for individuals and businesses.
  2. Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents.
  3. 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.
  4. Represent clients in court or before government agencies.
  5. Evaluate findings and develop strategies and arguments in preparation for presentation of cases.
  6. Advise clients concerning business transactions, claim liability, advisability of prosecuting or defending lawsuits, or legal rights and obligations.
  7. Examine legal data to determine advisability of defending or prosecuting lawsuit.
  8. Prepare, draft, and review legal documents, such as wills, deeds, patent applications, mortgages, leases, and contracts.
CIP education codes
22.010122.020122.020222.020322.020422.020522.020622.020722.020822.020922.021022.021122.021222.021322.021422.021522.021622.021722.021822.021922.022022.022122.022222.022322.022422.0299

Sources: O*NET v30.2 (CC BY 4.0), SkillsCrosswalk.com, LER.me®, Anthropic Economic Index, SAFI (Jadhav & Danve, 2026), WEF Skills Taxonomy 2021, Pathsmith™ Durable Skills Framework. © 2026 EBSCOed.