what is a lawyer

A lawyer is a licensed professional who advises and represents others in legal matters. They are trained to understand, interpret, and improve the law and to advocate its meaning and application on behalf of their clients. Lawyers have two main duties: to uphold the law while also protecting a client’s rights. To carry out these duties, a lawyer should understand the law and be an effective communicator. Most lawyers spend more time in an office than in a courtroom, and their work often involves researching legal developments, investigating facts, writing and preparing legal documents, giving advice, and settling disputes. To become a lawyer, one must go through special schooling and meet the standards set by each state before being licensed to practice law there. The median annual wage for lawyers was $135,740 in May 2022, and employment of lawyers is projected to grow 8 percent from 2022 to 2032, faster than the average for all occupations. In the United States, the terms lawyer and attorney are often used interchangeably, but there are distinctions between the two. An attorney is someone who is not only trained and educated in law but also practices it in court, while a lawyer may take on roles as consultants or advisors.