An official website of Washington State government
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.
What a lawyer does
Become a lawyer
If you enjoy doing these activities, you might make a good lawyer
- Talking to others.
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Discover what you could earn in Washington
- Typical hourly rate is $86 per hour with a typical salary of $166,700 per year.
- Half of workers earn between $57 and $138 per hour.
- Half of workers earn an annual salary between $82,500 and $221,700 per year.
- 68% of individuals in this occupation have been employed in every quarter of the past year.
Part-time
- The typical hourly rate for part-time workers is $118 per hour with a typical salary of $119,300 per year.
- 20.7% of individuals in this occupation worked part-time during the past year.
Lawyer job outlook
- There are 11,933 workers in this occupation in Washington.
- There are 1,454 openings per year in this occupation in Washington.
Multiple Jobs
- 5% of individuals in this occupation worked for more than one employer.
- 6% of individuals in this occupation held a position in another.