BECOMING A LAWYER: What Do Lawyers Do?
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Lawyers work in a variety of practice areas and environments. Many lawyers develop expertise in a specialized area of law such as corporate and securities law, criminal law, environmental law, family law, health law, intellectual property law, international law, tax law, and civil rights law. Choosing a specialization does not necessarily mandate the type of environment in which you will work. For example, you can practice corporate or tax law on your own, or in a large firm, in a government agency or a corporate headquarters. Work environments vary as does the nature of legal work. The 2006 edition of the The Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools reports that 72.9% of American lawyers are in private practice, most in small offices, 8.2% work for the government, 9.5% work for private associations and industries, 1.1% work for legal aid or as public defenders, and 1.1% work in legal education. 

While law practice is diverse, there are some activities common to legal work including: analyzing legal and policy issues; performing research and synthesizing large amounts of material into a coherent whole; communicating effectively in speech and writing; advising; advocating and effectively negotiating. The Official Guide provides a useful discussion of what lawyers do in the section entitled “Lawyers and Their Skills.”