<p>what are the different types of lawyers? I dont want to be the type of lawyer that does trials in a courtroom. I want to work for a big company. What is the average salary of some types of lawyers.</p>
<p><a href="http://bls.gov/oco/ocos053.htm%5B/url%5D">http://bls.gov/oco/ocos053.htm</a>, that site gives you an overview of the law profession. try reading books by john grisham, or a civil action by johnathan harr to get a feel for what the profession is like.</p>
<p>what does a civil lawyer that works for a private firm do? Do they have to go to trials
?</p>
<p>My taste runs more to Scott Turow than John Grisham. "A Civil Action" is an outstanding book, though a little depressing.</p>
<p>Most in-house corporate lawyers spend a few years working for a firm first. In big law firms (the kind whose clients are mostly big businesses) the great divide is between litigation (the ones who go to court sometimes, but actually do most of their work outside of court), and the transactional attorneys, who (to keep things simple) mostly work on contracts.</p>
<p>Partners in the biggest law firms in the biggest cities can make a million or more a year. Keep in mind, though, that the number of law students who get hired by these firms isn't that large (maybe 55 thousand people graduate from law school every year, and I'd guess ten percent or less of them get a big-firm job after law school); a small percentage of these will make partner, usually after 6-8 years. Starting salaries for first-year associates (in the very large firms in very large cities) are in the neighborhood of $125,00 per year, ranging to closer to $200K for the most senior associates. A 70 hour work week is not at all unusual at these firms. At many firms there's an "up or out" policy, meaning if you're not going to make partner, you'll be expected to leave. </p>
<p>Lots of lawyers work for the government. At the federal government, your pay depends mostly on the civil service classification of the job. Entry level attorneys make may $50K per year (I'm guessing a bit here, but I'm good at guessing); the top of the civil service lawyers maybe $110,000 a year, with good benefits (a pension plan, for example) and job security, and reasonable hours.</p>
<p>The General Counsel of a very large corporation makes compensation comparable to the partner of a large law firm. Senior in-house staff attorneys below the general counsel level are paid something like mid-level associates of big firms.</p>
<p>Sole practitioners and attorneys with one or two partners probably constitute close to a majority of US lawyers. Some make a great deal of money, some struggle to pay their bills (particularly in the early years); those in the middle have incomes perhaps comparable to what the government pays.</p>
<p>do lawyers get a big bonus if they do a great job?</p>
<p>Yea, it was a little depressing- the movie left the end more open. I'll have to try Scott Turow, I love reading legal novels!</p>
<p>Many corporations pay annual bonuses based on a combination of individual performance and company performance. </p>
<p>Many law firms pay annual bonuses to associates based (generally) on hours billed. They distribute profits annually to partners; again, billings have a lot to do with who gets how much.</p>
<p>Random stat: about 60% of lawyers in the US work in firms with 5 or fewer lawyers.</p>