<p>I hope to attend a top law school sometime in the future. Here's my question: What type of lawyer makes the most money(personal injury, tort, etc.)?
Oh btw. money isn't the only reason for me wanting to be a lawyer!
Thanks :)</p>
<p>Type of specialty is important but not as important as the type of business a lawyer runs. For example, I would say Partners/Directors of large law firms make the most money regardless of specialty because of the pyramid factor. In other words, Partners get a cut of an Associate's billable hours. The more Associates, the bigger the cut for the Partner. It is very difficult get hired by large firms and even more difficult to make partner.</p>
<p>Actually the lawyers who make the most are usually your top personal injury lawyers who are involved in mass torts and other huge claims (for example, Peter Angelos, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles, made his fortune, and the tens of millions he personally invested as the lead investor of the group he put together to make the purchase of the Orioles for $173 million, representing asbestos claimants). However, that is a small group and there are many "starving" personal injury lawyers. You can do very well (million and more per year) by eventually becoming a senior partner in a large law firm, particularly if you become a "rainmaker" (one who gererates the business that comes into the firm), most of which firms practice in numerous areas of the law. That is also not a large group of lawyers. There are many partners in those large firms who are not big rainmakers who still do fine, but under $500,000 a year. Those who rise to be General Counsel of large corporations also do quite well, again a small group. Also, there are lawyers who go on to be something else like investment bankers or stockbrokers/fund managers who do quite well -- example, Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs who recently got a bonus of $53.4 million, started out as a corporate tax lawyer for a large firm. There are large numbers of lawyers who make in the $100,000 to $300,000 range doing a variety of things and being part of a small to mid-size firm or in-house corporate lawyers. Ultimately, it just depends on who you are and how well you do what you decide to specialize in, except that I can assure you that if it is your desire to be a state paid public defender all your life, expect not to make significant amounts.</p>
<p>I want to go into Constitutional Law... It really interests me, and personally I don't care if I'm not making $100,000 a year, I'd rather be happy in what I do.</p>
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I want to go into Constitutional Law..
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It is not very common for Constitutional law questions to arise in the law practices of most lawyers. Lawyers are far more likely to be faced with interpreting and applying Federal and State statues and regulations than U.S. Constitutional law. Unless you are a law teacher, appellate attorney, opinion writer for a court, your focus on U.S. Constitutional law will probably be limited.</p>