According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, employment for lawyers in general is expected grow about as fast as the average for all careers through 2028. A large number of law school graduates have created strong competition for jobs.
Although the housing market stabilized and recovered following the Great Recession, new economic woes accompanied the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in early 2020, including widespread unemployment. This created uncertainty in many sectors of the economy. While the ultimate impact of the pandemic remained to be seen in mid-2020, it will be a major consideration in the real estate market moving forward.
Nevertheless, continued population growth and typical business activities will create demand for lawyers who specialize in real estate law. Opportunities may be plentiful in areas of the United States experiencing high population growth, such as the Southwestern states. An increase in population can translate to private and commercial construction needs.
Law services will be more accessible to the middle-income public with the popularity of prepaid legal services and clinics. However, stiff competition has and will continue to urge some lawyers to look outside the legal profession for employment. Administrative and managerial positions in real estate companies, banks, insurance firms, and government agencies are typical areas where legal training is useful.
The top 10 percent of the graduating seniors of the country’s best law schools will have more opportunities with well-known law firms and jobs on legal staffs of corporations, in government agencies, and in law schools in the next few decades. Lawyers in solo practice will find it hard to earn a living until their practice is fully established. The best opportunities exist in small towns or suburbs of large cities, where there is less competition and new lawyers can meet potential clients more easily.
Graduates with lower class rankings and from lesser-known schools may have difficulty in obtaining the most desirable positions.
- Arbitrators
- Architects
- Assessors and Appraisers
- Bail Bondsmen
- Bailiffs
- Bankruptcy Lawyers
- Biotechnology Patent Lawyers
- Bodyguards
- Border Patrol Agents
- Bounty Hunters
- Civil Litigation Lawyers
- Corporate Lawyers
- Court Interpreters and Translators
- Court Reporters
- Credit Analysts
- Criminal Lawyers
- Elder Law Attorneys
- Environmental Lawyers
- Family Lawyers
- Forensic Experts
- Forensic Meteorologists
- Geodetic Surveyors
- Grounds Managers
- Hedge Fund Lawyers
- Home Stagers
- Household Movers
- Insurance Policy Processing Workers
- Insurance Underwriters
- Intellectual Property Lawyers
- Interior Designers and Decorators
- Investment Fund Managers
- Investment Professionals
- Investment Underwriters
- Judges
- Landscapers
- Law Librarians
- Lawyers
- Legal Nurse Consultants
- Legal Operations Specialists
- Legal Secretaries
- Litigation Support/eDiscovery Analysts
- Loan Officers and Counselors
- Mergers and Acquisitions Attorneys
- Mutual Fund Analysts
- Mutual Fund Financial Managers
- Mutual Fund Portfolio Managers
- Paralegals
- Patent Agents
- Patent Lawyers
- Polygraph Examiners
- Process Servers
- Property and Real Estate Managers
- Public Interest Lawyers
- Real Estate Agents and Brokers
- Real Estate Clerks
- Real Estate Developers
- Real Estate Educators
- Real Estate Writers
- Space Lawyers
- Surveyors
- Tax Attorneys
- Title Searchers and Examiners
- Urban and Regional Planners