Law is a broad and diverse field, and there are a variety of different specialisations that lead to interesting and unique careers across industries for lawyers. From real estate to the rapidly evolving world of intellectual property, there is always a big demand for professionals to help navigate the tricky rules and regulations put in place by governments and regulating bodies.
Because of this, lawyers are some of the highest paid professionals in the world and will be for a long time to come. But what type of lawyer makes the most money? Lucky for you, we have consulted with LegalVision New Zealand lawyers to present the average salaries of lawyers and the top 5 highest paid types of lawyers. So, if you are after the best earnings you can get as an attorney, keep on reading.
5. Tax Lawyers - $107,549
Coming in at number five are tax lawyers. The laws surrounding taxes and money are complex. Tax lawyers are the professionals who can help navigate this complicated subject, either for businesses or individuals. In general, these attorneys are enlisted to help someone after a problem has emerged. But they can also help prevent problems as well, tackling things that an accountant can’t. If you let them sift through your income, they might pick up on some small things here and there that you don’t legally have to pay tax on.
But a tax lawyer’s job doesn’t stop at preparing tax returns. They can also help new businesses find their feet financially, can facilitate the buying or selling of a business, can assist if you are being audited, and other things like merging an estate and tax responsibilities for big business. If you have got a good head for numbers, becoming a tax lawyer might just be your best bet – and it will pay off big time as well. According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a tax lawyer is $107,549 per year.
4. Corporate Lawyer - $111,557
Being a corporate lawyer involves working for large companies and making sure that their day-to-day dealings are within the law. They are responsible for advising the high-level executives regarding their legal rights and obligations when conducting business, formulating contracts for work, helping with tax, and sometimes gathering evidence for any legal issues that arise for the company. Corporate lawyers have a broad range of important duties to take care of.
With so many different responsibilities, corporate lawyers need to specialise across several different areas of the law, from taxes to contracts. It’s essential that they know how each of these fields intersect and interact with the company that they work for. Since these lawyers need to continue to build their knowledge across a variety of different topics, it’s a difficult position – but they get paid especially well for it. According to PayScale, the average salary for a corporate lawyer is $111,557 per year.
3. Intellectual Property Lawyers - $131,663
Intellectual property law is a complex and shifting field surrounding the protection and ownership of creative property. It mostly involves analysing, challenging, and protecting patents, trademarks, and copyrighted materials. A lot of intellectual property is intangible, like who owns the lyrics to a song or a web domain name. As such, it’s a challenging field to work in. Most IP lawyers work for a company through a law firm that has been contracted by the company. It’s a rapidly evolving field, and these lawyers need to stay on top of the latest rules, regulations, and landmark cases surrounding IP.
IP law is a highly important field in the corporate world, particularly in the innovative and inventive fields of science and technology. These fields are constantly on the cusp of ground-breaking technology, medicine, and human advancement. There’s big money involved in all of it, and the ideas need to be protected. As such, there’s a big demand for excellent IP lawyers to help make sure the latest creative work is rightfully protected. According to Glassdoor, the average salary for an intellectual property lawyer is $131,663 per year.
2. Employment Lawyers - $141,753
The broad field of employment law involves things like the legalities surrounding the hiring and firing of employees, promotions, workplace regulations, leave rights, discrimination – the list is long and extensive. The lawyers in this field are highly paid professionals who know the ins and outs of employment and can quickly resolve any disputes while referring to the relevant laws surrounding the issue. It’s an in-depth field where the highest paid professionals make well over $200,000 a year.
Employment lawyers can represent either an individual, a group of employees, or the company itself. If there are any troubles that pop up between employees and an employer, it’s up to the lawyer to resolve the issues promptly and correctly. It’s a diverse field, and employment lawyers are presently being paid the second highest salaries in the field of law. According to the job search site Indeed, the average salary for an employment lawyer is $141,753 per year.
1. Real Estate Lawyer - $150,620
As of 2020, real estate lawyers are the types of lawyers who make the most money - according to Salary.com, the average salary for a real estate lawyer is $150,620 per year. These highly paid professionals are the ones responsible for reviewing, managing, and creating offers and contracts surrounding real estate around the globe.
Things taken care of by a real estate lawyer include the transfer of deeds and titles, construction regulations, the legalities surrounding mortgages, and zoning requirements. This attorney role can also expand into the legalities surrounding global hotel chains, airport terminals, and territory disputes. It’s a vast field that has a lot of room for advancement, and as such, is currently the highest paid type of lawyer.
Lucrative Law
It goes without saying that getting into law can be a highly lucrative career choice. These average salaries are all in USD but can quickly change depending on the state or city you live in in the US. The average salaries are also different depending on the country you live in. But in general, you’ll find these 5 types of lawyers earning the most amount of money across Australia, the UK, and New Zealand as well.
