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Preview data: all rankings, scores, votes, refresh labels, methodology, testing and editorial-process statements in Top 49 are illustrative demo content, not live measurements or documented reviews.
Rank 132Up 2
#13 in Highest-Paying Careers
of 20 ranked entries
Corporate Lawyer
Law
Corporate law requires a juris doctor degree and bar admission, a roughly seven-year combined undergraduate-and-law-school path, with the highest-paying roles concentrated specifically at large firms in major financial centres. Recorded specifics: median pay 145000, typical education Law degree (J.D.) plus bar admission, 10-yr growth 5. Panel highlighted highest-paying large-firm roles offer a clear, well-documented compensation ladder, skills transfer well into in-house counsel roles with often better work-life balance and demand is structurally tied to the broader pace of corporate transactions. The reservation on record is reported working hours at large firms are among the most demanding of any legal specialty.
Legal
Score breakdown
How Corporate Lawyer earned 80.8
Each criterion is scored independently, then combined using the weights published on Highest-Paying Careers.
- Compensationweight 30%
- 82.7
- Job securityweight 25%
- 81.3
- Entry barrierweight 25%
- 79.8
- Growth outlookweight 20%
- 78.4
On the record
Recorded detail
| Median pay | $145,000 |
|---|---|
| Typical education | Law degree (J.D.) plus bar admission |
| 10-yr growth | 5% |
| Rating | 7.5 |
Panel verdict
Strengths and reservations
What it gets right
- Highest-paying large-firm roles offer a clear, well-documented compensation ladder
- Skills transfer well into in-house counsel roles with often better work-life balance
- Demand is structurally tied to the broader pace of corporate transactions
Where it gives ground
- Reported working hours at large firms are among the most demanding of any legal specialty
1 appearance
Where this entry ranks
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Top 49 rankings are editorial. Scores are produced from the published criteria on each list and are refreshed on the cadence stated there. Figures shown across this section are curated demonstration data.