Also called: Capital Markets Attorney, Securities Regulation Attorney
Helps companies sell stock and bonds legally, take a company public (IPO), and follow SEC disclosure rules.
Securities lawyers spend long days drafting the hundreds of pages a company must file with the SEC before an IPO, checking every claim about risks and finances. When a deal launches, they work nights alongside bankers until it closes. It's high-pressure, detail-obsessed, and very well paid.
Big Law firms in New York and other financial centers pay $225k+ to first-year associates; smaller firms pay less. Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Professional degree (MD, JD, DVM…), about 7 years after high school. Bachelor's (any major), then a 3-year J.D. and the bar exam.
Ways in: 4-year college, Professional school. Training cost: Over $150k.
Majors to look at: Finance, Economics, Accounting, Business.
Growing faster than average (about 5% over 10 years). BLS lawyers, 2025-35 projection.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI drafts SEC filings and disclosure checks well, so far fewer junior associates; senior advice on deals stays human.
Classes: Economics, AP Statistics, AP English Language, Accounting.
Official data: O*NET occupation 23-1011.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.