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Legal Research Major

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Legal Research

5,581 Master's Degrees Annually
153 Doctor's Degrees Annually
#37 in Popularity (Master's)
$130,710 Median Salary

The following table lists how many legal research graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level Number of Grads
Master’s Degree 5,581
Graduate Certificate 925
Doctor’s Degree 153

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to legal research and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

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  • Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

When studying legal research, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

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  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

As you progress with your legal research degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

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  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

People with a legal research degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Law Professors 12.3% $111,140
Lawyers 8.2% $120,910

5,581 Master's Degrees Annually
58% Percent Women
27% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
Legal Research runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #37 out of all the graduate majors we track. In 2021, about 5,581 graduates completed their master’s degree in this field. The major attracts more women than men. About 58% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of legal research majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 214
Black or African American 604
Hispanic or Latino 500
White 1,626
International Students 1,605
Other Races/Ethnicities 1,032

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Legal Research. About 28.8% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

  • China
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Korea
  • Japan
  • India

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The U.S. Department of Education found that students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree in legal research made a median starting salary of $63,090 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $50,065 (25th percentile) and $88,046 (75th percentile).

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It is possible that some of these people may have taken positions that were not related to legal research.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $130,710 to $144,230 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to legal research. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Median Salary for a Legal Research Major  ( 130710 to 144230 )
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250K
Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )
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250K
Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )
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250K
Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )
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250K

Some careers associated with legal research require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for legal research careers below.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 0.5%
Master’s Degree 7.2%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. 1.0%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. 57.0%
Doctoral Degree 32.6%
Post-Doctoral Training 0.7%

In 2020-2021, 178 schools offered a legal research program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 3 2
Certificate (2-4 Years) 0 0
Associate’s Degree 3 0
Bachelor’s Degree 61 10
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 364 50
Post-Master’s 37 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 47 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 13 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

The median salary for a legal research grad is $130,710 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 228% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,816,200 after 20 years!

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You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to legal research.

Major Number of Grads
Law 36,216
Legal Professions (Other) 1,424
Legal Support Services 446
Non-Professional General Legal Studies 444

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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