When students begin to pursue their law degrees, they may envision themselves spending their entire careers in courtrooms.
But some lawyers never set foot in a courtroom. They don’t file briefs or use billing sheets.
Instead, they pursue alternative legal careers that don’t necessarily require a J.D. But a J.D. can certainly provide advantages for those who have earned them.
As the world continues to become more complex, regulated and reliant on technology, these positions, known as J.D. advantage jobs, will become more numerous.
Compliance. Contract management. Corporate governance. Legal technology. Risk management. The options are practically limitless, as legal issues often arise in these areas, leading employers to value employees who have law degrees.
The National Association for Law Placement’s report titled “Jobs & JDs: Employment and Salaries of New Law Graduates, Class of 2023” showed that 82.1% of all 2023 law school graduates got jobs that required bar admission. Meanwhile, only 7.8% landed in J.D. advantage positions, which was a 16-year low.
As evidenced by these findings, now is a good time to pursue J.D. advantage jobs, as they’re arguably more available today than they’ve been in several years.
NALP’s survey found that the average annual salary for a J.D. advantage job was $80,000. By comparison, for jobs that required bar passage, the average was $90,000.
The survey also revealed that 43.6% of J.D. advantage jobs were in the business sector, while 19.7% were in private practice and 17.3% were in government. Another 10% were in the education sector, while 9.3% were in public interest.
The bottom line? J.D. advantage careers are wide ranging.
Barbara Boehler, senior director of Fordham Law School’s Compliance Program, has seen this for herself. Boehler has worked in compliance for most of her career. As a result, she knows how beneficial a law school education is for any compliance role.
“Compliance officers in heavily regulated industries, such as financial services and health care, must be comfortable with assessing and implementing new rules and regulations,” she said. “They must also be able to advise and guide their internal clients and stakeholders.”
Boehler said she has noticed a significant rise in J.D. advantage jobs in the privacy sector as artificial intelligence continues to expand.
“A legal background is helpful in innumerable ways within innumerable endeavors,” she said. “I have seen J.D.s rise in the ranks in entrepreneurial, marketing and operational roles.”
A solid foundation for success
Hillary Mantis is the assistant dean of Fordham University’s Pre-Law Program and the author of “Alternative Careers for Lawyers.” She advises most students to attend law school with the intent of practicing law, yet a J.D. is a very broad-based degree, which can lead to a wide variety of career options.
Boehler agrees, saying that a legal education provides a solid foundation for success in many careers. She urges law students to be fully aware of the various opportunities their legal training could lead to down the road.
“In law, our careers are long, and our paths are rarely linear,” Boehler said. “By knowing about these possibilities, J.D.s can remain flexible and pivot when they need to.”
To pivot when necessary, J.D.s will need a wide array of transferable skills, including client development, counseling, negotiation, researching and writing, Mantis said.
Boehler said three skills that are developed in law school standout above all others.
“A legal education is demonstratable evidence of a job candidate’s ability to write, analyze and articulate clearly, concisely and compellingly,” she said. “Those are tremendously valuable skills in any profession.”
Likewise, she said legal education enhances students’ positive character traits. Consequently, they’ll become more marketable in a wide variety of professions.
“The pursuit of a law degree demonstrates tenacity, stamina and seriousness of purpose,” Boehler said. “Law school provides rigorous training, the value of which is easily understood and identifiable by hiring managers.”
Skills and passion
If law students are interested in pursuing J.D. advantage careers, Mantis recommends that they determine which skills they’d specifically like to use in the future. They should then combine those skills with the knowledge they acquire in law school.
Passion is critical too. Without passion for a certain career, students might not feel fulfilled, Mantis said.
“In the end, students are only going to be happy at work if they’re utilizing the skills that innately interest them,” she said. “It’s also helpful for students to take career inventories like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or the Strong Interest Inventory, especially if they don’t know which skills and interests will be most important for them during their careers.”
Boehler said law students should do considerable research on fields that interest them. The more resources they can use, the better.
“There is a wealth of information available. I would suggest students explore industry groups and trade associations in their area of interest,” she said. “There are often student membership rates and deeply discounted tickets to events. They’re usually available to those who ask.
“Students must not underestimate the value of speaking to alumni who either work in fields they’re interested in or have had outside-the-box career paths. Such paths may pique students’ interests in ways they couldn’t have possibly imagined. Alumni have literally been there and done that, so to speak, and can share what they’ve learned and experienced. They can also discuss their careers’ key positives and negatives.”
She also noted that students should use all the resources available to them through their school’s career services office.
Looking ahead
Mantis predicts that traditional sectors such as education, finance and government will remain highly popular as law graduates pursue J.D. advantage careers. She said some new trends may emerge too.
“For trends, alternative legal careers tend to follow other trends,” Mantis said. “For example, students can look now at fields relating to artificial intelligence and intellectual property in order to find emerging trends.”
Artificial intelligence has its fair share of positives and negatives. One negative is that it could lead to some alternative legal careers becoming obsolete. But Boehler said she isn’t overly concerned, as she thinks J.D.s will successfully adapt.
“Lawyers will continue to find ways to use their education to remain on the forefront of innovation and technology,” she said.
Boehler said she believes an increasing number of well-educated compliance and legal officers will be needed as new science, technology and complex financial products are developed.
She expects that J.D.s will use future technology, including artificial intelligence, to elevate their jobs.
“Well-prepared J.D.s and law students will think outside the box as to what their careers might look like,” Boehler said. “Who knows which technological advances will transform the legal practice and J.D. advantage jobs in the decades to come?”
This article appeared in the 2025 Spring issue of The National Jurist.
