Education & Library
Law Teachers, Postsecondary
Also called: Business Law Professor, Clinical Law Professor, Law Instructor, Law Professor
US median pay
$128,500
per year, 2025
Job growth 2025–35
+2.6%
about average or slower
Openings a year (US)
1,800
25,800 employed
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree
Preparation 5/5 · Extensive preparation
What this job is
Teach courses in law. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
What they do day to day
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, papers, and oral presentations.
- Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as civil procedure, contracts, and torts.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
- Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks.
Skills and knowledge that matter most
Skills
- Instructing4.4/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.9/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.6/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.2/5
- Systems Evaluation3.1/5
- Systems Analysis3.1/5
- Time Management3.0/5
- Persuasion3.0/5
Knowledge
- Law and Government5.0/5
- English Language4.7/5
- Education and Training4.0/5
- History and Archeology3.0/5
- Philosophy and Theology2.9/5
- Computers and Electronics2.6/5
Importance rated by people working in the job (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important).
Education and preparation
Preparation level 5 of 5 — Extensive preparation. Usually a graduate degree (master's, PhD, MD, JD) and extensive experience.
Typical entry education (BLS): Doctoral or professional degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Highest education of people in this job:
- First professional degree46%
- Doctoral degree35%
- Master's degree15%
Who this job suits
Mostly Social
Helping, teaching and caring for people
Investigative
Ideas, research and solving problems
Conventional
Organising data, details and procedures
Based on the Holland (RIASEC) interest profile for this occupation.