Welcome to the Law and Policy Community!
The law and policy career cluster is all about protecting and serving the public. People working in this sector deal with protecting life and property, enforcing laws, providing legal counsel, sentencing defendants, and rehabilitating offenders.
| Employment numbers | Law graduates | Public safety | Scope of corrections |
| About 5 million workers are employed in the law, public safety, corrections, and security cluster. | Over 30,000 new law school graduates pass the bar exam each year, emerging into a job market of more than 1.3 million lawyers. Most specialize in a particular branch of law. | Crime and other public safety hazards continuously present new, significant digital challenges, requiring innovative and sophisticated technology and cybersecurity measures to address them. | Over 2.3 million individuals are incarcerated in the U.S. annually, with an additional 4 million on parole or probation. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes up this career cluster?
- The major employers in public safety are government organizations at the city or county, state, and federal levels.
- Laws guide relationships among people, institutions, and government; workers in the law sector enforce these laws, and sometimes create them.
- Lawyers conduct research, prepare documents, gather testimony, and argue cases before judges or juries. Judges interpret laws and sentence defendants.
- The corrections sector consists of city and county jails, state and federal prisons, community correctional facilities, and juvenile detention centers.
Would a career in law and policy be a good fit for me?
Do you value a sense of security and justice? Have the resilience to resolve legal challenges for others? If so, then a career in law and policy may be for you. Here are some points to keep in mind:
- Careers in this cluster may offer the opportunity to influence public policy and programs that affect many people’s lives.
- Some of the fastest growing fields in the cluster are fire inspectors, paralegals, private detectives, paramedics, lifeguards, forensic science technicians, and firefighters.
What are some careers in law and policy?
Specialized skills and training are often required in this cluster, where workers play a crucial role in the well-being of their communities.
Represent clients in criminal and civil litigation and other legal proceedings, draw up legal documents, or manage or advise clients on legal transactions. May specialize in a single area or may practice broadly in many areas of law.
Assist lawyers by investigating facts, preparing legal documents, or researching legal precedent. Conduct research to support a legal proceeding, to formulate a defense, or to initiate legal action.
Examine budget estimates for completeness, accuracy, and conformance with procedures and regulations. Analyze budgeting and accounting reports.
Examine, evaluate, and investigate eligibility for or conformity with laws and regulations governing contract compliance of licenses and permits, and perform other compliance and enforcement inspection and analysis activities not classified elsewhere.
Inspect buildings to detect fire hazards and enforce local ordinances and state laws, or investigate and gather facts to determine cause of fires and explosions.
Inspect structures using engineering skills to determine structural soundness and compliance with specifications, building codes, and other regulations. Inspections may be general in nature or may be limited to a specific area, such as electrical systems or plumbing.
Inspect and investigate sources of pollution to protect the public and environment and ensure conformance with Federal, State, and local regulations and ordinances.
Monitor and evaluate compliance with equal opportunity laws, guidelines, and policies to ensure that employment practices and contracting arrangements give equal opportunity without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.
Develop comprehensive plans and programs for use of land and physical facilities of jurisdictions, such as towns, cities, counties, and metropolitan areas.
Review, evaluate, and analyze work environments and design programs and procedures to control, eliminate, and prevent disease or injury caused by chemical, physical, and biological agents or ergonomic factors. May conduct inspections and enforce adherence to laws and regulations governing the health and safety of individuals. May be employed in the public or private sector.
Gaining Experience
- Discover a variety of organizations that offer legal and advocacy internships.
- Volunteer with the American Bar Association to gain legal experience.
- Shadow an attorney or policy professional in advocacy, government relations, nonprofits, regulatory agencies, public relations, urban and regional planners, communication, etc.
- Volunteer with legal aid clinics or advocacy groups related to your area of interest or through this volunteer search engine for justice and legal services opportunities.
- Complete a simulation with Forage to develop your skills in law.
