Legal Consultant - medical professionals help attorneys interpret medical aspects in legal cases
Attorney
Biology majors can excel in many areas of the law that draw on scientific knowledge and reasoning. Patent and intellectual property lawyers need to understand the science behind biotechnology products, drugs, and medical instruments to process applications for patents and defend clients against infringement.
Environmental attorneys support and contest environmental projects and policies based on an understanding of how they will impact the ecosystem.
Medical malpractice lawyers must have the scientific knowledge required to analyze medical interventions and judge whether health professionals have acted ethically and correctly.
Biology majors learn to gather evidence to test a hypothesis. Litigation and criminal lawyers must do the same as they build a case for a client.
Add to that the technical nature of physical evidence such as DNA samples, and it is easy to see why many biology majors decide to go on to law school.
Salary and Job Outlook: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that lawyers earned a median annual salary of $122,960 in May 2019. The top 10% earned more than $208,000 while the bottom 10% earned $59,670 or less.