I have family that are lawyers, some that are 'high up' in their respective areas. The answer is 'networking'. Very well paid lawyers are very good at being la

I have family that are lawyers, some that are 'high up' in their respective areas. The answer is 'networking'. Very well paid lawyers are very good at being lawyers. Meaning that yes, they placed well in their law schools and that they really truly do know their stuff. In the US, common law systems are not an easy thing to master [0]. If they go to trial, they know how to run one and how not to run one, depending on circumstances. But the real thing that makes a very well paid lawyer as such is the 'networking' element. They know which judges will rule what way, what other lawyers in the local system are like, who the right secretaries to talk to are. And they know how to determine such things with little information. Most importantly, they know who not to talk to and get information from. And they know how to 'work the refs' to their advantage and how to ditch clients too. Is this scummy? Oh, absolutely, no questions. But the law in our system is not about the truth, it's about winning. That's why we pay lawyers to begin with: to win. If we want to change that, sure, fine, most lawyers do too. But you have to play the cards you're dealt. [0] Life tip: If you ever meet a Louisiana lawyer, you've met a very very smart person. Having to master two different law systems interacting at once is blindingly difficult. Louisiana's legal system is based on Napoleonic era civil law and the rest of the US's common law.