It is a lawyer’s responsibility to counsel clients in legal situations, stand up for them in court when needed, and defend them. To succeed, aspiring attorneys need substantial instruction in legal writing, procedure, and research. Students must enroll in and successfully complete law school to earn a Juris Doctor degree after completing an undergraduate degree. After that, in order to start practicing law, attorneys must pass the bar test in the state in which they intend to do so.
After completing your bachelor’s degree, you can submit an application to law school. To gain admission to law school, you typically need to pass the Law School Admission Test, or LSAT. It could be beneficial to take courses in that specific discipline while pursuing your undergraduate degree if you know what you want to specialize in after earning your legal degree. For example, you should take criminal justice classes if you want to practice criminal law, and environmental science courses are a good idea if you want to practice environmental law.
While pursuing a degree, students should focus on improving their speaking, reading, and argumentation skills. There is no specific topic of study that is necessary for admission to law school. Political science and English courses are typically beneficial for those who want to improve these abilities. In addition to improving critical thinking abilities, political science and English courses are beneficial for getting ready for the Law School Admission Test.
Once an undergraduate degree has been obtained, it is time to apply to law school. Typically, students are in law school for three years and, upon completion, earn a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. Law schools do not follow a standardized or mandated curriculum, but most schools aim to provide students with a comprehensive overview of the field of law. Law students will also learn how to conduct legal research online and in libraries in addition to learning legal writing. Students normally have to complete one and a half years of law school before beginning to enroll in specialized courses that focus on their particular field. During this time, law students are also encouraged to apply for externships that allow for the observation of and participation in legal procedures. Many law schools also offer law clinics in particular fields, allowing students to work with licensed attorneys in order to meet with clients and research precedents.
Graduates of law schools must sit for and pass the bar test in the state in which they intend to practice after receiving their Juris Doctor degrees. The kind of tests that make up the bar exam can vary according to the jurisdiction in which it is administered. The vast majority of jurisdictions will assess professional conduct in addition to legal knowledge. Graduates of legal schools may need to retake the bar exam multiple times before passing.
Becoming a lawyer requires a substantial amount of schooling, and students must be serious about doing well in order to succeed and graduate from law school and then pass the bar exam. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, lawyers can expect to earn a median salary of about $114,000.
