A lawyer is a person who is licensed to practice law. He or she represents clients in court or offer legal advice regarding business or personal affairs. A lawyer may also prepare legal documents, conduct depositions, interview witnesses, argue court motions, and conduct trials. Most lawyers specialize in a particular area of law, such as divorce law, criminal law, immigration law, or real estate law.
If you want to become a lawyer, there are certain education requirements you need to satisfy. These requirements include:
- Acquire Undergraduate Degree
All law schools require a person to have an undergraduate degree. If you want to choose a career in the legal field, you should keep your GPA above 3.0. There are no required courses or recommended majors for law school admission. However, for somebody who has interest in property law, they will need to have a degree in math or technical science like electrical engineering or computer science. This is because the property lawyer has to sit for the patent bar and it requires technical science or math degree.
- Take the Law School Admission Test [LSAT]
For you to get admission into law school, you have to undertake and pass the Law School Admission Test [LSAT]. The test is administered by the Law School Admission Council [LSAC] and is used to test your reading, reasoning, comprehension, and critical thinking skills, and it takes a half a day to finish.
Even though the test is not the greatest measure of how an individual will perform in the law school, many law schools tend to consider these scores. If you take the tests and feel that you didn’t do well, you may choose to redo the test.
- Acquire Juris Doctor Law Degree
Law school generally lasts for three years and results in a Juris Doctor degree. You start your law school by taking courses in legal writing, constitutional law, property law, torts, and torts. Then you take elective courses based on your interest, such as tax law, corporate law, or labor law. While in law school, you may attend legal clinics, partake mock trials, or write for any law firm,
- Participate in a clerkship [optional]
As a law student, you may get the opportunity to complete summer or part-time clerkship. Clerkship basically allows you to gain experience by working in a law firm, such as a medical malpractice law firm. You can also work in a government agency or corporate office. In some cases, clerkship may lead to an employment offer once you have graduated.
- Write and pass the bar exam
The last step to becoming a lawyer is to write and pass the bar exam. The bar exam is not easy. The passing mark varies from one state to another. But in most states, the passing rate is 40%. The bar exams typically contain essay questions and multiple-choice that assess your knowledge of state law and how you can apply the law to various scenarios.
Now that you are a qualified and licensed lawyer, you can choose to become a divorce lawyer, personal injury lawyer, car accident lawyer, or any other area of law depending on your interest.