Becoming a lawyer requires a lot of time and dedication to the study and practice of law in our society. Students must go through at least seven years of college-level classes and several difficult examinations before they're able to practice law – so deciding whether or not to go to law school is a big deal.
In order to get into a law school, students must first obtain a bachelor’s degree in a field that's somewhat related to the study and implementation of law – including anything from English and history to government and sociology.
Education and Training for Lawyers
One of the primary things that law schools tend to focus on is getting students into the program that can think critically and understand a broad range of subjects.
If you plan to specialize in a particular field of law, be sure to take plenty of undergraduate courses in that area so that you'll better understand the subject you're planning to pursue as a lawyer. This will also give you a chance to evaluate whether the specialty you had in mind is a good fit for you or not.
For example, if you're planning to focus on medical malpractice law but find that medical descriptions make you queasy, you may need to choose a different field! Pursuing these extra courses will also help improve your research skills, which are essential to becoming a successful lawyer.
When you first enter law school, you may be overwhelmed by the intensity of the experience. This is especially true in the first year and a half of the three year program. It often takes awhile for students to find their foothold and understand what exactly is going on around them – learning to balance the extreme amount of bookwork and research required of law students and the interaction of a social life is an important skill that all lawyers must learn.
It can be difficult for lawyers to spend all day looking into legal briefs and past decisions for their clients, and then go home and live outside of that realm. This constant need to balance work and home life is something that the tremendous pressure of law school tries to put into perspective from the very beginning.
Another important part of your law school experience is a clerkship or internship with a firm or agency in your field of specialization. This experience will give you the chance to learn – hands-on – about what goes on every day in a functioning law firm. In addition to gaining real-world experience, you'll also find that many top law firms value this outside experience and consider it strongly when looking to recruit candidates right out of school.
Once you graduate, you'll need to take the bar exam in order to become licensed to practice law in your state. If you plan to practice in more than one state, you may need to pass the bar in each state in which you'd like to be eligible to practice law. Depending on the field you plan to specialize in, you may need to pass a separate ethics exam as well – this is something you should check into with the licensing board in your state. Once you've gained your license, it's important to work to keep it. Almost every state will require you to take a certain number of continuing education courses each year in order to maintain your licensed status.
Imagine getting your law degree from the comfort of your own home, through a reputable online college. That dream can be a reality if you choose Concord Law School, the nation's first online law school. Learn more about Concord College | Request free info
Imagine getting your law degree from the comfort of your own home, through a reputable online college. That dream can be a reality if you choose Concord Law School, the nation's first online law school.
