How Long Does it Take to Become a Lawyer | An Expert Guide

How long does it take to become a lawyer? ((In the USA becoming a lawyer)) takes several years as it requires an extensive education consisting of 4 yrs. of undergraduate study and 3 yrs. of law practice. However, proper planning, proper timelines, and proper education make it easy. When considering a career in law, many people get their degree first. This is because the legal field provides an excellent foundation for subsequent careers in law and work. A little experience as a paralegal can offer valuable strength. It will also enhance your timeline of becoming a lawyer.

You can earn credits during your undergraduate studies by taking Law School exams. The hours it takes to become a lawyer through exams is about two years shorter than the time it would take you to receive a degree from a conventional school.

When setting a timeline for becoming a lawyer, you should consider your career goals and develop a timeframe based on that. You will want to gain experience as quickly as possible to achieve your career goals.

This article will show the thorough process of becoming a successful lawyer and answer some common queries about practicing law. Let’s start the count-down.

How to Become a Lawyer?

Becoming a lawyer requires proper education, determination, commitment, and law practice. If you are interested in pursuing your career as a lawyer, you should know your job responsibilities, considerations, and consequences. Following are some steps that will help shape a career as a lawyer: 

Get a Law Degree

All the law schools demand that applicants should have a bachelor’s degree in the case of admission. Even a lawyer’s undergraduate degree may be in any subject such as English, Political Science, Sociology and Criminal Justice, etc. To earn a high ((GPA)), you should work and participate in extracurricular activities to be a solid applicant.

Read More: What Can You Do With A Law Degree Besides Be A Lawyer

Take the LSAT

The law school admission test ((LSAT)) is another striking element of applying to a law school. The LSAT is an excellent brain-drain test that examines how successful an applicant is in his promises, goals, enforcements, and achievements. An applicant should be tension-free in case of LSAT scores as it doesn’t matter. But studying, preparing, and examining the tests is essential in advance of your trial. Yet high LSAT scores mark the top candidates. 

Go to the Law School 

Most countries require people to graduate from a ((Well-known law school)) to become a lawyer. If a law student attends all classes, one may expect that he will graduate in three years. Some join law school as fun, and it will increase their timeline to begin practicing law.

Finishing law school will guide you to develop your critical capacity, knowledge, skills, and mentality and reveal new scenarios you might learn as a lawyer. 

Pass the State Bar exam

After graduating from law school, you have to pass the ((Bar exam)) organized by your state. It determines how much knowledge, skills, and experience you have in the legal field. It may be a brainstorming study involving a character examination and an extensive background check for several months.

Apply for jobs

After passing the bar exam and gaining a certificate to practice law, you have to focus on applying for jobs at law firms, offices, and courts. Lawyers can work with government, semi-government, private, profitable, and other organizations.  

Consider the type of law you would have to practice and choose the environment you want to join. It would help if you appeared in various jobs after graduating to decide what part of lawyers you want to study. 

Skills Needed to Become a Lawyer 

After getting a graduate degree and practicing law, you need to learn some additional skills to become a successful lawyer. 

Here are some skills that you should learn in becoming a lawyer: 

Writing 

Writing skills are necessary for a successful lawyer to write legal documents. That’s why you should write professionally as the lawyers do. 

Research Capability

To engage the clients, lawyers should be at the top in researching skills such as legal regulations, advising and supporting, etc. Law is constantly evolving. So, a lawyer should be aware of all the legal and research skills. 

Speaking Practice 

A lawyer is always on behalf of his clients, so he should know his speaking skills. A lawyer should be articulate, effective in speaking, and a good spokesperson in front of many people; judges, lawyers, the public, etc.  

Problem Solving Techniques 

To perform their job well, lawyers must be capable of looking at a problem objectively and finding the best solution expediently. Lawyers should be mentally super-hero as they should solve all the cases of clients. 

Interpersonal Skills 

To become a successful and competent lawyer, you need to earn your clients’ trust. By possessing exceptional interpersonal skills, you’ll relate to clients in a professional, personable way. A good lawyer feels all the issues and sympathies of his clients as his own. 

Learn More: What Happens If A Lawyer Loses A Case

Analytical Thinking

All the lawyers spend most of their time analyzing cases, examining the facts, and developing tactics to represent their clients effectively; these require analytical skills. A lawyer should be an analytic versatile, a man of inquiry. 

How Much Does a Lawyer Earn?

As much as salary matters, the annual average salary for a lawyer in 2019 was $122,960, according to the ((United States Bureau of Labor Statistics)). The top 10% of lawyers can earn up to $208,000.

Your personal earning depends on various factors, such as:

• Where you practice
• What type of law do you practice
• Your degree 
• Your experience level

Different Types of Specialization in law

Whether you are drawn to criminal law or any estate law, you can find any legal solution. Law specializations are essential to gain accurate direction in the legal field.

Here are some legal specializations to take:

• Tax law
• Admiralty law 
• Administrative law
• Corporate law
• Constitutional law
• Commercial Law
• Criminal law
• Estate and trust law
• Environmental law
• First Amendment law
• Intellectual property law
• Health care law
• International law
• Small business law

Benefits of Becoming a Lawyer

A lawyer wants a variety of luxuries and facilities as he earns too much money. Here are some valuable points that lawyers enjoy: 

The opportunity to help people

Helping people is like a supreme foundation upon which law was built. You don’t need evil to prevail because the people unbridling it has power, and their victims don’t have it. Through your post as a lawyer, you can assist people in getting what is due to them and take care of organizations’ legal problems.

A lawyer should have a strong heart to help others even in times of distress. Public interest lawyers exist to uphold legal roots to promote the greater good of society and offer legal assistance to people who can’t pay for a lawyer. 

Plenty of lawyers who devote themselves to private practice generally provides pro bono service to low-income individuals and victims of underserved populations.

When you see how worthy you can be to the world, you want to become sensitive to help others.

Learn more about lawyers’ work-life balance.

The Reputation

A lawyer is the symbol of reputation, luxurious life, and high publicity. This reputation has lasted for generations and will hold in generations to come because of the level of authority a lawyer exerts. Lawyers’ expertise, respect, and high opinion of the media always project them as successful professionals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it hard to become a lawyer? 

To become a lawyer is a very competitive and challenging task due to the involvement of law school education, law practice and state bar exams, etc. As compared to reputation and earnings, it is an easy task to become a lawyer.

Read More: How To Get Rich As A Lawyer

How fast can you become a lawyer?

Due to a four-year educational career and three years of law practice, becoming an aspiring lawyer takes 6 to 7 years. 

Can you become a lawyer in 2 years? 

((Drexel University)) has generated a program of 2 years law degree. Students in law institutes take up to 17 credits per semester as legalized by ((American Bar Association Regulations)). This accelerated program is equal to three years degree association. 

Which degrees do most lawyers have?

Most lawyers in the United States have a Juris Doctor (JD) degree. It is a well-known degree in the United States. It’s the first law degree in the US and the most common degree that the American bar association offers. 

What does LLB stand for?

LLB is the ((Latin phrase)), “Legum Baccalaureus,” which is the degree of law. 

Conclusion

A lawyer is a well-qualified and licensed professional who advises and represents clients according to the matters of the law.  The American Bar Association, the two primary responsibilities of a lawyer, is to:

• Uphold the law
• Protect their client’s rights

A lawyer offers legal advice to clients, represents them in legal proceedings, and creates legal documents. They properly understand the law based on the special situations of their clients. Lawyers also comprehend research into current legal laws and common legal issues. Lawyers can specialize in many fields, such as personal problems, immigration, criminal law, and business law.