How to become a lawyer

If you are reading this page, you are probably thinking about becoming a lawyer. This is one of the most rewarding job out there and it can also bring you a lot of money, if you are great at it.

This post will cover the basic steps required in order to become a lawyer.

How to become a lawyer – step by step

1. Finish high-school. You can’t go to law school if you don’t finish high-school (there are some people asking this). Also, in high-school you need to develop really good study habits, communication and reading skills.

2. Get a bachelor’s degree from a university or college. In order to do that, you need to graduate from a four-year undergraduate college. An associates degree can’t get you in law school. You must study a lot in college because you GPA is very important for law school admission.

3. Take the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). This half-day test is required for admission all ABA-approved law schools and most non-ABA-approved and Canadian law schools. You need to study hard for this test if you want to get in law school. Some students, even take prep courses before taking the LSAT exam. You may consider to do that if you are not very well prepared.
The maximum score you can get in LSAT is 180.

4. Apply to law schools. After you passed LSAT, you need to apply to several ABA (American Bar Association) accredited law schools. Admission is mostly based on your GPA and LSAT score. Some law school give more attention to LSAT, others to GPA. You can apply to several law schools, but the application fees are kinda high, so choose wisely.

For example, successful applicants to the number one ranked law school, Yale University, had grade point averages ranging from 3.83 to 3.97 and LSAT scores ranging from 170 to 176. Only 6.8% of all Yale applicants were accepted.

On the opposite range of the spectrum, applicants accepted to Thomas M. Cooley, a low-ranked school, had grade point averages between 2.79 and 3.37 and LSAT scores between 146 and 152. 66.6% of all applicants were

5. Get accepted to law school. If you choose wisely to what schools to apply and you studied in college and for the LSAT test, you will probably get into law school. For exemple, the accepted applicants to Yale University (number one ranked law school) had LSAT scores ranging from 170 to 176 (from 180) GPA ranging between 3.83 and 3.97, but successful applicants to Thomas M. Cooley, that is a low-ranked school, had GPA between 2.80 and 3.38 and LSAT scores ranging from 146 to 152. 6.8% of Yale and 66.7% of Thomas M. Cooley applicants were accepted.

6. Graduate from law school. It takes at least 3 years to graduate from a full-time law school and 4 or more years for part time programs. In law school, try joining a study group can help a lot. Also, it’s not enough to know the information, you need to learn the right “formula” for writing proper law school essays since most exams are based on essay questions.

While you are a student, you should try to get a position at a law school as an assistant, file clerk, messenger etc. or you could do a summer internship program. Any extra “work” will be rewarded later.

7. Take and pass the bar exam. The requirements and testing protocols differ from state to state, but in most states, use exam testing materials provided by National Council of Bar Examiners. The bar exam is really hard, that’s why most students take a bar review course before taking the exam.

After passing the bar exam, you are a certified lawyer.