A lawyer gets his or her start in the legal profession by going to law school. A lawyer spends about 7 years at law school after earning a Bachelor of Arts degree. This then breaks down to 4 years of graduate school and 3 years of post-baccalaureate studies in law. Generally, a bachelor's degree is required just to get into law school with preferred classes in public speaking, law, government, philosophy, math, English, and physics. After you earn your bachelor's degree, you can take a state bar exam to be an attorney.
Then you have to sit for the bar exam and take the state bar exam in your state in order to practice law in that state.Some states require candidates for bar admission requirements to have three to four years of active practicing as a lawyer in one state and experience in another state for at least two years. Bar admission requirements vary from state to state, so it is best to find out what the bar admission requirements are in the state where you intend to practice law. You should also make sure that the state where you want to practice law is one where you have a base of family or community ties.
This means that you should live in or near the state for which you are applying. If you live in a different state but plan to practice law in that state, you should ensure that you have family or community ties there too. Otherwise, you may not be able to practice law in that state.In order to be eligible for bar admission, a lawyer has to pass the state bar examination which is conducted by the American Bar Association or ABA. Candidates have to attain a certain number of credits in order to pass. These include credit hours from a school of Law, which is accredited by the ABA.
There is no minimum GPA requirement for law students who want to be admitted to the highest court.In order to be competitive for being admitted into one of the more prestigious law firms, lawyers must keep up with their peers. This means that they need to take part in bar exams and take and pass the state bar examination. This exam is available in all fifty states and can be taken online. Once a lawyer passes his or her state bar examination, he or she will become a Certified Lawyer which means that they have achieved the highest level of legal proficiency. A candidate can achieve this certification in any state that they desire to practice law.
The final career test that lawyers must take and pass is the Professional Responsibility Examination. This is often called the PLEX. The PLEX tests lawyers' knowledge of: court procedures, civil litigation, administrative law, family law, patent law, real property law, criminal law, administrative law, regulatory law, administrative law, professional or special knowledge. Only after passing the three tests described above can lawyers then be considered a practicing Lawyer. Although most people think of the Bar Exam as the entity through which one gets admitted into the nation's courts, the PLEX is just as important and can be just as time consuming and challenging. It is important for lawyers to realize that passing this test is not an easy task, and if they fail they will not likely find a job in the legal market.
Becoming a lawyer takes dedication and hard work. Many lawyers find the rewards of their profession extremely gratifying. However, lawyers must also understand that they are human just like the rest of us and mistakes can and do happen. Bar Examination can be hard work, but it is also very rewarding. Once a Lawyer has achieved his or her full-time law degree, they will know that they have made a very wise decision.