How to Become a Lawyer

Step 1: Research Legal Career Paths

Law school is EXPENSIVE, so before you even start, research possible career paths and legal jobs out there. It is important to understand the sheer amount of work it takes to become a lawyer and how difficult the work can be at times.

If you know people who are working in the legal field or are in law school, speak to them and ask about their jobs. Find out what a typical day may look like and what hours they work. In their first few years out of law school, most attorneys will work really long days. You need to decide if you want to become a lawyer before you continue down this road.

Step 2: Build Legal Skills

So, you’ve decided after research that you do want to become a lawyer. Fantastic! The next step is to develop legal skills that will help you through law school and your legal career. Here are some skills that may help you:

• Reading and writing to a high level
• Analytical skills
• Social awareness
• Study skills
• Public speaking skills
• Personal discipline

In addition, you can consider areas of law you may want to work in and take classes or do activities related to them. For example, a corporate lawyer may benefit from learning about businesses either by reading books or attending business seminars and events. You can consider the type of law you want to do when picking volunteering and charity work too and make good connections.

If you are still in school and wondering how to become a lawyer and what extracurricular activities may help, then consider taking the following:

• Debate or mock trial
• Drama class
• Social studies classes
• Academic reading or writing classes
• Study workshops to learn study techniques
• Any activities that require analysis or logic like chess, science classes, philosophy maths, etc.
• STEM subjects

Step 3: Picking College Classes

One thing you may not have realized in your research on how to become a lawyer is that most law schools do not have prerequisite subjects. Yup, you can study whatever you want in college. Therefore, you should pick classes that you enjoy and that you will get good grades in.

The most important thing to consider when picking college classes is what subjects you will get a high GPA in. This will be an important factor in your law school application, and picking a college subject you think you should study instead of one you will want to study can prevent you from getting into your first-choice law school.

If you were hoping this article on how to become a lawyer would tell you exactly what to study, then here is a list of degrees that may help you to develop skills to assist your law studies. However, you should enjoy college, because law school is going to be a lot of hard work. The most important things to do in college is to get a high GPA and learn study skills.

Subjects that may help you develop skills you need to become a lawyer:

• Business
• History
• Philosophy
• Economics
• English
• Political Sciences

Again, they will not really give you that much of an advantage, so you do not need to study these subjects. Pick something that you will be interested in and take the time to study.

Step 4: In How To Become a Lawyer: Study For The LSAT/GRE

In order to get into law school, you have to take an exam. The law schools you apply to will look at your exam results along with your GPA, resume, and personal statement to decide whether to enrol you or not. This is a very important step in how to become a lawyer.

There are two tests you might take:

• LSAT(Law School Admissions Test)
• GRE (Graduate Record Examinations General Test)

In the past, the LSAT was the test that most prospective law students would take, but now more law schools are allowing the GRE.

Scoring a high score in these tests will improve your chances of getting into a good law school, so make sure you study hard. This is an important step in how to become a lawyer because your law school selection will matter in some fields of law.

Step 5: Law School

Law school is three years of rigorous study, and the first year is the most difficult. The first year of law school is so difficult and has so much information to learn that some law schools put caps on the number of hours they allow students to work outside of their studies. It is recommended to try and save up before law school and ideally live at home where possible so that all of your time and effort can go to studying and learning all the information you need to excel.

At law school, you will meet teachers who are well respected in the legal community and classmates who will become peers and useful connections. It is vital to do well and show that you are a good student with a firm grasp of the law. Your ranking in law school will also affect future job prospects, so study diligently.

Your choice of law school is important to your legal career. Different law schools are known for focusing on certain types of law. Take that into account when applying for schools.

Step 6: Bar Exam

The bar exam is the exam you pass in order to be admitted into the state’s bar association. It is different in every state, so you need to do the bar exam in the state where you want to practice law.

The bar exam is known for being difficult, and many people have to take it multiple times before they pass. Take the bar exam seriously and study well before taking it. Many law graduates spend their whole summer studying for the bar exam, treating it like a full-time job. You cannot practice law as an attorney without passing the bar exam.

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Become a Lawyer

Here are some frequently asked questions we hear when speaking to people about how to become a lawyer.

What Do Lawyers Earn?

This is one of the first questions we hear from someone wondering how to become a lawyer. A lawyer will generally earn 6 figures; in California, the average salary for a lawyer is $171,550. A lot of work comes with this salary, though and a lot of pressure.

Is It Difficult to Become a Lawyer?

When we talk to young people wondering how to become a lawyer, they often ask if it is hard. And the answer is yes. Law school is very competitive, but so is the career. The work that is needed to excel in law school, the long hours, memorizing laws, and learning precedents accurately reflect the work that is needed to do well as a lawyer.

Why Are Lawyers Always Unhappy?

This is something we don’t like to hear when talking about how to become a lawyer. But, we can see why people may think this. A legal career is not an easy career. It can be stressful at times and involves a lot of work. As a lawyer, you meet people during some of the worst times of their lives, and you are expected to make everything better. It involves long hours and a lot of hard work. I would say lawyers are not generally unhappy, but they are often stressed and a little bit tired.

Good Luck!

We hope our comprehensive guide on how to become a lawyer has helped answer your questions. We wish you luck and hope to see you in the courtroom soon!