How long does it take to become a lawyer? It generally takes 7 years to become a lawyer as a full-time student and 8 years in case of part-time student, which includes 4 graduation years and 3 years in the law institute. The time taken to become a lawyer can be reduced by passing several exams to earn the required credits during graduation.
Steps to become a lawyer
Mostly, the people who opt for the law as a career, are often asking that how long does it take to become a lawyer? It usually start with the traditional undergraduate studies for four years. After completing graduation, they get admission to law school for a further three years.
However, important point is that either you are attending a full-time law school or part-time law school. Part-time law schools usually take one extra year to complete the required credits for getting a degree.
If you pass the bar exam on the first try then it is good to go as compared to the repeated exams. Conditions and rules, however, are different in different states.
1. The initial step of law study
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The first step to becoming a lawyer normally consists of 4 years of studies at some college or university to complete the graduation degree that is necessary for law studies.
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One can get a graduation degree in any discipline regardless of the point that the graduation degree must be in a particular law-related field.
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A lot of law institutes that are authorized by the American bar association have the requirement of a bachelor’s degree for admission in that institute.
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However, rules can slightly differ in different states of America, for example, in California, students are flexible. Students can get admission in a law school just after the undergraduate study of two years by passing some equivalent test.
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Yet, it’s not the best way to get admission in the law school as it may prohibit you from getting admission in some best law institutes.
2. Law school admission test
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Once you have got your bachelor’s degree, your next and most important step is to head towards a law institute for 3 year’s study in the field of law specifically.
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You first have to pass the law school admission test is mandatory in most of the law schools in America.
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Scores that you attain in the law school admission test, are important of the application and you must go fully prepared for the test. Getting a good score in law school admission test often requires thorough preparation by the students.
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There is a different situation for the students who are already following the undergraduate degree program and complete the test during college or university, they don’t have to put much effort into law school admission test preparation.
3. Admitting in law institute
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After passing the law school admission test, you almost enter the law studies. However, here you will have two choices, either you can get admission as a full-time student or part-time.
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A full-time student will get the law degree in three years if he doesn’t fail any of these years and completes his credits. So, the time taken to complete a law degree will be seven years.
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However, if you are unable to be enrolled as a full-time student, you will spend one more year to reach the required credits for awarding of a law degree.
4. Passing the bar exam
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So, for the students who want to know how long does it take to become a lawyer, your journey will not end at passing law school.
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After getting a law degree, students need to pass the state bar exam to continue further. State bar exam depends upon the state where you want to pursue your law practice and not necessary to be limited in the state of graduation.
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Just as the law school admission test, for passing the bar exam, you need to prepare it in the best way to pass with impressive marks in the era of great competition. After attending the exam, you will wait for a few months for the result declaration.
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There is a review exam before the official entry in the bar. However, this is not a written or knowledge-based test onwards, but you just have to pass the character and fitness review test by the state bar association.
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Bar association investigates completely about your background including the criminal record, residential conditions, financial aspects, and even the employment history if you have any.
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If an applicant has a clear background, he may pass the review test in a shorter time as compared to the one with a filthy background that needs much more time to be evaluated.
Summary
First step to become a lawyer starts by getting admission to law school by and law school admission test is compulsory for this. After completing 3 years at law school, the bar association exam is cleared and then practice is started.
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How long is law school part-time?
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If you are not able to get admission as a full-time student as hindered by your situation, such as supporting a family or any others, you can be a part-time law student.
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Now, as it is obvious that you are not attending law school regularly as being attended by full-time students, you will require some extra time to complete the degree.
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That extra time is mostly one year that lengthens your law degree duration from three years to four years to fulfill the credit requirements of the law institute.
Pros of part-time law school
Students who are not able to be enrolled as regular full-time students in law school can go for the option of part-time law school admission. Several advantages are associated with the part-time study of law. Some of them have been mentioned below:
Evening classes at law-school
- As the title indicates, several law institutes offer evening classes to part-time students.
- In this way, a part-time student who has a job, family, or any other career requirement, can easily attend the school in the evening.
Less load of the course
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Students who get I admission in a part-time program, have the benefit to attend fewer classes as they need low credits as compared to the ones who are in a full-time program.
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However, it doesn’t mean that part-time students completely tension-free, they have to attend the classes for up to forty hours a week.
Reduced financial burden
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As it has been mentioned previously that as compared to the full-time programs, the part-time law program gets completed in four academic years.
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As the duration gets split, so do the expenses. A part-timer can easily afford reduced expenses over a longer period.
Lower admissions criteria
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Scores acquired by law school admission test and the grades of students enrolled as pert-timers are not included in U.S. News and world report’s law institutes ranking. This makes it possible for law institutes to have a low admission criterion.
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Instead of GPAs or law school admission test score of the part-timers, these kinds of admission programs weigh greatly on the professionally practical experience and the achievements.
Cons of part-time law school
Where there are pros of a thing, there are some relevant cons also. The same is the case of part-time law programs, and these cons are mentioned as:
Low degree status
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After completion of the law degree, when it comes to acquiring a job, a pert-timer may have more trouble as compared to a regular full-time law student.
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Law firms or some other employments may be considering the part-time law degree as low status maybe because of the flexible criteria for getting admission.
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So, after the completion of a law degree, if the part-time student wants to go for a post-graduation, he may face difficulties sometimes.
High financial cost
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In addition to the question that how long does it take to become a lawyer, one may be worried that how costly law study is? As far as the duration of a part-time law degree is concerned, it usually gets completed in four years and students have to spend an extra year as compared to the full-timers.
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Hence, no matter students are paying less in a part-time program, but the overall expenses of a part-time law degree often exceed the expenses of a full-time degree program.
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Moreover, in most of the institutes, offering a part-time degree program, the students are not awarded any kind of academic scholarship.
Lost chances for part-timers
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Part-timers may miss the certain beneficial changes that are availed by full-time law students, such as interviews that are conducted in the institutes, academic journals, temporary training, and many more.
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Moreover, the part-time students being the job holders are mostly unable to do the clerkships that play an important part in getting a job in some high ranked law firms.
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Points to be considered
In addition to the question that how long does it take to become a lawyer, one may also ask and think that what points are needed to be considered while getting admission in law institutes. Either you should get admission as a full-time student in law school or part-time student, requires to consider the following factors:
1) Financial status
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How costly is a law degree and how much scholarships are offered by the law school are the most important focus points for students who are going to pursue the law degree.
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Normally, the cost of governmental law institutes ranges between $20,000 to $30,000 each year. While for private law schools, the cost reaches about $50,000 that is approximately double the cost of the former.
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Previously, there was a restriction by ABA for students to not pursue the job during law studies, however, it has been relaxed now. But the law institutes mostly have their own rules about the working hours of students during the studies that may range from 15 to 20 hours a week.
2) Availability of time
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For the people who are concerned about the point that how long does it take to become a lawyer, the main point is their urge to get the law degree in the shortest possible duration.
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Answer to their query is that the shortest time to get a law degree is three years for full-time students and four years for part-time students.
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So, before applying for the law school test you should be clear that in what type of program you are interested to get admission.
3) Law school reputation
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Sometimes, students are more concerned to get admission to some top-ranking law school according to the U.S News and World report.
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But, by practical point of view, the school’s prestige is least concerned with the degree that you will have at the end of the day.
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Because, once you get enrolled in a law school, you will ultimately come out as a lawyer no matter in which institute you are studying.
4) Summer internship programs
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If you get admission as a full-time law student, you will be able to avail the chance of summer internships as most law schools are kept open for this purpose.
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Various law firms and organizations visit during this period and students have golden chances to avail of the internship programs during academic studies.
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These internships may be converted to permanent jobs if the student performs best, so that is the best benefit for full-time students.
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If you are a part-time student, you may miss that opportunity because of their busy summer days.
5) Admission criteria
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An important point to be considered before applying for law school admission is the different criteria for full-time and part-time students according to the policies of institutes.
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Although policies of different schools vary from each other yet the criteria for full-time students is relatively strict as compared to the part-timers.
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Part-time law programs although are relaxed as compared to full-time regarding the scores of law school admission test and the GPA of the undergraduate program, yet it possesses some strictness.
6) Social life at school
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If a student thinks that he will be enjoying a great social life in the law institute, he may be over-expecting from his life. But it doesn’t mean that you will have a boring academic life after you are enrolled in law school.
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There are a lot of events that are being conducted at the law school during which students have chances to have to get together with their peeps.
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In contrast to the full-time students, the part-timers are usually married, military employees, or jobholders. They have a lot to do in their personal life that being social at school is nearly impossible for them.
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However, if the students are confident and potential enough to carry on alone, they will have no issues with the part-time degree program.
7) Reasons for attending law school
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Reasons or motives of the students, who are getting admission to a law school are different usually for different types of degree programs.
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Most of the students, who are interested to get a law degree as part-time students more often have no plans of becoming a criminal lawyer, defense lawyer, or any specialized branch of law.
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Instead, mostly the only purpose of the part-timers is to increase their professional prestige. Having these points in mind, a law student may find it unnecessary to get admission as a full-time student and they can be benefitted from a part-time program.
For example,
Getting an additional law degree for a medical-related employee may award his progress in his medical field. The same is the case in military employees or the business world.
In short
Points to be considered while getting admission include the financial status, time duration, law school prestige, internships, scholarships, social activities, and the motives to get the admission.
How long does it take to become a criminal lawyer?
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In addition to the pressure that a criminal attorney has t bear, there is a need for thorough investigation for the collection of evidence. Hence, dealing with the information should also be the capability of a law attorney in the field of criminal justice.
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To better understand that what is defense attorney and how does he work, here are the details. The field of criminal law requires a neutral mind and strong nerves to fully adopt the requirements of the profession.
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Criminology is such a vast field that a criminal lawyer has to meet and come in contact with a wide variety of people with both good and bad characters.
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Thus, being a criminal lawyer, you have to get rid of prejudice and dive into the details of each case with the point of view to provide the client with a clean trial and decisions.
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Specializing as a criminal defense attorney is possible in various ways, and the best one is to study in a traditional graduation institute.
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It helps to get admission into a law school with a great reputation that can be an important step to become an attorney in criminal law.
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If you become a criminal lawyer or defense attorney, you need to acquire very good grades in graduation and law school, otherwise it will be ■■■■■■ to get prestigious employment.
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after the completion of the undergraduate program, you will head towards a law school to get a law degree without which no one can even think of practicing law.
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Law degree generally gets completed in three years if you are studying as a full-timer and it will take four years in case of part-time study.
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During the last years, students are often directed towards their field of desire that may be criminal law.
What are the duties of lawyers?
What kind of duties you will perform, that depends upon the field that you choose and also upon the employment organization or law firm. Some important fields that can be chosen by lawyers are given as:
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Legal assistance and counseling
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Practical involvement in court affairs with clients
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Private law practice
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Public prosecution
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Working in corporate firms
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Public defense attorney
What they do
Duties that a lawyer performs depend upon the field of law in which he is practicing, and some of them have been given below:
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Providing counseling to the clients in legal matters
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Research and preparation of court cases
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Collection of evidence
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Evaluation of evidence thoroughly
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Interpretation of legal matters and existing laws
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Communication with the other professionals related to the field of law
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Preparing the documents such as lawsuits, contractual agreements, and wills
What they bear
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No matter if lawyers are in the field of criminology or other than this, they have to deal with a lot of stress and pressure when they are dealing with a case.
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When a case is prepared, the evidence is collected and the case is represented in the court, that is a tough time for the nerves of a lawyer to bear the stress and speak well to pull the situation in the court to his side.
Frequently asked questions
Other than the question that how long does it take to become a lawyer, people also have a lot of questions regarding the field of law as it is such a vast topic. Some of these questions have been answered below:
1. Is becoming a lawyer hard?
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Law is a field that needs determination and a competitive approach. The first step is to pass the law school admission test that needs time and hard work. After entering law school, 3 important years of the law institutes are often very hard because of the competition and tough studies.
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Finally, after passing the school years, the real competition begins because of the presence of a lot of expert lawyers all around you. So, as a whole, the field of law is best for those who are daunting and hardworking.
2. What is the fastest way to get a law degree?
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Fastest way to get a law degree is getting an admission in a traditional law school, but it takes at least 10 years. Ten years in the case when you pass the bar association exam in the single attempt, otherwise it can be lengthened.
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To get the degree in less time, you should go for a college that offers a 3/3 program. Colleges with 3/3 programs allow their students to start law education during the final year of college.
3. Why are lawyers so unhappy?
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Becoming a lawyer is not a game of kids. you have to put a lot of effort to be successful in this field. One most important reason for lawyers to be unhappy is that they deal with a lot of clients who have such depressive stories and cases that it unintentionally leaves them in depression.
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Moreover, the pressure of court cases, the pressure of some wrong decisions while accepting a case that may be supporting the guilty, and most importantly losing a case are the factors that are associated with stress.
4. What type of lawyers makes the most money?
There are the following types of lawyers that make the most money:
| Field of law | Annual Amount |
|---|---|
| Medical lawyer | $150,882 |
| Intellectual property lawyer | $ 140,973 |
| Trial lawyers | $ 101, 087 |
| Tax lawyers | $ 99,691 |
| Corporate attorneys | $ 98,823 |
Now here are some fields of law that offer the lowest-earning:
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Public Defense lawyer
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Legal Assistance Attorney
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Immigration lawyer
5. What field of law is in most demand?
Following fields of law are in most demand:
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Complex litigation law
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Corporate Law
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Taxation Law
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Intellectual Property law
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Blockchain
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Health field
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Environmental law
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Criminal law
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Civil Rights law
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Animal Rights law
Conclusion
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How long does it take to become a lawyer? Law degree can be completed in 7 years if you are studying as a full-time law student and 8 years in the case of a part-time law student.
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Four years out of these 7 or 8 are the years of graduation that is mandatory to take admission in a law school.
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Criminal law is also completed in seven years and the final years of law determine the field of specialization.
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However, the time taken to become a lawyer can be reduced by passing certain exams to earn the required credits during graduate studies.
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