Law & Legal: Study Resource & Degree Program Information

General Information About Law Degree Programs

Harvard Law School dean Christopher Columbus Langdell reformed the legal education system in the U.S. during the late 1800s with the goal of turning the legal profession into a graduate study. While other countries offer law as an undergraduate program, the U.S. requires that prospective law students earn a bachelor’s degree first and then apply to law school, which is a separate graduate degree program. Although a high number of law school applicants major in political science or humanities studies, schools encourage people from all academic backgrounds to apply.

Law school takes three years of full-time study to complete and confer a Juris doctorate (J.D.) and has explicit limits on the minimum amount of time student must spend in program. Some schools offer joint degrees with another program, such as a six-year bachelor’s and J.D. degree program or a joint J.D. and MBA program. There are also combinations of a J.D. with a Master of Science or a J.D with a Master of Arts. Some schools offer clinical education programs, which focuses on training that is more practical.

The top law schools in the country are often connected with elite universities, such as Harvard, Yale, UC Berkeley, Columbia, Stanford, New York University, University of Pennsylvania, UCLA, Duke, Cornell, Georgetown, Northwestern, University of Chicago and University of Michigan. When applying to law school, make sure that it is professionally accredited by the American Bar Association.

LSAT For Law School

Admissions to law school are based on a candidate’s bachelor's degree, academic grades and Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score, along with work experience, writing skills and extracurricular activities as an undergraduate. Most applicants take private classes and study for the test like a normal college-level course, as the LSAT score is one of the main indicators that law schools look at when choosing new students.

Earning A Juris Doctorate

A Juris Doctor, also known as a J.D., is the graduate degree and professional doctorate of the study of law. A J.D. gives students the necessary training to become a lawyer. Law students are often referred to as 1Ls, 2Ls and 3Ls based on their year of study. Professors lead debates in class over court cases and issues or from “casebooks” used in class, which usually cover landmark cases. The change from lecture-based teaching to interactive debating among classmates is often a jarring change for 1Ls, as the casebooks push students to interpret the law and basic legal concepts on their own from the case without strict textual guidance.

In addition to the extremely rigorous studying involved in law schools, students are highly encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities, as well as search for internships and jobs for the summer. Certain extracurricular activities are important for boosting a law graduate’s resume and having the opportunity to participate in practical law situations outside of the classroom. Being a member of law review, which is a journal published by the school (e.g. Harvard Law Review), is a great indicator of academic performance and gives students insight into legal scholarship and editing, along with the chance to publish their own work.

Moot court membership provides the opportunity to practice legal training, particularly in a courtroom situation, through Trial Advocacy and Dispute Resolution. Order of the Coif membership combines grade point average with Latin honors, although many law schools do not offer this.

Earning Other Degrees In Law

While the J.D. is considered a professional doctorate, a student can earn other higher law degrees. The Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) and Doctor of Comparative Law (D.C.L.) are research-based academic degrees comparable to a Ph.D.

Coursework For Law School

Law courses focus on learning how to analyze legal problems, read cases, condense facts and apply law to facts. The first year of law school is extremely standardized with a few exceptions. The course load is very heavy and comes from the following semester-length classes: contracts, criminal law, constitutional law, torts, civil procedure, property and a yearlong course in legal writing and research normally called lawyering skills.

The second and third years of law school is more flexible, with students able to choose from fields of law that interest them. However, professional responsibility is required in the second year and an upper-division writing course is required in the third year. Some schools offer a series of courses students can take as a specialization, while others have certification programs with research elements in such fields as public interest law, environmental law, international law and intellectual property law. Some areas of study that students pursue after the first year include corporate law, admiralty law, environmental law, venture capital, antitrust, intellectual property law, administrative law, international law and tax law.

The Socratic Method, the primary didactic approach in law school, tests students on the reasoning of the court in those cases. The Socratic Method forces students to teach each other based on their understanding of legal theory and the facts of the case. The Socratic Method encourages professors to call on students at random, ask about the arguments made in an assigned case and uses questions to expose flaws in the student’s argument. This combination of in-class debates, readings and exams train students in reasoning methods needed to determine, elucidate and prove legal precedents and statutes both in writing and orally.

Most law schools grade on a curve and the grading is very competitive. Exams involve writing an essay to interpret the facts of hypothetical cases and legal theories that apply to the case.

Admission To The Bar After Law School

Since many of the best law schools focus solely on legal theory, law school graduates often need to attend special bar review courses in order to pass the test. Practicing law requires licensure and admittance to the bar of a state or territory or the bar of the federal courts. It is necessary to have earned a J.D. before taking the exam for admission to the bar.

Career Opportunities For Law School Graduates

Working as a lawyer is not limited to any one area of expertise. Private practice involves working for firms of any size, whether it is a large corporate law firms or a smaller, specialized one. Public interest lawyers argue for specific causes and provide legal services for lawsuits concerning public policy. Government lawyers work at any level of the local, state or federal government, such as a district attorney or public defender.

Clerkships are limited, desirable positions that allow law graduates to work with state and federal judges, including the U.S. Supreme Court, researching and writing memos and opinion drafts based on the judge’s decisions in cases in addition to learning about the trial court system and motions practices.

Having a law degree can lead to careers outside the realm of law practices, including real estate, social services, education, nonprofits and politics. In fact, many members of the U.S. Senate, along with governors, congressional representatives, lobbyists and more, first earned law degrees before entering the political stage.

Earning Potential For Law School Graduates

Lawyers usually earn a substantially high income. Salary depends on the field of law and the size of the organization. The earning potential for law school graduates starts when students are still working towards their degree. A summer associate at a large firm can earn up to $3,000 per week. The average starting salary for young associates at large firms ranges from $102,470 to $137,000, with the biggest firms offering $160,000.