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It is generally thought that getting into law school is not easy, getting through law school is hard, and passing the bar is harder. I admit that studying the law is somewhat more difficult than learning to ride a bicycle, but I maintain that it is not an impossibly difficult task. Any intelligent person can get into law school. However, only those who are assiduous become lawyers, and only those who are ethical can remain in the profession.
This article is an extract from my book How To Become A Lawyer: A Guide for Prospective and Current Law Students. I start off that book with a high-level description of the process of becoming a lawyer. The focus of this chapter, though, is on getting into law school. I then explain the legal study areas and studying techniques—reading cases, taking class notes, making outlines, and writing exams, among other things—a law school survival kit, as it were. Next, I discuss the bar admission process, the most important milestone on the journey. I saved the best for last—legal ethics; it is difficult to overemphasize its importance to the profession. And a lawyer’s ethical career begins in law school.
Since the details such as in-class discussions, note taking, outlining, and legal technology are described in this book, I shall focus this article on the high-level summary of how one goes about transforming oneself from a wide-eyed, neophyte to a licensed lawyer. My goal in writing the book was to share the inside knowledge I gained about law school life with the current students, so that they may have an easier time there than I. With this article, however, my aim is to explain the process of becoming a licensed lawyer to those who are contemplating a career in law and those who are simply curious about the legal profession.
The following are the major steps you must take, in order to become an attorney: commit mentally and financially; take the LSAT; apply to multiple law schools; choose the school that best suits your needs; graduate with a good GPA; and be admitted to the bar.
Quite a few people start law school, but drop out during the first year. A few more graduate, but never pass the bar. Some are under committed. Some do not have what it takes. Some face unforeseen adversities—job-related displacement, disability of some kind, death of a loved one, or worse, divorce. Regardless of the causes, failures like these can mar the psyche. And it is a tremendous waste of time, effort, and funds. To avoid these results, you must resolve to become a lawyer, before you take even one step toward that goal. Ensure that your finances are in order, whether you are paying your own way or are relying on a loan. Also, if you are married, secure your spouse’s assent and commitment. Do not proceed without full commitments from all concerned—you, your spouse, and your bank.
Register with the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), and choose a test date at least a few months away, perhaps longer, if you work full-time.
The LSAT, like other graduate school admission tests, is a standardized, multiple- choice test. There are five sections on the test, each lasting 35 minutes. One section is devoted to reasoning, one to analysis, and one to reading. There will be one experimental section, which may be reasoning, analysis, or reading type, and is not scored. This experimental section is used by the LSAC to try out new questions for future use. The last section is writing. It too is not scored. The writing sample, which you must write in your own hAnd is used by the law schools to evaluate your ability cogently to present your views in writing, under time constraint. Write legibly.
reasoning section—The reasoning section tests your ability to spot flaws in arguments. An argument is a sequence of reasoned statements used to persuade someone to agree with you. Arguments that erupt between laypersons are fueled by emotions. Arguments exchanged between lawyers, in contrast, are guided by the cool hand of logic. A lawyer uses arguments to sway others to agree with his client’s position, and his opponent will attempt to point out gaps in his reasoning. So, this section tests the prospective law student’s critical thinking ability—the ability to dissect an argument into its constituent parts and to spot logical errors committed by the argument’s proponent.
analysis section—The analysis section tests your ability to draw conclusions from facts, under constraining rules. This section is commonly known as logic games. A game starts out by giving you the setup and the constraints. You analyze the game, and draw a conclusion that respects all the facts given in the setup and that violates none of the constraints. A lawyer applies a set of laws to the facts of his case, and draws a legal conclusion about the case. So, this section tests the prospective law student’s ability to apply the rules to the facts and to draw a conclusion from that analysis.
reading section—The reading section tests your ability to read quickly a passage, and to answer correctly the questions based on the text. The text is 500-word or so in length, which is only a couple of pages of paperback novel. The topic can be about any human endeavor—politics, science, art, history, or even law. But no prior knowledge of the topic is necessary to comprehend the text, because each passage is clearly written and is self-contained. A well-crafted passage like this is easy to read, because it conforms to an established structure. It begins by introducing the reader to the topic, and follows it with a roadmap of what is to come. The body of the text presents a series of arguments. Finally, the text offers a conclusion. In the practice of law, lawyers formally communicate with each other by legal memos. The parties submit legal briefs to the court to inform the judge about their respective positions. The judge formalizes his decision by writing a legal opinion. And all these writings follow the established structure. As such, lawyers read rather a lot. So, the LSAT tests the prospective law student’s reading and comprehension skill.
writing section—The writing section, which consists of only one question, tests your ability to understand a set of facts, analyze them, reach a conclusion, and persuade the reader why he should agree with your views by presenting arguments supported by the facts. There will surely be facts that weaken your adopted position. Do not skate over them; instead, deal with them by arguing why the reader should not put much stock in them. The question asks you to take up one of the two opposing positions in equipoise. Either one can be supported by the facts in the passage. This uncertainty reflects life. A lawyer rarely ever sees slam-dunk cases, because such easy disputes are typically resolved by the parties on their own accord. So, a case that goes to trial is necessary a close one. Hence, a lawyer must not only offer arguments that support his case, but must also be prepared to defuse those that favor his opponent. This is why the LSAT tests the prospective law student’s ability to analyze the arguments on both sides, present his strongest arguments, and defuse those that may weaken his position.
Study for the test, either by buying test preparation books or by taking courses like those offered by Princeton Review, Kaplan, etc. There are also smaller classes, taught by local attorneys. These can be just as good as, if not better than, the big names. Most of these courses cost less than $1,500.
Regardless of whether you take a course or you study on your own, you must devote a few hours of home study, everyday. Master the test-taking techniques through practice. Make a short list of law schools to which you wish to be admitted. For each school, identify the range of LSAT scores you must attain, in order to be considered for admission. Regularly take the self-administered, timed tests, and evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Methodically improve your score until you have attained the desired mark. Better still—practice to score higher than the acceptance level.
Realize that the LSAT measures how well you know the test-taking techniques, not how intelligent you are. An abundance of intellect does not inoculate one against the lack of technique. So, use a study guide or take a training course, and follow the instructions to the letter.
You may likely find the LSAT unnatural and difficult, at first. But I assure you that you can master it with practice. When you become a lawyer in a few years, you will not even recall what the fuss was about.
While you are in the process of preparing for the LSAT, begin the law school application process. Once the LSAT results come out, you must request the LSAC to submit your official score directly to the intended law schools. Ask your undergraduate and graduate schools to submit your official transcripts directly to the law schools, as well. In addition to the LSAT score, the undergraduate GPA is another important factor used by law schools when selecting students. You will also have to write a personal statement. Schools are interested in who you are, what you have done, what sort of lawyer you aim to become, why you chose to pursue a career in law, and why they should accept you into their fold. Express yourself and tell your personal story, but be succinct. Use those writing skills you learned in the LSAT preparation course.
Law is a profession built around deadlines, so mind the due dates. Follow each school’s application guidelines, in order to avoid unnecessary delays. Be sure to apply to more than one school, the ones you hope to get into, as well as those that you know you will. That way, you will have choices. There is a point of diminishing returns though, as you will have to pay about $100 in application fees to each school you apply. Follow up with the admission office at each school to ensure that your paperwork is in order. Then, wait.
It will be a happy time for you, as acceptance letters from different schools stream in. The table has turned; you are now the chooser. This is your first taste of what it feels like to be admitted into the legal fraternity. The joy quickly evaporates though, as you must now decide which school to handover your pile of cash. When choosing a school, consider the factors such as the law practice area for which the school is known, its ranking, its overall reputation, its proximity to your home or work, its tuition fees, etc.
US News and World Report ranks law schools into four tiers annually, the first 50 are in tier one, the next 50 in tier two, and so on. There are also law schools that are not even accredited by the ABA. But remember, merely attending a top-tier school does not make one a great lawyer; much is up to the individual student.
Big name schools charge big tuitions, in excess of $50,000 per annum. Additionally, since they are typically situated in big cities, their room-and-board costs are commensurately big, at around $20,000 a year. All told, you might be over $200,000 in the hole, by the time you are admitted to the bar. But someone with a JD and a big GPA from a big school may well be debt-free in his very first year as a little associate in a big firm, because big firms pay big sums. Membership does have its privileges.
Make it a point to visit the schools before you choose. Talk to the deans, the alumni, and the current students. Ask to meet with a couple of law professors, in private. See if the school’s atmosphere suits your personality. Some schools host social events for the newly accepted students. These shindigs give you the opportunity to assess the alumni and the school’s personality. And definitely visit the law library and the technology facilities. Which state you intend to practice law is also an important factor you should consider. Choose wisely. You are linking yourself professionally and emotionally to your school and your classmates for a long time, possibly for life.
Some of the extracurricular activities you will likely engage in while at law school are journals, writing competitions, mock trial and moot court competitions, clinics, and internships. Journals and writing competitions are good for the resume. Mock trials, moot courts, and clinics are good for the experience. And internships are good for the connections with the law firms.
The primary responsibility of the journal staff is writing short articles and editing law review articles written by professors. You have to petition to the staff to be selected. Entering writing competitions will sharpen your legal research and writing skills, and a win earns you a little bit of cash and a whole lot of notoriety. Some schools are famous for their moot court victories. Mock trial and moot court competitions prepare you well for trial and appellate work. But if your goal is to become a transactional lawyer, not a litigator, these competitions may not offer any direct benefits to you. Through clinics, you gain law practice experience by working on actual cases. Law schools provide legal services to indigent clients. The clients get free legal service, and the students valuable, supervised practice experience. The summer internships at law firms are also a good way to gain practice experience and a bit of extra cash, but the face time with the firm partners is the real benefit.
At times during school, you might feel that every step you advance only gives you a better view of how tortuous the road ahead really is. Persevere though, and you shall reap the rewards.
It is a great feeling to have taken the last exam of the last semester. But that does not come close to the elation you feel, when you hold the JD diploma in your hand for the first time. That faint, sweet scent of papermaking chemicals and that luxurious texture of the degree certificate might even make you forget, momentarily, that you look rather a lot like a large bat, wearing your graduation gown.
You may have to jump over one last hurdle before graduation, though—the requirement to write a substantial, original research paper. Some say it is akin to a PhD dissertation. But I think it fits somewhere between an MS thesis and a PhD dissertation. In terms of page count, it is about the length of a novella.
Law is a learned profession, one that favors boffins. And GPA is the generally accepted measure of cleverness in the context of this profession. So, do your best to maintain a good GPA. A state supreme court clerkship may require students to be in the top 10% of the class rank in the state’s top law school. And usually, only the top few students from the best schools in the country become US Supreme Court clerks. Indeed, a number of the Supreme Court justices were Supreme Court clerks, in their younger days.
This is the most important step along your path to become a lawyer. In recent years, schools have become very selective with their acceptance process. It is not surprising then that a good many graduates go on to become licensed attorneys. But you must study hard. Indeed, study orders of magnitude harder for the bar than you did for the law school exams. Push hard, just one last time. Your reward is an induction into the legal profession, the profession of many a prominent founders and leaders of our nation.
This country was founded on principles of law. A number of the Founding Fathers were lawyers. And all the branches of the state and federal governments are led by lawyers, in accordance with the laws of the land. Not bad, really, for a profession that requires only three years of schooling.
The Western legal system has two distinct flavours: Roman civil law and English common law. Most European and Latin American countries follow the civil law. English-speaking countries and former British colonies follow the common. The key difference between the two systems is that under the civil law system only the legislative enactments are binding law, whereas under the common law system both legislator- enacted statutory law and judge-made case law are sources of legal authority. Of course, this is an overly simplified statement, but if you are going to a law school in the US—except in Louisiana, which is a civil law jurisdiction owing to its French lineage— you will not come in contact with civil law in the early part of your studies.
The following is a short list of books about law, sorted in the approximate order in which you should read:
Our Constitution is the work of men, not of saints. It is disturbing to the first-time readers that Article 4 Section 2 Clause 3 endorses slavery, without even attempting to hide behind fine words. Indeed, some of the drafters of the Constitution were slave owners. It was not until after the Civil War in 1865 that Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. And if you grow weary of the dour and want to cheer yourself up a bit, read the Eighteenth Amendment and then the Twenty-First Amendment. The point is this. Law is messy and it progresses slowly. But this is intentional. Our legal system was designed with a number of built-in mechanisms that tend to refine the system over time and to prevent unpredictable catastrophic changes. Appreciate the good, seek out the bad, and strive to improve the system. This is what lawyers do.
Because the law is expansive, it is divided into various areas. But these subject areas are all interrelated at one level or another. In this section, I will give brief descriptions of the popular law school subjects. I divide these subjects into three categories: core courses, bar courses, and elective courses.
Not everyone who enters law school is a recent college graduate. Indeed, many law students have had at least a few years of industry experience in science, medicine, business, law enforcement, social work, accounting, and the like. These students are able to use their work experience as a springboard into the legal career. Engineers often become patent attorneys, and accountants tax attorneys, for instance. So, even before starting law school, you should begin thinking about a particular practice area of law that catches your fancy—criminal law, family law, tax law, real estate law, health care law, etc.—and create a study plan that identifies the courses you wish to take. Start by browsing the courses offered at your law school. Then, go and talk to a professor to refine the course list.
Remember, though, that as you progress in your studies and your understanding of the law deepens, you may end up shifting your interests. Hence, it is vital that you build flexibility into your plan. Moreover, the employment market may demand that you switch practice areas. So, over emphasizing one sub-field of the law at the cost of other areas of study is a mistake. While in school, you should endeavor to gain a broad and solid foundational knowledge. You will have your opportunities to choose a specialty, once you have become a practicing attorney.
The core courses are required subjects that all law students must take, because all lawyers must know these subjects well.
Criminal Law—A criminal act is a behavior the society deems unacceptable. The government, state or federal, brings criminal proceedings against the defendants. Criminal convictions are punished with incarceration, fines, or both. You will learn different types of crimes such as murder, manslaughter, rape, battery, assault, robbery, burglary, attempt, conspiracy, etc. Note that traffic rules are defined in the state criminal statutes, so a traffic violation is a low- intensity criminal conduct. To every crime, there are applicable defenses like insanity, intoxication, consent, necessity, self-defense, defense of others, and the like. Your first encounter with statutes is likely to be in a criminal law course, where you will study a few provisions selected from the Model Penal Code (MPC). The MPC is published by the American Law Institute (ALI) to serve as the model for state criminal statutes. Criminal law is a 3-credit course. International crimes, crimes against humanity, and white-collar crimes are for the advanced criminal law courses.
Tort Law—A major topic of tort law is negligence, which is the defendant’s breach of a duty he owes to the plaintiff. In addition, there are intentional torts such as battery, assault, conversion, etc., which can be thought of as less- serious, civil counterparts to the criminal acts that go by the same names. Defenses to intentional torts are also similarly named: consent, necessity, self- defense, defense of others, etc. This overlap can be potentially confusing to students, especially because they take tort law and criminal law simultaneously in their first semester, when they are still unfamiliar with the legal concepts. Be forewarned. Unlike crimes, torts are prosecuted by private plaintiffs. The defendant who loses his case must pay the plaintiff money damages. Note that a single bad act can subject one to both criminal and tortious liabilities. Tort law is a 4-credit course. Medical malpractice, products liability, and the like, are covered in an advanced tort law course.
Contract Law— Contract law is about private duties two persons owe to each other, which arose out of a mutual agreement between them. In contrast, criminal law is concerned with public duties, the duties a person owes to the society as a whole, and tort law is about private duties a person owes to another member of the society. In contract law, you will learn about offer, acceptance, rejection, counter offer, revocation of acceptance, and other concepts of contract formation. Contract law is concerned with enforceability of agreements, breach of contract, compensation for breach, and defenses against contract claims. Although almost every contract is governed by state case law, contracts for sale of goods are covered by the state’s commercial law statutes, which is a version of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Article 2. I explain what the UCC is in the commercial law elective course description, below. Contract law is a 4-credit course. The federal government contracts are covered in a separate, advanced course on the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).
Property Law—Property law is concerned with systems of estate and ownership interests. That is, property law governs who owns what, for how long, what he can do with it, whether he can dispose of it, and who can inherit it. Property law is almost exclusively state law. A large part of property law is about real property. You will learn about marital property, mortgages, conveyances, titles, recordation, easement, adverse possession, and other concepts. Property law is a 4-credit course. The law of intellectual property (IP) is a sub-field of property law, but because of its breadth the IP law is further divided into separate courses on copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets.
Constitutional Law—At the risk of sounding too astute, I will say that constitutional law teaches the US Constitution. By its own terms, the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, so it is only natural that first years study it. In this course, you will learn the structure of the federal government and its relationship to state governments. In addition, you will learn about the Bill of Rights (First through Tenth Amendments) in general, and Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments in particular. Constitutional law is typically split into two courses for a total of 6 credits. An advanced course on First Amendment focuses on freedoms of speech and religion. It never ceases to amaze me how a vast and important branch of the law grew out of a paragraph that is only 45 words in length.
Civil Procedure—As the name suggests, civil procedure deals with procedural rules of the courts. These rules determine who can sue whom, how a lawsuit is initiated, in which court, when certain key events must occur, and in what order. In this course, you will focus on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) promulgated by the Supreme Court under the authority delegated by the Congress. Conflict of laws is one of the most interesting topics in civil procedure. It lies at the intersection of civil procedure and constitutional law. Class action is another interesting topic. Civil procedure is typically split into two courses for a total of 6 credits. You should take a state-specific civil procedure course, if you plan to be a litigator in that jurisdiction.
Legal Analysis, Writing, and Research—Legal analysis, writing, and research tasks are sometimes collectively referred to as LAWR. These are the tasks lawyers perform on a daily basis, and what law students must learn to do from the very beginning. LAWRing is an integral part of lawyering, as it were. Early on, you will be required to take a basic course on legal analysis and writing, a course on appellate and oral advocacy, and a course on advanced legal research. The basic legal analysis and writing class teaches you how to read cases, extract rules, apply them to facts, and write legal memos. The appellate and oral advocacy class gives you a taste of how the appeal process works. You will write appellate briefs and make oral arguments in front of a panel of judges. The advanced legal research class teaches you how to conduct legal research, using both on-line resources and printed volumes. LAWR is a 3-credit course, and the advanced courses are 1 or 3 credits each.
Legal Ethics—Law is a profession that governs itself. Each state bar has its ethics rules, which are modeled after the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC). Legal ethics is a matter of paramount import, not only to lawyers but also to law students. Legal ethics, also called professional responsibility, is a 3-credit course.
The bar exam covers the core courses as well as the ones I describe below. You should take these courses as your top-priority electives. Some students skip the bar courses, knowing that they will be taught by the commercial bar preparation service. I believe this is a mistake. Some courses like evidence and business associations teach legal concepts essential in many advanced courses. So, you should take these courses early in your law school career.
Evidence—The key concern of the evidentiary rules is to control what information the jury gets to see. If you keep in mind that reliability of the evidence and fairness to the parties shape the rules, you will be able to understand and appreciate the nuances. Knowledge of evidence is essential for courses like the trial advocacy and the appellate advocacy. Unlike most law school courses, evidence is typically a closed-book exam. Your focus will be on the Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE). But the state evidence rules are largely modeled upon the FRE. Evidence is a 3-credit course.
Criminal Procedure—Criminal procedure is the criminal law counterpart to the civil procedure. It is mostly about the constitutional rights of the criminal defendant. Criminal procedure has more in common with constitutional law and evidence than with criminal law. This is not surprising, considering that criminal law focuses on what the members of society must not do, whereas criminal procedure occupies itself with what the law enforcement officers must not do. Furthermore, criminal law is primarily state statutory law, but criminal procedure is mostly federal constitutional law. You will learn much about Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment in this course. Criminal procedure is a 3-credit course.
Family Law—The “family law” label is perhaps a bit misleading, because the primary focus of this area of the law is on the dissolution of a family unit, the divorce: who can divorce whom, how to initiate a divorce proceeding, who gets the kids, who gets the house, who gets the dog, who gets the comic books, etc. In fact, formation of marriages is but a small part of family law. This area of the law is primarily state statutory and case law. Family law is a 3-credit course.
Business Associations—Business associations course deal with formation, union, governance, operation, and dissolution of business entities—the “family law” for corporations, if you will. You will learn about the types of business organizations such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, etc., and what the directors and managers of these entities can and cannot do. You will also learn agency law in this course, which deals with who can act as an agent on behalf of another. Business entities are creatures of state statutory law, so you will be reading a lot of state statutes and cases, mostly from Delaware. Delaware statutes favor the directors and managers of businesses, so most corporations are chartered in Delaware. As a result, Delaware courts are famous for their expertise in business law. Business associations is a 3-credit course.
Commercial Law—Much of commercial law is governed by the UCC. The UCC is a collection of rules drafted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) and American Law Institute (ALI). The drafters’ intent is for the commercial law to be uniform across all the states, thereby promoting the free flow of commerce. Most states have adopted the various articles of the UCC, some states with little modifications and other states with substantial changes. Hence, the Uniform Commercial Code is neither uniform nor is it a true code. Nevertheless, it works reasonably well to promote the free flow of commerce. Article 2 Sales, Article 3 Negotiable Instruments, Article 4 Bank Deposit, and Article 9 Secured Transactions are the favorite subjects of the bar examiners. Commercial law is typically split into two courses for a total of 6 credits.
There are countless elective courses. There is a course at the intersection of law and every human endeavor—law and economics, law and policy, art law, bioethics law, technology law, securities law, etc.; whatever you can think of, there is likely a course. You shape your legal career by taking the right electives. So, if your school does not offer a subject of your interest, consider taking that course at a nearby law school.
Litigation Seminar—Litigation seminar is a practice-based course that teaches students how to be effective trial lawyers. It is a must-take course for future actors—um, I meant litigators.
Administrative Law—Administrative law makes the modern American government work. Some areas of the law—such as those dealing with the environment, corporate securities, the Internet, etc.—are simply too technical for the legislature and the judiciary. Such technical matters are best left in the hands of the bureaucratic boffins in the executive branch. So, in the modern administrative state like ours, the legislature sets the policies in broadly worded statutes, and the executive agencies under the legislature’s delegated authority promulgate the technical rules to implement the legislative policies. The agencies are also responsible for enforcement of the rules and prosecution of the violators. Hence, the administrative agency possesses the characteristics of all three governmental branches—legislative, executive, and judicial.
Intellectual Property Law—Intellectual property law covers copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. Copyright law protects original literary and artistic expressions. Patent law protects new and useful inventions. Trademark law protects source identifications of goods and services, such as corporate names and logos. Trade secret law protects secret information valuable to businesses.
Alternative Dispute Resolution—I especially recommend you take alternative dispute resolution (ADR) courses such as negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. Because court dockets are always full these days, out-of-court resolution of disputes is fast becoming fashionable. Negotiation focuses on reaching a mutually beneficial agreement. Mediation resolves a dispute in an informal setting by focusing on what the parties really want. It is especially popular with family law courts, which require the parties to attempt to resolve their disagreements in mediation, before coming to court. Arbitration is the most formal of the three ADR methods. The parties appear in front of an impartial arbitrator, whose binding decision resolves the dispute.
Other Electives—There are plenty of other electives such as employment law, tax law, technology law, environmental law, health care law, civil rights law, election law, international law, human rights law, etc. Choose the electives with care, because they tend to shape your career.
Your law school’s dean of student affairs will notify you in your last semester, whether you have completed your graduation requirements or not. But by then, it is usually too late for you to rectify any shortcomings. So, keep your own checklist, from the very beginning.
In your checklist, keep track of the core subjects, bar subjects, an elective subjects you plan to take. Also, track the mandatory legal ethics course, the basic legal analysis and writing course, the oral advocacy course, the advanced legal research course, and the research paper. Some schools require law practice experience, which may be fulfilled by taking legal clinics or by participating in pro bono legal services. Track everything, even those that seem trivial to you. A requirement that could scuttle your timely graduation is certainly not trivial.
You will spend the first half of your time at law school taking the required courses. The second half is when you take the elective courses, usually in seminar or clinic format. American lawyers must have general knowledge of the fundamental subjects— constitutional law, criminal law, tort law, contract law, property law, evidence, civil procedure, and criminal procedure. But most lawyers focus in a particular practice area such as criminal defense, medical malpractice, government contracts, real estate, etc. Even before you start law school, carefully consider your intended area of focus. If you need guidance, request a meeting with a professor who can help you plan your courses.
This plan is a living document, which you must constantly update to accommodate unexpected changes. Your interest may change, as you gain a deeper understanding of the law. You may not be able to register the class you desperately want, because it is so popular. You may not be able to take a class, because you have not taken the prerequisite course. Some classes are cancelled, due to unavailability of professors or lack of student interest. So, diligently maintain your checklist to account for these variables.
If you take electives at a nearby law school, be sure to transfer the grades in time, so that your graduation is not derailed. Track these courses in your checklist, as well.
Since this article is meant to provide only an overview of becoming a lawyer, I shall now skip over the entire law school experience, and jump straight to the bar admission. If you are interested in law school life—the honor code, study techniques (shorthand note taking, case briefing, outlining, etc.), legal technology, and the like—you can read about them in my book.
The bar exam may well be one of the most stressful experiences. But the study period leading up to the bar exam was likely worse, because uncertainty about whether one has what it takes to pass the bar weighs heavily upon the mind. The worst though is the long wait for the result after the exam. Nothing I say could make the stress disappear. But I can tell you what to expect, thereby preparing you to cope with the stress better, or perhaps even reduce the stress level a bit.
The following are the key steps necessary for bar admission:
Bar—Take the bar exam.
Paperwork—While you await the bar exam result, diligently pursue your
paperwork with the state bar.
Interview—By now, you should have been interviewed by a local attorney, who is a member of the character committee. The character committee serves as the gatekeeper of the bar. The interview will delve into your past and tease out any pieces of information that may shine a bad light upon your character. Such information may include disciplinary actions against you at schools or workplaces. You may also be questioned about traffic violations that are out of the ordinary. The bar believes that habitual violation of traffic rules is indicative of one’s disrespect for the law. Of course, incidences of substance abuse will also be addressed. Lastly, there may be questions about extraordinary debts, which could shed light on the candidate’s gambling habits and the like.
Professionalism Class—After you passed the bar and you get past the character committee background check, you attend the mandatory, day-long professionalism training class taught by the state bar. Take is seriously. Very seriously.
Admission—Finally, having completed all the requirements, you are sworn into the bar in the state supreme court. That unassuming little piece of paper—the law license—is the reward for years of hard work.
Older pieces of information, such as traffic records, high school records, etc., may take a considerable amount of time to track down. To be on the safe side, start the bar application process at least six months or so before the deadline. Follow the paperwork instructions to the letter, in order to avoid unnecessary delays. Every week, check your application status on the state bar’s web site. If there is no on-line status update service, call the state bar every two weeks to follow up. The state bar has no responsibility to track down your information, or even to inform you if anything is amiss. This responsibility is squarely on your shoulders. Some of you may be familiar with the federal security clearance process and the tiresome SF 86 paperwork. Believe me, the TS/SCI clearance sieve is far gentler than the state bar admission wringer.
Take a couple of days off after the finals, before you start studying for the bar exam. But start your studies early. The earlier you start, the more time you will have to assess your weaknesses and the better your chances of success will be. I strongly suggest you take a bar preparation course, commonly referred to as bar review. The big names are BARBRI and Kaplan. But there are several smaller test preparation courses available, which are taught by local lawyers. Talk to your classmates and search on the web. Some of these smaller courses can indeed be better than the big names, because you are more likely to receive personal attention from the instructor. Note that the main thing you want from a bar review course is not legal knowledge, but test taking technique. As a law school graduate, you already possess the requisite legal knowledge. A typical course will cost about $1,500.
Do not go it alone, unless you are supremely confident not only of your fundamental legal knowledge but also of your ability to tackle the tricky test questions.
Because I feel strongly that you should take a bar preparation course, I shall not describe the bar test-taking techniques here, except to repeat the words of a good friend of mine: “be wise; memorize”. Instead, I will explain the key elements of bar exams, without focusing on a specific jurisdiction. Two tests are offered every year, one at the end of July and the other at the end of February. The July one is popular, because it is what most May graduates take.
You now know more about the composition of the bar exam than many fresh law school graduates. Some people learn about the details of the bar exam on the first day of the bar review course. So, you are ahead. Keep it up.
At the risk of being ridiculously repetitive, I will say one last time: take the bar review. Note however that there are two meanings of “bar review”, as the phrase is used in law school setting. As a law student, the meaning you are likely to encounter first is the weekly review of the local bars. Many law students partake in this sort of bar review to bond with their classmates. The second meaning, and a much more important one, is the bar preparation course. Do not confuse the two.
The day you learn that you passed the bar, you will likely spend that evening passed out at a bar. I wish you the best of luck on your bar exam, and the rest of your legal career.
At the moment I decided that I wanted to study the law, I had but a vague idea of what it took to get into law school. When I arrived at the law school, everything was new to me—Socratic method, reading cases, legal analysis, on and on. The very first time I took a law exam, which by the way was four hours long, my computer suffered a nervous breakdown right at the start, so I had to write the whole exam, longhand. The severe emotional trauma I suffered as a consequence has caused the gray walnut inside my head to suppress much of the particulars about that blighted day, but I do recall that I could write legibly for about 15 minutes, nonstop. And, I think it was about half-an-hour or so after I started law school that it was time for me to sit for the bar exam. At least, it felt like things went by that quickly. And, there were disconcertingly new experiences to be had at just about every turn along the way.
I learned a great many things, as I transfigured from a wide-eyed neophyte to a licensed lawyer. I wrote this article and the accompanying book to share with others what I learned, so that they may have a somewhat easier time at law school than I. Prospective students will learn from this book what it is like to attend law school. Current students may find some useful study techniques and timesaving shortcuts.