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Aspiring lawyers must graduate from one of the 200 schools accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). Over the course of a Juris Doctor (JD) program, students can expect to study topics in economics, federal and state law, history, public speaking, philosophy and government.
Top Law Schools
According to the U.S. News and World Report’s 2016 rankings of the best law schools, these are the top ten universities for aspiring lawyers:
| College/University | Location | Institution Type | Tuition and fees (2015-2016)* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | Private | $58,050 |
| Harvard University | Cambridge, MA | Private | $58,242 |
| Stanford University | Stanford, CA | Private | $56,274 |
| Columbia University | New York, NY | Private | $62,700 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | Private | $56,916 |
| New York University | New York, NY | Private | $59,330 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | Private | $58,918 |
| University of California – Berkeley | Berkeley, CA | Public | $48,679 in-state, $52,630 out-of-state |
| University of Michigan – Ann Arbor | Ann Arbor, MI | Public | $53,112 in-state, $56,112 out-of-state |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | Public | $54,000 in-state, $57,000 out-of-state |
Sources: *U.S. News and World Report
School Selection Criteria
Considerations when choosing a law school include:
- Students may want to look for law schools that provide clinics or externships in their particular area of interest, as these programs provide law students with real-world experience in the field.
- Students may want to find out whether the school has relationships with local law firms, which can provide networking opportunities that can lead to summer jobs or employment after graduation.
- Students who want to focus their studies in a particular subfield may want to consider law schools that offer specific concentrations, such as environmental law, constitutional law, medical law, business law, corporate law, real estate law and international law.
- Aspiring lawyers with diverse academic interests may look for schools that offer dual degree programs, allowing students to pursue a law degree while also earning a graduate degree in medicine, business or public health.
Juris Doctor (JD) Degree
After finishing a four-year undergraduate degree, aspiring lawyers must complete three years of law school, leading to a Juris Doctor (JD) degree. In these three-year programs, students experience a broad introduction to the legal field beginning with general theory courses in the first year. In the second and third years, students may start to take elective courses in particular interest areas, and they gain extensive experience with legal writing. Some schools offer JD candidates the chance to choose a concentration or earn a certificate in a particular topic, such as criminal justice, tax law, health law or dispute resolution. Interested students may also find schools that allow them to earn a Master of Arts (MA), Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Business Administration (MBA) or Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree alongside the JD degree. A less extensive alternative is a simultaneous graduate certificate in an outside interest area such as health ethics, education policy or community processes. Upon graduation from a JD program, students are prepared to take the state’s BAR examination, which must be passed in order to practice law.
If you want to become a lawyer, you can maximize your chance for career success by choosing a top-ranked school that offers ample work experiences and specialization opportunities.
Education, Training, and Testing to Become a Lawyer
Lawyers must undergo extensive educational training and testing before they’re licensed to practice. The exact requirements can vary somewhat by state, but educational requirements for lawyers always include certain degrees and exams.
You’ll need a four-year undergraduate degree followed by three years of law school and a juris doctorate (J.D.) degree. A J.D. is awarded by law schools that are accredited by the American Bar Association. You must then pass the bar examination. Each state has its own bar association, so you must pass in the state in which you want to practice. You must then additionally pass an ethics examination in many states.
Bachelor’s Degree
A four-year degree from an accredited college or university is a prerequisite to acceptance at an ABA-accredited law school. The ABA doesn’t recommend any one area of study, nor do law schools show any particular preference for one major over others. Students are not required to major in pre-law.
Law schools accept such a diverse pool of applicants with many different majors and backgrounds that you can fine-tune your major to your ultimate career goals. For example, you might want to major in business if you hope to eventually pursue business law, or in sociology, if you want to work in the public sector. A major in accounting might be practical and helpful if you want to work in tax law.
The Law School Admissions Test
Earning a bachelor’s degree doesn’t ensure that you’ll be accepted to a law school. You must also take and pass the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) before you can apply to law schools. Admissions officers put a great deal of weight on LSAT scores; ABA-accredited law schools won’t accept applicants who haven’t taken the test.
The LSAT is a half-day standardized examination that tests the analytical and reading comprehension skills considered necessary to succeed in law school. It includes five multiple-choice sections as well as an unscored writing test.
Your LSAT score can also factor in determining financial aid. It’s recommended that you take the test by October of the preceding year if you’re hoping for fall semester admission.
Law School
Lawyers must graduate from a law school approved by the American Bar Association and have their J.D. to qualify for the bar examination in most states. ABA accreditation signifies that the law school has satisfied and sustained certain standards established to ensure a quality legal education. Not all law schools are ABA-approved, and attending a non-ABA approved school can significantly hinder your employment prospects.
Law school typically involves general courses as well as core subject coursework, including constitutional law, international law, business law, criminal law, courtroom procedures, and civil procedures. There’s no single standard curriculum; they can vary somewhat from school to school.
You can usually begin taking specialized courses midway through your second year, and you can also begin applying for externships at this time.
Internships and Externships
Working as an attorney requires more than just a solid educational background. A certain skill set can help immeasurably as well. Attorneys can hone these skills through opportunities such as internships. Many law students apply for these positions as undergraduates. They involve working for a law firm or organization for a prescribed period of time, often during the summer months. It’s hands-on experience performing various jobs under the supervision of an attorney.
Competition for these positions is typically fierce, so you might want to consider an externship as well. The process is similar, but externs typically work for nonprofits and government entities.
In either case, it’s an opportunity to polish skills that aren’t typically taught in law school. For example, a successful lawyer will be keenly argumentative—in a good way. A knack for critical thinking is important, as is the ability to negotiate and persuade. Superior writing skills are as important as speaking skills. Time management is crucial. They’re all things that can be learned working side by side with an experienced lawyer for a period of time.
The Bar Examination
Law school graduates who want to be admitted to their state’s bar must pass a two-day examination that tests general legal principles and substantive knowledge of the law. The exact format can vary by state, but one day of the examination usually consists of the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE)—six 30-minute essay questions—and the second day involves a series of questions designed to test knowledge of that particular state’s law. If you have a foreign law degree, you will most likely have to take this test.
The exam might also include other tests intended to measure understanding of professional conduct. Most states also require lawyers to take an ethics examination, the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), as well. It’s a two-hour, multiple choice test, and only two states and Puerto Rico waive this requirement as of 2018: Wisconsin and Maryland. Students can take this examination during law school in some states, usually after completing an ethics course.
Admittance to the state bar might not depend solely on how well you perform on the bar exam. Bar examiners in some states also consider the applicant’s character.
Most states require that lawyers take continuing education courses throughout their careers to keep current and to maintain their licenses to practice.
Salary and Job Growth Trends
The median pay for attorneys as of mid-2017 was $119,250 annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This number falls right in the middle of the salary range. There were more than 1.3 million practicing attorneys in the U.S. in 2016, yet job growth between 2016 and 2026 is estimated to be about 8 percent. Approximately 65,000 more jobs are expected to open up by 2026.
But there are still more students graduating from law school each year than there are jobs available for them. This makes achieving excellent LSAT and bar exam scores even more critical so you stand out from the rest of the pack.
Other Options
The J.D. is the most common law degree, but you might also want to pursue a master of law degree or doctor of judicial science degree depending on your aspirations.
The doctor of judicial science degree is the highest and most prestigious law degree available and recognized in the U.S. It’s a second degree that can only be acquired after successful completion of the J.D. or a master of law degree. It, too, is a three-year degree. Most law professors have the distinction of having earned doctorates of judicial science.
A master of law degree also requires first completing the J.D. It’s a one-year degree that allows you to focus on and specialize in a certain field of law.
What to Major in to Become a Lawyer
The path to becoming a lawyer is as varied as the specialties within the profession itself. If you have your heart set on landing a legal gig, it’s important to know that it doesn’t necessarily matter what you study as an undergraduate. This is truly a profession suited to those coming from vast educational backgrounds.
That said, there are some academic disciplines that have long been good jumping-off points for students who want to later attend law school.
For starters, choosing courses that will develop the skills needed to do well on the LSAT® — the Law School Admissions Test — is a smart move. Since the exam focuses mainly on reading comprehension and analytical reasoning skills, majors that require a lot of research, writing and debating can give you an edge.
Take a look at these popular majors for future law students.
History
Examining how the past has helped to shape and define our present—here in the United States and around the world—will help you put into context our current justice system and laws. From a practical standpoint, history majors are also tasked with lots of research and writing and must learn to draw conclusions based on historical documents, a great precursor to the work you’ll do in law school.
English
Having a strong command of written and verbal skills will take you far as an attorney whether you’re writing, researching or speaking in court. Analyzing great works of literature and historical texts from various cultures and time periods is great practice for the hours you’ll spend in the law library.
Philosophy
Philosophy majors delve deep into the study of logic, ethics, and morality—areas of thought that also happen to be the cornerstones of law. You’ll debate with classmates, present arguments and do a lot of research to support your case, which is not all that different from what lawyers do to prepare for court.
Political Science
Of all majors, this may be the closest to a “law school” curriculum as you can get. In this major, you’ll study political systems, public policy, international relations and the relationship between government, the law, and individual rights, among other things. You’re required to analyze various written documents and data sets (think ancient texts to social media posts) and will learn to think critically and write effectively—key skills for writing case studies and retaining information in law school, too.
Economics
Not only are economics majors trained to think logically and analytically, but economic policies and procedures, as well as how resources are distributed and managed, are topics closely connected to the legal issues you’ll encounter as a lawyer. Any major that has you summarizing qualitative and quantitative data to solve problems is good training for your brain to seek out evidence to support your claims.
Business
General business knowledge can be applied in almost any industry, and that holds true for aspiring attorneys as well. A business major is a good option for those who plan to go into corporate law. That said, be sure to supplement business fundamentals with humanities and liberal arts electives so you can train your analytical and critical thinking muscles, as well as practice research and writing, too.
General Tips
Consider majoring in a discipline that is related to the type of law you want to practice. Since you don’t have to declare a specialty during law school, building a background as an undergraduate in subjects that interest you most is a great start. If you’re passionate about environmental science, you could turn that into a successful career as an environmental lawyer. If finance and accounting is your focus, becoming a tax attorney could be your path.
Choose a major or take electives that are heavy on research and writing. As mentioned earlier, those are the critical skills that will help you most in law school.
Whichever academic route you take, maintaining a strong GPA is essential if you aim to attend a selective law school program.
If practicing law is your dream, know that your undergraduate options are pretty much limitless. As long as you pursue a well-rounded education that hones your communication, research and critical-thinking skills, you’ll get your day in court.
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