All U.S. lawyers must attend law school.
Becoming a defense lawyer requires a bachelor's degree plus three additional years of law school. Once you graduate law school, you must learn the law in the state where you want to practice. You must then pass both the state bar exam and the multi-state bar exam.
Undergraduate Degree
Law schools do not require any particular undergraduate degree, but some college majors are able to make an easier transition to law school. In a survey of law school deans, English was found to be the major that best prepared a student for law school, according to Daniel Pinello, political science professor at the The City University of New York. Following English were History, Philosophy and Political Science. Pinello recommended that students not majoring in English should at least make it their minor, since writing ability is critical to law school success.
Law School
Law school is a three-year post-graduate program that leads to a juris doctorate degree. Most law schools have a set curriculum for all first-year students, then allow them to choose their own classes in the second and third years. The first-year core curriculum includes personal injury law, contracts, civil procedure, property, criminal law, constitutional law and legal methods, which includes legal research and writing, according to The Princeton Review. Criminal law and constitutional law are most relevant to a practicing criminal defense attorney. If you want to focus upon criminal law, you might also want to take criminal procedure and trial and appellate practice classes. All law students are required to take legal ethics.
Bar Exam
Graduates in some jurisdictions are allowed to work as lawyers under the direct supervision of a supervising attorney for a limited time period. To become a full attorney, however, you must pass the bar exam. Each state has its own exam covering state, civil, criminal laws and procedures. Also, all states require passage of the Multi-State Bar Exam (MBE), a six-hour multiple choice exam. Most people take bar exam preparatory classes before attempting the test. There are MBE study guides and sample tests available individually. You can also take Barbri, a bar exam prep course that more than one million law school graduates have used for more than 40 years.
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