How to become a Lawyer step by step after high school?

Question

I am 25-years old, i am a computer operator for IT for 5-years now. I got into IT because of hard work and connections thru people i know. I thought i wanted to be a Flight Attendant so I have recieved my certificate in Fight Attendant school but I am still not satisfied because i still want to be a lawyer (not sure what kind yet) and to be able to say that i have a degree. My highest level of education as far as Diploma's go is my High School Diploma, and i have always wanted to be a lawyer. Step by Step, can someone please tell me what to do. I am looking around to Colleges in my area and have searched online, but i am not sure that what i am reading is correct, so again can someone please tell me what to do? Thanx!

Answer 1

Your life-experience in IT and Flight Attendant school will help you, and will give you an advantage over someone who has no life-experience and is just out of high school.

If you want to become a lawyer, the first thing you need to do is to get into as good a college as you can. Try getting into one that has a very good liberal arts program, where your curriculum will be rich and varied.

Undergraduate students are often surprised to learn that there is no specific major or minor required for most careers in law or for entry into law school. What is required is that the student develop certain basic skills which are essential to the practice of law. Most law school officials and pre-law advisors agree that there are three attributes which are most important. They are:

I. Skill in comprehension and use of language

Language is a lawyer’s working tool. In seeking to convince, in drafting legal instruments and legislation, in oral and written arguments, he or she must have the capacity to communicate to strangers with clarity, precision and persuasiveness. He or she must be able to comprehend with precision the meaning of others. One of the common complaints of law school professors is that beginning law students cannot write. After four years of college, students sometimes cannot write an ordinary declarative sentence. There are reasons: large classes, objective exams, non-intellectual courses, etc. But in law school and as a lawyer, you need to be able to write in essay form with logic, clarity, precision, and persuasiveness. Therefore, courses which develop cognitive and expressive skills by requiring extensive writing are extremely good preparation for any career, but especially for a legal career.

II. Critical understanding of and interest in human institutions and values

Lawyers are a powerful force in the shaping and operation of institutions and values. They are instrumental in establishing the policies which guide society. Therefore, courses which develop an awareness of social concerns by exposing the student to history, ethical, and societal issues are extremely beneficial for a career in law.

III. Ability in logical and analytical reasoning

An important part of the lawyer’s work is problem solving. You have a problem: a city school board, a court, or a dispute between two people. Creative, workable solutions must be found. The difference, often times, between a top attorney and mediocre one is the ability of the former to come up with a workable solution – a creative answer. Creative thinking requires the development of skills in deductive and inductive reasoning, reasoning by analogy, and critical analysis in the use of facts and legal principles. Therefore, courses which prepare a student in the reasoning process by exposing the student to concepts of logic, persuasion, research and writing serve as an excellent preparation for any career, but especially for a legal career.

Consequently, a pre-law student has a wide choice of undergraduate majors, minors, and electives. No one set of courses is required for law school, and no one set is the best. Various areas of study are beneficial for pre-law study, with an overall emphasis on a well-rounded, rather than a narrow and specialized, education. Traditionally, courses in economics, English, history, philosophy, political science, and business have been viewed as solid preparation for law school.

What do Law Schools Look for in Applicants?

In general, a law school admissions committee looks at two things first: undergraduate grades and the LSAT score. These two factors are the main ones which will determine your chances of acceptance at most law schools. Also important are recommendations, extracurricular activities, special talents, etc., but grades and the LSAT are the prime factors. So whatever program you choose in college, it is important that you strive for good grades. If you are a bit slow in learning, then study hard every day. Tears won’t erase poor grades when you apply to law school.

Some Advice From Law Schools on Pre-Law Education

“The School of Law does not prescribe any particular pre-law curriculum. The faculty strongly recommends, however, an undergraduate curricular program which provides a wide-ranging liberal education. Such a broad exposure is considered more advisable and useful than a narrow emphasis on vocationally-oriented courses. Particularly recommended are those courses which provide training in written and oral expression and which are intellectually and analytically demanding.” (University of San Francisco School of Law)

“Unlike the pre-medical curriculum that contains specific courses, some obligatory, there is no recommended set of pre-law courses. Enrolling in courses that are designated as part of a pre-law curriculum or major tends to be a less effective means of preparing for law school than enrolling in a diverse college program. While such pre-law courses may introduce you to broad legal principles and may present you with enough information to decide whether to continue with a legal education, they are rarely taught with the same depth and rigor as actual law school courses. In general, law schools prefer that you reserve your legal study for law school and fill your undergraduate curriculum with broad, diverse, and difficult courses.” (The Official Guide to U.S. Law Schools)

“It is essential that the general program be challenging and that the student has become intellectually engaged in it. It is desirable that the applicant has studied a range of subjects, including history, mathematics, a natural science, literature, and economics or one of the social sciences. It is important that the range of studies have comprised certain basic subjects: the essentials of American History, enough mathematics to allow comprehension of statistics, the basic principles of logic and economics, cultural heritage – the European and preferably that of another culture as well. In addition, since law is above all an art of language, it is well for the student to have had a great deal of experience with writing and with close, intelligent criticism of this written work. A student whose undergraduate education has not enlarged his or her capacity to read, write, speak, and think and to see the relationship both among ideas and between ideas and their human contexts is poorly prepared for law school and even less prepared for professional service in the law. Virtually any major within a strong general program can be the ground for a good undergraduate education, if taught demandingly and if it leads to substantive mastery of a discipline, preferably a difficult one. There is no need for the major to be related to law; in fact, it is generally wasteful to study law as a preparation for the study of law. If we were to sum up our advice in a phrase, it would be ‘Study something interesting and hard." (University of Michigan Law School)

One Last Word
You do not have to be a backslapping extrovert to be a good lawyer. Many of the most able, successful attorneys are quiet, soft spoken people. Brains, training, learning, the ability to communicate, technical skill, and hard work are what count. In law school, your success will depend largely upon your ability to reason, your skill in writing, and your general background and training from high school and college – plus hard work.

_____________________

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Steps To Becoming A Lawyer

Answer 4

2

Answer 5

Don't become a lawyer to be able to say you have a juris doctorate degree. It's a bullshit that will cost you 7 years of education and about 200K worth of debt you will be paying off the rest of your life. Go see what an attorney does on a daily basis and see if that's something you can do for the rest of your life or until you pay off your student loans. If yes, then do the following.

- Get your BA or BS from an accredited university. Doesn't matter what you major in. Pick something you'll enjoy and will allow you to get the best grades possible studying.

- Hone your critical reading skills during college. Learn to read logically and well.

- Study for LSAT and do your best. Take a course.

- Apply for a wide range law schools including ones above your numbers (GPA + LSAT), median and safety schools. Apply for some public schools too. If your number will likely put you in tier 2 or below schools, pick a school based on where you want to be living and working. Prestige becomes more of a local thing when it's not a top law school.

- Do well in law school and pass the bar and get a job at a law firm or as an in-house.

Answer 6

Hi,

In response to this question, How to become a Lawyer step by step after high school?, I can tell you that take a look at this site http://inquirelawyers.com may be it can help you

As you described; "I am 25-years old, i am a computer operator for IT for 5-years now. I got into IT because of hard work and connections thru people i know. I thought i wanted to be a Flight Attendant so I have recieved my certificate in Fight Attendant school but I am still not satisfied because i still want to be a lawyer (not sure what kind yet) and to be able to say that i have a degree. My highest level of education as far as Diploma's go is my High School Diploma, and i have always wanted to be a lawyer. Step by Step, can someone please tell me what to do. I am looking around to Colleges in my area and have searched online, but i am not sure that what i am reading is correct, so again can someone please tell me what to do? Thanx!" I hope it may help you.

Best of Luck :)

Answer 7

13

Answer 8

For Legal Advise I always recommend this site where you can find all the solutions. http://FINANCEANDLOANS.INFO/index.html?src=5YArwfkwWA451

RE :How to become a Lawyer step by step after high school?
I am 25-years old, i am a computer operator for IT for 5-years now. I got into IT because of hard work and connections thru people i know. I thought i wanted to be a Flight Attendant so I have recieved my certificate in Fight Attendant school but I am still not satisfied because i still want to be a lawyer (not sure what kind yet) and to be able to say that i have a degree. My highest level of education as far as Diploma's go is my High School Diploma, and i have always wanted to be a lawyer. Step by Step, can someone please tell me what to do. I am looking around to Colleges in my area and have searched online, but i am not sure that what i am reading is correct, so again can someone please tell me what to do? Thanx!
64 following 6 answers

Answer 9

Are you a freelance author who would like to understand a lot more about how to earn wonderful income undertaking what you enjoy? If you want to advance your creating career

Answer 10

In the USA, to become a Lawyer, IF you go to school full-time:
1) Bachelor's degree - four years from a traditional college/university.
2) Study for LSAT. Take LSAT.
3) Law school - three MORE years.
4) Study for Bar Exam. Take Bar Exam in the state where you want to practice.
5) Pass the Character and Fitness Evaluation. Then you can practice Law.
BUT........
6) You still have to take additional classes/seminars/legal training etc. each year to obtain CEUs to keep your license to practice Law. (You aren't done with school!!)
7) In many states there are even laws requiring a certain percentage of your legal work to be "pro bono" (free of charge) for some charitable purpose.
http://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Lawyer-i…

Absolute "best" law schools are Yale and Harvard.
Best undergraduate majors: Business Admininstration and/or Accounting.
Best personality qualities? Ability to BS and look for work.
Tips? Change your idea of a career path ASAP!!! You WON'T be making $110,000 a year. Unless you have a mommy or a daddy who are already a partner at a law firm. As an attorney, according to one of the latest polls, you'll be making more like $40,000/yr - remember: lawyers have to pay for: office overhead, cost of living (the bigger the city, the higher your cost of living), and the crushing law school debt. You will leave law school with approx $200,000 of school debt.

Warning> Jobs in the field of Law are drying up fast!! This no longer is a good field to invest time and/or money into. This is a SHRINKING, crumbling, and dying vocational field. Many, many reasons. Also, we simply already have way too many Legal Professionals - we just have an absolute glut!! And, every year, more and more people graduate from law school, but there are fewer and fewer jobs. Even the largest and most reputable law firms are experiencing unprecedented cutbacks. I don't expect the situation to improve in the coming years....
http://abovethelaw.com/

The field of Law has a mystique that actually exceeds reality. The field of Law is a vastly overrated career - especially by television.<< There are many myths regarding the field of Law. Law is a more demanding profession than most people realize. It is not like what you see on TV.

School loans are "non-dischargeable debts" - which means you cannot just write them off in bankruptcies (except in extremely rare cases).

Now... the law schools know this, but they won't tell you the truth >that the job market/economy is just SATURATED with way too many Legal Professionals. Instead the schools will feed you a fairytale and will LIE to you. The root of the problem is we already have too many law schools. We are STILL in a Recession, and the schools are fighting for their own survival - they will tell students anything to get to the students' money. (Which is why they won't tell you the truth about the job market for the field of Law.) And these schools continue to recruit and churn out even more graduates.............Remember>>> law schools are BUSINESSES - their TOP concern is making money for themselves. Law schools are cash cows.

>>>>>THE #1 MOST IMPORTANT THING (and I can't stress this enough>>>): You ESPECIALLY have to beware of the BOGUS, INFLATED law school salary/job stats given out by >law schools< (AND by the U.S. Bureau of Labor)!!***<<<<<

If you don't believe me, then:
**Google: "student sues law school".
**do a SEARCH here on Yahoo Answers to see what other posters are saying about the current status of the field of Law.

If you want a JOB when you are done with your studies, consider and look into the fields of: >>>Healthcare<<<, Information Technology, Law ENFORCEMENT, environmentalism, emergency planning, accounting, education, entertainment, utilities, home-car-commercial-industrial repairs, vice industries, clergy, and/or debt collection.

Good luck.

(This is based on my current knowledge, information, belief, and life experiences. This was intended as personal opinion, and not intended to be used as legal advice. Please be careful and do your research.<<< You DID ask the question here on Y/A. I am just trying to help you.)

Answer 11

Get your BA degree, Criminal Justice would probably be best. Study for and take the LSAT. Apply for lawschool.