Legal Education
Legal education is the education of individuals who intend to become legal professionals or those who simply intend to use their law degree to some end, either related to law such as politics or academic or business. In addition to the qualifications required to become a practicing lawyer, legal education also encompasses higher degrees such as doctorates, for more advanced academic study. In many countries other than the United States, law is an undergraduate degree. Graduates of such a program are eligible to become lawyers by passing the country's equivalent of a bar exam. In such countries, graduate programs in law enable students to embark on academic careers or become specialized in a particular area of law. In the United States, law is a professional doctorate degree known as a Juris Doctor. Students embark upon only after completing an undergraduate degree in some other field usually a bachelor’s degree, and are considered to be a first professional degree program. The undergraduate degree can be in any field, though most American lawyers hold bachelor's degrees in the humanities and social sciences; legal studies as an undergraduate study is available at a few institutions. American law schools are usually an autonomous entity within a larger university. A law school is an institution where prospective lawyers obtain legal degrees. In the United States, law is a Doctoral degree, the pursuit of which students undertake only after having completed an undergraduate degree in some other field usually a bachelor's degree. The law school program is considered to be a professional school program and upon graduation you receive the distinct title of Doctor. Though attorneys rarely if ever use the title 'doctor' even though they are entitled to by both degree and etiquette. The undergraduate degree can be in any field, though most American lawyers hold bachelor's degrees in the humanities and social sciences. American law schools are usually an autonomous entity within a larger university, though there are independent institutions. In most cases, the degree awarded by American law schools is the Doctor of Jurisprudence or Juris Doctor J.D., degree. In contrast, the LL.B. degree is still the standard qualification in other common law jurisdictions, mostly in the Commonwealth of Nations. Research degrees that are awarded include the Master of Laws LL.M. and Doctor of Juridical Science degrees J.S.D. or S.J.D... Once a student has graduated from law school, he or she is expected to pursue admission to the bar in order to practice. Requirements for membership in the bar vary across the United States. In almost every state, the only way to be admitted to the bar is to pass a usually multi-day written examination. Once admitted, most attorneys must meet certain Continuing Legal Education CLE requirements. Faculty of law is another name for a law school or school of law, the terms commonly used in the United States. This term is used in Canada, other Commonwealth countries and the rest of the world. It may be distinguishable from law school in the sense that a faculty is a subdivision of a university on the same rank with other faculties, i.e. faculty of medicine, faculty of graduate studies, whereas a law school or school of law may have a more autonomous status within a university, or may be totally independent of any other post-secondary educational institution. In addition in some countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada and some states of Australia, the final stages of vocational legal education required to qualify to practice law are carried out outside the university system. The requirements for qualification as a barrister or as a solicitor are covered in those articles. See advocate for details of the requirements for qualification as an advocate in Scotland.
Job Of An Attorney
Once admitted to practice by the highest court of a state (a function sometimes administered by the state's bar association), an American attorney may file legal pleadings and argue cases in any state court (federal courts usually require separate admission), provide legal advice to clients, and draft important legal documents such as wills, trusts, deeds, and contracts.
In some states, real estate closings may be performed only by attorneys, even though the attorney's role in a closing may involve primarily notarization of documents and disbursement of settlement funds through an escrow account.
Practicing law includes interviewing a client to identify the legal question, analyzing the question, researching relevant law, devising legal solutions to problems, and executing such solutions through specific tasks such as drafting a contract or filing a motion with a court.
Most academic legal training is directed to identifying legal issues, researching facts and law, and arguing both the facts and law in favor of either side in any case.
For several years, law schools have sent through far more students than new job openings have become available. This has often lead to attorneys (once they pass the bar) seeking work in other occupations, either by choice or by the lack of employment opportunities. This has led to a market in legal temps or contract attorneys, where attorneys spend a certain period of time working on tasks such as discovery for a case.