General Overview Of United States Law SchoolsA person who is interested to practice law should be able to complete a degree program from any of the law schools approved by the American Bar Association. Usually, an undergraduate degree of most American lawyers are degrees in humanities and social sciences. Most of the law schools in US and Canada have law degree programs that require three to four years of study. Most often, a law school graduate is conferred a Doctor of Law degree or a Juris Doctor (JD) degree. The equivalent to this degree in Canada is the degree of Bachelor of Laws. United States and Canada law schools also offer academic doctoral degree in law. Upon finishing this degree, a graduate is recognized in the US as Doctor of Juridical Science or a Doctorate of Laws in Canada. Aside from obtaining a degree from any of the any of the approved and accredited law schools in a state, a graduate is also required to successfully hurdle a provincial or state bar exam. This is mandatory for them to be able to practice law. Moreover, the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) is integrated into the bar examination administered in all US jurisdiction. Generally, the questions from the MBE are mixed with essay questions that are specific to the state where the exam is given. In most United States law schools, full time law degree courses are available. Part time programs are also available in some few law schools. Moreover, some correspondence law schools in the country also provide distance learning or online law degree programs to allow greater flexibility for law students. Though states in the United States implement different rules concerning bar admission, there are general requirements needed for law graduates to be admitted to a bar. These requirements are the following: First, he should have a Juris Doctor degree from an accredited law school. Second, he should be able to pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), which is given in all states in the United States except for Maryland, Puerto Rico, Wisconsin and Washington. This examination involves the topic on professional responsibility of lawyers. Third, a law graduate should be able to pass the bar examinations given by the state where he plans to practice. Typically, this exam takes two to three days. There are two parts of this exam. The first is the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), a standard law exam given in almost all states in the nation. The second part of this exam is consists of essay questions that are distinct in each state. Fourth, the law degree holder would have to be certified by a state bar association as having a good moral character and physically as well as mentally fit to practice law. Lastly, the applicant should be able to secure a license for lawyers and pay the required fees. In some states, continuing legal education (CLE) is required to renew a license. However, CLE is only a supplementary educational requirement and is not a mandatory requirement to be issued a license. |