lawyer

#Law Schools - Law Colleges

Law Schools

Do you enjoy persuasion, negotiation, critical thinking, writing, judgment, and decision making? If you do, then a career in law may be for you. In order to practice law, you must attend a law school.

In order to apply to law school, you must have a four-year bachelor's degree from a college or university. After you complete law school, which takes three years, you will take a test called a bar exam. A bar exam ensures that you have learned enough to practice law. Once you have passed the bar exam, you can join a law practice, or set up your own practice.

Many lawyers study specific types of law and decide to specialize in a certain area. Environmental law, family law, intellectual property law, international and comparative law, and litigation are just a few of the areas of specialization that law schools can prepare the lawyer for.

It is common when applying to law schools to use the undergraduate degree to open doors to career options following law school. For example, a student with a bachelor's degree in sociology may choose to go into family law following law school. Or a person with an undergraduate degree in business may go into tax law or labor relations law.

In addition to entering the practice of law, many students who graduate from law school go on to take business or government jobs where the knowledge of law is helpful. On average a lawyer makes just under $100,000 per year.

The directory below is a list of leading Law Schools in the United States.