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How many years of college does it take to become a lawyer?

Immigration Lawyer
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Kim’s Answer

Jaslene,

The normal process is to get your Bachelor's degree (4 years) and then go on to law school (3 yrs). If you are interested in Immigration Law, we have several groups here in San Antonio where you might be able to get some volunteer/internship experience. <span style="color: rgb(84, 84, 84);">The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (</span>RAICES<span style="color: rgb(84, 84, 84);">); Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid; and MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund) are just a few that come to mind. We also have some great Immigration attorneys and firms here. </span>


<span style="color: rgb(84, 84, 84);">Best of luck!</span>

<span style="color: rgb(84, 84, 84);">Kim</span>
Thank you comment icon Great suggestion about local volunteer opportunities! Desiree Giler Mann
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Desiree’s Answer

First, you need to do well in High School, to get admitted to university for a "Bachelor's Degree" (often referred to as an "undergraduate degree"). This is typically a 4-year program. You need good grades with your Bachelor's Degree and a strong LSAT score.

Next, with good grades from University and strong LSAT score, you start applying to law school to earn a Juris Doctorate (JD) degree. This is typically a 3-year program. One thing that matters a lot to future employment is getting into a so-called a high or top tier law school. Play close attention to the ranking and accreditation of potential law schools, because they are a huge determining factor of future employment. A low ranked law school - or one that looses its accreditation - could leave you burdened with student debt and few employment prospects. Again, getting good grades matters a lot to prospective employers, with students at the top of the class competing (with all the top students at all the top law schools) for jobs after graduation. It it common to have a paid internship the summer before your final year at law school at a law firm -- a so-called "summer associate" position -- to get "real world" experience and to see if the firm is a good fit. Successful summer associates may get early job offers (pending law school graduation and passing the bar exam). The last semester of law school, graduating students who haven't already secured a job trying to get offers for jobs - on top of their studies.

Once you graduate with your JD, most states require you pass an ethics exam (typically "easy" if you've made it through law school), the infamous Bar Exam (hard, I'm not going to lie it was the hardest test ever in my entire life) as well as a "character and fitness" interview with a practicing attorney. Each state has its own standards and requirements for what a passing score is on the Bar Exam and how much the multi-state/multiple choose portion of the exams weighs against the written essay portion of the test.

Once you have all of these steps, you are "admitted to the Bar". Afterwards, most states require you to take "Continuing Legal Education" classes and volunteer at/contribute to legal clinics for the whole time you are a practicing attorney.

Desiree recommends the following next steps:

Do on-line research to learn more about Law Schools admission requirements
Do on-line research to learn more about Law School course requirements
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