Is the selectioin for admission complex?

How are students classified?

What is a GPA?

How are higher educational institutions governed?

 

LEGAL EDUCATION IN THE USA

Warming-up questions

1. When did you decide to enter the educational institution you are studying at?
2. What exams did you take to get admitted?
3. What degree will you obtain?

 

Legal education mode in the USA is rather complex consisting of several important stages. It takes seven years to become a lawyer in the USA. That means four years of undergraduate study for a bachelor’s degree followed by the graduate Juries Doctor (JD) law degree. Law is not offered at the undergraduate level; so students read law only at law schools. Law students need to develop the three basic skills: communication skills both written and spoken; research skills; and especially analytical thinking skills. These abilities can be developed by any major: social sciences, history, economics, humanities, and engineering. So a bachelor’s degree at any top college or university that provide highly efficient background will give a better chance for admission.

It’s not really difficult to enter a law school, if a person has high undergraduate grades and also score high on the LSAT (Law School Admission Test). This test measures reading and verbal succeed in law school. It consists of five 35-minute sections of multiple choice sections will contribute to the applicant’s score. These sections include one reading comprehension section, one analytical reasoning section, and two logical reasoning sections, an experimental section which can be any of the above and finally, and an essay writing section. A successful applicant becomes a happy student.

During the first year of law school the students usually take major courses such as Constitutional Law, Contracts, Property Law, Torts, Civil Procedure and Legal Writing. There is also a Program of Legal Research and Writing. The students learn how to work with documents just the way a lawyer usually does. They attend the library, write legal memoranda, draft documents, and prepare briefs. The students also participate in the school’s moot competitions in which the skills of argumentation are developed, in mock trials under the supervision of experienced lawyers and judges, and in legal clinic activities. A special clinical semester is aimed at gaining practical experience by young lawyers. It is a hands-on learning model when students develop their lawyering skills working with real clients. The clinical semester is offered for the second on third year students.

For upper-level students the courses are mainly optional. There usually is a broad range of offerings from which a student can plan his or her own curriculum. It depends on the perspective practice area he or she is aiming at. But at the same time it’s essential to deepen and broaden the basic legal literacy and understanding the law as a whole.

When the student graduates from the school, he or she gains the Juries Doctor degree and looks for a job. He may find the position but he can’t practice law. He must be licensed or admitted to the Bar. All states require that applicants for admission to the Bar pass a written Bar Examination; most jurisdictions also require applicants to pass a separate written Ethics Examination.

Comprehension check

How long does it take to become a lawyer in the USA?

What basic skills should law students develop?

What exams or tests does the applicant take to get admitted to the law school?

Is Law School Admission Test a complicated kind of examination, isn’t it? Why?

What courses make up the first year curriculum?

What skills are the student during the Program of Legal Research and Writing taught to?

What other practical experience do the students require?