Becoming a lawyer is one of those dreams that while many children may aspire to, few end up actually pursuing. The reality check that comes later in life about how much education is actually needed to become a lawyer, the intensity of the programs, and the competitive nature of those colleges in addition to the long hours is enough to deter even the most studious of candidates.
For those who do go on to commit themselves to the dream and venture onto that path, it will certainly be a hard climb for a few years. The rewards, however, are typically worth it. Despite those rewards, there are still plenty of people, because of ambition or just the desire for more personal and professional freedom, nurture the dress (sometimes quietly) of starting an independent practice. In that case, there are a few more things that need to be thought through before taking the leap into that type of specific, and sometimes risky commitment.
One of the questions that may emerge in this process of contemplation is, “How much education is necessary before starting an independent practice?”. While seemingly a simple and important question to ask, the answer is not quite as straightforward as some may assume.
Education: The Path to Becoming a Lawyer
Let’s start by answering the more direct category of that question: how much education does it take to become a lawyer? This is a much simpler and straightforward question to answer because there are clearly defined paths and checkpoints which have been established over hundreds of years. Being that becoming a lawyer is the first step to even entertaining and eventually opening an independent practice, we will start by briefly summarizing that path.
Bachelor’s degrees are the minimum requirement before someone can be admitted to law school. Interestingly, there is not a specific field of study that the American Bar Association requires or even recommends as a prerequisite for admission to law school. However, legal educators do recommend earning as high a GPA as possible so as to have a competitive position for candidacy.
Next, in addition to having earned a law school degree, a prospective lawyer needs to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). The lengthy test measures candidates’ skills in things like reading comprehension, critical thinking, organizational reasoning, and logic. If the LSAT has been passed, finding and earning a place in a law school that is accredited by the American Bar Association.
A Juris Doctor or JD is the degree needed to practice law in the U.S. What is important to remember here is that there are a wide variety of programs and specialties focused on the practice of law such as family law, criminal, environmental, and health law.
For anyone thinking of starting their own law firm, this is an important question and feature to seriously consider before and during the education for a few reasons:
- The type of specialization will greatly determine how popular, and saturated, a specific type of legal representation may be.
- Depending on what type of specialization and knowledge accrued, the area of the country— town, city, or large metropolitan area— will further determine the availability to carve out a clientele.
- Depending on location, certain specializations may be more needed than others. The demand will ultimately determine a potential client base.
If there are too many law firms representing the type of law that one hopes to practice with their own firm, then the prospective business owner runs the risk of not being able to support that business.
Starting an Independent Law Practice
Presuming that all of those precious steps have been met and attained, then the next stage of the path towards an independent law practice can be attended to. What may surprise most people is that there really is no clear-cut way to go about starting an independent firm. Just like starting any small business, there are certain steps which can be helpful to bringing that goal to completion, but “education” really is not a factor beyond this point.
A better way to phrase the question would be to ask, “How much experience does one need to start an independent practice?” The simple answer to that question is, “None.”
Once someone passes the Bar Examination, they are legally allowed to practice as a lawyer. So, when it comes to answering the question of how much law education is necessary before being able to open an independent practice the answer is simply go to law school and pass the Bar.
From there it simply takes the guts, gumption, hard work, and commitment to start one’s own firm. That requires a whole other list of steps like entity formation, finding and office space, and budgeting. It’s also a good idea to invest in continuing education in topics like finance, marketing, and small business ownership. However, while a formal law degree will provide a foundation for practicing law, it may be a good idea to try working for another firm and gaining some experience before jumping straight into starting an independent practice.
This story originally appeared on CareerAttraction