The American Bar Association (ABA) reveals trends in their active attorney demographics survey suggesting major shifts in the demographic landscape for legal professionals on a national scale. Since 2007, the population of caucasian and male active attorneys has decreased by 5.4 percent. On the other hand, national female representation has increased by over 5 percent, and collective minority rates have been steadily growing as well. This demonstration of diversity within the legal profession is only one of the many indicators of the growing opportunities for students interested in pursuing a career with law.
If you’re a student interested in majoring in political science, criminal justice, public interest law, environmental law, business law, or pre-law studies, the educational foundation that these undergraduate degrees provide will create the foundation you need to become a practicing attorney. Explore our guide to learn more about how you can prepare for a career in law and use our interactive scholarship tool find political science, pre-law and law school scholarships to help fund your degree.
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Former President of the United States, Barack Obama, exemplifies how studying law can not only prepare you for ample career opportunities, but also help positively change lives. As a Harvard Law student turned community organizer in Chicago, he used his law degree to support his career in politics, which led him to hold the office of the President of the United States from 2009 to 2017.
“And the good news is, you’re ready. And when your journey seems too hard, and when you run into a chorus of cynics who tell you that you’re being foolish to keep believing or that you can’t do something, or that you should just give up, or you should just settle — you might say to yourself a little phrase that I’ve found handy these last eight years: Yes, we can.”
— Barack Obama, Former President of the United States
The path to becoming a practicing lawyer is very expansive, with plenty of time to discover concentrations and expertise where you could add value to a variety of different professional fields. However, the journey to the classroom all starts in the same place: acceptance into an accredited law degree program, and the support to get you there.
1
Pass the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT)
The LSAT is a mandatory test for prospective law school candidates to assess reading, logical, and verbal reasoning proficiencies specifically as it pertains to pursuing a law degree.
2
Complete a Bachelor’s Degree Program
A bachelor’s degree is the minimum educational requirement for admission to law school. The ABA notes that undergraduate students gain admission to law school from nearly every area of study, ranging from political science, English, economics, business, and journalism.
3
Earn a Juris Doctor Degree (JD)
A JD is the nationally recognized degree for practicing law in the United States. There are many specialties within legal practice and students can select a concentration program in public interest, environmental, criminal, or property.
4
Pass the Bar Exam
Most states require lawyers to graduate from an ABA-approved law school and pass the state bar examination prior to qualifying in that state. The bar exam is commonly a two-day process.
Public Interest: Lawyers can specialize in fields relating to organizations of all sizes, as well as government agencies at all levels. Environmental, Business, Estate, Family, and Personal Injury lawyers are considered public interest lawyers.
Criminal: Lawyers who specialize in criminal law and represent clients in criminal cases are considered criminal lawyers. Students who major in criminal justice and law prepare for careers in the criminal law field.
Political Science: Deals with systems of government, and the analysis of political activity and behavior. Students majoring in political science graduate to work in government, journalism, law, business, and teaching.
The Archives Library Information Center (ALIC) offers links to law and legal information, federal law, court opinions, treaties, legal dictionaries and journals, and copyright information.
The ABA offers this resource for student loan repayment and forgiveness through the U.S. department of education.
The ABA offers a detailed overview of the bar exam, test information and preparation, and a comprehensive guide to bar admission requirements.
The first and largest social network for law professionals. Network within hundreds of specialized law groups and forums, whether you’re a student, attorney, or law professional.
Search through case law with this free and easy database, similar to LexisNexis and WestLaw but without the need for an institution-approved login.
Hosted by Cornell University, this not-for-profit database allows students to search for statutes and published law online for free.
