Law School Curriculum

Hooray! You’re in! You found the school that fits like a glove, aced your LSATs, secured financing, glided through the interview, and got into law school. What can you expect now that this part’s over?

First, the hard part is just beginning. Law schools, unlike medical schools or some undergraduate institutions, don’t have classes specifically designed to weed out the weaker candidates. The most demanding classes, however, tend to fall in the first year when you take the core curriculum requisites mandated by the ABA. Courses such as Contracts, Torts, Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Property Law, Civil Procedure and Legal Writing lay the necessary groundwork for a career in law and the rest of law school, but they’re also the hardest courses you’ll take. All the concepts of law are spelled out in these classes; everything else flows from this knowledge base. In many ways, these first few courses are the most important courses you’ll take in law school, and will be the ones you reference most as a practicing attorney.

You'll take many of your hardest law school courses in the first year, but they're also some of the most important.

After the first year and a half, you can take more specialized courses such as Tax, Intellectual Property, or Environmental Law. Most schools offer legal clinics such as Bar Review or Moot Court. Some schools place special emphasis on different areas, such as trial practice, independent study or clinical experience. Occasionally, you can find a program that offers a joint degree, such as an MBA/JD (Master of Business Administration combined with a Law degree). Once you get past the first year or so, you can start getting into the areas of law that interest you most. You need 90 credits to graduate, and most classes are worth 3-4 credits. The nature of the classes varies from institution to institution, and even professor to professor. Some classes will be more structured than others, some will require more research and writing, some will have only one test at the end of the semester. All classes will test your time management skills, your capacity for organized and analytical thought and your knowledge of the material presented. They will all be demanding in some fashion.

Upon graduating from law school, you will have a Juris Doctor (JD) law degree conferred upon you. This, while being a great achievement in and of itself, does not a lawyer make. The law is a profession like any other, and, as a professional, you must be licensed. This is where the Bar Exam comes in -- and if you thought the LSAT was tough, this is tougher.

Photo courtesy stock.xchng Congratulations, you've graduated! Now it's time to pass the Bar.

The Bar
The Bar is the term for all attorneys, collectively, in a given state. The term derives from the actual railing used to separate the general spectator area of a courtroom from the lawyers, judges and clerks working there.

Every law student must petition for admission to the bar of the state in which they wish to practice. Applications are filed through the State Board of Bar Examiners. Criteria for eligibility are established by these boards on a state-by-state basis. Once a candidate is deemed eligible, they may then sit for the bar.

Different states have different requirements for entry into the bar. Indeed, some, like Wisconsin, have no bar exam for students that graduate from an ABA-approved state law school. Others test only for educational standards. But the majority require that you sit for a bundle of tests collectively referred to as the Bar Exam. The exams are typically offered twice a year, usually two months after each academic semester in February and July.

Photo courtesy stockxpert You still have to pass the Bar before you can get in that courtroom.

Studying for the Bar is generally undertaken by enrolling in a state’s Bar/Bri course, which is a highly intensive two month, four hours a day, review course for Bar preparation. At this time, Bar/Bri is the only company that provides preparation courses. Although these courses are not required, they are highly encouraged. Typically, an individual will graduate from law school in May and begin the Bar/Bri courses within a week of graduation, which will last until the Bar examination in July. Because of the amount of time involved, students are encouraged not to undertake any employment until after the exam. There are loans and funding available specifically for the cost of the Bar/Bri course, the exam fees and as a supplement to income.

There are generally two days of academic testing: the first day for the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), the second for a state-specific exam. The MBE is a six-hour, 200-item test that covers the same six areas covered in the core curriculum of all ABA accredited universities: Contracts, Torts, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Evidence, Property and Torts. The state test tends to be in essay form and its topics vary depending on the state. That said, a growing number of states have opted into nationally developed tests, such as the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) and the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) in lieu of traditional state exams.

In most states you must also pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), which you can take within 12 months of the bar. The MPRE is 50 questions to be answered over two hours and deals with the ethical obligations and responsibilities a lawyer has. Concurrently, you must meet exacting character and ethical fitness standards, and submit to the bar a detailed questionnaire about your background. This condition of admission to the bar reflects the strict code of ethics that attorneys must adhere to. With the great power of the law also comes great responsibility, and state bars wish to ensure that their members meet the standards of ethics required to bear such responsibility.

Other Ways to be Admitted
Some state bars practice a form of reciprocity -- if you’ve practiced in one state for a certain number of years, you can automatically practice in another, if you ask. This process is called admission on motion. You can also practice on Limited Appearance, or pro hac vice. You may represent someone in a court proceeding in that state with the court’s permission. You can be an authorized house counsel and practice in a state not your own, and also as a foreign legal consultant.