Running head: Becoming a Lawyer

Your Decision to be a Lawyer

Following the American Psychological Associations Guidelines
Madeline Donatto
Community College of Baltimore County

Running head: Becoming a Lawyer

Abstract
This paper will dive you into the exciting process of becoming a lawyer, the projected job
outlook, the environment lawyers will be working in and the salary lawyers will make
once they are qualified to practice law. This research was done solely online through the
resources listed at the end of the paper. The idea is to show the process and benefits of
becoming a lawyer. This paper simply displays the facts to curious readers who do not
feel like researching themselves, and will help them decide if becoming a lawyer is right
for them. The data on the specific process was based in Maryland, as that is where this
course takes place.

Running head: Becoming a Lawyer

A lawyer is one who applies the law to specific situations, and advises their
clients on a course of action based on legal rights and responsibilities, as put by Jasper
(2015). Everyone warns the inspired youth who declare their desire to be a lawyer that
they will have to go through even more schooling to get the job done, and they are most
certainly right. It takes an extra seven or so years to simply be qualified to practice law,
not to mention it is very competitive once you are qualified. The somewhat lengthy
process does, however, provide benefits and advantages that are seemingly worth the
hassle.
The education needed to become a lawyer qualified to practice law is the
lengthiest part of the process. The first step is to attend an undergraduate school and get a
pre-law major, making sure that the school attended is accredited by the US Department
of Education. Full listings of schools that are accredited can be found online with ease.
The purpose of this is to ensure the best education, and have lawyers be the most
qualified they can be. Some subjects that are recommended to be well-versed in as an
aspiring law student are the history of social, political, cultural and economic factors that
have developed society, knowing the political ideals and system, and a general
understanding of human nature. These things will provide a foundation to broaden a
students mind and allow students to let the laws apply to those facts. There is a minimum
requirement of a bachelors degree to continue to the LSAT test. LSAT is the Law School
Admission Test, taken to do what it says- let you attend law school. You apply for this
test, pay for it and attend one of the regularly scheduled administrations. It focuses on
reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, and logical reasoning. Once this had been
passed, you apply for law school through the LSAC site that gave you the score. This also

Running head: Becoming a Lawyer

costs money, because the site gets together your transcripts, letters of recommendation
and everything needed to apply. The law school attended must also be approved. Now
that school has begun, there are certain requirements that must be met in order to
graduate and qualify for the bar exam. 58,000 minutes of instruction must be had in total,
with 45,000 of those minutes being regularly scheduled classes, overall totaling to 83
semester hours. An off-site internship and real-life practice with applying the law to the
facts must be had as well. After you graduate law school, the last step is to take the bar
exam. It is two days, with the first day being 12 essay questions from the State Board of
Law Exam and one from the Multistate Performance Test, and the second day a six hour,
200 multiple choice. After this is all done, the lawyer goes to a mandatory
professionalism course, and then off to the Court of Appeals for a swearing in and
acceptance ceremony.
Lawyers tend to be in the higher economic status, and that is because the mean
salary of a lawyer is $76, 641, with a range from $45,000 to as much as $150,000. Being
a lawyer in the United States gives a semi-diverse field of co-workers. Of the 50 top
firms in the United States in 2014, African Americans made up 1.9% of the partners and
3% overall, Asian Americans made up 2.7% of partners and 6.3% overall, and Hispanic
people made up 2.3% of partners and 3.2% overall. (2006) Tasks that will be handled as a
lawyer include either initiating legal actions on the behalf of the client or forming a
defense for the client, analyzing and interpreting laws, selecting jurors and arguing pretrial motions, cross-examining witnesses and general advisement of the client in legal or
business decisions. There are many types of law that one can get into, from criminal to
property and estate. Currently there are more students graduating law schools than there

Running head: Becoming a Lawyer

are jobs in field of law, so there will be strong competition. According to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, (2014-2015) from 2012 to 2022 there is expected a 10% increase in
available jobs. Lawyers will tend to work from offices in preparing their cases, but have a
lot of time outside of the office meeting with clients, judges, and presenting the actual
case in court. No matter what kind of lawyer you are, there is a high chance the hours will
be very long as the work is time consuming. There are, however, good opportunities for
advancement in this field, from simply getting better cases to possibly becoming a judge.
Once you have earned respect and shown your skill, people will seek you out for more
high profile cases. There is also the opportunity to become a law firm partner as opposed
to just an associate, and eventually have your own legal practice.
Wide-eyed children all over answer their parents inquiry on future job with the
response of a lawyer. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to complete the education
and testing to become a lawyer, but once the time comes to apply the practice and
knowledge, it is a worthwhile career.

Running head: Becoming a Lawyer

References
Jasper, R. (2015). Attorney / lawyer salary (United States) United States. Retrieved 2015
from http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Attorney_%2F_Lawyer/Salary

Brown, J. (2014). Steps to become a lawyer/attorney in Maryland. Retrieved 2015 from

http://www.lawyeredu.org/maryland.html#lawschool

Skelton, C. (2014). Diversity scorecard. Retrieved 2015, from http%3A%2F

%2Fwww.americanlawyer.com%2Fid%3D1202657037862%2FDiversity-ScorecardHow-the-Firms-Rate%3Fslreturn%3D20150321174236

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2006). Lawyer/attorney. Retrieved 2015, from http%3A%2F

%2Fwww.careerprofiles.info%2Flawyers-attorney-career.html

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook,

2014-15 Edition, Lawyers,
on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/legal/lawyers.htm (visited April 21, 2015).

Running head: Becoming a Lawyer