I would like to be a lawyer that works in criminal law. I would need to a community college first and the transfer to a law school. I would just like any info you might have on what should I do or how i should do something as well as getting started. and any info on how much I should expect to make
?
Favorite Answer
Hey Sam,
As the other answerers have pointed out, in order to apply to law school you need to have a college degree; an associate's degree (which is what you would get at a community college), is not sufficient. If you start by attending community college, you'll have to transfer into a four-year undergraduate institution and obtain your bachelor's degree before you can apply to law school. There is no way to transfer from a community college to law school, unfortunately.
In addition to a four-year college degree, you will also have to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) in order to apply to law school. These are the two basic requirements all law school applicants must fulfill.
Once you transfer from community college to a four-year institutions, here are a few things you can do to prepare yourself for law school and create a good academic profile that will enhance your law school applications:
1. Pick a major that will require a lot of reading- and research-intensive classes. This will not only prepare you for law classes (which themselves are incredibly research- and reading-heavy), but it will also demonstrate to schools, when you apply, that you can handle the academic load of law school. Your choice of major doesn't really matter THAT much--many law school hopefuls choose Political Science, Economics, or History, but it's really up to you.
2. Keep an upward grade trend throughout college. This means that your grades either get stronger as you go through school, or start off strong and remain there for all 4 years of college. Most law schools will want to see GPAs of 3.5 or above (the closer you can get to a 4.0, the better). If you get a B during your freshman year, it's not a deal-breaker; your focus should be to keep your grades as high as you can get them.
3. Take a challenging class load: Intro classes are okay for freshman and (maybe) sophomore year, but once you get to junior and senior year, your focus should be on upper-level classes and seminars that allow you to really hone in and focus on your specific interests within the major. And, as always, keep your grades up throughout.
4. Establish rapport with your professors (particularly during your junior and senior years). You can do this by attending office hours, working for them as a research assistant, and talking to them after class. They will be the ones writing your letters of recommendation, and will only be able to write effective, overwhelmingly positive ones is if they have specific, anecdotal knowledge of you and can favorably compare you to other students in your class.
5. Work on your extracurriculars. Don't worry about being a part of 30 student groups; instead, focus on 2 or 3. Become a part and get involved during your freshman and sophomore years, and then obtain leadership positions in them during your junior and senior years.
You can, if you'd like, start researching law schools and seeing what the GPA and LSAT requirements for the different schools are. A great place to start is the Law School Admission Council's Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools (which is available for free here: http://officialguide.lsac.org). Also, start thinking about the LSAT and how you will study for it. You should, ideally, take it the spring of your Junior year, or the summer before your senior year.
Regarding salaries for attorneys, they vary considerably, and the current outlook in the legal market is not good. For those graduates that do secure employment within a legal field, salaries can range from $30,000-$40,000 for public defenders to $100,000+ for those working in large national firms (however, big law firm jobs are hard to come by and are extremely competitive).
I know I gave you a lot of info--I hope some of it is helpful! Feel free to PM me if you have any additional questions--I'm glad to help!
Anonymous
you don't transfer from a community college to law school
you need a 4 yr college degree, and then a good score on the Law school entrance exam and then be willing to go $150,000 into debt and maybe not even be able to get a decent paying job when you get out - and you would probably have to start out in the public defenders office making very low pay for several years
there are way too many lawyers in the world already
kapn
Sorry to hear that.......you need a 4 year degree then if you are bright enough, have a ton of money or you parents can handle $150K bill you may make it. Getting a job in your field is another story......consider this......
56 thousand law degrees are awarded each year........with thousands in the pipe line......law is and will be saturated for years and years.........get something in the health field and you won't have to starve trying to pay off your 200K student loan........just look in the yellow pages under lawyers. ...page after page of attorneys begging for work..........watch TV……loaded with law firms begging for any kind of law suit…just to feed their kids………. the new software can do 90% of what you would hire a lawyer to do.........for $40 bucks........Legal self help just opened in our court house in Feb 2010 they have serviced 900 legal issues in 5 months without the assistance of attorneys……what does that tell you…….go into health care and never want for a good job……..Check this out…
Kelsey May, a 2010 University of Tulsa law school grad and co-author of What the L? 25 Things We Wish We'd Known Before Going to Law School……
lucy
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/business/09law.html?scp=2&sq=david%20segal&st=cse
The other poster is correct on the education. But the key with income is explained in this article since the law field is saturated with so many lawyers out there, who never become lawyers or unable to find work.
Read this article 1st and then draw your own conclusions.
good luck
Anonymous
Hey Sam,
Your post makes me believe you're either in high school, or recently graduated. If that's the case, check out the article I've linked in my sources block (the first one). It's an article targeted at people in your shoes.
Good luck!