If an individual graduates law school but chooses (for whatever reason) to not take the bar exam, can that individual still put "J.D." behind their name? Or does each State's bar have different policies on that? Thanks.
Kenneth
Favorite Answer
Yes. "J.D." refers to the degree. They can even say they are a lawyer, they just aren't admitted to the bar or allowed to practice law.
Its not that uncommon for a lawyer to not take the bar, especially if they are going to work for a major corporation and are only doing in-house work, basically acting as a legal consultant.
Tortfeasor
Contrary to what some people and some universities will tell you, a JD is not a great selling point for someone who doesn't practice law. Employers will always wonder why you incurred such a large expense to not practice law. The suspicion will be that you couldn't figure out what you wanted to do in life, or worse, that you couldn't pass the bar.
Scott
Wikipedia is pretty clear on this.
Not all J.D. degree holders sit for the bar exam, and thus not all J.D. holders are licensed attorneys, unless the jurisdiction permits otherwise.
Felonious Monkey
Correct. Once you graduate law school you have a juris doctorate (JD). Once you pass the bar you're a licensed attorney.
Diana B
JD is just the name of the degree you get when you graduate law school. (It's not the only one - there's also AB among others).