The path to studying law and taking that study further to become a practicing lawyer varies depending on where you are looking to practice in the world. There are similarities in most countries though and the accepted practice is that you have to study a specialist law degree which follows an undergraduate degree or bachelors degree and in some places this has to be a law degree, such as the UK, and on others it can be from any field of study, such as in the USA. But if you are serious about going down this road no matter where you are to work then choosing the correct law school can be key.
Decide What Type Of Law You Want To Study
Even at this stage, it’s key to know what area of the law interests you. Being a lawyer is not universal and very few lawyers cover all types of law. This leaves you with the big question, what type of law would I like to practice? The classic image that comes to mind when most lay-people think of a lawyer is that of a criminal defense lawyer or public prosecutor arguing out a case in front of a jury in a criminal case. This is just not representative of what a typical lawyer does, in fact, most lawyers don’t work in criminal law and many rarely if ever see the inside of a courtroom, in fact only 1% of civil cases make it to court. So knowing your preferred career path will help you choose the right college for your law degree.
Get In Touch With Law Firms Now
It may seem like a touch early to do this but once you get out of law school you are going to have to find somewhere to work and it pays to have targets for this. Once you know your targets it’s not a bad idea to be getting in contact, for two reasons, firstly it gets you on their radar, and secondly, you can find out which schools they prefer to recruit from. Get to know what firms are looking for early.
Look At Law Schools
Now you should be looking at the law schools themselves, and there are so many. You should look at the course itself but also what the institution can offer you in terms of employability, for example, BPP University claims to have courses “designed in partnership with employers and respected professionals in the fields of law” which is key to utilize partnerships which will give you a link directly from your professor to those making hiring decisions.
Know Where You Are Being Funded From
Law degrees are not cheap and it’s important to know how you can pay for this as the average law graduate starts with more than $140,000 in debt which is fine so long as you can get a job that can make this worthwhile in a reasonable time-frame. Nothing is guaranteed but look at the average salary of graduates from the school(s) you are looking to attend and you can make a judgment on how long it will take to repay this and if that is better or worse than another career path.
