Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

1)What extra curricular activities do you need to become a lawyer?

2)What is your starting salary range?

3)What different classes did you have to take?

4)What kind of grades do you need to get, to become a lawyer?

5)What subjects are you supposed to do well in?

6)What colleges do you recommend?

7)how many years did you have to study, to get this career?

8)what advise would you give me, a student who wants to become a lawyer

9)What did you major in?

11)do you have time for social life?

is the job stressful if so,how?

12)what are some good courses to take?

13)did you need financial aid in college?

14)what do you think i should do to prepare myself for court appearences?

15)what are some job requirements?

16)what do you start as when you get the job?

17) do you recomend any internships?

18)What motivates you?

19)what type of reading do you have to do on a daily basis?

20)did you pass the bar exam on the first try?

21)what other careers do you consider?

22)how long haveyou been practicing law?

23)what kind of cases do you handle?

24)will you ahve issues like suing?

25)how do get things done?

26)do you feel like part of a team, if so how?

27)How do you react when you find out someone in the office does not like you?

28)what dicisions do you find easy to make?

29)what dicisions do you find hard to make?

30)how do you respond under stress?


Asked on 5/20/11, 5:01 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

That's a lot of questions. I'll just give you the basics.

To become a lawyer you must first earn a bachelor's degree (which usually takes four years full-time after you finish high school) and then earn a law degree (which takes an additional three years full-time after college). Then you must take and pass the bar exam in the state where you want to practice. About half of all law students spent a year or more working between college and law school. Some served in the military Some earned graduate degrees in other fields. But the other half went directly from college.

It doesn't matter what you major in while in college, as long as you learn to write well and to think critically and logically. Law schools are happy to admit students who majored in any field as long as they have these skills. I, for one, majored in computer science.

Getting into law school is competitive, but some schools are harder to get into than others. You will need to get good grades while you are in college, though if you go to a particularly demanding college, somewhat lower grades will be acceptable. You will also need to take the Law School Admissions Test and get a good score. Here again, what's good enough for some law schools will not be good enough for others. Most law school admissions offices also like to see a range of experiences and extracurricular interests.

Law school is hard. For most people it requires considerably more time and effort than college. How much time you will have for a social life will depend on many other factors: Will you have a family to take care of? Will you have a part-time job? Will you be commuting from far away? And how efficiently do you study?

Yes, law school is stressful. So is being a lawyer. How much stress you will feel depends upon your individual circumstances and your personality.

Most of your remaining questions are personal rather than professional, so I will stop here.

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Answered on 5/20/11, 5:18 pm


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