Difference between revisions of "How Do I Become a Lawyer?"

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==Getting into Law School==

===Previous Schooling===

Academically, you normally need an undergraduate university degree in something. It doesn't matter what the focus of your undergrad was, or whether it was a B.Comm. a B.Sc. or a B.A., you just have to have a degree. Some universities will also accept into law school students with a minimum of two years of an undergraduate program, however, this will depend on the university you're applying too, how many applicants they have and, of course, your marks.

LSAT stands for Law School Aptitude Test. All North American law schools require that you write this test before you apply for admission. The LSAT is run by a private testing company, not by any particular school, and tests are offered on a quarterly basis in cities across the continent. If I recall correctly, the same exact test is written by thousands of people across Canada and the US on the same weekend. Your score is not a percentage, it's a weighted score. In other words, the result you get is a statement of how you ranked compared to the thousands of other people who wrote the test. If you ranked in the 50th percentile, for example, you did as well as half the people that wrote the test. If you ranked in the 80th percentile, you did better than 80% of the people that wrote the test.

===The LSAT, Your Grades and Law School Admissions===

==Law School==

The vast majority of law students apply for articles at the end of their second year of law school, after the marks have been released. The articles will start almost immediately after third year ends, so people usually spend the summer after second year scrounging for employment. As a result, your second year marks are critical to your ability to obtain articles... for the same reason your third year marks are a lot less important, since you have, hopefully, already found articles.

==PLTC: The Bar Admission Course==

All provincial law societies require law school graduates to complete both their articles and a bar admission course before allowing you to practice law. In British Columbia, this is a three-month course is called PLTC, the ''Professional Legal Training Course'', and it's completed during the year in which you article. Sometimes your principal will pay for the cost of the course; some articles don't provide for this and you'll have to pay the course tuition yourself.

==Admission to the Bar==

When you've completed PLTC and your articles are almost complete, your principal will have to furnish the law society with a sworn declaration stating that you are ready and competent to practice as a lawyer. You must ensure the law society gets your principal's declaration or you will not be called. PLTC will forward your marks to the law society for you.

#complete all or most of one undergraduate university degree;

#write the LSAT;

#send your undergraduate transcripts plus your LSAT test scores to the universities you'd like to go to;

#complete first year without having a breakdown or dropping out;

#once you've finished second year, look for and obtain your articles;

#complete third year without doing too much damage to your liver;

#start your articles and, at some point during that year, complete PLTC;

#apply for admission to the bar with your articling report (PLTC will forward your grades to the law society on its own); and,

#be called and sworn in to the bar; the law society will provide you with a schedule of call ceremonies.