My three years of full-time law school program seemed very fast and very long at the same time. Now, looking back, I have my thoughts on why law school takes so long. Let me explain in this article why it is so.
The general rumor in law schools maintains that three years of full-time law school education are necessary to ensure that law school graduates are competent enough to take further steps to become lawyers. But I think there is different reason why law school takes that many years.
Let me explain through pros and cons of why law school takes so long.
How long does law school usually take?
In the 19th century, lawyers became lawyers by apprenticeship. Then legal industry decided to protect itself from too many lawyers and introduced multiple requirements.
Those included the requirement to obtain a Juris Doctor degree (formerly, LLB degree) and mandatory passing of the state bar exam.
Now, the full-time traditional J.D. program in U.S. law school usually takes three years to complete. The part-time J.D. program takes about four years. Overall, law school takes a long time to complete but not as long as medical school or Ph.D.
Please note that you must first complete your bachelor’s degree program before applying for law school. Therefore, you may say that it takes seven years to study before sitting for a bar exam.
We will not discuss rare cases when students can take a semester off or something like that.
However, my personal opinion is that 3rd year of law school is a waste of time and unnecessary. The law school takes so long because the extra year of the program brings additional revenue to law schools.
If comparing to 2 years, that will be extra 50% revenue. If you take the whole 3-year full-time program, then the 3rd year makes up 30% of total law school revenue per student per program.
If we look at the part-time program, maybe the last 1-1.5 years are unnecessary.
How to reduce time spent in law school?
Some law schools offer accelerated two-year J.D. programs which attract law students who want to obtain their J.D. faster. For example, such two-year J.D. programs are provided at the law schools like Pepperdine, University of Dayton, and other law schools. Dayton offers a 2.5-year option too.
Many law schools offer accelerated J.D. options. I will provide a link to a list below the blog post.
A two-year accelerated law school J.D. program allows us to save money on borrowing and boarding costs you would otherwise have in our third year.
Essentially, a two-year J.D. program entails taking classes in the summer, leaving no time for internships and so on.
Therefore, the sooner you finish law school – the better. You need money and time for preparing and passing the bar exam, not just sitting in classes learning subjects you may quickly learn later in life if necessary for legal work.
For law students in the bottom-tier law schools (3rd and 4th tier), going through 3 years of law school may not necessarily be so important. Because at low-tiered law schools, students enjoy way fewer attractive opportunities than students in top-ranking schools.
On the other hand, top-ranking law schools offer their students many interesting internship and clerkship opportunities during summers.
It may be worth it for a top law school student to take three years but get engaging practical experience in courts or reputable national law firms, potentially leading to a job after graduation.
Here is the caveat and disclosure. During my 1L summer, I clerked for an appellate judge. I loved that experience working with him and his law clerk attorneys.
I also received a very nice and valuable recommendation letter from him. It is so lovely that I think I will frame it. Employers do look at those things.
In my 2L summer, I already worked part-time at a law firm while taking a summer class to reduce workload for the third year.
I suggest you do the same – take one or two summer classes early in law school so that in your 3rd year, you could focus on more practical and useful activities I already mentioned above.
Why does it take so long to be a lawyer?
In U.S. law, a graduate must pass the bar exam to become an attorney and practice law. Therefore, the third year of law school is primarily electives. While some of them may be interesting and useful, they are not necessarily helping to prepare for the bar exam.
The third-year does seem very long. Because students are anxious to graduate and start preparing for the bar exam, other students are looking for jobs or internships. Going to classes takes away time from those practical activities.
How to use the third year of law school for your advantage?
You can benefit from the third year of law school if you could take at least several electives relevant to the bar exam. And let me tell you which mistake some law students make in their third year.
Some law students make a mistake taking specific electives to get into one particular area of law. But, unfortunately, that is a mistake for many.
Usually, students never know what law job they will get after graduation. Most law students are generalists and will apply for many jobs in many areas of law to get their foot into a law firm practice.
The exception to this rule is if your papa or mama or spouse is a partner in a law firm and you know precisely that they will hire you to do a specific area of law. In such a case, you may go for specialization in your third year of law school.
Another case scenario is when a person is a law student in T14 or even T5 law schools and good grades. Such students can essentially choose their law firm and specialization after graduation because most law firms will happily hire top law school graduates.
And other exceptions include those law students with previous experience precious for law firms. F.O. example engineers or scientist law students who plan to become patent attorneys working in Intellectual property law.
Others include former experienced M.Ds., nurses, or pharmacists who plan to work in medical malpractice or drug litigation areas.
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The above are specific skills sought after by law firms, leading to lucrative attorney careers. In this scenario taking relevant electives in third-year may make sense.
But I still maintain that preparing for the bar exam is more important than the third year of law school.
And that is about it. So, use your third year of law school wisely and take bar-related electives to give you a basic overview of relevant topics. It will make it a little bit easier to prepare for the bar exam after graduation.
Note that law school doe not prepare students for the bar exam. You will have to prepare yourself or use one of the bar preparation services (highly recommended).
Another thing you can do is take a trial practice or pre-trial course in your third year, which will kind of help to prepare for potential litigation or trial career. Even if you do not want it, you never know when you may need it.
Some lawyers never litigate because they do other types of work.
Other useful things to do in your third year.
Unless you have super-stellar grades to maintain – start working or interning at a law firm in your third year. Or, use some time to start preparing for the bar exam while you are in your third year of law school.
That will help you big time once you graduate and begin taking a bar course.
Third-year grades are not too critical because most law school grades and GPA are set in the first and then some second years of law school.
Maintaining grades is essential for those in the top 25% of the class, law students receiving scholarships, and those on a law journal. If not, being in the top 50% of the course is all you need to maintain.
Try to intern to get some practical experience, volunteer at legal on-profits, or something like that. Your focus should be on the bar exam first and gaining valuable experience second.
One of my classmates got a job at a law firm owned by one of our adjunct professors. Both me and her obtained top grade in his class. So he hired her after she passed the bar and suggested that I apply too, but I moved to another state.
On the other hand, this is quite rare because most law professors do not practice law or rarely hire from law school classes they teach.
If you can join law school student clubs and law journals, you may use your third year to work extensively on those activities. Law journal gives a boost on the resume and during employment.
In addition, student clubs allow you to socialize with other students and make friends for life and your career. That means building a future network of connections.
Although in my opinion, you should start socializing heavily in your second year of law school once your GPA becomes kind of set and established.
You can make the most out of your third year by choosing how to spend your time wisely.
