Interested in practicing law as a profession? Many often wonder how much time it takes to become a lawyer. In this article, well cover the process of becoming a lawyer, including schooling and testing, as well as other considerations that may increase or decrease the time involved to practice law professionally.

Here are the steps requited to becoming a lawyer:

1) Obtain a Bachelors Degree (2 ½ to 5 years)

2) Pass the LSAT (variable)

3) Attend Law School (3 years)

4) Pass the Bar Exam (variable)

Lets look at each of these in-depth.

Step One: Obtaining a Bachelors Degree

The first step is to obtain a bachelors degree. To become a lawyer, you dont necessarily need to pick a relevant major. However, if youre looking to specialize, you may want to pick a focus that will better prepare you for becoming a lawyer and will relate to the type of law you want to practice. Some of these majors include: criminal justice, history, economics, political science, etc.

Those who wish to fast-track their way to become an attorney may wish to complete their bachelors in as little time as possible. Attending college full-time can have your bachelors in 2 ½ to 4 years (on average). Online programs are also available for those that want to attend college on their own time, with some students opting to test out for certain classes to reduce the overall time. However, you should be careful: make sure the degree you eventually receive is from an accredited school. An unaccredited degree is useless for those looking to gain acceptance to a law school(see below).

Step 2: Passing the LSAT

Once students obtain a bachelors degree, they must pass the LSAT (Law School Admission Test). Because of the infrequent testing dates (4 times a year) and the amount of time to prepare for the example, you may have to wait additional time to pass the LSAT. For students looking to overcome this hurdle, studying while they are simultaneously completing their undergraduate degree may help save time.

Step 3: Attending Law School

If youve passed the LSAT with a high score, you may be admitted to a law school. However, a low score and poor academic performance may be obstacles to admittance.

Typically, law school programs require 3 years of schooling to obtain a Juris Doctorate (JD). Unlike obtaining a bachelors degree, law school doesnt allow for shortcuts to shave time off of the process. Only under certain circumstances can students be granted an extensionhowever, this is not the norm.

Step 4: Passing the Bar Exam

Once youve obtained your JD, the final component to becoming a lawyer is passing your chosen states bar exam where you wish to practice law. The bar exam is at least 2 parts: the MBE (Multistate Bar Exam) and the state-specific bar exam. Additionally, your chosen state may require to complete the MPT (Multistate Performance Test), which tests whether a person can perform the basic functions of a lawyer.

You have a right to privacy, and a right to not be arrested without probable cause, or to have your home, hotel room or place of business searched without your knowledge or consent.

This right is protected by law, and there are provisions in place to allow the police to conduct searches with a warrant, if they have a reason to believe it is necessary. If the police were to enter your property without a warrant, and were not able to show that they had a reasonable and sound reason for doing so, then any evidence that they were to find in such a search would not be admissible in court.

For the most part, the police follow the rules well, but there are cases when they make mistakes, and if you are the victim of one of those mistakes then it can be stressful and traumatic. You have the right to challenge an arrest or a search if you feel that it was performed incorrectly or that the procedures that are in place to protect your privacy were not followed.

It is a myth that search warrants are always required. It’s fair to say that they are usually necessary, but if there is a genuine threat to public safety and the police can show that they had a good reason to believe that they had to act immediately, then they may be able to make the case that they had a reason to enter your property without a warrant. The burden of proof for this is set quite high, though, so in general the police would not enter someone’s home or place of business without following the correct procedures.

If you feel that you have been treated unfairly by the police, then you should be careful what you say when you are arrested or questioned. Ask to talk to a lawyer, and explain to the lawyer that you are unsure about the legal position regarding warrants. The law is complicated, and you should not attempt to resolve these issues yourself. This is one area where expert legal advice is essential to avoid misunderstandings and complications. Find some expert search warrant solicitor firms, like this one:

http://search-warrants.com

If you cannot afford to pay for your own lawyer, you may be able to get one appointed for you or get legal aid, and they will still work to represent you as well as possible to ensure justice is done.

Unfortunately, ‘winging it’ is not an option when representing a client as a civil or criminal barrister. While your favourite barrister on your favourite legal television show may ‘wing it’ regularly, this is not recommended as a defence strategy in reality. If you read news articles about successful barristers, you will note their many years of education and extensive history working in the legal profession – read this article about Michael Wolkind QC for an example. It is common knowledge that a barrister, in reality, needs to be adequately prepared if they are to have any chance of success. The most preparation you see in legal dramas is the lawyer organising files and reading them at the desk. This article will provide information on the method to follow to effectively prepare criminal or civil court cases.

The first point to remember when preparing to represent a case in court is that there are no short cuts to successful preparation. As a new barrister, you may think there are short routes to a satisfactory conclusion; however, the more experienced advocates will agree that success is only a result of hard work. Of course, the more experience you gain and the more time you spend in the legal field, the easier you will find it to carry out preparation and read papers.

Contrary to popular belief, organisation and reading of court papers are not the only forms of preparation to be completed. While the first thing to do when receiving a brief is reading the document, it is important to examine the individuals involved with the case and their position in the situation as well. This is the reason why barristers need to be skilled at reading personalities, emotions, and individuals in the court.

Picturing the scene is vital as this will assist in understanding the case effectively. The first factor to take into account is the ‘dramatis personae’. The ‘dramatis personae’ involves the setting of the people involved in the case and their activities. It is also recommended that one considers the chronology of the case examining the order in which events took place. All this information should be included in the documentation. By the end of perusal, it is essential that all the data is formed in your head and you can note which are significant to the case.

One of the most significant features of any trial preparation is the development of a case theory. The case theory is one that will explain the client’s version of events and place it in accordance with the facts. The more persuasive the theory is, the higher the chance of case success. It is important to consider all pros and cons of the theory before using the theory in court. Nothing is less persuasive than a flawed theory.

The legal profession is often seen as seedy by those who are on the outside looking in. Many ask how it is possible for barristers to sleep at night when they are in charge of defending people who have been charged with heinous acts. The answer is actually more simple than most people believe.

It must first be mentioned that one can never assume that a client is guilty if they have not admitted so. Just because it seems obvious that someone is indeed guilty as charged, this is not the train of thought a barrister has. Whether or not a client is guilty does not affect the way they should be defended. Basically, everyone has the right to a just and proper defence, and it is the duty of the barrister to ensure this happens. People can be convicted based on questionable evidence, as explored in this article about Michael Wolkind QC:

telegraph.co.uk/news/science/9115916/The-case-against-DNA.html

If it seems perfectly clear that there is no way for a client to walk away scot free, a barrister tries to go about things in a different manner. At this point, they review all of the relevant case law, the details of the particular situation and try their best to make sure their client gets the lowest amount of time possible. Perhaps the client broke the law while under the influence of drugs and they are clean and sober now, or they have stopped living a life of vagrancy and they’re now more productive.

It is not very common for defendants to admit guilt to the people defending them, which makes it easier to assist someone without worrying about crossing any ethical lines. With that being said, if a barrister is sure that a client has done all of the acts they are being charged with, they have to go about their defence using a different strategy. Basically, they focus on the prosecution proving the case at hand. This means that they leave it up to the other side to show that the client is guilty of the crimes that they are being accused of.

The point is that barristers are not terrible people who want to help guilty parties go free. It is not their responsibility to judge how the law works or the moral fiber of the people they are hired to defend. What they do is simple: they use the skills and knowledge they have to make sure their clients get a fair outcome.

Expert Search Warrant Legal Advice

When it comes to search warrants served on you or your company, it is important that you know your rights and obligations. In doing this, you will be able to know whether the warrant was legitimate or not. In the event that you have a case against the jurisdiction that served the warrant, you will want to touch base with an attorney that can give you the help that you need. To learn more about these warrants and everything that is important with regard to your situation, read on.

How is a search warrant taken out?

In the vast majority of cases, a search warrant is obtained when a law enforcement professional has probable cause and expresses their probable cause and findings to a judge in the form of a sworn affidavit. A sworn affidavit is an oath that asserts that everything issued in the application for search warrant is true and not misrepresented.

What are officers allowed to search?

The reason that search warrants are so detailed it is that law enforcement professionals are not allowed to search anything outside of the areas detailed within it. For example, if the police have probable cause that you have drugs inside of your house, they cannot then search the storage shed out back unless it is explicitly outlined in their affidavit. Likewise, they must dictate what items they are looking for and can only seize those items that are explained ahead of time on the affidavit.

How can I get help if I believe law enforcement performed an illegal search?

If you need to be sure that you are able to get defense, be sure that you speak to an attorney who can let you know if you have a case. They will challenge the probable cause and make sure that officers operated explicitly within the letter of the law. This is why it is important to never consent to a search without a search warrant because they don’t need a warrant if you offer consent. By getting in touch with a lawyer, you will know where you stand.

When you apply these tips, you will be better able to grasp what search warrants are and how they apply to you. If you require further legal help in this regard, get in touch with a solicitor to challenge search warrants who can fight your corner.

Criminal barristers have an interesting, challenging and rewarding job. They advise and represent people who are being faced with criminal charges and they spend a lot of time in the courtroom compared to people who are working as barristers in other specialisations. Criminal barristers usually work as part of a chambers, but some are self-employed. Legal directories such as the Legal 500 list particularly noteworthy barristers, like Michael Wolkind QC: http://www.legal500.com/firms/9410/offices/9410/lawyers/45489

Anyone can become a criminal barrister. The career is open to people who have a degree in any subject, but someone without a law degree would have to do a law conversion course before they started their professional training.

The first thing that someone would need would be either a law degree, or, if their undergraduate degree was in another subject then they would need to get the Graduate Diploma in Law (which is also known as the Common Professional Exam). Because Bar courses are so competitive, in most cases a 2:1 degree is a requirement.

After the academic qualifications, the student will need to complete the Bar Professional Training Course. This takes a year if it is done full time, but it can be spread over two years as a part time course. The final stage of qualification is a year of practice, or pupillage, which sees the trainee work under the supervision of an already qualified barrister.

There are many institutions which offer the Graduate Diploma in Law. This course covers legal methods and research skills, and offers students the opportunity to focus on a specialist legal topic. The Bar Professional Training Course is an intensive course. There are some scholarships available from Gray’s Inn, Lincoln’s Inn, the Middle Temple and Inner Temple but these scholarships are highly competitive.

The pupillage is paid, but the rates of pay are fairly low, with the minimum required salary being just £12,000 per year. The pupillage is divided into two six months periods, with the first six months being non-practicing while the student learns and observes the experienced barrister. Students are advised to apply for a pupillage before they begin their BPTC, and they are allowed to apply to up to 12 organisations. After the application window ends, interview offers are sent out, and final offers will be made a few months later. Competition for pupillage placements is fierce, and there are usually three applicants per place, so it is a good idea to apply during the first round, and to spend a lot of time honing the application to highlight both academic ability and personal strengths.

Becoming a criminal defence QC is a huge challenge. The typical entry route into law is for someone to study a degree and earn a 2:1, then to take a one-year legal course that will give them entry to the BPTC. It is possible to go straight onto the BPTC from a law degree as well. After passing the BPTC (which takes a year of full time study or two years if done part time), there is a one year pupillage before you can become a barrister.

The pupillage is paid, and involves six months of study and six months of practice under supervision. After that, a person is qualified to be a trainee barrister. From there, they can pursue further training to take the silk and become a QC.

A Criminal defence barrister is someone who plays a very important role in the courtroom. Their job is to defend criminals who may have no-one else who believes in them. Barristers are often asked how they can defend someone that they ‘know’ is guilty. What the barristers like to emphasize is that you never know for sure. Rights and wrongs are harder to call than you might think, and there are a lot of people in the courtroom who are innocent or who were desperate or misguided. The barristers are not making moral judgements, they are doing their job and facilitating justice.

Criminal Defence QCs don’t get involved personally with the cases that they deal with. They focus on the case, and they do the best job they can, no matter who is prosecuting and no matter who they are defending. Police officers may be more inclined to become invested in the case, but the legal representatives on both sides are simply interested in seeing justice done. They need to take things that way so that they can cope with the job that they do. Many QCs are self employed and do a lot of legal aid work, which is not well paid and which is hugely stressful. Advocacy is a hard job, and many of the representatives used by the prosecution are inexperienced, in house lawyers, which makes the job difficult in a lot of cases.

If you’re interested in becoming a QC, think carefully about your motivations. While some barristers and QCs can earn a lot of money, it’s a long road and a hard job that takes passion. Successful barristers like Michael Wolkind QC can be found on legal directories.