How to become a lawyer

1. 1Earn a bachelor's degree with strong grades

   Time: 4 yearsCost: Undergraduate tuitionSources 1

   Law schools do not require a particular major. Political science, history, English, philosophy, economics and criminal justice are common, but engineering and science graduates are welcome and are needed for patent work. What matters most for admission is your grade point average and courses that build heavy reading, writing and argument skills. Internships at a law office, courthouse or government agency help you test whether you like the work before committing to law school.

2. 2Take the LSAT and apply to law schools

   Time: Several months to a yearCost: $253 (LSAT) + $219 (CAS) + $45 per school reportSources 3

   The LSAT, run by the Law School Admission Council, tests reading comprehension and reasoning, and it includes a separate argumentative writing section that schools receive along with your score. One fee covers both parts. You apply through LSAC's Credential Assembly Service, which gathers your transcripts, letters and scores and sends a report to each school for a separate fee. Plan to take the LSAT the summer or fall before you apply, leaving time for a retake.

3. 3Complete a Juris Doctor (JD) degree

   Time: 3 years full timeCost: About $35,600 to $84,400 a year in tuition (examples)Sources 1, 7, 8

   The first year covers required courses: contracts, torts, property, civil procedure, criminal law, constitutional law and legal writing. In the second and third years you choose electives, join clinics where you represent real clients under supervision, and may write for a law journal. Summer jobs after the first and second years at firms, courts or agencies often lead to job offers. Most states require the JD to come from an ABA-approved school.

4. 4Pass the MPRE

   Time: Usually during the second or third year of law schoolCost: $185Sources 4

   The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination is a two-hour test of 60 multiple-choice questions, 50 of them scored, on the rules that govern lawyers' conduct, such as conflicts of interest and client confidentiality. Every US jurisdiction requires it except Wisconsin and Puerto Rico, and Connecticut and New Jersey let you substitute a law school ethics course. Each state sets its own passing score.

5. 5Pass the bar exam

   Time: About 2 to 3 months of study, then a 2-day examCost: State exam fees plus optional bar prep courseSources 5, 6

   Most graduates spend the summer after law school studying full time for the July exam. Many states use the two-day Uniform Bar Examination, which combines the Multistate Bar Examination, essay questions and performance tests, and produces a score that other UBE states accept. NCBE's new NextGen bar exam launched in July 2026 in its first 10 jurisdictions, and the current UBE is given for the last time in February 2028. Check which exam your state gives in the year you test.

6. 6Pass character and fitness review and be sworn in

   Time: Several months, often running alongside the bar examCost: State application feesSources 1, 10

   Each state's highest court sets the rules for admitting lawyers. The bar admission application asks about your history in detail: past addresses, jobs, debts, arrests, academic discipline and substance use. Investigators verify it, and problems that were not disclosed hurt more than problems that were. Once you pass the exam, the MPRE and the character review, you take an oath and are admitted to the bar. Find your state's admitting authority through the CareerOneStop License Finder.

Programs, tuition and graduates’ earnings

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15). Scorecard groups programs by 4-digit field, so a row can include related programs. Tuition is the median published undergraduate tuition and fees of the colleges offering the program (shown only for undergraduate credentials); debt is the median of programs’ median federal loan debt at completion; earnings are the national median for the field and credential four years after completion.

Requirements differ by state. Check your state’s rules in the CareerOneStop License Finder (U.S. Department of Labor) before you enroll.

Close reading

A single word in a statute, contract clause or court opinion can decide a case, so you have to read precisely and catch what others miss.

Persuasive writing

Briefs, motions and demand letters are how most lawyers win arguments, and judges read them before you ever speak.

Negotiation

Most civil cases settle and most criminal cases end in plea agreements, so results depend on bargaining as much as trial skill.

Managing deadlines

Missing a filing deadline or statute of limitations can lose a client's case outright and lead to malpractice claims.

Explaining law in plain words

Clients have to make decisions about risk and cost, and they can only do that if they understand their options.

O*NET 31.0 rates these skills as most important for the occupation: speaking, reading comprehension, active listening, critical thinking, writing.

Training cost

$108K–$254K

Before financial aid

Time

7 to 8 years

Typical path

Median pay

$159,670

All US jobs: $50,980

Payback once qualified

1.0–2.3 yrs

Pay above the all-jobs median vs. cost

Law school tuition and testing only. Low: a public law school for an in-state student, using the University of Houston Law Center's Fall 2026 resident tuition and fees for 15 credit hours, $17,785.20 a semester x 6 semesters = $106,711, plus $882 in testing fees (LSAT $253, Credential Assembly Service $219, five law school reports at $45 each, MPRE $185). High: Harvard Law School's 2026-27 tuition, $84,400 x 3 years = $253,200, plus the same $882. Not included: undergraduate costs, living expenses, books, bar exam and admission fees, which vary by state, and bar prep courses. Many students pay less after scholarships; the median federal loan debt of law graduates is $111,029 (College Scorecard).

Rough guide only: ignores taxes, aid, interest and earnings given up during training. How we calculate it.

• Partner or in-house general counsel

  Associates who build expertise and bring in clients can be invited to become partners, who share in the firm's ownership; others move into a company's legal department and work up to general counsel.

• Judge$153,990 median

  Judges are usually experienced lawyers who are appointed or elected, which often takes political support; trial lawyers, prosecutors and public defenders are common candidates.

• Law professor$82,250 median

  Law schools hire faculty mainly from lawyers with strong academic records, published writing and often a judicial clerkship or years of practice.