Legal: Schools and Careers

About Legal

Legal Career Overview

The Legal career field spans a wide variety of professions, each with its own unique set of duties and educational requirements. Some of the most popular careers in this field are the following:

• Attorneys/Lawyers: These individuals represent clients in criminal and/or civil trials by presenting evidence and making arguments in court to support their client. They also advise their clients about their legal rights and obligations and recommend optimal courses of action in business and personal affairs.
• Judges/Magistrates: They are responsible for interpreting the law and adjudicating cases involving almost every aspect of society. They ensure that trials and hearings are conducted fairly and that the legal rights of all parties are safeguarded.
• Paralegals: Also known as legal assistants, these people are employed by attorneys or law firms to assist in the delivery of legal services. Duties include conducting legal research, locating and interviewing witnesses, drafting legal documents, assisting attorneys during trials, conducting client interviews, preparing written reports, and maintaining case files.
• Legal secretaries: They are responsible for conducting specialized administrative or clerical duties in a law office. Duties include preparing legal papers and briefs, scheduling appointments, ordering office supplies, and fielding questions from clients.
• Legal consultants: To an increasing extent, consultants are called upon by lawyers and litigation teams to provide a winning edge in cases. Consultants provide technical expertise in one or more facets of a trial. Common types include jury consultants, trial technology consultants, and legal nurse consultants.
• Mediators/Arbitrators: As third-party experts whose use is growing in popularity, mediators and arbitrators are often called upon by individuals and corporations to settle legal disputes outside the courtroom.
• Court Reporters: Also known as stenographers, court reporters are responsible for capturing an accurate and complete record of legal proceedings. They record the testimony, speeches, statements and depositions that comprise a verbatim written transcript of the proceedings.
• Crime Scene Investigators: These individuals investigate crime scenes for various forms of physical evidence. They document their findings and often provide testimony as expert witnesses in court trials.

Legal Career Education

Education and training requirements for legal careers vary widely depending on the actual profession. Becoming a lawyer usually takes 7 years of full-time post-secondary study: four years of undergraduate study followed by three years of law school. Acceptance by most law schools depends on the quality of the applicant's undergraduate school, the applicant's undergraduate grades, results of the Law School Admission Test (LSAT), and in some cases, prior work experience. The minimum educational requirement to become a judge or magistrate is a bachelor's degree; however, the vast majority of judges are former lawyers and for many judicial positions the educational requirements are the same as for a lawyer.

Although some paralegals are trained on the job, most of them have either an associate degree in paralegal studies or a bachelor's degree together with a certificate in paralegal studies. Some even hold master's degrees. A college degree is not required to become a legal secretary; however, many law firms strongly prefer college graduates. A degree program should include business-related subjects and ideally one or more accredited legal training courses. No formal training requirements currently exist for mediators, although many of them are lawyers and former judges. Mediator training is available through independent mediation programs, although many colleges and universities are beginning to offer advanced degrees in dispute resolution and conflict management. Programs to train court reporters are widely available at community colleges, four-year universities and distance learning programs. Many of these programs are certified by the National Court Reporter's Association (NCRA).

Individuals interested in careers as crime scene investigators should plan on obtaining at least a bachelor's degree with a major in chemistry, biology, or forensic science. Most types of legal consultant will also need a bachelor's degree, although for jury consultants a master's degree or Ph.D. in a social science or behavioral science (e.g., sociology, political science, criminology, or psychology) is desirable.

Schools for Legal are listed in the column to the left.

The Subcategories tab lists career specialties for Legal, each of which has a full page profile on the site.

The Find Schools tab lets you search for schools by field of study, degree level, and location.

The Videos tab lets you watch videos describing many of the career specialties for Legal.