Anonymous wrote:It's often said it takes "it takes 7 years of schooling be a lawyer" because people often count the required 4 year degree to enter law school. But substantially, law is basically an undergraduate degree, the first degree in the subject (there are higher degrees that follow the JD, the LLM and the Doctor of Juridical Science).
The only reason JDs require that much university is because the US law profession gatekeeps (for no reason), not because you're getting 7 years of legal training or a more rigorous education than in other countries where law is a first undergraduate degree.
JDs are ultimately introductory courses, grounding prospective lawyers in the subject prior to taking whichever Bar course they need to qualify in their chosen jurisdiction(s).
The proof of this is the New York Bar Exam. Since there are global firms with offices in both NYC and London, there are several people who seek qualifications in both jurisdictions.
English LLBs can write the New York Bar Exam and are not required to get another qualification. They view the English LLB as "substantially and durationally equivalent" to the American JD, because both the American JD and the English LLB have three years of academic training and both the US and England are common law jurisdictions. The 4 years of college isn't part of the legal education.
Thanks for the platitude. Guess what? You also dont need to go to law school at all w a GED and can get licensed in VA and CA