what does it take to become an associate attorney at a law firm?
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at
3:16 pm
I am thinking of going to school to pursue my BS in Legal studies and wondered if that would buy drugs online allow me to later become an associate at a law firm?
I am a retired attorney.
An associate attorney is a new attorney at a law firm. If an associate does very well, and is not asked to leave the firm sooner, after about seven years the associate is offered a partnership or in some firms, a shareholder position.
First you need to complete your bachelor’s degree. Depending on its content, legal studies may or may not be a particularly good major. Law schools accept all academic majors, but if legal studies at your school is designed for prospective paralegals (roughly equivalent to nurses in the medical profession) and not for prospective law students, then history or political science will be better majors as they will involve more critical reading and writing which is what law school is all about.
Then you need to go to law school for three years and graduate from it.
If you are thinking of a large law firm, you should go to one of the top twenty national law schools, or if you want to practice in your state, you can also go to the top law school in your state. In law school you need to compete for a spot on the best law review (student-edited legal journal) and then compete for one of the highest editorial positions on it. During the summer between your second and third years of law school, you need to do a paid clerkship at a major law firm. If you do well in the clerkship, the law firm will often hire you as an associate attorney after you finish law school. In the meantime you probably will have earned the necessary top grades. Then you need to pass the bar exam.
There are many opportunities for new attorneys in addition to becoming an associate at a law firm.
Please feel free to email me if you wish further discussion. You asked an intelligent question.