Law School

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The legal education in the United States referred to the training necessary for access to the legal profession. To a large extent, it takes place at what is known as a law school . This is the law faculty at universities in the United States and Canada .

Course content

The typical course is a postgraduate course for Bachelor graduates. The previous bachelor's degree can be taken in any other subject, so it does not have to have been completed in law . The postgraduate course lasts 3 years and usually leads to a professional doctorate ( Juris Doctor , JD), but other degrees are also possible. The JD cannot be compared with a research-oriented doctorate ; Real doctoral degrees are the Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) in the USA or Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) in Canada. At some law schools, the Master of Laws (LL.M.) is also possible, but mostly only for foreign lawyers.

organization

In recent years, European universities have begun to internationalize their legal training and to some extent to adopt English names. Even if they call themselves “Law School”, a similar structure cannot be assumed. A North American law school such as Harvard Law School is generally far more independent from the university than law faculties in Europe; in the majority of cases it is also more autonomous than a British College of Law. In Europe, legal training is more integrated into the normal university structure. Law schools, on the other hand, are concerned with the greatest possible self-administration and their own identity. The competition is very strong. The tuition fees are, often different from the mother university, quite high.

Degree and admission as a lawyer

Bar Examination

Graduating from a law school does not immediately lead to admission to the bar . For this purpose, the graduates must also successfully pass an examination ( bar examination ) before the examination boards of the legal professional associations. If successful, there is an admission to the bar , the lawyer becomes a member of the legal profession. In the USA, approval is generally only valid for the state in which the test was carried out. However, to a large extent, multistate standardized examinations have become established, which provide for common examination standards and enable the relatively uncomplicated admission of lawyers in all countries. The American Bar Association (ABA) regulates the relevant regulations for the entire USA .

Therefore, law school generally only makes sense in colleges that are accredited by the American Bar Association. Without this accreditation, admission as a lawyer is virtually impossible, unless a special regulation applies in a state. Some non-accredited colleges in California - e.g. For example, Concord Law School, which offers online-only distance learning, offers a law degree with a JD degree, which allows students to take the California bar exam. Outside of California, however, these lawyers are not (yet) allowed to work legally (exception: purely advisory activities). These admission options are the subject of controversy and are largely viewed critically by the legal establishment. Basically, American law schools without ABA accreditation should be classified as not serious in case of doubt.

Qualification for judicial office

The legal training in Germany is aimed at qualified judge from. Admission to the legal profession is also based on Section 4 Federal Lawyers' Act (BRAO) requires this qualification. For this, it is necessary to complete a law course of at least four years at a university with the first examination ( state examination ) and a subsequent two-year preparatory service with the second state examination ( assessor examination ) (§ § 5 ff. DRiG). These degrees are not possible at a private law school such as the Bucerius Law School in Hamburg. An acquired there Bachelor of Law is not a professional qualification, however, be entitled to store the state examination at a state judicial examination office .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Filippo Ranieri : Country-specific information on legal training in Europe Research Center for European Civil Law at the Saarland University
  2. ↑ Hariolf Wnzler: The "gold standard" of legal training August 25, 2010
  3. ^ OVG Hamburg, judgment of May 11, 2006 - 4 Bf 408/05; BVerwG 5 B 78/07