American Bar Association accredited law schools award Juris Doctorate degrees. To achieve or maintain accreditation, law schools must meet rigorous requirements. Accreditation committees take into consideration a law school's faculty, curriculum offerings, student resources and facilities. The ABA mandates that law schools employ full-time faculty who actively participate in research. Faculty must be able to teach a comprehensive course of legal education, which includes a full range of required courses and electives. Accreditation standards also require law schools to provide an extensive library with technological research and study areas.
Juris Doctorate programs are highly selective in their admissions procedures. To gain acceptance into one of these programs, applicants must demonstrate previous academic success and high scores on the Law School Admissions Test. Each Juris Doctorate program sets its own requirements for minimum undergraduate grade point average and LSAT scores. Law schools seek applicants with varied educational backgrounds and strong aptitudes in logic, history and political science. Applicants to Juris Doctorate programs also must write personal statements that reflect accomplishment and desire to succeed in the legal field.
Juris Doctorate programs take students three years to complete. During the first year of the program, students take a series of courses required at most accredited law schools. These courses include civil procedure, torts, constitutional law, legal research and writing, contracts and others. During the second and third years, students complete additional required courses and specialized courses in accordance with their personal interests. In conjunction with the regular curriculum, students gain experience by participating in moot court and mock trial. Some Juris Doctorate programs offer cooperative education opportunities to assist students in developing professional skills before graduation.
Juris Doctorate degrees offer graduates a spectrum of career opportunities. Law school graduates might work in fields such as arbitration, civil rights advocacy, criminal justice, education administration, financial services, international relations and publishing. Immediately following law school graduation or within the first few years of practice, young professionals holding a Juris Doctorate may pursue clerkships under judges at the state or federal levels. Clerkships offer beginning lawyers additional experience in legal research along with networking and mentoring opportunities.