One of the most puzzling things in the United States educational system is why most colleges do not offer a bachelor degree in law. In most colleges if you want to become a lawyer someday, you have to major in something else and then go on to get your actual law degree from an accredited law school. So what's up with that? A lot of the answers to this question are mostly speculation as this "restriction" isn't clearly spelled out, especially when it isn't standardized throughout the nation. So what you're going to read is merely some educated guesses based on a few facts. In the United States, to become a lawyer, you only have to do one thing. Pass your bar exam. A person can actually do this without having any formalized training or schooling whatsoever. That's right. A person can walk in off the street, insist on being able to take a bar exam and if they pass, they're legally allowed to practice law in whatever state they took the bar in. So, if you're a self educated person and think you can pull this off, there is nothing legally preventing you from doing this. Because of this simple fact and also because there is really so much involved in preparing to practice law, most colleges probably feel that they are ill equipped to prepare a person for doing this and still have that person take all the electives and other requirements that are needed to actually get a degree from that institution. Therefore, a bachelor degree in law is not offered. Another reason may very well have to do with economics and politics. Because preparing for a career in law is so involved, special colleges have been set up specifically for this purpose. They're called law schools. These schools charge a lot of money to get in. If regular colleges were to offer law degrees and actually prepared somebody for a career in law, there would be no need for law schools. Obviously, this would be an academic nightmare for the law schools themselves. When you start bringing politics into the mix, that's when it becomes quite unlikely that a regular four year college is going to offer a comprehensive program for law and a bachelor degree to go along with it. So, what does a person major in if they want to go on to be a lawyer someday? Well, most students major in political science. While this is by no means a requirement that they do so, it is probably the one degree that will best prepare them for a career in law because of the material that's covered. Still, there are students who major in psychology and other disciplines, figuring that it doesn't really matter since ultimately they have to go to a law school in order to prepare for their bar exam, which is what this all boils down to. And it's funny; with all the requirements we put on getting certified to practice law in this country, you'd think we'd have better lawyers than we do. |
