There are very few requirements for a law degree.
The standard law degree in the United States is the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree. In order to become a licensed attorney in all jurisdictions in the United States, lawyers must have successfully completed law school. While all lawyers must have received a J.D., the law school curriculum throughout the country is not uniform and it leaves considerable opportunity for aspiring attorneys to mold their own legal education. Law degree requirements are, however, imposed on law students and law schools by the American Bar Association (ABA)--the professional association of lawyers in the United States that accredits law schools.
Credit Hours
In order to be accredited by the ABA, a J.D. degree can only be granted to students who have successfully completed at least 83 credit hours of law school. Law school must be completed in a time frame of two to seven years according to ABA standards. Law schools offer a full-time day division program that is completed in three years. Some law schools offer part-time, evening programs or both, which must be completed in four years.
Legal Research and Writing
While most law schools have some required courses as school policy, the ABA standards only require one course--a legal research and writing course in the law student's first year. The legal research and writing course in the first year of law school teaches law students analyze problems and compose various legal writings, such as memoranda of law, briefs, motions, contracts and correspondence with clients and opposing counsel. The standards do call for an additional legal research and writing course later in the law student's career but it does not specify when. As a matter of policy, most law schools require law students to take courses in contract law, property law, criminal law and procedure, tort law, civil procedure, evidence and constitutional law because these areas are tested on the Multistate Bar Exam.
Good Standing
In order to receive a law degree, a law student must be in "good standing," which is to say that she must maintain a minimum grade point average. Pursuant to the ABA standards, each law school has its own definition of "good standing" and depending on the scale by which grades are calculated could be a "B," 3.0/4.0, or "C," 2.0/4.0.
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