Argentina In Argentina, lawyers-to-be need to obtain an undergraduate degree in law in order to practice the profession, as opposed to the US system in which a law degree is not obtained until successfully completing a postgraduate program. In spite of that, it is customary to call Argentine lawyers 'doctors,' although the vast majority of them do not hold a Juris Doctor degree. The reason lies in that the career was originally called 'Doctorate in Laws' (
Doctorado en Leyes), which was an undergraduate degree. There were no graduate studies available in the country at the time of its creation, and they would be instituted only in 1949. After the
university reform of 1918 the career was renamed '
Attorney'. It is five–six years long, some universities also offering intermediate degrees called 'University Bachelor in Law,' commonly taking three–four years to complete.
Australia To practice in Australia, one needs to graduate with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB), Juris Doctor (JD), or Diploma-in-Law issued by the Legal Profession Admission Board, followed by an internship for 12 months or an extra course in practical legal training (PLT) depending on the jurisdiction and university, and be admitted as a lawyer of one of a state's Supreme Court.
Belgium In Belgium, the admission to the Belgian Bar is permitted after a 5-year law degree.
Brazil In Brazil, the legal education begins between 1827/28 in Olinda/PE and São Paulo/SP where the first schools of law were established by the new Empire using the Coimbra Faculty of Law as an educational model. The current legal education consists of a 5-year-long course after which the scholar is granted a bachelor's degree. The practice of law is conditioned upon admission to the bar of a particular state or other territorial jurisdiction (Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil - OAB ). Before practicing as public attorneys, public prosecutors or magistrates (judges), candidates must successfully pass an entrance examination and complete a constitutionally-mandated three years of legal experience. Second degree courts and higher must have at least one-fifth of their judges be members of a lawyers' association, and also from federal/state/labour prosecutors (ministério público) regarding the court jurisdiction. Electoral and military courts do not have this requirement. After achieving the bachelor's degree in law, it is possible to specialize (
lato sensu) or to follow an academic law path (
stricto sensu), or both. The
stricto sensu postgraduate program consists of a master's degree, which is usually a two-year degree, followed by a doctorate degree, which can take up to another four years.
Canada The oldest civil law faculty in Canada offering law degrees was established in 1848 at
McGill University in Montreal, and the oldest common law faculty in Canada offering law degrees was established in 1883 at Dalhousie University in Halifax. The typical law degree required to practice law in Canada is now the
Juris Doctor, which requires previous university coursework and is similar to the first law degree in the United States. There is some scholarly content in the coursework (such as an academic research paper required in most schools). The programs consist of three years, and have similar content in their mandatory first year courses. Beyond first year and the minimum requirements for graduation, course selection is elective with various concentrations such as business law, international law, natural resources law, criminal law, Aboriginal law, etc. Given that the Canadian legal system includes both the
civil law and the
common law, some law schools offer both an LL.B. or J.D. (common law) and a B.C.L., LL.L. or LL.B. (civil law) degree, such as
McGill University,
University of Ottawa and the . In particular,
McGill University Faculty of Law offers a combined civil law and common law program, which has been called "transsystemic". At other faculties, if a person completes a common law degree, then a civil law degree can be obtained with only an extra year of study. This is also true for civil law graduates who wish to complete a common law degree. Despite changes in designation, schools opting for the J.D. have not altered their curricula. Neither the J.D. or LL.B. alone is sufficient to qualify for a Canadian license, as each province's law society requires an apprenticeship and successful completion of provincial skills and responsibilities training course, such as the British Columbia Law Society's Professional Legal Training Course, the Law Society of Upper Canada's Skills and Responsibilities Training Program. and the
École du Barreau du Québec. The main reason for implementing the J.D. in Canada was to distinguish the degree from the European counterpart that requires no previous post-secondary education, However, in the eyes of the Canadian educational system, the J.D. awarded by Canadian universities has retained the characteristics of the LL.B. and is considered a second entry program, but not a graduate program. (This position is analogous to the position taken by Canadian universities that the
M.D. and
D.D.S. degrees are considered second entry programs and not graduate programs.) Nevertheless, disagreement persists regarding the status of the degrees, such as at the University of Toronto, where the J.D. degree designation has been marketed by the Faculty of Law as superior to the LL.B. degree designation. Some universities have developed joint Canadian LL.B or J.D. and American J.D programs, such as York University and New York University, the University of Windsor and the University of Detroit Mercy, and the University of Ottawa and Michigan State University program.
Finland Law school is usually entered to at the undergraduate level in a university. There is an intermediate bachelor's degree (
oikeusnotaari), but the target is the master's degree in law (
oikeustieteen maisteri; until 2005
oikeustieteen kandidaatti). Once university education is complete, the title of
varatuomari (VT) is obtained with a one-year
externship in a district court. This is the basic qualification to practice law as a judge. With further experience, the candidate may be admitted to the Finnish Bar Association and licensed with the legally protected title
asianajaja, similar to
barrister.
France In France, the legal education is a three tier system. The student may study for an LL.B. (
licence de droit), then an LL.M. (
master de droit) and, for those interested in Law theory, a PhD in law (
doctorat de droit). Many
French universities offer Law courses in departments labelled as Research and Education Units (
unité de formation et de recherche) and/or Faculties of Law or Law Schools. An LLM-level is a prerequisite for some legal professions, but is combined with vocational education, such as the
école nationale de la magistrature for judges and the ''Certificat d'aptitude aux fonctions d'avocat'' for
advocates.
Hong Kong In
Hong Kong, which generally follows the English common law system, an undergraduate L.L.B. is common, followed by a one or two year
Postgraduate Certificate in Laws before one can begin a
training contract (solicitors) or a
pupillage (barristers). All three law schools (HKU, CUHK, CityU) in Hong Kong also offer 2-year Juris Doctor programme allowing students with a bachelor's degree in any field to be considered for PCLL.
Indonesia Law Degree in Indonesia consists of three tier systems. The first tier is the Degree of which carries the title of Sarjana Hukum/S.H. (Bachelor of Law). This can be obtained in 4–7 years after they enter Law School straight from Senior High School. The second tier varies depending on the legal specialties taken after the first tier. The general title for this tier is Magister Hukum / M.H. (Master in Law). Although it is also common to see other title for secondary tier such as Magister Kenotariatan / M.Kn. (Master in Notary) for Notarial professionals line of work. The second tier can be obtained normally in 1-2 year. The third tier in Indonesian Law Degree is Doctor / DR. (Doctor in Law). To work in legal professions of choice in Indonesia, a Bachelor Law Degree (S.H.) is obligatory. Graduates can pursue their career as Legal in-house counsel, Judge profession (requires admission and further training at Supreme Court Educational Center), Public Prosecutor (requires admission and further training at Public Prosecutor Educational and Training Center), other legal-related work and Advocate. To become an Advocate, Law Graduate should attend an Advocate Special Course (1–2 months) and pass the Bar exam. The title Advocate can be obtained after a graduate passes the Bar exam and fulfill several obligation and requirements created by the Indonesian Advocates Association (PERADI), and is a prerequisite for practicing trial law in Indonesia.
India , in
Kolkata is one of the autonomous law schools in India In India, legal education has been traditionally offered as a three-year graduate degree. However, the structure has been changed since 1987.
Law degrees in India are granted and conferred in terms of the Advocates Act, 1961, which is a law passed by the
Parliament both on the aspect of legal education and also regulation of conduct of legal profession. Under the act, the
Bar Council of India is the supreme regulatory body to regulate the legal profession in India and also to ensure the compliance of the laws and maintenance of professional standards by the legal profession in the country. To this regard, the Bar Council of India prescribes the minimum curriculum required to be taught in order for an institution to be eligible for the grant of a law degree. The Bar Council also carries on a periodic supervision of the institutions conferring the degree and evaluates their teaching methodology and curriculum and having determined that the institution meets the required standards, recognizes the institution and the degree conferred by it. Traditionally the degrees that were conferred carried the title of LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) or B.L. (Bachelor of Law). The eligibility requirement for these degrees was that the applicant already have a
Bachelor's degree in any subject from a recognized institution. Thereafter the LL.B. / B.L. course was for three years, upon the successful completion of which the applicant was granted either degree. However, upon the suggestion by the
Law Commission of India and also given the prevailing cry for reform, the Bar Council of India instituted upon an
experiment in terms of establishing specialized law universities solely devoted to legal education and thus to raise the academic standards of legal profession in India. This decision was taken somewhere in 1985 and thereafter the first law University in India was set up in
Bangalore which was named as the
National Law School of India University (popularly 'NLS'). These law universities were meant to offer a multi-disciplinary and integrated approach to legal education. It was therefore for the first time that a law degree other than LL.B. or B.L. was granted in India.
NLS offered a five-year law course, upon the successful completion of which an integrated degree with the title of "B.A., LL.B. (Honours)" would be granted. Thereafter,
other law universities were set up, all offering five-year integrated law degrees with different nomenclature. The next in line was
National Law Institute University set up in
Bhopal in 1997. It was followed by NALSAR university of law in 1998. The
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University in
Delhi offered a five-year integrated law degree course of LL.B (Honours) from 1998 and subsequently from 2007 started to award the B.A., LL.B / B.B.A.LL.B (Honours). The Mysore University School of Justice set up by the
University of Mysore in
Mysore offered a five-year integrated law degree course of B.A., LL.B (Honours) from 2007. The course for three years LL.B. is also regularized in
University of Delhi as an option for post graduation after the completion of graduation degree. The
National Law University, Jodhpur offered for the first time in 2001 the integrated law degree of "B.B.A, LL.B. (Honours)" which was preceded by the
West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences offering the "B.Sc., LL.B. (Honours)" degree.
Gujarat National Law University established in
Gandhinagar also offers LL.B. However, despite these
specialized law universities, the traditional three-year degree continues to be offered in India by other institutions and are equally recognized as eligible qualifications for practicing law in India. Another essential difference that remains is that while the eligibility qualification for the three year law degree is that the applicant must already be a holder of a bachelor's degree, for being eligible for the five years integrated law degree, the applicant must have successfully completed Class XII from a recognized Boards of Education in India. Both the holders of the three-year degree and of the five-year integrated degree are eligible for enrollment with the Bar Council of India upon the fulfillment of eligibility conditions and upon enrollment, may appear before any court in India.
Iran In Iran, the legal education has been influenced both by civil law and Islamic Shari'ah law. Like many countries, after high school, one can enter the law school. The first law degree is
Bachelor of Science. It takes about four years to get B.S. The first graduate program in law is M.S. It takes about two to three years to earn a Master of Science. The Master of Science is a mix of course work in a specific field of law and a dissertation. The Ph.D. in law is the highest law degree offered by some law schools. It takes about 5–7 years depending on the school as well as the students.
Italy In Italy, the route for obtaining a legal education to qualify as a practicing lawyer is via a 5-year Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree. Law school is usually started at the undergraduate level.
Japan In Japan, legal education is undertaken at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. Admission to postgraduate law schools does not require specialization in law in undergraduate degree.
Malaysia Philippines Law degree programs are considered graduate programs in the
Philippines. As such, admission to law schools requires the completion of a bachelor's degree, with a sufficient number of credits or units in certain subject areas. Moreover, naturally, since March 2, 2009, 25 (both public and private) 3-year professional
Law Schools that officially approved by
Korean Government, has been opened to teach future Korean lawyers. The first bar test to the lawschool graduates was scheduled in 2012.
Sri Lanka In
Sri Lanka to practice law, one must be admitted and enrolled as an
Attorney-at-Law of the
Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. This is achieved by passing law exams at the
Sri Lanka Law College, which are administered by the Council of Legal Education and spending a period of six months under a practicing attorney of at least 8 years standing. To undertake law exams students must gain admission to the Sri Lanka Law College and study law or directly undertake exams after gaining an
LL.B. from a local or foreign university.
Sweden In Sweden, the route for obtaining a legal education to qualify as a practicing lawyer is via a -year Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree (270 ECTS).
Taiwan In Taiwan, law is primarily studied as an undergraduate program resulting in a Bachelor of Law (B.L.). Students receive academic rather than practical training. According to Articles 5 and 20 of the Regulations on Attorney Qualification Examination (Bar Exam), non-citizens are allowed to participate in the bar examination with a degree in law earned in Taiwan. Non-citizens are not allowed to sit in the prosecutor or judge examinations unless they are naturalized citizens of Taiwan. Once a non-citizen is approved to practice law in Taiwan, they must abide by all statutes related to the legal practice, Codes of Legal Ethics, and the Articles of Incorporation of the Bar Association to which they are members. and have an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree in any major. There currently are eight law schools that are unaccredited by any state bar or the ABA but registered by the State Bar of California, 21 law schools approved solely by the State Bar of California, 2 law schools accredited solely by statute in Alabama and 1 law school accredited solely by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education. Non-ABA approved law schools have much lower bar passage rates than ABA-approved law schools, and do not submit or disclose employment outcome data to the ABA. However, as of 2020, 10 ABA-accredited law schools were out of compliance with its bar passage standard. became the first chartered law school in America to admit women. According to a study by labor economists Michael Simkovic and Frank McIntyre, a Juris Doctor degree increases the present value of lifetime earnings in the U.S. by $1,000,000 compared to a bachelor's degree. According to the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national average salary for lawyers in 2012 was above $130,000, albeit in a bimodal distribution. Salaries vary by geography, with higher average salaries in big cities—especially New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Los Angeles—and lower salaries in rural areas. An unpublished table produced by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that unemployment rates among experienced lawyers are lower than those for most high-income occupations. BLS data also suggests that lawyer employment has grown slightly faster than other occupations, with lawyers comprising a growing share of the work force over the last decade. However, not all recent law graduates work as lawyers. According to Simkovic and McIntyre's study of U.S. Census Bureau data, around 40 percent of U.S. residents with law degrees do not practice law. Approximately 2 percent of graduates were employed in non-professional jobs. ==Postgraduate and professional study==