Your performance in college will determine whether you’re accepted into law school, so get the highest grades possible. Complete assignments promptly, keep up with your reading, and study adequately for exams. Get real-world experience by completing an internship at a law firm during your undergraduate years. The sooner you get familiar with the legal world, the better.
Ace the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). It’s important to score as highly as possible. Competition for getting into law school is notoriously high, and even more so at the best law schools in the country. People who go on to be judges are usually top scorers. Consider signing up for an LSAT preparatory course or hiring a private tutor to help you excel and receive a top score. If you are dissatisfied with your LSAT score, you can take the test again before applying to law school. Write intelligent, interesting personal statements. The ability to research, write and think analytically are key in law school. Show that you’re a top candidate by putting a lot of time and thought into your personal statements and writing samples.
During the first year of law school, students learn the fundamentals of law, such as civil procedure, contracts, and torts. In the next two years, elective courses in specialized fields of law such as family law and tax law are offered. It’s essential that you get experience working with lawyers while you’re in law school. Set up a meeting with the career services office at your school to find out about internship opportunities in your area.
Enroll in a bar preparatory course. There are a few different programs for bar review, the most popular of which are Barbri and Kaplan. [4] X Trustworthy Source American Bar Association Leading professional organization of lawyers and law students Go to source Take the bar as soon as possible after graduating law school so that the information is fresh. If you don’t pass the bar the first time you take it, you can try again.
There are a variety of fields that a lawyer can specialize in, including immigration law, corporate law, tax law, civil rights law, environmental law, and intellectual property law. Choose a field that you are passionate about. When you are first starting out, apply for entry-level law positions at law firms and offices in your state.
It isn’t mandatory to be a prosecutor to become a judge, but the majority of people who apply and are appointed to judgeships have a plenty of prosecutorial experience. Spending time in the courtroom is also beneficial because it gives standing judges and other people whose support you may later need the chance to get to know you. Do your best to become a regular, high-profile presence in your local court system.
Be respectful toward judicial assistants, court reporters, and the opposing counsel. Your job as an attorney is to advance justice, not disrupt court proceeding for the sake of advancing your own career. Display dignity and patience under stress. If you lose your temper or reveal an unfair bias during a heated moment, you won’t be taken as seriously as a judicial candidate when the time comes to apply. Develop empathy for a broad range of people. As a judge, you will need to be a good listener to people from all walks of life. Every person deserves the same thoughtful, balanced, legally-accurate and just consideration, and it’s your responsibility to deliver that.
Federal, state, and local judges have fixed or renewable terms of office, while some federal judges are appointed to lifelong terms. [8] X Research source Be ready to disclose personal information in your application. A judge’s past mistakes are always revealed, and sometimes they are rehashed in the press. You will be asked about your involvement in past lawsuits, treatment or counseling you have received for substance abuse, and so on. [9] X Research source Send an application to bar associations. In addition to applying for a judgeship through the state supreme court, it’s necessary to be evaluated by bar associations that may be influential judicial decision-making. Bar associations have the power to either recommend or choose not to recommend you for a judgeship, so these applications should be taken seriously. Apply more than once. Most people don’t obtain a judgeship on the first try. In fact, failing the first time is almost considered to be a prerequisite for eventually getting a judgeship. Go through the application process again, continuing to garner support from judges and show your talent and qualifications in the courtroom.
Continue appearing in court so that judges get used to your presence. Argue motions and try cases as often as possible. [10] X Research source Attend conferences, meetings, and other events where you have the chance to speak one-on-one with judges. Support other people, so they’ll support you. Don’t expect to win people’s support without putting in effort to help them succeed, too.
Be a people person. Running for an elective judicial office is like running for other political offices; you must have an appealing public persona that makes people want to vote for you. Raise money. All campaigns involve raising enough money to make you a viable contender. This isn’t easy to do, but it’s absolutely necessary.
