Law schools in the United States offer professional education leading to the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, a professional doctorate required to practice law. Most programs are three years full-time or four years part-time via evening classes. The ABA does not mandate a specific curriculum but requires study of substantive law; most schools include mandatory first-year courses in civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law, property, torts, legal research, and legal writing. Students concentrate on specialized fields such as corporate law, criminal law, environmental law, intellectual property, tax law, and others after the first year.
Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree in any discipline, maintain a satisfactory undergraduate record, and score well on the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) or alternative standardized tests such as the GRE or JD-Next. Admissions committees evaluate undergraduate GPA and LSAT scores as primary factors, supplemented by personal essays, letters of recommendation, and extracurricular activities. Many law schools actively seek applicants from diverse backgrounds to enhance racial, economic, and experiential diversity. Scholarships and grants are commonly offered, substantially reducing actual tuition costs for many students.
As of 2020, there were 203 ABA-accredited law schools awarding the J.D. degree. The American Bar Association sets detailed requirements covering all aspects of law school operations. Most state bar associations require ABA accreditation for bar exam eligibility, though some states maintain separate approval systems for non-ABA schools. California notably approves state-specific schools and allows distance legal education graduates to sit for the bar exam under certain conditions.