Introduction
If you’re in high school and already thinking about high school requirements for lawyers then kudos to you for being so eager and on top of things. To answer your question, there’s really only one “hard” requirement for high school students wanting to study law and that’s finishing high school. That said, there is a “soft” requirement of getting good grades. I say “soft” because it’s not an absolute must for you to get good grades in high school to become a lawyer. It can certainly help but even if you get sub-par high school marks, there may be ways to get around that (more on this later). Let’s take a closer look at these requirements and let me explain further.
Hard Requirement: Finish High School
To become a lawyer, you need to go to law school. But before you even think about going to law school, you have to first graduate from high school. This is one of the requirements to become a lawyer and probably the only requirement you have to meet in high school. There are many other requirements to become a lawyer but at this point in your studies, you may not have to worry about them. As long as you complete high school and obtain a high school diploma or equivalent, then you’re on the right path to becoming a lawyer. Of course, lawyer requirements vary from place to place so it’s important that you check the specific requirements in your place of residence or wherever it is that you want to practice law.
Soft Requirement: Good Grades
In places like the United Kingdom and Australia where students can go to law school straight out of high school, having good grades as a high school student is important because law schools will generally have minimum grade requirements for entry. These requirements vary and depending on which law school you want to apply to, they can be extremely high. For example, the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom requires high school students to have three A grades or AAA in their A-Levels to be accepted into its law program.
In other places, like the United States and Canada, you can’t go to law school directly after high school. But your high school grades still matter because you need to obtain a bachelor’s degree (it’s one of the prerequisites to get accepted into law school). That means going to university and completing a 3-4 year undergraduate program after high school. Similar to law school, these programs have entry requirements and can be competitive, depending on the program that you choose. Whether you go to law school or complete a bachelor’s degree program, having good grades in high school will serve you well.
That said, I consider good grades in high school a “soft” requirement because it’s not the end of the world even if you don’t have good grades. There are options available to you, especially in places where you have to go to university for a bachelor’s degree first. As long as your high school grades are not at rock bottom, then there are non-competitive universities that you can apply to and likely get accepted. Once you get into a bachelor’s program, your high school grades basically don’t matter because the only thing that law schools will look at when deciding whether to offer you admission is how well you do in university.
Conclusion
There are many requirements to become a lawyer, and if you know that’s what you want to do, it’s great to think ahead. Depending on where you are, these requirements vary. In Canada, for example, you need to graduate high school, get a bachelor’s degree, take the LSAT, go to law school, and do a year of articling to become a lawyer. But most of these requirements are not designed to be obtained or completed during your high school years so if you’re a high school student and you’re thinking of pursuing a career in law, all you can really do is try to get good grades and finish high school.
Related: How to Become a Lawyer in Alberta
Related: What I Wish I Knew in Grade 12 Wanting to Study Law