What are the general requirements for becoming an attorney? In general, the formal requirements for becoming a lawyer usually include a 4-year college degree from an accredited college or university, followed by 3 years of law school, and passing of a written bar examination (the "bar exam") that is administered by the state in which the prospective attorney wishes to practice law. 

What's the "best" major to prepare one for law school?  Law schools accept students from all majors and backgrounds, so there is no "best" major to pursue that will guarantee your admission. Instead, pursue a major in which you have an interest and then work to obtain the highest possible grade point average (GPA) that you can. Criminal Justice, Political Science, and History, among other majors, are especially popular among UAB students interested in attending law school.  

While pursuing your undergraduate degree, you should take classes that prepare you to succeed in law school -- not get you admitted.  For example, you should take classes that enhance your: 1) logical and analytical reasoning abilities; 2) writing and verbal skills; 3) understanding of American history and its political system; and 4) the relationship between law and society. Because lawyers must analyze complex and often conflicting cases and statutes, they must exercise logical and analytically sound thinking, and demonstrate the ability to express that thinking with clarity and precision in both written and verbal form. Courses, especially upper-division undergraduate seminars, that accentuate writing and discussion usually contribute to developing these skills. It also is important to take challenging courses and exercise the self-discipline necessary to do well in them.  Department or school-based Honors Programs are especially good at helping you develop these skills.

Are law school admissions really a numbers game?   Like it or not, the reality is that law school admissions is a numbers game: your undergraduate GPA and your LSAT (Law School Admissions Test) score are the two most important factors that determine your likelihood for admission to the school of your choice. You must, therefore strive to maximize both your LSAT score and your GPA, especially your GPA during your last two years as an undergraduate. 

Preparing for the LSAT. Because the LSAT is so important, completing a commercially available "prep" course (such as those offered by The Princeton Review or Stanley Kaplan) or purchasing a "do-it-yourself" prep guide to the LSAT (available from your college bookstore, Barnes and Noble, or Books-a-Million), are excellent ideas. Taking multiple practice tests under conditions simulating those you'll face when taking the actual LSAT is a "must do." You should also keep in mind that should you not earn the score you had hoped, re-taking the LSAT is unlikely to enhance your score.  The level of test-retest reliability of the test is such that scoring dramatically better the 2nd (or 3rd) time you take the test is unlikely.  Further, many law schools continue the practice of averaging your scores should you take the test more than once.  Thus, you would need to increase your score by a substantial amount to make a difference.

What else is important besides the "numbers?" While progressing through your undergraduate career, don't neglect extracurricular activities, since these can help separate you from other applicants with similar LSAT scores and GPAs. Any responsible leadership role you have taken, such as serving in student government or as president or other officer in a fraternity or sorority, shows members of law school admissions committees you have varied talents beyond those shown in your academic record. Studying abroad, honors you accumulate, work experience, completing an Honors Program or internships -- all of these can enhance your application.  Finally, for those who have been out of school for more than a year or two, your undergraduate GPA will generally be less important in the application process. Law school admissions committees will instead focus even more on your LSAT score and on accomplishments since leaving school. While graduate or professional training and accomplishments are important, community activities, child-rearing, political involvement, etc., will also be considered as important by admissions committees.

Some points to keep in mind when selecting a law school:

As you're thinking about to which school you should apply, keep in mind:

• Top-tier law schools such as Harvard, Yale, Chicago, or Michigan are incredibly competitive.  Beyond the sheer number of applicants, which can often be 5-10 times greater than the number of seats available for an incoming 1st year class, the median LSAT scores among applicants to these schools are typically in the 85th+ percentile, combined with cumulative GPAs of 3.50 or higher; 
• Law school can be very expensive, in terms of tuition, fees, and living expenses. It is not unusual for students graduating from top-tiered law schools to spend on the order of $150K-$200K on their legal educations.  You need to start thinking now about how you intend to finance your legal education -- student loans?  scholarships? some other method? (NOTE: Most law schools either strongly discourage or explicitly prohibit their 1st year students from working, so working may not be an option);
• You should always apply to multiple schools -- do not "put all your eggs in one basket"; Engage in a realistic self-assessment of your GPA, LSAT score, extracurriculars, etc.  For example, if you have a GPA of 2.0 and a score of 130 on the LSAT, applying to a top-tiered school like Harvard is not only a waste of your money (some applications can run more than $100), but the admission committee's time as well;
• If you have an interest in a particular area of the law -- environmental, constitutional, litigation, public interest, or appellate advocacy -- you should apply to schools whose curricula and (by extension) faculty members focus on such areas;
• In general, most people who attend law school end up practicing either in the general region or specific city in which the school is located. Thus, if you are interested in practicing law in Atlanta, it would probably not be wise to apply to law schools outside the State of Georgia, unless there's a good reason for dong so (e.g., none of the schools in Georgia offer a particular area of specialization which you are interested in pursuing);
• Once you've settled on a set of schools, check out the placement rate of the schools' recent graduating classes.  Ask the admissions people questions like "What sort of firms come to your campus to recruit  graduates?" "How successful have been their graduates at finding jobs with these firms?" "Is there a full-time placement office at the school?"  Schools that do not have a full-time placement office or which don't have many major firms recruiting their graduates should probably be avoided;
• You should also ask the school(s) in which you're interested in attending about how recent classes have fared on the state bar examination.  Schools whose graduates have a record of doing poorly on the bar exam should probably be avoided;
• Believing that becoming a lawyer is an "excellent way to make a lot of money" is not a good reason to pursue a legal career. Salaries of attorneys vary dramatically according to the type, size, and location of their employer. Further, lawyers who own their own practices usually earn much less than those who are partners in large law firms. In fact, lawyers starting their own practice may need to work part-time in other occupations to supplement their income until their practice becomes established;
• Finally, if you apply to and graduate from a non-ABA-accredited law school, you will likely not be able to take the bar exam in another state until you fulfill various prerequisites, such as having practiced law for a set period or time.

Please click on the links that follow to learn more law school and the legal profession.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact John W. Grimes, J.D., Director of the UAB Pre-Law Progam (jwgrimes@uab.edu; 205-934-2069) or Dr. John Sloan, Chairman of the UAB Department of Justice Sciences (prof@uab.edu; 205-934-2069).

Sources: University of Notre Dame School of Law; LSDAS; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; University of Michigan School of Law