Education · 1 of 5

The path

Seven years after high school, and no law school teaches you closings.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   Any strong academic load. Grades matter because your college grade point average follows you into law school admissions.

2. 2

   Bachelor's degree

   4 years

   Any major at all. Economics, business, history and English are common. What matters is the grade point average and the LSAT (Law School Admission Test).

3. 3

   Law school

   3 years

   Three years for a JD (Juris Doctor) degree. The first year is the same everywhere. After that you choose property, contracts, land use and real estate transactions courses.

4. 4

   Pass the bar exam

   Months of study

   Two or three days of testing in the state where you want to practice, plus a separate ethics exam and a character and fitness investigation.

5. 5

   Learn the actual job

   1 to 3 years

   Closings, title searches and lease drafting are learned at a firm or a title company, not in a classroom.