im 13 and i need information about becoming a lawyer when im older. someone help me!!

Let's start with why do you want to become a lawyer? There are many kinds of lawyers. What kind of lawyer do you want to be? Are you in the USA?

I would suggest that your parent or teacher take you to an attorney's office to ask why "they" chose to become a lawyer, and if their expectations were met after working at their craft for more than a couple of years. Get several opinions from different specialty attorneys. As for preparing for a law career, go to your school counselor or a university where they offer law degrees, and find out how you can prepare yourself for a career in the field. Also ask them their opinions about the legal field, and how many "succeed" or are happy in their work.

Good luck.

Maybe this will give you the information you need right now Kyrsti:
http://law.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_become_a_lawyer

Well, first, u have to complete your education.

That means graduating from high school,
from college (usually 4 years)
and then from law school (usually 3 years).
After that u need to take a Bar examination
and after u have passed it, u apply for admission
to the Bar of whichever state u r in.
Thay may ask u for references. Possibly, u might use
some of your law school professors as references.
In some states, thay have an interview and ask u a few questions.

As early in your law school education as possible,
u shoud decide what kind of law u 'd prefer to practice.
Do u want to be a trial lawyer ?
Question witnesses on the stand ?
Argue in front of a judge n jury ?

Do u want to stay in your office, research and advise clients ?

Remember:
" failing to plan
is planning to fail. "
That is especially true when u r on the job trying a case;
u need a sequential battle plan, with alternate fall back positions.
Remember to get a good high retainer fee, up front
( or if u r representing a civil plaintiff, your retainer agreement
shoud indicate what proportion of the recovery will be your
contingent fee, if u win the case; or set an hourly rate e.g. $500.oo an hour).

In order to be well prepared for trial, u shoud get all the facts
from your client. Its a good idea to tell your client what questions
u will ask him on direct examination, repeatedly rehearse him on those
and insofar as feasible, drill him on brutal cross-examination,
so that when he actually has to stand up under cross-examination,
he will not find it so hard as when u were practicing with him.

As a general rule, in most jurisdictions, the law provides for
pre-trial depositions, in which counsel for each side can ask
adverse parties, under oath, about the subject matter of the litigation
(be it a contract, or a personal injury accident, etc).
A court reporter swears in the witnesses and records their testimony.
When u get back the bound transcripts of witness' testimony,
u can look it over for weak spots in the adverse party 's case.
I used to mark them with red ink; then u can use those weak spots
(like admissions of error) to negotiate during settlement conferences in court,
to get the best possible deal for your client.

If the case does not settle, then during cross-examination,
u can impeach the witness with any inconsisties between
his pre-trial testimony and what he said during the actual trial.
For the sake of clarity, I advise u never to ask a question
cast in the negative; e.g., do not ask: " sir, is it NOT true
that u beat up the boss before he fired u ?" or
" sir, did u NOT see the defendant stab the decedent ? "
because u may end up with double negatives on the record,
which will become the basis of an appeal.
In other words, if u want the witness to tell u if something happened,
then JUST ASK HIM IF IT HAPPENED; dont ask him if it
did NOT happen.


A good trial attorney will frequently use a private investigator
to track down any additional necessary facts, witnesses, defendants,
co-defendants, 3rd party defendants, etc. (depending on your client's position in the case)
It is helpful to employ a good prep man, to serve your subpoenas
on witnesses and to drive your witnesses to court.

I suggest that the most important thing
is to be fully prepared for anything that can happen.





David

When I was in Law School, this was about the best book I read. It has a lot of interesting information although it's probably a bit of a tangent off what you're looking for right now.

There are a lot of different types of lawyers. The ones we usually see on TV are working on very glamorous cases, but that's because that's what the public wants to see. There can be a lot of just reading and writing, and you need to be good at both! Research is another important skill to have, as you need to essentially dig deep into whether a case is applicable ("on point") and even whether it's still good law at all, as cases are overruled or expanded or interpreted all the time.

One good idea which has already been mentioned is going to some lawyer's offices. Perhaps you have a family member who's a lawyer or who works in a law office. And, even if you don't, a classmate might be so related. Or, you could possibly call a few firms (you can just find them in the phone book) and ask -- "I'm doing a project for school about becoming a lawyer and I'd like to interview a lawyer. Would it be possible to talk to you some time, for a half an hour, about why you became a lawyer?" You wouldn't have to go to the office or anything. Keep it only about a half an hour because lawyers often work long hours and time is money. I'm sure many would love to talk to you, so long as it wasn't a really long time commitment.

I hope you do well on your project!

Hi Kyrsti

We lawyers do quite a bit of writing. So when I'm asked what classes students should take to prepare to study law, I tell them to take as many writing classes as possible. I also tell them to read books that are well written.

I'm not just a lawyer; I'm a law professor, too. And I wish that many of my students had learned how to write well.

Law school involves quite a bit of hard work, and lawyering requires even more. I tell people that the most desirable traits for a lawyer are perserverence and an attention to detail. Empathy and compassion for others runs a close second. The work that students put in in law school prepares them for the hard work of practicing law.

Finally, you need to like people. Law is, after all, a service industry. Many people come to you to help them with what is probably the most important issue of their lives. And if that person is comfortable with his or her lawyer, that person will disclose almost everything the lawyer needs to know to provide the help needed. I say almost because i haven't seen a client yet who tells the lawyer absolutely everything.

Good luck with your project. I hope that this helped a bit.

"Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."



Welcome to A2K, AETH.

I don't have to practice anymore. I finally got it right.


And those who can't litigate do real estate law.

Professor,
I don 't know whether u teach the law of evidence,
but if u do, u 'd be rendering the legal profession a
valuable service by advising future trial lawyers
not to clutter up the record with such ambiguities
as casting their cross-examination questions in the negative,
thereby inviting double negatives
(or triple, or quadruple negatives) on the record.

This is certainly not to imply that thay shoud not lead,
on cross-exam, but that thay shoud do it in a clear fashion.
Failure to do so can be very counterproductive.

For instance, thay shoud be taught to avoid such questions as:
" sir, did u NOT see the defendant stab the decedent ? "

If u see the merit of adding clarity to the trial record,
then perhaps u 'll pass this point along to the other faculty ?





David

Some links:

So you want to be a lawyer?

Lawyer

Were you taught how to cross-examine in Evidence class, David?

I'm not a lawyer, so stipulated. Welcome to krysti and AETH..

I totally agree. I am a disciple of Bryan Garner and plain English.

Clarity shoud also be taught in Trial Practice Class.

The record shoud be clear.
It is an unfortunate fact,
that the law of evidence fails to prohibit
questions that invite multiple negatives;
(I've seen as many as 5 in one sentence).

Thanks! Nice to be here.

"I want to be a lawyer!" -- Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome, AETH.

Please accept our welcome, Kyrsti and Always 11 To Him.
I hope that u will both take great delight from the forum.

I wish to add a point
of which Eleven reminded me:

Always Eleven To Him wrote:

This is very, very true.
A rather poignant case in point was one wherein,
after a settlement, the tearful woman plaintiff approached a trial judge
with whom I am somewhat acquainted and asked permission
to take a door sign with her name on it, indicating her case on trial.
Her application was granted.
Litigants invest great and intense emotions in their cases.

It has been my observation of 30 some odd years
that trial lawyers have the tendency to jump on
the emotional bandwagon along with their clients.
Hence, however dry and tedious the subject matter of litigation
may seem to outsiders: for the participants, including their legal counsel,
it is very fresh and alive and important to them in the extreme.
Some of the litigants have waited for YEARS,
to have their Day in Court; sometimes thay see their trial
as The Great Battle between Right and Wrong.
Who will prevail: Good or evil ?

My point is that the way to dispel tedium
is to really CARE about what u r looking at if it is significant as to
chances of success in the trial of your case; when u care, its not dry any more.



David

I agree -- there can be a lot of emotion involved. I remember representing a woman who had hit (accidentally) a child with her car. The injuries were not severe and the child was fine and fully recovered, but the woman was devastated.