JURIS DOCTOR
The degree awarded to an individual upon the successful completion of law school.
Juris doctor, or doctor of JURISPRUDENCE,
commonly abbreviated J.D., is the degree com-
monly conferred by law schools. It is required in
all states except California (which includes an
option called law office study) to gain ADMIS-
SION TO THE BAR. Gaining admission to the bar
means obtaining a license to practice law in a
particular state or in federal court.
Until the 1930s and 1940s, many states did
not require a person to have a law school degree
in order to obtain a license to practice law.Most
lawyers qualified for a license by working as an
apprentice for an established attorney for a spec-
ified period. By the 1950s most states required a
law school degree. State legislatures established
this requirement to raise the standards of prac-
ticing attorneys and to restrict the number of
attorneys. The degree offered by most COLLEGES
AND UNIVERSITIES was called a master of laws
(L.L.M.) degree. In the 1960s, as colleges and
universities increased the requirements for a law
degree, the J.D. replaced the L.L.M. as the pri-
mary degree awarded by law schools.
The specific requirements for a J.D. vary
from school to school. Generally, the require-
ments include completing a minimum number
of class hours each academic period, and taking
certain mandatory courses such as contracts,
TORTS, CIVIL PROCEDURE, and CRIMINAL LAW
68 JURIMETRICS
WEST’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 2nd Editionin the first year of law school. All states require
that students pass a course on PROFESSIONAL
