Lawyers of Georgia have proved themselves to be active participants in philanthropy. Three years ago, there was an announcement proving a significant number of lawyers in Georgia were donating their legal services free of charge. If you would also want to be a part of similar contributions and are willing to join the state bar in Georgia, this article is for you.
What are the criteria?
According to the Office of Bar Admissions of Georgia mandates, you must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, Ga bar character and fitness certification ( Certification of Fitness to Practice Law ). Procedure is here:
Step 1: Have a bachelor’s degree
You must possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university or college before your enrolment in bar admission of bar admissions offices of Georgia. Also, the institution from where you have done must have an accreditation agency recognized by the US Department of Education.
If you pass College Level Examination Program in the following areas, you will be allowed to take Georgia’s bar exam:
→ General exam in English composition
→ Two from the given options:
* General Exam in Humanities
* General exam in Mathematics
* General exam in Natural Sciences
* General exam in History and Social Sciences
What standards are required?
There’s no single clear way for pre-legal undergraduate education. Pre-legal education has some considerable ideas for the best preparation for your law school. Such elements of knowledge and ideas are mentioned below:
* Management skills
* Analytical skills
* Research skills
* The ability of critical thinking
* Organizational skills
* Communication skills
Apart from knowledge of history, social behavior, human behavior, philosophy, world cultures, and events are also considered very important.
Step 2: Law school admission Test in Georgia
Before taking admission to any American Bar Association-approved law school, you must pass the LSAT or Law School Admission Test. You can take this test four times annually at international exam centers.
The law school admission council, the sponsor of LSAT, provides students with free material to prepare from the website. There are three main categories of exam content available on LSAT– Reading comprehension, Analytical reasoning, and Logical thinking. You can apply online to take LSAT by paying exam fee of $190. The exam result arrives by mail three weeks after you take the exam.
Step 3: Join Law School in Georgia
After passing the LSAT exam, you are now eligible to take the next step to become a lawyer in Georgia. According to the Office of Bar Admissions of Georgia rules, you must graduate from a law school that is certified by the Georgia Board of Bar examiners and approved by the American Bar Association.
What is a credential assembly service?
The Law School Admission Council’s credential assembly services help to centralize and standardize undergraduate academic records. You can register CAS online. You receive report of law school including all academic information and LSAT score from CAS.
Degree programs
According to the Georgia Board of Bar examiners mandates, you need J.D. degree to sit for the bar exam.
* Juris Master (J.D.) is designed for business persons to learn how the law affects his/her business.
* Master of Laws (L.L.M) is designed for those who are already J.D. graduates or foreign equivalent L.L.B.
Step 4: Take the Georgia State Bar Exam
You can apply to take the Georgia Bar exam after successfully completing J.D. degree. There is a need for a fitness certification to practice law by the board.
What is Certification of Fitness?
* You can apply for fitness certification online.
* For application, you will need a birth certificate copy, any proof of six consecutive payments, driving records, etc.
* You need to file a fitness application within the given deadline and submit the fee amount notified to you after completion of the application.
* Submit your fingerprints via the Georgia Applicant Processing Services (GAPS) program on its official website.
* You also need a bank cashier’s check or money order.
You can access your Bar application when the board approves your fitness application. In case of a pending Ga Bar character and fitness application, you will not be able to submit a Bar application.
How to apply for a license of Foreign Law Consultant?
Following conditions are mandatory for you to apply for a license as a foreign law consultant with the Georgia Bar:
* If you are a member of a recognized legal profession in another country
* If you have practiced law for five of the previous seven years anywhere in the world
* You have good character and fitness. For this, you need to receive Ga Bar Character and fitness certification from the board
* You want to practice law in Georgia
* You have recommendation letters of at least two Georgia bar members
Getting license and admission to the Bar
You get your results 13 weeks after taking the exam. Here you will also get instructions on when and where to present yourself for the bar admission ceremony. Along with this, you need to complete a transition into a law practice program that is mandatory for newly admitted lawyers. This way, you become a member of State Bar of Georgia and a licensed lawyer.
More info:- https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/bar-admissions/bar-exams/