[Fairview]

Wait a minute. You're a lawyer if you graduate from law school. You get admitted to the bar in your state and can practice law if you pass the bar exam. I think it's fair for him to say he's a lawyer if he graduated from law school; he should just not say that he is a practicing attorney.

[swain_forkbeard]

I think you're a lawyer if you practice law.

[Bob]

You're a lawyer if you graduate from law school.

That's not necessarily so. I don't know if it's by tradition or by law but those who have graduated law school but not yet passed the bar exam are not considered to be lawyers. As far as I know, the term 'lawyer' is reserved for those who have passed the bar exam.

[July 4th]

Nope, you're a JD if you graduate from law school - not a lawyer until you're admitted to a bar.

[NCLaw441]

You said: Wait a minute. You're a lawyer if you graduate from law school. You get admitted to the bar in your state and can practice law if you pass the bar exam. I think it's fair for him to say he's a lawyer if he graduated from law school; he should just not say that he is a practicing attorney.
***

I have to disagree. If you graduate law school you are a law school graduate. You can put JD after your name (if you are lame). A lawyer is someone who practices law, and to do that you must pass the bar exam and be admitted to practice.

If I took a plumbing course at a technical school and passed it, I couldn't call myself a plumber unless I had a license.

Now, being a JOURNALIST is different, since there is no license required. All you have to do is write stuff-- I don't think you even have to be published.

[drpix]

"Wait a minute. You're a lawyer if you graduate from law school."

That's the MSM spin for a fellow Liberal but it's not the truth.

"Adele Anderson, Administrator For The Tennessee Board Of Law Examiners, Said Friday That A Person Must Pass The Bar Exam, In Addition To Meeting Other Requirements, To Qualify As A Lawyer In Tennessee." (Michael Davis, "Handful Backs Ford's Claim Of Being Lawyer," Chattanooga Times Free Press, October 7, 2006)

"Nancy Slonim, Director Of Policy Communication For The American Bar Association, Said Lawyer Licensing Is Handled At The State Level. 'Typically, Graduating From Law School Does Not Make You A Lawyer, It Makes You A Law School Graduate,' Said Ms. Slonim . . . ." (Michael Davis, "Handful Backs Ford's Claim Of Being Lawyer," Chattanooga Times Free Press, October 7, 2006)

www.gopsenators.com

[brazzaville]

Good morning.
"...You're a lawyer if you graduate from law school."

No, you aren't. Passing the bar is something entirely different and very hard, as several people I know have found out.

My attorney never went to law school. She didn't even go to college. She worked for some years as a legal secretary, challenged required courses, and passed the bar exam on her first try.

Michael Frazier

[libstripper]

GARBAGE! I'm a lawyer and in 30 plus years of practice I never saw anybody legitimately and legally represent himself or herself as a lawyer who was not licensed to practice in a single state. You get to call yourself a lawyer ONLY after you've been licensed to practice in at least one jurisdiction. In all cases you have to pass a character fitness exam; you usually have to pass a bar exam, but that's waived, at least in Wisconsin, for people who graduate from in-state law schools.