How long does it take to become a lawyer from law school?Background of the Legal Course

In June 2019, the Diet passed laws related to reforming law schools, which are professional schools aimed at training legal professionals, and the bar examination.

Under the new system, a “legal professional course” will be established in which applicants can obtain the qualification to take the bar examination in as little as five years, and it will go into effect from April 2020.

High school students who want to become legal professionals (lawyers, public prosecutors, and judges) and their guardians should understand the details of the system changes.

This time, we will focus on this newly introduced legal course, and explain in detail how it will change from the current system and how the careers of law school students will change in the future.

Table of contents

• How many years do you go to law school?

• Under the current system, it takes "minimum eight years" from law school to become a lawyer.

• Background of Establishment of Legal Professional Course “Minimum 6 Years”

• Careers of Law School Students Changed by the New System

• summary

How many years do you go to law school?

Graduate schools basically accept undergraduate graduates, and the same applies to law schools.

However, the number of years required to complete the course will depend on whether or not you possess the necessary legal knowledge by the time you enroll.

・Non-learning course (three-year course)

This course does not require students to have studied law before entering law school.

This course is for those who have graduated from a faculty other than the Faculty of Law.

After entering the university, students study law from the basics, so it takes a long three years to complete the course.

・Pre-student course (2-year course)

This course is for those who have studied law before entering law school.

It is necessary to take the “Law Subject Test” at the time of the entrance examination.

It can be said that this course is for those who have graduated from the Faculty of Law, but the faculty they graduated from is not a requirement for admission.

Therefore, even if you have not graduated from the Faculty of Law, you can enter the university if you study law on your own and pass the entrance examination.

Under the current system, it takes "minimum eight years" from law school to become a lawyer.

Currently, in order to qualify for the bar examination through law school, you must study for four years at an undergraduate school (law school), complete law school (pre-student course = 2 years), and then pass the bar examination. It is necessary to take a legal course (about 1 year).

Under the current system, even if you pass the bar examination on your first try, it takes a minimum of eight years from entering university to becoming a lawyer.

Background of Establishment of Legal Professional Course “Minimum 6 Years”

The law school started in 2004 with the aim of reforming the judicial system, but the number of applicants for admission is decreasing year by year.

When the system was established, the number of applicants for admission was 72,800, but by 2018, the number had dropped to 8,058 (the competition rate for the entrance examination was about doubled).

One factor that has been pointed out as the reason why law schools are moving away is the length of time it takes to become a legal professional.

If you go through law school, it will take a little less than eight years at the shortest, and the burden of tuition and study expenses during that time is not small.

Furthermore, in 2011, a "preliminary examination" system was introduced that allows applicants who have not completed law school to qualify for the national bar examination, further accelerating the decline in the number of people wishing to enter law schools. rice field.

As the number of new students continues to decline, law schools in Japan are forced to close down one after another.

Only 36 graduate schools recruited students in the spring semester of 2019, less than half of the number when the system started.

Under such circumstances, the new system that was newly approved by the Diet in June this year is the "legal professional course" introduced at the beginning.

In the legal profession course, students will be able to graduate from the Faculty of Law in three years, assuming that they will enter law school in the future.

For this reason, under the current system, it took at least eight years to obtain a legal professional qualification, but with the legal profession course, it takes only about six years at the shortest.

The background to the introduction of this new system is the aim of putting a brake on people leaving law schools by lightening the financial and time burdens of those who aspire to become legal professionals.

Careers of Law School Students Changed by the New System

With the introduction of the legal course, students who enter the Faculty of Law immediately after graduating from high school will be able to find employment as legal professionals by the age of 24 OR 25 at the earliest.

Since you can earn income at a younger age, it will be easier for you to have financial leeway in your 20s.

It can be said that it is more advantageous than the current system in terms of improving skills and advancing careers, as work experience can be accumulated earlier.

In addition, the legal course consists of 3 years in the Faculty of Law and 2 years in the Graduate School of Law, so even if you change your aspirations after entering the university and start thinking about working for a general company, the conventional course of 4 years in the Faculty of Law and 2 years in the Graduate School of Law will be sufficient. You can start job hunting one year earlier.

The number of people who passed the bar examination itself will not change for the time being (around 1,500), so even with the introduction of the new system, it is unlikely that the employment situation of the three legal professions will change significantly.

Even so, the fact that you can get a job one year earlier than the current system means that you have more time and opportunities to grow yourself.

summary

In recent years, there has been a growing tendency for talented students to pass the preliminary exams and obtain qualifications to take the bar exam, rather than attending law schools, which are expensive.

If we want to increase the significance of the existence of law schools, we believe that we need to reconsider the nature of this preliminary examination course, but the judicial system reforms that were passed in June did not go that far. Is not ...

However, with the introduction of the “Legal Course,” students will be able to obtain legal qualifications in as little as six years after graduating from high school.

The new system is desirable from the standpoint of parents who provide financial support, as the tuition burden will definitely be reduced.