 Entering the legal profession is no small task, so the choice to become a lawyer should not be made lightly, experts say. Getting a license to practice law in the U.S. generally requires years of strenuous effort, and it may involve acquiring a significant amount of student loan debt in order to cover the cost of law school. 专家说，进入法律界不是一件小事，因此需要慎重考虑是否要选择成为一名律师。在美国获得法律执业资格通常需要多年的艰苦努力，并且可能涉及获得大量的学生贷款债务，以支付法学院的费用。 A legal career often leads to a six-figure salary. The median annual compensation among lawyers in the U.S. as of May 2019 was $122,960, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 但法律职业往往能带来六位数的薪水。根据美国劳工统计局的数据，截至2019年5月，美国律师的年薪中位数为122,960美元。 Here are the steps involved in becoming a lawyer. 以下是成为一名律师的步骤。 1 了解法律工作和职业 Someone contemplating a career as a lawyer should conduct research on the legal field to gauge whether he or she would enjoy life as a lawyer, attorneys suggest. 律师们建议，考虑从事律师职业的人应该对法律领域进行研究，以衡量他或她是否会喜欢上律师的生活。 One valuable resource is the "Discover Law" portal on the Law School Admission Council website, which includes a lot of information about what it is like to be a lawyer and the contributions someone with a law degree can make to society. 一个有价值的资源是法学院招生委员会网站上的 "发现法律 "的门户网站 ，其中包括许多关于成为一名律师是什么样子以及拥有法律学位的人可以对社会做出什么贡献的信息。 2 培养沟通和推理能力，培养强烈的职业道德 Once a person has determined that the legal profession is a good fit, he or she should start seeking out academic and extracurricular experiences that will prepare him or her to be a great lawyer. 一旦一个人确定法律职业是一个很好的选择，他或她应该开始寻求学术和课外经验，这将使他或她成为一个伟大的律师。 Aspiring lawyers should take classes that involve extensive reading and writing so that they can become better readers and writers, since those skills are critical to most legal jobs, according to law school professors. 有抱负的律师应该参加涉及广泛阅读和写作的课程，以便他们能够成为更好的读者和作家，因为根据法学院教授的说法，这些技能对大多数法律工作至关重要。 Courses in social science are also helpful, since those classes cultivate societal awareness and teach people skills. It's also beneficial to take analytical courses of some sort, whether in philosophy or science, technology, engineering or math – STEM fields – since logical reasoning is a fundamental component of the legal profession. 社会科学课程也很有帮助，因为这些课程可以培养社会意识并教授人际交往技巧。学习某种分析课程也是有益的，无论是哲学还是科学、技术、工程或数学（STEM领域），因为逻辑推理是法律职业的基本组成部分。 3 决定你是上法学院还是作为律师 学徒？ Though most U.S. states require licensed attorneys to have a law degree, there are states such as California and Vermont where it is possible to become a lawyer without attending law school if the person spends several years working and training under the supervision of a practicing attorney. This is known as "reading the law" and is rare for aspiring attorneys to do nowadays, though it used to be a common practice. 虽然美国大多数州要求有执照的律师拥有法律学位，但在加利福尼亚和佛蒙特等州，如果当事人在执业律师的监督下花几年时间工作和培训，就有可能不参加法律学校而成为律师。这被称为 "阅读法律"，现在有抱负的律师很少这样做，尽管这曾经是一种常见的做法。 Only seven states allow someone to practice law without a law degree. Wyoming, New York and Maine require some formal legal education, although they don't mandate completion of a J.D. degree. 只有七个州允许没有法律学位的人从事法律工作。怀俄明州、纽约州和缅因州需要一些正式的法律教育，尽管它们并不强制要求完成法学博士学位。 It's a very old model of becoming a lawyer, and one that was more common before the widespread availability of law schools. It is not a shortcut. In fact, it will likely require more time than just going to law school. 这是一种非常古老的成为律师的模式，而且是在法律学校广泛存在之前比较常见的模式。这不是一个捷径，事实上，它很可能需要比仅仅上法学院更多的时间。 4 选择你喜欢的大学专业并在大学里表现出色 Because law schools do not require specific undergraduate coursework, potential attorneys have the flexibility to take the college courses that interest them most. 由于法学院不要求特定的本科课程，潜在的律师可以灵活地选择他们最感兴趣的大学课程。 Legal educators emphasize that J.D. hopefuls who take classes they like tend to perform better than students who don't. Undergraduate GPAs are heavily emphasized in the law school admissions process, so it is unwise for college students interested in law to take classes in subjects they despise, according to experts. 法律教育家强调，有希望获得法学博士学位的学生如果选修他们喜欢的课程，往往比不喜欢的学生表现更好。在法学院的录取过程中，本科生的GPA非常重要，因此，据专家说，对法律感兴趣的大学生选修他们不喜欢的课程是不明智的。 5 努力学习LSAT或GRE考试并取得 一个可靠的分数 The Law School Admission Test, or LSAT, is the traditional law school entrance exam, so that is the one that most prospective law students take in order to qualify for law school. However, prospective law students have the option to take the Graduate Record Examinations General Test, since some law schools recently began allowing applicants to submit a GRE score instead of an LSAT score. 法学院入学考试，或称LSAT，是传统的法学院入学考试，因此，这是大多数未来的法律学生为了获得进入法学院的资格而参加的考试。然而，未来的法律学生可以选择参加研究生入学考试，因为一些法学院最近开始允许申请人提交GRE分数而不是LSAT分数。 If you intend to pursue a J.D., a strong standardized test score improves your odds of law school acceptance, so it is essential for law school hopefuls to thoroughly prepare for whichever test they opt to take. 如果你打算攻读法学博士，一个强有力的标准化考试成绩可以提高你被法学院录取的几率，因此，对于有希望进入法学院的学生来说，无论他们选择参加哪种考试，都必须做好充分准备。 6 进入一所好的法学院并获得法律学位 Some law schools are highly selective, so applicants to those schools should keep that in mind when preparing their applications. J.D. admissions officers will consider not only a candidate's GPA and test score, but also his or her personal statement and resume. 一些法学院是高度选择性的，所以这些学校的申请人在准备申请时应牢记这一点。法学院的招生人员不仅会考虑考生的GPA和考试成绩，而且还会考虑其个人陈述和简历。 Legal industry experts advise J.D. students to be particular when choosing a law school, since their choice could affect their future. It is prudent for a future lawyer to attend a law school that has a track record of preparing people for the type of job he or she desires. 法律界专家建议J.D.学生在选择法学院时要特别注意，因为他们的选择可能影响他们的未来。对未来的律师来说，谨慎的做法是参加一所在为他或她渴望的工作类型做准备方面有良好记录的法学院。 7 在你打算执业的地方获得律师资格 In order to practice law in the U.S., an aspiring attorney generally must pass the bar exam in the jurisdiction where he or she intends to practice. However, the state of Wisconsin exempts local graduates of Wisconsin law schools that are approved by the American Bar Association from its bar exam, and it automatically admits those J.D. grads to the state bar. 为了在美国从事法律工作，有志于此的律师一般必须通过他或她打算执业的司法管辖区的律师考试。然而，威斯康星州免除了经美国律师协会批准的威斯康星州法学院的当地毕业生的律师考试，并自动接纳这些法学博士毕业生加入州律师协会。 Law students should attempt to soak up as much knowledge as they can during law school, since they will need that knowledge to pass the bar, explains Elena Langan, dean and professor of law at Touro College's Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center in New York. 纽约Touro学院Jacob D. Fuchsberg法律中心的院长和法律教授Elena Langan解释说，法律学生应该尝试在法学院期间尽可能多地吸收知识，因为他们将需要这些知识来通过律师考试。 来源：U.S. News等，图片源于网络，如侵删 监制：李璨 审核/责任编辑：刘煜 记者：田江含 |
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