A career in the legal profession is one which is incredibly rewarding both professionally and personally, and within this field the highest position of all is that of a judge. Judges are some of the most respected people in the world, they sit on important cases, a Grand Jury, local courts and they preside over some of the most important cases in the world. Regardless of which district you work within, for any men/women who are practicing law, being judge is the top of the tree. I sat down with my friend Adam M Smith, legal exert and who gave me this information on what your pathway will be in order to become a judge.
Law Degree
The first step on your road to becoming a judge will be to get a law degree, a difficult degree to attain and one which will see you having to work incredibly hard to achieve it. In order to be accepted into law school in the first place, you must have worked hard on your grades from high school, and continued that level of excellence throughout your college education.
Pass The BAR Exam
Once you have completed law school, you will be required to sit and pass what is called the BAR exam, this is the exam which, when passed, will give you a license to practice law. The bar exam is 6 hours long and features over 200 questions on various aspects of the law, from criminal, contracts and ethics. This is a tough exam which can be re-sat, but getting it right first time will be the best approach if you have aspirations of being a judge some day.
Work As An Attorney
Whilst not exactly a requirement, it is very, very rare that you will find judges who have not at least spent some time working as an attorney. It is during the years as an attorney that you will learn about the inner workings of both the law, and legal proceedings.
Obtain a Judgeship
To obtain a judgeship you must be appointed or elected and whilst you can most definitely put your name forward for consideration, or at least let it be known that you are interested, there is no way of applying for this. The key to being spotted and considered is making good friends within the circe of judges, having an exemplary legal career, as well as finding support from local politicians.
Complete Training
Judges must go through a formal training procedure once they have been appointed and this will be the final step in your path to become a judge. During your training you will be taught a lot about protocol and procedure, you will also learn what qualities you need as a judge, as well as giving you lots of role playing activities to ensure that you are ready for the courtroom.
