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{{Short description|Graduate-entry professional degree in law}}
:'' '''J.D.''' redirects here; for alternate uses, see [[J.D. (disambiguation)]]''
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
'''J.D.''' is an abbreviation for the [[Latin]] '''''Juris Doctor''''', or '''Doctor of [[Law]]''', and is the law degree typically awarded by an accredited [[U.S.]] [[law school]] after successfully completing three years of post-graduate law study. Generally, a 4-year [[undergraduate]] degree is required to be eligible for entry into a J.D. program. In states with an "integrated bar association," a J.D. holder is required to be member of the [[bar association]] of the state in which he or she intends to practice. Most states, however, do not require membership in a bar association, it is purely voluntary. Washington, DC is a special case—the DC bar allows attorneys who recently passed the bar exam of another state and who were subsequently admitted to the bar of that state, to 'waive' in to DC, in effect not having to sit for the full DC bar exam (though they still must attend to other formalities in order to practice in DC). Admission to a state's bar requires that the applicant either sit for the bar exam in that state and submit to that state's procedures for verifying "character and fitness", or obtain admission administratively through reciprocity provisions providing that in some states, lawyers who have practiced in other states for a set period of time, may be admitted upon application.
 
[[File:CLS diploma.jpg|thumb|Juris Doctor diploma conferred by [[Columbia Law School]]|292x292px]]
The course of study usually takes 3 years but may take as little as 2 years at some schools. At schools approved by the [[American Bar Association]], it is not possible to finish the J.D. in less than 2 1/2 years. The ABA requires six "residence credits" of full-time study to finish the J.D.; each residence credit is equal to one [[semester]]. Successful completion of full-time study in one summer term, by ABA rules, grants one-half residence credit. Therefore, at least in schools that use the semester system, a student can only advance his or her graduation by one semester.
A '''Juris Doctor''', '''Doctor of Jurisprudence''',<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=The Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) Degree |url=https://law.stanford.edu/office-of-student-affairs/the-doctor-of-jurisprudence-jd-degree/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706191250/https://law.stanford.edu/office-of-student-affairs/the-doctor-of-jurisprudence-jd-degree/ |archive-date=6 July 2022 |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=Stanford Law School |language=en}}</ref> or '''Doctor of Law<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=The Law School > Academic Catalog {{!}} The University of Chicago |url=http://graduateannouncements.uchicago.edu/graduate/lawschool/ |access-date=2023-06-15 |website=Graduate Announcements, The University of Chicago |language=en |archive-date=15 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615201522/http://graduateannouncements.uchicago.edu/graduate/lawschool/ |url-status=live }}</ref>''' ('''JD''') is a graduate-entry [[professional degree]] that primarily prepares individuals to practice [[law]]. In the [[United States]], it is the only qualifying law degree. Other jurisdictions, such as [[Australia]], [[Canada]], and [[Hong Kong]], offer both the postgraduate JD degree as well as the undergraduate [[LL.B.]], [[Bachelor of Civil Law|BCL]], or other qualifying law degree depending on the requirements of the jurisdiction where the person will practice law.
 
Originating in the United States in the late 19th century, the JD is the most common law degree in the country. The degree generally requires three years of full-time study to complete and is conferred upon students who have successfully completed coursework and practical training in legal studies. The JD curriculum typically includes fundamental legal subjects such as constitutional law, civil procedure, criminal law, contracts, property, and torts, along with opportunities for specialization in areas like international law, corporate law, or public policy. Upon receiving a JD, graduates must pass a bar examination to be licensed to practice law. The [[American Bar Association]] does not allow an accredited JD degree to be issued in less than two years of law school studies.<ref name="uwsl2008">{{cite web |title=JD Program & Policies |url=http://www.law.washington.edu/students/academics/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923205607/http://www.law.washington.edu/students/academics/ |archive-date=23 September 2008 |access-date=2 September 2008 |publisher=[[University of Washington School of Law]]}}</ref><ref name="russo2004">
The J.D. was formerly known as the [[Bachelor of Laws|LL.B.]] in most U.S. universities, and was changed to confer an equivalent professional status found in other American professions (i.e., medicine, dentistry, etc.). The [[LL.M.]], "Master of Laws", is a post J.D. degree (similar post professional doctorate programs at the master's level can also be found in dentistry and veterinary medicine). Doctors of law who are admitted to the practice of law often append the suffix [[Esquire|Esq.]] to the end of their names, but are not commonly referred to as "Doctor". (While the ''Juris Doctor'' is a professional [[doctorate]], similar to the ''Medicinæ Doctor'' ([[Doctor of Medicine]]), legal convention has not universally accepted the use of such title among lawyers in the U.S.) Other graduate law degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D.), Doctor of the Science of Law (L.Sc.D.), and the Legum Doctor or Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) confer the academic and social title of "Doctor," but is rarely used by practicing lawyers in the U.S. The exception to practicing U.S. lawyers using the title of "Doctor" involves those holding other doctorates outside of their fields (i.e., M.D./J.D., Ph.D./J.D., etc.).
{{cite journal |last=Russo |first=Eugene |year=2004 |title=The changing length of Ph.D.s |journal=Nature |volume=431 |issue=7006 |pages=382–383 |bibcode=2004Natur.431..382R |doi=10.1038/nj7006-382a |pmid=15372047 |s2cid=4373950}}
</ref>
 
In the United States, the JD has the academic standing of a [[professional doctorate]] (in contrast to a [[research doctorate]]),<ref name="nsf2006">
==Courses required==
{{cite report
|title=Time to degree of U.S. research doctorate recipients
|publisher=U.S. [[National Science Foundation]]
|year=2006
|series=NSF InfoBrief, Science Resource Statistics
|volume=06-312 |page=7
|url=https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf06312/nsf06312.pdf
|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308130032/http://spellmirelaw.com/
|archive-date=8 March 2016
|postscript=none
}} – mentions that the J.D. is a "professional doctorate", in §&nbsp;'Data notes'</ref><ref name="sdcba1969">
{{cite web
|title=Ethics Opinion 1969-5
|year=1969
|publisher=San Diego County Bar Association
|url=http://www.sdcba.org/ethics/ethicsopinion69-5.html
|access-date=26 May 2008 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030411105023/http://www.sdcba.org/ethics/ethicsopinion69-5.html
|archive-date=11 April 2003
|postscript=none
}} – describes differences between academic and professional doctorates; contains a statement that the J.D. is a professional doctorate, in §&nbsp;'Other references'.
</ref> and is described as a "doctor's degree – professional practice" by the United States Department of Education's [[National Center for Education Statistics]].<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-structure-us.html |title=Structure of U.S. Education: First professional degrees |date=April 2020 |publisher=U.S. [[Department of Education]] |access-date=15 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201214110950/https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-structure-us.html |archive-date=14 December 2020 |format=DOC |url-status=live |department=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]}} NCES discontinued the use of the term "first professional degree" as of its 2010–2011 data collection.</ref><ref>{{cite report
|title=The Condition of Education
|at=§&nbsp;Glossary
|website=[[National Center for Education Statistics]]
|publisher=U.S. [[Department of Education]]
|url=https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/glossary.asp#d
|access-date=15 December 2020
|archive-date=31 December 2020
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201231170310/https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/glossary.asp#d
|url-status=live
}}</ref> In Australia, South Korea, and Hong Kong, it has the academic standing of a [[master's degree]],<ref name="AQF titles" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Regulation of the Legal Profession in South Korea: Overview |url=http://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/w-031-6606?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true |access-date=2023-12-06 |website=Practical Law |language=en-GB}}</ref> while in Canada, it is considered a second-entry [[bachelor's degree]].<ref>
{{cite magazine
|first=Kirsten |last=McMahon
|date=January 2008
|title=Making the grade
|magazine=Canadian Lawyer
|url=http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/images/stories/pdfs/LawSchoolSurvey-Jan08.pdf
|access-date=7 July 2015 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722052943/http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/images/stories/pdfs/LawSchoolSurvey-Jan08.pdf
|archive-date=22 July 2015
}}
</ref><ref name="Canadian Framework" />
 
To be fully authorized to practice law in the courts of a given state in the United States, the majority of individuals holding a JD degree must pass a [[Multistate Performance Test|bar examination]],<ref>{{cite web
The first year of a J.D. program is usually devoted to core courses on [[contract]]s, [[property law]], [[tort]]s and [[civil procedure]]. Later courses might include things such as:
|title=North Carolina Board of Law Examiners (NCBLE) 919-848-4229
*[[criminal procedure]]
|date=20 March 2017
*[[criminal law]]
|website=NCBLE
*[[constitutional law]]
|url=http://www.ncble.org/
*[[corporations law|business entities and agency]]
|access-date=17 April 2017
*[[commercial law]]
|archive-date=10 May 2017
*[[trust]]s and [[estate]]s
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510133234/https://ncble.org/
*[[family law]]
|url-status=live
*[[conflict of laws]]
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
*rules of [[evidence]]
|title=VBBE – Welcome
*[[tax law]]
|website=Barexam.virginia.gov
*[[oil and gas law]]
|url=http://barexam.virginia.gov/
*[[environmental law]]
|access-date=17 April 2017
*[[bankruptcy law]]
|archive-date=18 April 2017
*[[intellectual property law]]
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418011241/http://barexam.virginia.gov/
*[[labor law]]
|url-status=live
*[[jurisprudence]]
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Admission requirements
|website=California Bar exam
|url=http://admissions.calbar.ca.gov/Requirements.aspx
|access-date=24 September 2010 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914204116/http://admissions.calbar.ca.gov/Requirements.aspx
|archive-date=14 September 2010
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Bole – Official Page New York State Bar Examination
|website=NY bar exam
|url=http://www.nybarexam.org/
|access-date=17 April 2017
|archive-date=9 May 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170509092216/http://www.nybarexam.org/
|url-status=live
}}</ref> except from the state of Wisconsin.<ref>{{Cite web |last=School |first=University of Wisconsin Law |title=Diploma Privilege {{!}} University of Wisconsin Law School |url=https://law.wisc.edu/current/diploma_privilege/ |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=law.wisc.edu |language=en |archive-date=9 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409145828/https://law.wisc.edu/current/diploma_privilege/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Diploma Privilege {{!}} Marquette University Law School |url=https://law.marquette.edu/prospective-students/diploma-privilege |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=law.marquette.edu |archive-date=9 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409151328/https://law.marquette.edu/prospective-students/diploma-privilege |url-status=live }}</ref> United States patent courts also involve a specialized "[[USPTO registration examination|Patent Bar]]" which requires applicants to hold an additional required degree in certain scientific fields alongside their Juris Doctor degrees.<ref name="uspto">{{cite web |url=https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/patent-and-trademark-practitioners/becoming-patent-practitioner |title=Becoming a Patent Practitioner |author=United States Patent and Trademark Office |date=27 March 2017 |website=USPTO.gov |publisher=United States Government |access-date=3 November 2021 |quote=Learn about applying for registration to practice in patent matters before the USPTO, including requirements, forms, and exam information. |archive-date=5 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605043057/https://www.uspto.gov/learning-and-resources/patent-and-trademark-practitioners/becoming-patent-practitioner |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
==Etymology and abbreviations==
In the [[United States]], the professional doctorate in law may be conferred in Latin or in English as ''Juris Doctor'' (sometimes shown on [[Latin]] diplomas in the [[accusative]] form ''Juris Doctorem'') and at some law schools Doctor of Law (JD),<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
|title=JD
|dictionary=Oxford Living Dictionaries
|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]
|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/jd
|access-date=15 April 2017
|archive-date=16 April 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416221641/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/jd
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> or Doctor of Jurisprudence (also abbreviated JD).<ref>{{cite web
|title=Doctor of Jurisprudence
|publisher=[[University of Texas]]
|url=http://catalog.utexas.edu/law/degrees/doctor-jurisprudence/
|access-date=13 February 2017
|archive-date=14 February 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214181916/http://catalog.utexas.edu/law/degrees/doctor-jurisprudence/
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Doctor of Jurisprudence
|publisher=[[Stanford University]]
|url=https://web.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/bulletin0910/4928.htm
|access-date=13 February 2017
|archive-date=14 June 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614024830/https://web.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/bulletin0910/4928.htm
|url-status=live
}}</ref> "''Juris Doctor''" literally means "teacher of law", while the Latin for "Doctor of Jurisprudence" – ''Jurisprudentiae Doctor'' – literally means "teacher of legal knowledge".
 
The JD is not to be confused with Doctor of Laws or ''[[Legum Doctor]]'' (LLD). In institutions where the latter can be earned, e.g., [[Cambridge University]] (where it is titled "Doctor of Law", though still retaining the abbreviation LLD) and many other British institutions, it is a higher research doctorate, representing a substantial contribution to the field over many years – a standard of professional experience beyond that required for a [[Doctor of Philosophy]].<ref>{{cite web
|title=Higher doctorates
|date=4 November 2014
|publisher=[[University of Cambridge]]
|url=http://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/examinations/graduate-exam-information/higher-degrees/higher-doctorates
|access-date=14 February 2017
|archive-date=9 December 2016
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161209180314/http://www.cambridgestudents.cam.ac.uk/your-course/examinations/graduate-exam-information/higher-degrees/higher-doctorates
|url-status=live
}}</ref> In the United States, the LLD is invariably an honorary degree.
 
==Historical context==
 
===Origins of the law degree===
The first university in Europe, the [[University of Bologna]], was founded as a school of law by four famous legal scholars in the 11th century who were students of the [[glossator]] school in that city. This served as the model for other law schools of the [[Middle Ages]], and other early universities such as the [[University of Padua]].<ref>{{cite book
|last=García y García
|first=A.
|year=1992
|chapter=The faculties of law
|title=A History of the University in Europe
|place=London, UK
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|isbn=978-0-521-54113-8
|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Z1VBEbF0HAC&q=bologna+doctor+title&pg=RA1-PA399
|access-date=26 May 2008
|archive-date=9 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409145105/https://books.google.com/books?id=5Z1VBEbF0HAC&q=bologna+doctor+title&pg=RA1-PA399
|url-status=live
}}</ref> The first [[academic degree]]s may{{efn|Some sources have the first doctorates in theology at Paris being awarded prior to the doctorates in law at Bologna.<ref>{{cite thesis
|first=Keith Allen
|last=Noble
|year=1992
|title=An International Prognostic Study, based on an Acquisition Model, of Degree Philosophiae Doctor (Ph.D.)
|page=18
|publisher=[[University of Ottawa]]
|degree=Ph.D.
|url=http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED350932.pdf
|access-date=15 February 2017
|archive-date=3 March 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303222830/http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED350932.pdf
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
}} have been doctorates in civil law (''doctores legum'') followed by canon law (''doctores decretorum''); these were not professional degrees but rather indicated that their holders had been approved to teach at the universities. While Bologna granted only doctorates, preparatory degrees (bachelor's and licences) were introduced in Paris and then in the English universities.<ref name="Lexikon des Mittelalters: Licentia">
{{cite encyclopedia
|last=Verger |first=J.
|year=1999
|title=Licentia
|encyclopedia={{Lang|de|[[Lexikon des Mittelalters]]}}
|volume=5
|publisher=J.B. Metzler
|place=Stuttgart
}}
</ref><ref name="Lexikon des Mittelalters: Doctor, doctoratus">
{{cite encyclopedia
|last=Verger |first=J.
|title=Doctor, doctoratus
|year=1999
|encyclopedia={{Lang|de|[[Lexikon des Mittelalters]]}}
|volume=3
|publisher=J.B. Metzler
|place=Stuttgart
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|last=de&nbsp;Ridder-Symoens |first=Hilde
|year=1992
|title=[[A History of the University in Europe]]
|volume=1, Universities in the Middle Ages
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|isbn=978-0-521-36105-7
}}
</ref><ref name="Herbermann-etal-1915">{{cite book
|last1=Herbermann
|display-authors=etal
|year=1915
|title=Catholic Encyclopedia
|place=New York, NY
|publisher=Encyclopedia Press
|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05072b.htm
|access-date=26 May 2008
|archive-date=4 August 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804141252/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05072b.htm
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
 
===History of legal training in England===
[[File:London-Inns-of-Court.JPG|right|thumb|The [[Inns of Court]] of London served as a professional school for lawyers in England]]
 
The nature of the JD can be better understood by a review of the context of the history of legal education in England. The teaching of law at Cambridge and Oxford Universities was mainly for philosophical or scholarly purposes and not meant to prepare one to practice law.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|pages=434, 435}} The universities only taught civil and canon law (used in a very few jurisdictions, such as the courts of admiralty and church courts) but not the [[common law]] that applied in most jurisdictions. Professional training for practicing common law in England was undertaken at the [[Inns of Court]], but over time the training functions of the Inns lessened considerably and apprenticeships with individual practitioners arose as the prominent medium of preparation.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|pages=434, 436}} However, because of the lack of standardization of study, and of objective standards for appraisal of these apprenticeships, the role of universities became subsequently important for the education of lawyers in the English-speaking world.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=436}}
 
In England in 1292 when [[Edward I]] first requested that lawyers be trained, students merely sat in the courts and observed, but over time the students would hire professionals to lecture them in their residences, which led to the institution of the [[Inns of Court]] system.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=430}} The original method of education at the Inns of Court was a mix of [[moot court]]-like practice and lecture, as well as court proceedings observation.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=431}} By the fifteenth century, the Inns functioned like a university, akin to the [[University of Oxford]] and the [[University of Cambridge]], though very specialized in purpose.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=432}} With the frequent absence of parties to suits during the [[Crusades]], the importance of the lawyer role grew tremendously, and the demand for lawyers grew.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=433}}
 
Traditionally [[Oxford and Cambridge]] did not see [[common law]] as worthy of academic study, and included coursework in law only in the context of [[canon law|canon]] and [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] (the two "laws" in the original Bachelor of Laws, which thus became the [[Bachelor of Civil Law]] when the study of canon law was barred after the Reformation) and for the purpose of the study of philosophy or history only. As a consequence of the need for [[practical education]] in law, the apprenticeship program for [[solicitor]]s emerged, structured and governed by the same rules as the apprenticeship programs for the trades.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=434}} The training of solicitors by a five-year apprenticeship was formally established by the Attorneys and Solicitors Act 1728.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=435}} [[William Blackstone]] became the first lecturer in [[English common law]] at the University of Oxford in 1753, but the university did not establish the program for the purpose of professional study, and the lectures were very philosophical and theoretical in nature.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=435}} Blackstone insisted that the study of law should be university based, where concentration on foundational principles can be had, instead of concentration on detail and procedure provided by apprenticeship and the [[Inns of Court]].<ref name="Moline-2003">{{cite journal
|last=Moline
|first=Brian J.
|year=2003
|title=Early American legal education
|journal=Washburn Law Journal
|volume=42
|url=http://www.washburnlaw.edu/wlj/42-4/articles/moline-brian.pdf
|access-date=10 January 2009
|archive-date=9 May 2009
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509032640/http://www.washburnlaw.edu/wlj/42-4/articles/moline-brian.pdf
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>{{rp|pages=775, 793}}
 
The 1728 act was amended in 1821 to reduce the period of the required apprenticeship to three years for graduates in either law or arts from Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, as "the admission of such graduates should be facilitated, in consideration of the learning and abilities requisite for taking such degree".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=avNMAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA74|title= 1 & 2 George IV. c. 48 |date=8 June 1821}}</ref> This was extended in 1837 to cover the newly established universities of Durham and London,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FfVQAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1153|title=1 Vict. c. 56|date=15 July 1837|last1=Chitty|first1=Joseph}}</ref> and again in 1851 to include the new [[Queen's University of Ireland]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6RKAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA640|title=14 & 15 Vict. c. LXXXVIII.| date= 7 August 1851|last1=Britain|first1=Great}}</ref>
 
The Inns of Court continued but became less effective, and admission to the bar still did not require any significant educational activity or examination. In 1846, Parliament examined the education and training of prospective [[barristers]] and found the system to be inferior to that of Europe and the United States, as Britain did not regulate the admission of barristers.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=436}} Therefore, formal schools of law were called for but were not finally established until later in the century, and even then the bar did not consider a university degree in admission decisions.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=436}}
 
Until the mid nineteenth century, most law degrees in England (the BCL at Oxford and Durham, and the LLB at London)<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l8UUAAAAQAAJ|title=Oxford University Calendar|date=1833|last1=Baxter|first1=W.|access-date=2 September 2017|archive-date=9 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409145105/https://books.google.com/books?id=l8UUAAAAQAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kt8NAAAAQAAJ|title=Durham University Calendar|date=1844|access-date=2 September 2017|archive-date=9 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409145106/https://books.google.com/books?id=kt8NAAAAQAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3uENAAAAQAAJ|title=London University Calendar|date=1845|last1=Univ|first1=London|access-date=2 September 2017|archive-date=9 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409145111/https://books.google.com/books?id=3uENAAAAQAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> were postgraduate degrees, taken after an initial degree in arts. The Cambridge degree, variously referred to as a BCL, BL or LLB, was an exception: it took six years from matriculation to complete, but only three of these had to be in residence, and the BA was not required (although those not holding a BA had to produce a certificate to prove they had not only been in residence but had actually attended lectures for at least three terms).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ad4NAAAAQAAJ|title=Cambridge University Calendar|date=1833|access-date=2 September 2017|archive-date=9 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409145111/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ad4NAAAAQAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VoMPRz8nYQEC&pg=187|title=A History of the University of Cambridge:, Volume 3; Volumes 1750–1870|pages=187–190|author=Peter Searby|year=1988|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-35060-0}}</ref> These degrees specialized in Roman civil law rather than in English common law, the latter being the domain of the Inns of Court, and thus they were more theoretical than practically useful.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Ol0qAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA533|title=The Solicitors' Journal|date=29 April 1865}}</ref> Cambridge reestablished its LLB degree in 1858 as an undergraduate course alongside the BA,<ref name="LL Cantab">{{cite web|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001669/18581020/082/0003|title=Cambridge|date=20 October 1858|via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]|work=Norwich Mercury|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and the London LLB, which had previously required a minimum of one year after the BA, become an undergraduate degree in 1866.<ref name="LLB Lond">{{cite book|title=University of London Calendar|date=1866|page=95|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IeQNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA95|last1=Univ|first1=London}}</ref> The older nomenclature continues to be used for the BCL at Oxford today, which is a master's level program, while Cambridge moved its LLB back to being a postgraduate degree in 1922 but only renamed it as the LLM in 1982.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.cam.ac.uk/courses/llm/the_history_of_the_llm.php|title=LLM|publisher=Cambridge University Faculty of Law|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071102202003/http://www.law.cam.ac.uk/courses/llm/the_history_of_the_llm.php|archive-date=2 November 2007}}</ref>
 
Between the 1960s and the 1990s, law schools in England took on a more central role in the preparation of lawyers and consequently improved their coverage of advanced legal topics to become more professionally relevant. Over the same period, American law schools became more scholarly and less professionally oriented, so that in 1996 Langbein could write: "That contrast between English law schools as temples of scholarship and American law schools as training centers for the profession no longer bears the remotest relation to reality".<ref name="Langbein1996" />
 
===Legal training in colonial North America and 19th-century United States===
 
Initially there was much resistance to lawyers in colonial North America because of the role they had played in hierarchical England, but slowly the colonial governments started using the services of professionals trained in the Inns of Court in London, and by the end of the [[American Revolution]] there was a functional bar in each state.<ref name="Moline-2003" />{{rp|page=775}} Due to an initial distrust of a profession open only to the elite in England, as institutions for training developed in what would become the United States they emerged as quite different from those in England.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=429}}
 
Initially in the United States the legal professionals were trained and imported from England.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=438}} A formal apprenticeship or clerkship program was established first in New York in 1730 — at that time a seven-year clerkship was required, and in 1756 a four-year college degree was required in addition to five years of clerking and an examination.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=439}} Later the requirements were reduced to require only two years of college education.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=439}} But a system like the Inns did not develop, and a college education was not required in England until the 19th century, so this system was unique.
 
The clerkship program required much individual study and the mentoring lawyer was expected to carefully select materials for study and guide the clerk in his study of the law and ensure that it was being absorbed.<ref name="Moline-2003" />{{rp|page=781}} The student was supposed to compile his notes of his reading of the law into a "[[commonplace book]]", which he would try to memorize.<ref name="Moline-2003" />{{rp|page=782}} Although those were the ideals, in reality the clerks were often overworked and rarely were able to study the law individually as expected. They were often employed to tedious tasks, such as making handwritten copies of documents. Finding sufficient legal texts was also a seriously debilitating issue, and there was no standardization in the books assigned to the clerk trainees because they were assigned by their mentor, whose opinion of the law may have differed greatly from his peers.<ref name="Moline-2003" />{{rp|page=782, 783}}
 
It was said by one famous attorney in the United States, [[William Livingston]], in 1745 in a New York newspaper that the clerkship program was severely flawed, and that most mentors
: "have no manner of concern for their clerk's future welfare ... [T]is a monstrous absurdity to suppose, that the law is to be learnt by a perpetual copying of precedents".<ref name="Moline-2003" />{{rp|page=782}}
There were some few mentors that were dedicated to the service, and because of their rarity, they became so sought-after that the first law schools evolved from the offices of some of these attorneys, who took on many clerks and began to spend more time training than practicing law.<ref name="Moline-2003" />{{rp|page=782}}
 
[[File:Tapping Reeve.jpg|right|thumb|[[Tapping Reeve]], founder of the first law school in North America, the [[Litchfield Law School]], in 1773]]
 
In time, the apprenticeship program was not considered sufficient to produce lawyers fully capable of serving their clients' needs.<ref name="Sonsteng-2007">
{{cite journal
|last=Sonsteng |first=J.
|orig-year=2007
|url=http://ssrn.com/abstract=1084098 |type=abstract
|title=A legal education renaissance: A practical approach for the twenty-first century
|journal=William Mitchell Law Review
|volume=34 |number=1 |pages=13–19
|date=2 April 2008 <!-- date text was revised -->
|access-date=26 May 2008
}}
</ref>{{rp|page=13}} The apprenticeship programs often employed the trainee with menial tasks, and while they were well trained in the day-to-day operations of a law office, they were generally unprepared practitioners or legal reasoners.<ref name="Stein-1981" /> The establishment of formal faculties of law in United States universities did not occur until the latter part of the 18th century.<ref name="Stein-1981" />{{rp|page=442}} With the beginning of the American Revolution, the supply of lawyers from Britain ended. The first law degree granted by a United States university was a Bachelor of Law in 1793 by the [[College of William and Mary]], which was abbreviated L.B.; Harvard was the first university to use the LLB abbreviation in the United States.<ref name="Kirkwood-Owens-c2012">
{{cite report
|first1=M. |last1=Kirkwood
|first2=W. |last2=Owens |name-list-style=amp
|date=n.d.
|title=A Brief History of the Stanford Law School, 1893–1946
|publisher=[[Stanford University]]
|department=[[Stanford University|S.U.]] School of Law
|url=http://www.law.stanford.edu/school/history/historysls.pdf
|access-date=26 May 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407053200/http://www.law.stanford.edu/school/history/historysls.pdf
|archive-date=7 April 2012
}}
</ref>
 
The first university law programs in the United States, such as that of the [[University of Maryland School of Law|University of Maryland]] established in 1812, included much theoretical and philosophical study, including works such as the Bible, [[Cicero]], [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], Aristotle, Adam Smith, [[Montesquieu]] and [[Grotius]].<ref name="Moline-2003" />{{rp|page=794}} It has been said that the early university law schools of the early 19th century seemed to be preparing students for careers as [[politician|statesmen]] rather than as lawyers.<ref name="Moline-2003" />{{rp|page=795}} At the LLB programs in the early 1900s at [[Stanford University]] and [[Yale]] continued to include "cultural study", which included courses in languages, mathematics and economics.<ref name="Kirkwood-Owens-c2012" />{{rp|page=19}} An LLB, or a Bachelor of Laws, recognized that a prior bachelor's degree was not required to earn an LLB.
 
In the 1850s there were many proprietary schools which originated from a practitioner taking on multiple apprentices and establishing a school and which provided a practical legal education, as opposed to the one offered in the universities which offered an education in the theory, history and philosophy of law.<ref name="Sonsteng-2007" />{{rp|page=15}} The universities assumed that the acquisition of skills would happen in practice, while the proprietary schools concentrated on the practical skills during education.<ref name="Sonsteng-2007" />{{rp|page=15}}
 
====Revolutionary approach: scientific study of law====
[[File:Joseph Story.jpg|thumb|[[Joseph Story]], United States Supreme Court Justice, lecturer of law at Harvard and proponent of the "scientific study of law"]]
In part to compete with the small professional law schools, there began a great change in United States university legal education. For a short time beginning in 1826 Yale began to offer a complete "practitioners' course" which lasted two years and included practical courses, such as pleading drafting.<ref name="Moline-2003" />{{rp|page=798}} United States Supreme Court justice [[Joseph Story]] started the spirit of change in legal education at Harvard, when he advocated a more "scientific study" of the law in the 19th century.<ref name="Moline-2003" />{{rp|page=800}} At the time he was a lecturer at Harvard. Therefore, at Harvard the education was much of a trade school type of approach to legal education, contrary to the more liberal arts education advocated by Blackstone at Oxford and Jefferson at William and Mary.<ref name="Moline-2003" />{{rp|page=801}} Nonetheless, there continued to be debate among educators over whether legal education should be more vocational, as at the private law schools, or through a rigorous scientific method, such as that developed by Story and [[Christopher Columbus Langdell|Langdell]].<ref name="Stein-1981">{{cite journal
|first=Ralph Michael
|last=Stein
|year=1981
|url=http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/lawfaculty/228/
|title=The Path of Legal Education from Edward to Langdell: A History of Insular Reaction
|journal=Chicago-Kent Law Review
|volume=57
|issue=2
|pages=429–450
|access-date=25 May 2008
|archive-date=3 March 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303194828/https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/lawfaculty/228/
|url-status=live
}}{{rp|page=445}}</ref>{{efn|For detailed discussions of the development of [[Christopher Columbus Langdell|C.C. Langdell's]] method, see la&nbsp;Piana (1994)<ref name=la-Piana-1994>
{{cite book
|first=William P. |last=la&nbsp;Piana
|year=1994
|title=Logic and Experience: The origin of modern American legal education
|place=New York & Oxford
|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]
|url=https://www.questia.com/read/90428553?title=Logic%20and%20Experience%3a%20The%20Origin%20of%20Modern%20American%20Legal%20Education
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506183208/http://www.questia.com/read/90428553?title=Logic%20and%20Experience%3A%20The%20Origin%20of%20Modern%20American%20Legal%20Education
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=6 May 2009
|via=
}}
</ref> and Stein (1981)<ref name=Stein-1981/>{{rp|pages=449–450}}
}} In the words of Dorsey Ellis, "[[Christopher Columbus Langdell|Langdell]] viewed law as a science and the law library as the laboratory, with the cases providing the basis for learning those 'principles or doctrines' of which law, considered as a science, consists.{{' "}}<ref>
{{cite journal
|last=Ellis |first=D.
|year=2001
|title=Legal education: A perspective on the last 130&nbsp;years of American legal training
|journal=Washington University Journal of Law & Policy
|volume=6 |page=166
}}
</ref> Nonetheless, into the year 1900, most states did not require a university education (although an apprenticeship was often required) and most practitioners had not attended any law school or college.<ref name="Moline-2003" />{{rp|page=801}}
 
Therefore, the modern legal education system in the United States is a combination of teaching law as a science and a practical skill,<ref name="Moline-2003" />{{rp|page=802}} implementing elements such as clinical training, which has become an essential part of legal education in the United States and in the JD program of study.<ref name="Sonsteng-2007" />{{rp|page=19}}
 
==Creation of the JD and major common law approaches to legal education==
The JD originated in the United States during a movement to improve training of the professions. Prior to the origination of the JD, law students began law school either with only a high school diploma, or less than the amount of undergraduate study required to earn a bachelor's degree. The LLB persisted through the middle of the 20th century, which by then turned into a [[Postgraduate education|postgraduate]] degree requiring the previous completion of a bachelor's degree as a pre-requisite for virtually all students entering law school, it became a bachelor's degree in name only. The didactic approaches that resulted were revolutionary for university education and have slowly been implemented outside the United States, but only recently (since about 1997) and in stages. The degrees which resulted from this new approach, such as the MD and the JD, are just as different from their European counterparts as the educational approaches differ.
 
===Legal education in the United States===
{{Legal education in the United States}}{{Main|Legal education in the United States}}
 
Professional doctorates were developed in the United States in the 19th century, the first being the Doctor of Medicine in 1807,<ref name=Reed-1921>
{{cite report
|first=Alfred Zantzinger |last=Reed
|date=1921
|title=Training for the Public Profession of the Law
|series=Bulletin of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
|volume=Bulletin&nbsp;15
|place=Boston, MA
|publisher=Merrymount Press
|url=https://archive.org/stream/trainingforpubl00goog#page/n184/mode/2up
|via=Archive.org
}}
</ref>{{rp|page=162}} but at the time, the legal system in the United States was still in development as the educational institutions were developing, and the status of the legal profession was at that time still ambiguous and so the professional law degree took more time to develop. Even when some universities offered training in law, they did not offer a degree.<ref name=Reed-1921/>{{rp|page=165}} Because in the United States there were no Inns of Court, and the English academic degrees did not provide the necessary professional training, the models from England were inapplicable, and the degree program took some time to develop.<ref name=Reed-1921/>{{rp|page=164}}
 
At first the degree took the form of a B.L. (such as at the College of William and Mary), but then Harvard, keen on importing legitimacy through the trappings of Oxford and Cambridge, implemented an LLB degree.<ref name=Reed-1921/>{{rp|page=167}} The decision to award a bachelor's degree for law could be due to the fact that admittance to most nineteenth-century American law schools required only satisfactory completion of high school.<ref name=asklib-faq-115308>{{cite web
|title=What is the difference between the LL.B. degree and the J.D.degree?
|series=Ask a Librarian!
|website=asklib.law.harvard.edu
|url=https://asklib.law.harvard.edu/faq/115308
|access-date=19 January 2020
|archive-date=28 January 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128053612/https://asklib.law.harvard.edu/faq/115308
|url-status=live
}}</ref> The degree was nevertheless somewhat controversial at the time because it was a professional training without any of the cultural or classical studies required of a degree in England,<ref name=Reed-1928>
{{cite report
|first=Alfred Zantzinger |last=Reed
|year=1928
|title=Present-day Law Schools in the United States and Canada
|series=Bulletin of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
|volume=Bulletin&nbsp;21
|place=Boston, MA
|publisher=Merrymount Press
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jDM7AQAAIAAJ
|via=Google Books
}}
</ref><ref name=Reed-1921/>{{rp|page=161}} where it was necessary to gain a general BA prior to an LLB or BCL until the nineteenth century.<ref name=Reed-1928/>{{rp|page=78}} Thus, even though the name of the English LLB degree was implemented at Harvard, the program in the United States was nonetheless intended as a first degree which, unlike the English B.A., gave practical or professional training in law.<ref name=Reed-1921/>{{rp|page=169}}<ref name=Reed-1928/>{{rp|page=74}}
 
====Creation of the Juris Doctor====
 
In the mid-19th century there was much concern about the quality of legal education in the United States. [[Christopher Columbus Langdell|C.C. Langdell]] served as dean of [[Harvard Law School]] from 1870 to 1895, and dedicated his life to reforming [[legal education]] in the United States. The historian Robert Stevens wrote that "it was Langdell's goal to turn the legal profession into a university educated one — and not at the undergraduate level, but through a three-year post baccalaureate degree."<ref name="Stevens-1971">
{{cite book |last=Stevens |first=R. |title=Law in American History |publisher=Little, Brown & Co. |year=1971 |editor1-last=Fleming |editor1-first=Donald |place=Boston, MA |page=427 |article=Two cheers for 1870: The American law school |editor2-last=Bailyn |editor2-first=Bernard}}
</ref> This graduate level study would allow the intensive legal training that [[Christopher Columbus Langdell|Langdell]] had developed, known as the [[casebook method|case method]] (a method of studying landmark cases) and the [[Socratic method]] (a method of examining students on the reasoning of the court in the cases studied). Therefore, a graduate, high-level law degree was proposed: the Juris Doctor, implementing the case and Socratic methods as its didactic approach.<ref>{{cite book
|last=Harno
|first=A.
|year=2004
|title=Legal Education in the United States
|place=New Jersey
|publisher=Lawbook Exchange
|page=50
|isbn=978-1-58477-441-9
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PEVayHaV4XYC&q=history+of+legal+education&pg=PA1
|via=Google Books
|access-date=1 August 2021
|archive-date=9 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409145113/https://books.google.com/books?id=PEVayHaV4XYC&q=history+of+legal+education&pg=PA1
|url-status=live
}}</ref> According to professor [[Joseph Henry Beale|J. H. Beale]], an 1882 Harvard Law graduate, one of the main arguments for the change was uniformity. Harvard's four professional schools – theology, law, medicine, and arts and sciences – were all graduate schools, and their degrees were therefore a second degree. Two of them conferred a doctorate and the other two a baccalaureate degree. The change from LLB to JD was intended to end "this discrimination, the practice of conferring what is normally a first degree upon persons who have already their primary degree".<ref name="ThayerCastle1902">
{{cite book
|author1=William Roscoe Thayer
|author2=William Richards Castle
|author3=Mark Antony De Wolfe Howe
|author4=Arthur Stanwood Pier
|author5=Bernard Augustine De Voto
|author6=Theodore Morrison
|title=The Harvard graduates' magazine
|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4DNYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA555
|access-date=24 August 2011
|year=1902
|publisher=Harvard Graduates' Magazine Association
|pages=555–556
|chapter=Shall the degree be J.D. instead of LL.B.?
}}
</ref> The JD was proposed as the equivalent of the German J.U.D., to reflect the advanced study required to be an effective lawyer.
 
The [[University of Chicago Law School]] was the first to offer the JD in 1902,<ref name=Herbermann-etal-1915/>{{rp|pages=112–117}} when it was just one of five law schools that demanded a college degree from its applicants.<ref name=asklib-faq-115308/> While approval was still pending at Harvard, the degree was introduced at many other law schools, including at the law schools at NYU, Berkeley, Michigan, and Stanford. Because of tradition, and concerns about less prominent universities implementing a JD program, prominent eastern law schools like those of Harvard, Yale, and Columbia refused to implement the degree. Harvard, for example, refused to adopt the JD degree, even though it restricted admission to students with college degrees in 1909.<ref name=Perry-2012-06/> Indeed, pressure from eastern law schools led almost every law school (except at the University of Chicago and other law schools in [[Illinois]]) to abandon the JD and re‑adopt the LLB as the first law degree by the 1930s.<ref name=Perry-2012-06/>{{rp|page=21}} By 1962, the JD degree was rarely seen outside the Midwest.<ref name=Perry-2012-06/>
 
After the 1930s, the LLB and the JD degrees co‑existed in some American law schools. Some law schools, especially in Illinois and the Midwest, awarded both (like Marquette University, beginning in 1926), conferring JD degrees only to those with a bachelor's degree (as opposed to two or three years of college before law school), and those who met a higher academic standard in undergraduate studies, finishing a thesis in their third year of law school.<ref name=Hylton-2012-01-11>{{cite web
|title=Why the law degree is called a J.D. and not an LL.B.
|last=Hylton
|first=J. Gordon
|date=11 January 2012
|publisher=[[Marquette University]]
|website=Marquette University Law School Faculty
|type=blog
|url=https://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/2012/01/why-the-law-degree-is-called-a-j-d-and-not-an-ll-b/
|access-date=19 January 2020
|archive-date=27 May 2022
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527224248/https://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/2012/01/why-the-law-degree-is-called-a-j-d-and-not-an-ll-b/
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Because the JD degree was no more advantageous for bar admissions or for employment, the vast majority of Marquette students preferred to seek the LLB degree.<ref name=Hylton-2012-01-11/>
 
As more law students entered law schools with previously awarded bachelor's degree degrees in the 1950s and 1960s, a number of law schools may have introduced the JD to encourage law students to complete their undergraduate degrees.<ref name=Hylton-2012-01-11/> As late as 1961, there were still 15 ABA-accredited law schools in the United States which awarded both LLB and JD degrees. Thirteen of the 15 were located in the Midwest, which may indicate regional variations in the United States.<ref name=Hylton-2012-01-11/>
[[File: Juris_Doctor diploma.jpg|thumb|A Juris Doctor conferred by [[Suffolk Law School]].]]
It was only after 1962 that a new push — this time begun at less-prominent law schools — successfully led to the universal adoption of the JD as the first law degree. The turning point appears to have occurred when the [[American Bar Association|ABA]] Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar unanimously adopted a resolution recommending to all approved law schools that they give favorable consideration to the conferring of the JD degree as the first professional degree, in 1962 and 1963.<ref name=asklib-faq-115308/> By the 1960s, most law students were college graduates having previously obtained a bachelor's degree, and by the end of that decade, almost all were required to be.<ref name=Perry-2012-06/> Student and alumni support were key in the LLB-to-JD change, and even the most prominent schools were convinced to make the change: Columbia and Harvard in 1969, and Yale (last) in 1971.<ref name=Perry-2012-06/>{{rp|pages=22–23}}<ref name=asklib-faq-115308/><ref>
{{cite journal
|last=Schoenfeld |first=M.
|year=1963
|title=J.D. or LL.B. as the basic law degree
|journal=Cleveland-Marshall Law Review
|volume=4 |pages=573–579
}} cited by<br />
{{cite conference
|first=Joanna |last=Lombard
|year=1997
|title=LL.B. to J.D. and the professional degree in Architecture
|book-title=Proceedings of the 85th ACSA Annual Meeting – Architecture: Material and Imagined and Technology Conference
|conference=85th ACSA Annual Meeting – Architecture: Material and Imagined and Technology Conference
|pages=585–591
|url=http://collegewing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/LLB-to-JD-for-school-website.pdf
|url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014080058/http://collegewing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/LLB-to-JD-for-school-website.pdf
|archive-date=14 October 2014
}}
</ref> Nonetheless, the LLB at Yale retained the didactical changes of the "practitioners' courses" of 1826, and was very different from the LLB in common law countries, other than Canada.<ref name=Moline-2003/>{{rp|page=798}}
 
Following standard modern academic practice, Harvard Law School refers to its [[Master of Laws]] and [[Doctor of Juridical Science]] degrees as its graduate level law degrees.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Graduate Program
|date=23 June 2014
|department=Harvard Law School
|publisher=[[Harvard University]]
|place=Princeton, NJ
|website=Law.harvard.edu
|url=http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/degrees/gradprogram/
|access-date=17 April 2017
|archive-date=3 August 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150803095954/http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/degrees/gradprogram/
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Similarly, Columbia refers to the LLM and the JSD as its graduate program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web.law.columbia.edu/admissions/graduate-legal-studies/|title=Graduate Legal Studies|work=Columbia Law School|access-date=28 August 2015|archive-date=27 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150827064742/http://web.law.columbia.edu/admissions/graduate-legal-studies|url-status=live}}</ref> Yale Law School lists its LLM, MSL, JSD, and Ph.D. as constituting graduate programs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.law.yale.edu/study-law-yale/degree-programs/graduate-programs |title=Graduate Programs – Yale Law School |website=Law.yale.edu |access-date=17 April 2017 |archive-date=1 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501190904/https://law.yale.edu/study-law-yale/degree-programs/graduate-programs |url-status=live }}</ref> A distinction thus remains between professional and graduate law degrees at some universities in the United States.
 
===Major common law approaches===
{{see also|Legal education in the United Kingdom}}
The English legal system is the root of the systems of other common-law countries, such as the United States. Originally, common lawyers in England were trained exclusively in the Inns of Court. Even though it took nearly 150 years since common law education began with Blackstone at Oxford for university education to be part of legal training in England and Wales, the LLB eventually became the degree usually taken before becoming a lawyer. In England and Wales the LLB is an undergraduate scholarly program and although it (assuming it is a qualifying law degree) fulfills the academic requirements for becoming a lawyer,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/media/1590677/joint_announcement_1999_-_academic_stage.doc|title=Joint Announcement|publisher=The Law Society and the General Council of the Bar|date=1999|access-date=16 September 2016|archive-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920171055/https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/media/1590677/joint_announcement_1999_-_academic_stage.doc|url-status=dead}}</ref> further vocational and professional training as either a barrister (the [[Bar Professional Training Course]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/qualifying-as-a-barrister/current-requirements/bar-professional-training-course/|title=Bar Professional Training Course|publisher=[[Bar Standards Board]]|access-date=16 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920171233/https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/qualifying-as-a-barrister/current-requirements/bar-professional-training-course/|archive-date=20 September 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> followed by [[pupillage]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/qualifying-as-a-barrister/current-requirements/pupillage/|title=Pupillage|publisher=[[Bar Standards Board]]|access-date=16 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920170953/https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/qualifying-as-a-barrister/current-requirements/pupillage/|archive-date=20 September 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>) or as a solicitor (the [[Legal Practice Course]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sra.org.uk/students/lpc.page|title=Legal Practice Course (LPC)|publisher=[[Solicitors Regulation Authority]]|access-date=16 September 2016|archive-date=14 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914062350/http://www.sra.org.uk/students/lpc.page|url-status=live}}</ref> followed by a "[[training contract|period of recognised training]]"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sra.org.uk/trainees/period-recognised-training.page|title=Period of recognised training|date=20 June 2014|publisher=[[Solicitors Regulation Authority]]|access-date=16 September 2016|archive-date=14 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914141947/http://www.sra.org.uk/trainees/period-recognised-training.page|url-status=live}}</ref>) is required before becoming licensed in that jurisdiction.<ref name=Langbein1996>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.yale.edu/system/files/documents/pdf/Faculty/Langbein_Scholarly_and_Professional_Objectives_in_Legal_Education.pdf|author=John H. Langbein|title=Scholarly and Professional Objectives in Legal Education: American Trends and English Comparisons|work=Pressing Problems in the Law, Volume 2: What are Law Schools For?|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=1996|access-date=17 September 2016|archive-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920124546/https://www.law.yale.edu/system/files/documents/pdf/Faculty/Langbein_Scholarly_and_Professional_Objectives_in_Legal_Education.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The qualifying law degree in most English universities is the LLB although in some, including Oxford and Cambridge, it is the BA in law.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sra.org.uk/students/courses/Qualifying-law-degree-providers.page|title=Qualifying law degree providers|publisher=Solicitors Regulation Authority|access-date=16 September 2016|archive-date=14 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914021441/http://www.sra.org.uk/students/courses/Qualifying-law-degree-providers.page|url-status=live}}</ref> Both of these can be taken with "senior status" in two years by those already holding an undergraduate degree in another discipline.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.law.qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/items/118483.html|title=Law – Senior Status|publisher=[[Queen Mary, University of London]]|access-date=17 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925043349/http://www.law.qmul.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/items/118483.html|archive-date=25 September 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> A few universities offer "exempting" degrees, usually [[integrated master's degree]]s denominated Master in Law (MLaw), that combine the qualifying law degree with the legal practice course or the bar professional training course in a four-year, undergraduate-entry program.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sra.org.uk/students/exempting-law-degrees.page|title=Exempting law degree providers|publisher=Solicitors Regulation Authority|access-date=17 April 2017|archive-date=18 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418162221/https://www.sra.org.uk/students/exempting-law-degrees.page|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/study-at-northumbria/courses/m-law-exempting-ft-uufmay1/|title=MLaw|publisher=[[Northumbria University]]|access-date=17 April 2017|archive-date=18 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418084931/https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/study-at-northumbria/courses/m-law-exempting-ft-uufmay1/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
Legal education in Canada has unique variations from other Commonwealth countries. Even though the legal system of Canada is mostly a transplant of the English system (Quebec excepted), the Canadian system is unique in that there are no Inns of Court, the practical training occurs in the office of a barrister and solicitor with law society membership, and, since 1889, a university degree has been a prerequisite to initiating an articling clerkship.<ref name=Reed-1921/>{{rp|page=27}} The education in law schools in Canada was similar to that in the United States at the turn of the 20th century, but with a greater concentration on statutory drafting and interpretation, and elements of a liberal education. The bar associations in Canada were influenced by the changes at Harvard, and were sometimes quicker to nationally implement the changes proposed in the United States, such as requiring previous college education before studying law.<ref name=Reed-1928 />{{rp|page=390}}
 
==Modern variants and curriculum==
Legal education is rooted in the history and structure of the legal system of the jurisdiction where the education is given; therefore, law degrees are vastly different from country to country, making comparisons among degrees problematic.<ref>See, Langbein (1996).</ref> This has proven true in the context of the various forms of the JD which have been implemented around the world.{{Clarify|reason=how, and in what ways are comparisons problematic|date=August 2023}}
 
::{| class="wikitable"
|+ {{big|'''Comparisons of J.D. variants'''}}{{efn|Citations for verification of the data in this table can be found in the subsequent paragraphs of this section.}}
|- style="vertical-align:bottom;"
! Jurisdiction
! Duration<br />{{small|(years)}}
! Different<br />curriculum{{small|<br />from LL.B. in<br />jurisdiction}}
! Further<br />vocational training{{small|<br />required<br />for license}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Australia
| 3 || No || Yes
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Canada
| 3 || No || Yes
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Hong Kong
| 2–3 || No || Yes
|- style="text-align:center;"
!Italy
|5 || Integrated || Yes
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Japan
| 2–3 || Yes || Yes
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Philippines
| 4 || Varies || No{{efn|Juris Doctor degree qualifies one to sit for the bar examinations.}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Singapore
| 3 || No || Yes<ref name=SMU-c2014>
{{cite web
|title=Is the Juris Doctor degree offered by the Singapore Management University (SMU) an approved degree?
|url=http://www.mlaw.gov.sg/practising-as-a-lawyer/unis/is-the-juris-doctor-degree-offered-by-the-singapore-management-university-smu-an-approved-degree.html
|access-date=1 January 2014 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222174938/http://www.mlaw.gov.sg/practising-as-a-lawyer/unis/is-the-juris-doctor-degree-offered-by-the-singapore-management-university-smu-an-approved-degree.html
|archive-date=22 February 2014
}}
</ref>
|- style="text-align:center;"
! United States
| 3 || No || No, except Delaware<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions - Board of Bar Examiners - Supreme Court - Delaware Courts - State of Delaware |url=https://www.courts.delaware.gov/bbe/faqs.aspx |access-date=2020-07-22 |website=www.courts.delaware.gov |archive-date=2 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230802184001/https://courts.delaware.gov/bbe/faqs.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>
|}
 
===Types and characteristics===
 
====Standard ''Juris Doctor'' curriculum====
{{See also|Law school in the United States#Curriculum}}
 
As stated by Hall and Langdell, who were involved in the creation of the JD, the JD is a professional degree like the [[Doctor of Medicine|MD]], intended to prepare practitioners through a [[#Revolutionary approach: scientific study of law|scientific approach]] of analysing and teaching the law through logic and adversarial analysis (such as the [[Casebook method|casebook]] and [[Socratic method#Law schools|Socratic]] methods).<ref>{{cite journal
|last=Hall
|first=J.
|year=1907
|title=American Law School Degrees
|journal=Michigan Law Review
|volume=6
|number=2
|pages=112–117
|doi=10.2307/1274166
|jstor=1274166
|url=https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=12788&context=journal_articles
|via=Google Books
|access-date=1 August 2021
}}</ref> This system of curriculum has existed in the United States for over 100 years. The JD program generally requires a bachelor's degree for entry, though this requirement is sometimes waived.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Chapter&nbsp;5
|series=Legal Education Standards (2015–2016)
|date=7 February 2016
|url=http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/misc/legal_education/Standards/2015_2016_chapter_5.authcheckdam.pdf
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207013247/http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/misc/legal_education/Standards/2015_2016_chapter_5.authcheckdam.pdf
|archive-date=7 February 2016
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Applying without a bachelor's degree
|website=Cooley.edu
|url=http://www.cooley.edu/prospective/bachelors.html
|access-date=17 April 2017 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170502193806/http://www.cooley.edu/prospective/bachelors.html
|archive-date=2 May 2017
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Admission FAQ
|url=http://www.lawdegree.com/content/admission/faq.asp
|access-date=4 January 2016 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119012420/http://www.lawdegree.com/content/admission/faq.asp
|archive-date=19 January 2016
}}
</ref>
 
As a study of the substantive law and its professional applications, the JD curriculum has not changed substantially since its creation. As a professional degree, JD programs typically allow practitioners. It requires at least three academic years of full-time study. While the JD is a doctoral degree in the US, lawyers usually use the suffix "[[esquire|Esq.]]" as opposed to the prefix "Dr.", and that only in a professional context, when needed to alert others that they are a biased party – acting as an agent for their client.<ref name=Perry-2012-06/>
 
====Replacement for the LLB====
An initial attempt to rename the LLB to the JD in the US in the early 20th century started with a petition at Harvard in 1902. This was rejected, but the idea took hold at the new law school established at the [[University of Chicago]] and other universities. By 1925, 80% of US law schools awarded the JD to students who had entered the program with an undergraduate degree, while granting undergraduate entrants the LLB. The change was initially rejected by the leading law schools of the time Harvard, Yale and Columbia. By the late 1920s, schools were moving away from the JD and once again granting only the LLB, with only law schools in Illinois holding out. This changed in the 1960s, by which time almost all law school entrants were graduates. The JD was reintroduced in 1962 and by 1971 had replaced the LLB, with many schools offering a JD as a replacement to their LLB alumni.<ref name=Perry-2012-06>{{cite journal
|first=David |last=Perry
|date=June 2012
|title=How did lawyers become "doctors"? From the LL.B. to the J.D.
|journal=New York State Bar Association Journal
|volume=84 |issue=5
|publisher=[[New York State Bar Association]]
|postscript=;
}} available at {{cite web
|title=MO Bar
|url=http://www.mobar.org/uploadedFiles/Home/Publications/Precedent/2013/Winter/doctors.pdf
|postscript=;
|access-date=17 September 2016
|archive-date=9 September 2015
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909131931/http://www.mobar.org/uploadedFiles/Home/Publications/Precedent/2013/Winter/doctors.pdf
|url-status=live
}} and at {{cite web
|title=Hein online
|url=http://www.heinonline.org/
|url-access=registration
|access-date=19 September 2016
|archive-date=17 April 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417215608/http://www.heinonline.org/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
 
Canadian and Australian universities have had graduate-entry law programs that are very similar to the JD programs in the United States, but typically called the LLB. Some students at these universities advocated for the renaming of the graduate-entry LLB to the JD to recognise the graduate characteristics of the program and to obtain a so-called doctoral-level qualification.<ref name="Belford-2009">
{{cite news |last=Belford |first=T. |year=2009 |title=Why change to a J.D. degree? |newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]] |place=Toronto, ON, Canada |url=http://www.globecampus.ca/in-the-news/globecampusreport/why-change-to-a-jd-degree/ |url-status=dead |access-date=28 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110620002834/http://www.globecampus.ca/in-the-news/globecampusreport/why-change-to-a-jd-degree |archive-date=20 June 2011 |series=Globe Campus Report}}
</ref>
 
===Descriptions of the JD outside the United States===
{{See also|Legal education}}
 
====Australia====
The traditional law degree in Australia is the undergraduate Bachelor of Laws ([[Bachelor of Laws#Australia|LLB]]). Beginning in the 2010s, many Australian universities now offer JD programs, including the country's best ranked universities (e.g. the [[University of New South Wales]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.law.unsw.edu.au/future-students/unsw-jd |title=Unsw Jd &#124; Law |website=Law.unsw.edu.au |date=7 April 2017 |access-date=17 April 2017 |archive-date=28 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170428145223/http://www.law.unsw.edu.au/future-students/unsw-jd |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[University of Sydney]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sydney.edu.au/law/fstudent/jd/program.shtml |title=The Sydney Juris Doctor (JD) – Future Students – The University of Sydney |website=Sydney.edu.au |date=30 March 2017 |access-date=17 April 2017 |archive-date=20 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220224339/http://sydney.edu.au/law/fstudent/jd/program.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Australian National University]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://law.anu.edu.au/study/study-programs/anu-juris-doctor |title=The ANU Juris Doctor – ANU College of Law – ANU |website=Law.anu.edu.au |date=10 August 2015 |access-date=17 April 2017 |archive-date=19 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419141757/https://law.anu.edu.au/study/study-programs/anu-juris-doctor |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[University of Melbourne]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://law.unimelb.edu.au/study/jd |title=The Melbourne JD (Juris Doctor) : Melbourne Law School |location=AU |website=Law.unimelb.edu.au |access-date=17 April 2017 |archive-date=11 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411220702/http://law.unimelb.edu.au/study/jd |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Monash University]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://monash.edu/pubs/2019handbooks/courses/L6005.html|title=Monash University Handbook|website=Monash University|access-date=10 June 2019|archive-date=27 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027161717/https://www3.monash.edu/pubs/2019handbooks/courses/L6005.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Western Sydney University]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/future/study/courses/postgraduate/juris-doctor|title=Western Sydney University - JD Course Information|website=westernsydney.edu.au|access-date=18 February 2024|archive-date=18 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240218122710/https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/future/study/courses/postgraduate/juris-doctor |url-status=live}}</ref>).
 
Generally, universities that offer the JD also offer the LLB, although at some universities, only the graduate-entry JD is offered. The University of Melbourne, for example, has phased out its undergraduate LLB program for a graduate JD one.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/a-decade-into-the-melbourne-model-young-graduates-give-their-assessment-20150930-gjxt3u.html |title=A decade into the Melbourne Model, young graduates give their assessment |website=Smh.com.au |date=4 October 2015 |access-date=17 April 2017 |archive-date=7 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507111418/http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/a-decade-into-the-melbourne-model-young-graduates-give-their-assessment-20150930-gjxt3u.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
An Australian Juris Doctor consists of three years of full-time study, or the equivalent. The course varies across different universities, though all are obliged to teach the [[Priestley 11]] subjects per the requirements of state admissions boards in Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lawadmissions.vic.gov.au/qualifications-and-training/academic|title=Academic|first=Victorian Legal Admissions|last=Board|website=www.lawadmissions.vic.gov.au|access-date=20 March 2019|archive-date=9 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609000525/https://www.lawadmissions.vic.gov.au/qualifications-and-training/academic|url-status=live}}</ref> JDs are considered equivalent to LLBs, and graduates must meet the same requirements to qualify, including undergoing a practical training.
 
On the [[Australian Qualifications Framework]], the Juris Doctor is classified as a "masters degree (extended)",<!-- note the official name for this class of qualifications does *not* include an apostrophe - see citations to the AQF in this paragraph --> with an exception having been granted to use the term "doctor" in the title (other such exceptions include Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Dentistry and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine). It may not be described as a doctoral degree and holders may not use the title "doctor".<ref name="AQF titles">{{cite web|url=http://www.aqf.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/AQF-qualification-titles-PDF-2B3-1b.pdf|title=AQF qualification titles|publisher=Australian Qualifications Framework Council|access-date=16 September 2016|date=June 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213104206/http://www.aqf.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/aqf-qualification-titles-pdf-2b3-1b.pdf|archive-date=13 December 2016}}</ref><ref name="AQF addendum">{{cite web|url=http://www.aqf.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/AQF-Addendum-2014.pdf|title=Addendum to AQF Second Edition January 2013: Amended Qualification Type: Masters Degree|access-date=16 September 2016|date=May 2014|publisher=Australian Qualifications Framework Council|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220022220/http://www.aqf.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/AQF-Addendum-2014.pdf|archive-date=20 December 2016}}</ref>
 
====Canada====
The JD degree is the dominant common-law law degree in Canada, having replaced many of the nation's former LLB programs. Unlike other jurisdictions, the Canadian LLB was historically typically second-entry undergraduate degree that required the prior completion of another undergraduate degree.<ref name="allard.ubc.ca">{{cite web |title=Peter A. Allard School of Law &#124; UBC Board of Governors Approves Request for LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) degree to be renamed J.D. (Juris Doctor) |url=https://allard.ubc.ca/news-events/news-room/ubc-board-governors-approves-request-llb-bachelor-laws-degree-be-renamed-jd |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411040536/https://allard.ubc.ca/news-events/news-room/ubc-board-governors-approves-request-llb-bachelor-laws-degree-be-renamed-jd |archive-date=2015-04-11 |access-date=17 April 2017 |website=Allard.ubc.ca}}</ref><ref>
{{cite news
|date=May 2012
|title=Dean Patrick Monahan on the growing number of Canadian law schools switching from the LL.B. to J.D. degree designation
|publisher=Osgoode Law School
|url=http://osgoode.yorku.ca/media2.nsf/83303ffe5af03ed585256ae6005379c9/ef8025cc6549271e852574200056fcc8!OpenDocument
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610142423/http://osgoode.yorku.ca/media2.nsf/83303ffe5af03ed585256ae6005379c9/ef8025cc6549271e852574200056fcc8%21OpenDocument
|archive-date=10 June 2008
}}
</ref> The [[University of Toronto Faculty of Law|University of Toronto]] became the first law school to rename its law degree in 2001. As with the second-entry LLB, in order to be admitted to a ''Juris Doctor'' program, applicants must have completed a minimum of two or three years of study toward a bachelor's degree and scored well on the North American [[Law School Admission Test]].<ref>
{{cite web
|title= First Year Admission Standards
|publisher=[[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's University]]
|url=http://law.queensu.ca/prospectiveStudents/jdProgram/admissionInformation/firstYearAdmissionStandards.html
|access-date=15 July 2009 |url-status=bot: unknown
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715101813/http://law.queensu.ca/prospectiveStudents/jdProgram/admissionInformation/firstYearAdmissionStandards.html
|archive-date=15 July 2009
}}
</ref> Notwithstanding the formal requirements, nearly all successful applicants have completed undergraduate degrees before admission to a JD program.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=LL.B. program admission
|publisher=[[University of Calgary]]
|url=http://law.ucalgary.ca/programs/llb/admission
|access-date=10 December 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210055347/http://law.ucalgary.ca/programs/llb/admission
|archive-date=10 December 2007
}}
</ref> The JD in Canada is considered to be a bachelor's degree qualification.<ref name="Canadian Framework">{{cite web
|title=Canadian Degree Qualifications Framework
|work=Ministerial Statement on Quality Assurance of Degree Education in Canada
|publisher=Council of Ministers of Education
|place=Canada
|url=http://www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/95/QA-Statement-2007.en.pdf
|access-date=16 September 2016
|quote=''Programs with a professional focus'' ... Some of them are first-entry programs, others are second-entry programs ... Though considered to be bachelor's programs in academic standing, some professional programs yield degrees with other nomenclature. Examples: DDS (Dental Surgery), MD (Medicine), LLB, or JD (Juris Doctor)
|archive-date=28 April 2019
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428214830/http://www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/95/QA-Statement-2007.en.pdf
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
 
All Canadian ''Juris Doctor'' programs consist of three years and have similar content in their mandatory first year courses, including public law, property law, tort law, contract law, criminal law and legal research and writing.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Degree Requirements – First Year Courses
|series=J.D. program
|department=Osgoode Hall Law School
|publisher=[[York University]]
|place=Canada
|website=Osgoode.yorku.ca
|url=http://www.osgoode.yorku.ca/jd/first_year_courses.html
|access-date=25 August 2011 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721104020/http://www.osgoode.yorku.ca/jd/first_year_courses.html
|archive-date=21 July 2011
}}
</ref> Beyond first year and other courses required for graduation, course selection is elective with various concentrations such as commercial and corporate law, taxation, international law, natural resources law, real estate transactions, employment law, criminal law and Aboriginal law.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Bachelor of Law degree programs in Canada
|website=Canadian-universities.net
|url=http://www.canadian-universities.net/Law-Schools/Bachelor.html
|access-date=17 April 2017
|archive-date=10 May 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510120805/http://www.canadian-universities.net/Law-Schools/Bachelor.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref> After graduation from an accredited law school, each province's or territory's law society requires completion of a bar admission course or examination and a period of supervised articling prior to independent practice.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=What you need to know
|series=Licensing process – lawyer
|department=Resource Center
|publisher=Law Society of Upper Canada
|place=Toronto, Ontario, Canada
|website=rc.lsuc.on.ca
|url=http://rc.lsuc.on.ca/pdf/licensingprocesslawyer/articling/ar45memWhatYouNeedToKnow.pdf
|access-date=11 September 2009 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705072946/http://rc.lsuc.on.ca/pdf/licensingprocesslawyer/articling/ar45memWhatYouNeedToKnow.pdf
|archive-date=5 July 2010
}}
</ref>
 
United States jurisdictions other than New York and Massachusetts do not recognize Canadian ''Juris Doctor'' degrees automatically.<ref>{{cite web |title=University of Toronto – Faculty of Law: Prospective Students |url=http://www.law.utoronto.ca/prosp_stdn_content.asp?itemPath=3/6/15/6/0&contentId=983#States |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110828072437/http://www.law.utoronto.ca/prosp_stdn_content.asp?itemPath=3%2F6%2F15%2F6%2F0&contentId=983#States |archive-date=28 August 2011 |access-date=25 August 2011 |publisher=Law.utoronto.ca}}</ref><ref>[http://www.law.nyu.edu/llmjsd/graduateadmissions/barexaminformation/index.htm NYU Law] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211222152/http://www.law.nyu.edu/llmjsd/graduateadmissions/barexaminformation/index.htm |date=11 December 2009 }}. Law.nyu.edu. Retrieved on 15 July 2013.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nybarexam.org/Foreign/ForeignLegalEducation.htm |title=Foreign Legal Education |publisher=Nybarexam.org |date=27 April 2011 |access-date=25 August 2011 |archive-date=3 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110903034702/http://www.nybarexam.org/Foreign/ForeignLegalEducation.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Likewise, United States JD graduates are not automatically recognized in Canadian jurisdictions such as Ontario.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Lawyers
|series=Working career professionals
|website=Citizenship Ontario
|url=http://www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/english/working/career/professions/lawyers.shtm
}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
</ref> To prepare graduates to practise in jurisdictions on both sides of the border, some pairs of law schools have developed joint Canadian-American JD programs. As of 2018, these include a three-year program conducted concurrently at the University of Windsor and the University of Detroit Mercy,<ref>
{{cite web
|publisher=[[University of Windsor]]
|title=JD / LLB – Welcome
|url=http://www.uwindsor.ca/jdllb
|url-status=dead |access-date=17 April 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216235612/http://www.uwindsor.ca/jdllb
|archive-date=16 February 2008
}}
</ref> as well as a four-year program with the University of Ottawa and either Michigan State University or American University in which students spend two years studying on each side of the border.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Joint J.D. - LL.B. Degree Program
|department=[[Michigan State University]] College of Law
|url=http://www.law.msu.edu/academics/ac-multi-llb.html
|access-date=2 June 2008 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509064106/http://www.law.msu.edu/academics/ac-multi-llb.html
|archive-date=9 May 2008
}}
</ref> Previously, New York University (NYU) Law School and Osgoode Hall Law School offered a similar program, but this has since been terminated.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Osgoode J.D./LL.B. Program
|series=Office of Admissions
|department=[[New York University]] School of Law
|url=http://www.law.nyu.edu/depts/admissions/info/joint/Osgoodejointprogram.html
|url-status=dead |access-date=19 June 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518061238/http://www.law.nyu.edu/depts/admissions/info/joint/Osgoodejointprogram.html
|archive-date=18 May 2008
}}
</ref>
 
Two notable exceptions are [[Université de Montréal]] and [[Université de Sherbrooke]], which both offer a one-year JD program aimed at [[Quebec civil law]] graduates in order to practice law either elsewhere in Canada or in the state of New York.<ref>{{cite web
|title=J.D.
|id=Programme No 2-328-1-1
|publisher=[[University of Montreal]]
|url=http://admission.umontreal.ca/programmes/juris-doctor-emcommon-lawem-nord-americaine/
|access-date=31 December 2013
|archive-date=2 January 2014
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102192202/http://admission.umontreal.ca/programmes/juris-doctor-emcommon-lawem-nord-americaine/
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Diplôme (Juris Doctor) – Faculté de droit
|publisher=[[Université de Sherbrooke]]
|place=Canada
|website=Usherbrooke.ca
|url=https://www.usherbrooke.ca/droit/programmes/deuxieme-cycle-type-cours/common-law-et-droit-transnational/diplome-juris-doctor/
|access-date=17 April 2017
|archive-date=11 August 2014
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811104128/https://www.usherbrooke.ca/droit/programmes/deuxieme-cycle-type-cours/common-law-et-droit-transnational/diplome-juris-doctor/
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
 
[[York University]] offered the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence (D.Jur.) as a research degree until 2002, when the name of the program was changed to Ph.D. in law.<ref>{{cite web
|title=September senate
|date=10 October 2002
|publisher=[[York University]]
|url=http://yfile-archive.news.yorku.ca/2002/10/10/september-senate/
|access-date=13 February 2017
|archive-date=14 February 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214180123/http://yfile-archive.news.yorku.ca/2002/10/10/september-senate/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
 
====China====
The primary law degree in the People's Republic of China is the undergraduate Bachelor of Laws. The Juris Magister is the graduate-level professional law degree in China, which is regarded as the counterpart of a Juris Doctor.<ref>
{{cite web |date=28 August 2005 |title=Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Academic Degrees (2004) |url=http://tradeinservices.mofcom.gov.cn/en/b/2004-08-28/8240.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707040835/http://tradeinservices.mofcom.gov.cn/en/b/2004-08-28/8240.shtml |archive-date=7 July 2011 |publisher=P.R.C. National People's Congress}}
</ref> In fall 2008, the Shenzhen graduate campus of Peking University started the School of Transnational Law, which offers a United States-style education and awards a Chinese Juris Doctor degree.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Circular authorizing Peking University to offer the international ''Fa Lv Shuo Shi'' on a trial basis
|date=27 August 2007
|publisher=Academic Degree Commission of the State Council of the People's Republic of China
|url=http://www.stl.szpku.edu.cn/upFile/20106/20106101133125.pdf
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707025744/http://www.stl.szpku.edu.cn/upFile/20106/20106101133125.pdf
|archive-date=7 July 2011
}}
</ref>
 
====Hong Kong====
The JD degree is currently offered at the [[the Chinese University of Hong Kong|Chinese University of Hong Kong]],<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Juris Doctor
|series=Academic programmes
|publisher=[[The Chinese University of Hong Kong]]
|url=http://www.law.cuhk.edu.hk/programmes/juris-doctor.php
|access-date=25 December 2013 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226060725/http://www.law.cuhk.edu.hk/programmes/juris-doctor.php
|archive-date=26 December 2013
}}
</ref> [[The University of Hong Kong]],<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Juris Doctor (J.D.) overview
|publisher=[[The University of Hong Kong]]
|url=http://www.hku.hk/law/jd/jd_overview.html
|access-date=15 December 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202084116/http://www.hku.hk/law/jd/jd_overview.html
|archive-date=2 December 2008
}}
</ref> and [[City University of Hong Kong]]. The JD in Hong Kong is almost identical to the LLB, and is reserved for graduates of non-law disciplines. However, the JD requires a thesis or dissertation.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Juris Doctor (J.D.) overview
|publisher=[[The University of Hong Kong]]
|url=http://www.hku.hk/law/jd/jd_overview.html
|access-date=15 December 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202084116/http://www.hku.hk/law/jd/jd_overview.html
|archive-date=2 December 2008
|postscript=;
}}<br />
{{cite web
|title=JD programme structure
|publisher=[[The Chinese University of Hong Kong]]
|url=http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/law/prospectiveStudents/jd01.html
|access-date=29 June 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703110734/http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/law/prospectiveStudents/jd01.html
|archive-date=3 July 2008
|postscript=;
}}<br />
{{cite web
|title=Juris Doctor
|series=Academic Programmes
|publisher=[[City University of Hong Kong]]
|url=http://www.cityu.edu.hk/slw/english/programmes/courses/jd_faq.htm
|access-date=29 June 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080413234653/http://www.cityu.edu.hk/slw/english/programmes/courses/jd_faq.htm
|archive-date=13 April 2008
}}
</ref> The JD in Hong Kong is a 2-year program, including study during the summer term, but can be extended to three years with summer vacations.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Juris Doctor (JD) overview
|publisher=[[The University of Hong Kong]]
|url=http://www.hku.hk/law/jd/jd_overview.html
|access-date=15 December 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202084116/http://www.hku.hk/law/jd/jd_overview.html
|archive-date=2 December 2008
|postscript=;
}}<br />
{{cite web
|publisher=[[The Chinese University of Hong Kong]]
|url=http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/law/prospectiveStudents/jd03.html
|title=The Juris Doctor (J.D.) programme
|series=Courses and Recommended Sequences
|access-date=29 June 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610105524/http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/law/prospectiveStudents/jd03.html
|archive-date=10 June 2008
|postscript=;
}}<br />
{{cite web
|title=Juris Doctor
|series=Academic Programmes
|publisher=[[City University of Hong Kong]]
|url=http://www.cityu.edu.hk/slw/english/programmes/courses/jd.htm
|access-date=29 June 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071224190014/http://www.cityu.edu.hk/slw/english/programmes/courses/jd.htm
|archive-date=24 December 2007
}}<br />
The [[City University of Hong Kong|C.U.H.K.]] website says at the top of the webpage that it is a 2&nbsp;year program, but later on the same page and on other pages in the site, states that ''"normally, full-time J.D. students can complete the programme in 3&nbsp;years."''
</ref> The JD is considered a master's degree by universities and the Hong Kong Qualification Framework<ref>{{cite web
|title=Juris Doctor (J.D.)
|series=FAQ
|publisher=[[Chinese University of Hong Kong]]
|website=CUHK Law
|url=http://www.law.cuhk.edu.hk/en/study/jd_programme-faq.php
|access-date=16 September 2016
|quote=Is the J.D. programme a doctoral or a master's degree?<br />The J.D. programme is formally classified as a taught master's degree programme and it is not customary for J.D. graduates to use the title "Doctor".
|postscript=;
|archive-date=10 September 2016
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910215151/http://www.law.cuhk.edu.hk/en/study/jd_programme-faq.php
|url-status=live
}}<br />
{{cite web
|title=Masters degrees
|series=Calendar
|year=2016–2017
|publisher=[[University of Hong Kong]]
|url=http://www4.hku.hk/pubunit/calendar/2016-2017/a/c/32-2016-2017/393-masters-degrees
|access-date=16 September 2016
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921183642/http://www4.hku.hk/pubunit/calendar/2016-2017/a/c/32-2016-2017/393-masters-degrees
|archive-date=21 September 2016
|postscript=;
}}<br />
{{cite web
|title=Juris Doctor (JD) – Information for entrants to be admitted in 2013–2014 and thereafter
|department=School of Law
|publisher=[[City University of Hong Kong]]
|url=http://www6.cityu.edu.hk/slw/academic/postgraduate.html
|access-date=16 September 2016
|quote=Although the award has the word 'doctor' in its title, this is a traditional usage and it is not generally regarded as equivalent to the Ph.D. degree or other doctoral awards.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; It is a first law degree for students who are already graduates in a non-law discipline.
|archive-date=25 February 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225012612/http://www.cityu.edu.hk/slw/academic/postgraduate.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Award Titles Scheme
|series=Qualifications Framework
|publisher=Government of the Hong Kong
|department=Special Administrative Region
|url=https://www.hkqf.gov.hk/filemanager/en/content_16/HKQF_ATS_E_2012_10.pdf
|access-date=16 September 2016
|quote=8.&nbsp;Providers may continue to adopt titles traditionally used for degree and sub-degree qualifications in the mainstream education; i.e.<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Associate at Level&nbsp;4<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Bachelor at Level&nbsp;5<br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Master at Level&nbsp;6 <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Doctor at Level&nbsp;7<br />9.&nbsp;The following qualifications currently offered by the university sector are recognised globally. These award titles will continue to be recognised under QF although they do not conform to ATS: <br />&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Juris Doctor (J.D.) at QF Level&nbsp;6
|archive-date=7 April 2022
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407002330/https://www.hkqf.gov.hk/filemanager/en/content_16/HKQF_ATS_E_2012_10.pdf
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
 
Neither the LLB nor the JD provides the education sufficient for a license to practice. Graduates of both are also required to undertake the [[Postgraduate Certificate in Laws|PCLL]] course and a solicitor traineeship or barrister pupillage.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=General Admission
|publisher=Hong Kong Bar Association
|url=http://www.hkba.org/admission-pupillage/general/index.html
|access-date=1 June 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603052800/http://www.hkba.org/admission-pupillage/general/index.html
|archive-date=3 June 2008
}}
</ref>
 
====Italy====
In [[Italy]], only one program gives access to traditional legal professions such as lawyer, magistrate or public notary, and that is the ''Laurea Magistrale in Giurisprudenza''.<ref name="Degree Programmes - School of Law">{{cite web
|title=Degree Programmes
|department=School of Law
|publisher=[[University of Bologna]]
|website=www.law.unibo.it
|language=en
|url=http://www.law.unibo.it/en/programmes/degree-programmes
|access-date=14 September 2018
|archive-date=15 September 2018
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915002057/http://www.law.unibo.it/en/programmes/degree-programmes
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Legal studies have a long history in Italy, with the [[University of Bologna]] being the main Italian center for studies of both [[canon law]] and [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] in the 12th and 13th centuries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-25 |title=University of Bologna {{!}} History & Development {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/University-of-Bologna |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>
 
The ''laurea magistrale in giurisprudenza'' is a five-year academic program, deemed a master's-level degree under the [[Bologna Process|Bologna process]],<ref>{{cite web
|title=MIUR – Università
|website=www.miur.it
|url=http://www.miur.it/0006Menu_C/0012Docume/0098Normat/4640Modifi_cf2.htm
|access-date=14 September 2018
|archive-date=13 May 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513191934/https://www.miur.it/0006Menu_C/0012Docume/0098Normat/4640Modifi_cf2.htm
|url-status=live
}}</ref> that can be entered into with a [[high school diploma]]. The program comprises universities classes in legal theory and legal subjects, excluding practical courses, and is concluded with a thesis ({{lang-it|tesi di laurea}}) to be defended before an academic commission.<ref name="Degree Programmes - School of Law" /> In a novel approach, a few universities are trialing a 3+2 model, which initially offers a bachelor's degree in law, followed by the option to undertake an additional two years to earn the Italian Juris Doctor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Russo |first=Maria |date=2010-11-24 |title=Laurea in Giurisprudenza |url=https://www.universita.it/laurea-giurisprudenza/ |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Universita.it |language=it-IT}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-07-22 |title=Trento, nuova laurea per giuristi cosmopoliti - Cronaca |url=https://www.ladige.it/cronaca/2017/07/22/trento-nuova-laurea-per-giuristi-cosmopoliti-1.2636936 |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=l'Adige |language=it}}</ref>
 
Italian graduates in law are awarded the title of Doctor of Law ({{lang-it|Dottore Magistrale in Giurisprudenza}}, commonly known as ''Dottore in legge''), in keeping with standard Italian practice of awarding the title of [[doctor (title)|doctor]] to university graduates.
 
Holders of the ''Laurea Magistrale in Giurisprudenza'' are eligible to register with an Italian bar association, which is a prerequisite for the mandatory eighteen-month apprenticeship under a practicing attorney-at-law before taking the bar examination.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Riforma dell'ordinamento professionale forense
|date=January 2013
|website=Consiglio Nazionale Forense
|place=Italy
|language=it
|id=L.&nbsp;247/2012
|url=http://www.consiglionazionaleforense.it/documents/20182/281186/2013-01+IV-03+LEGGE+247-2012+RIFORMA+ORDINAMENTO+PROFESSIONALE+FORENSE.pdf/36dc1607-fd5d-4368-83b0-b7358ff0aea5?version=1.0
|access-date=14 September 2018
|archive-date=15 September 2018
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915042344/http://www.consiglionazionaleforense.it/documents/20182/281186/2013-01+IV-03+LEGGE+247-2012+RIFORMA+ORDINAMENTO+PROFESSIONALE+FORENSE.pdf/36dc1607-fd5d-4368-83b0-b7358ff0aea5?version=1.0
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Alternatively, graduates may opt for two additional years of study at the ''Scuole di Specializzazione per le Professioni Legali'' (Specialization Schools for the Legal Profession), leading to a ''Diploma di Specializzazione per le Professioni Legali'' (Specialization Diploma for the Legal Profession), akin to a master's degree.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Decreto Legislativo 5 aprile 2006, n. 160 |url=https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:2006-04-05;160!vig= |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=normattiva.it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Legge 30 luglio 2007, n. 111 |url=https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:2007-07-30;111!vig= |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=normattiva.it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-07-22 |title=Trento, nuova laurea per giuristi cosmopoliti - Cronaca |url=https://www.ladige.it/cronaca/2017/07/22/trento-nuova-laurea-per-giuristi-cosmopoliti-1.2636936 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523204732/https://www.ladige.it/cronaca/2017/07/22/trento-nuova-laurea-per-giuristi-cosmopoliti-1.2636936 |archive-date=2023-05-23 |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=l'Adige |language=it}}</ref> Possession of the ''Laurea Magistrale in Giurisprudenza'' also qualifies individuals to partake in the competitive public examination, administered by the Ministry of Justice, for entry into the [[Judiciary of Italy#Ordinary magistracy|ordinary magistracy]].<ref>{{cite web |date=16 June 2022 |title=Nuovo Accesso Diretto Al Concorso In Magistratura Con La Sola Laurea – Riforma Cartabia 2022 – Art 4 Legge 17 Giugno 2022, N. 71, n. 98 |url=https://www.fglaw.it/concorso_magistratura_nuovo_accesso_semplificato_direttamente_con_la_laurea_riforma_2022.html |access-date=20 April 2023 |language=it}}</ref>
 
====Japan====
In [[Japan]] the JD is known as {{Nihongo|'''Homu Hakushi'''|法務博士|hōmu hakushi}}.<ref>
{{cite report
|publisher=Justice System Reform Council
|year=2001
|title=For a Justice System to Support Japan in the 21st&nbsp;Century
}}
</ref> The program generally lasts three years. Two-year JD programs for applicants with legal knowledge (mainly undergraduate level law degree holders) are also offered. This curriculum is professionally oriented,<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Program Introduction and Dean's Message
|publisher=Yokohama National University Law School
|url=http://www.iblaw.ynu.ac.jp/english/law/program_i.html
|access-date=7 April 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090910032346/http://www.iblaw.ynu.ac.jp/english/law/program_i.html
|archive-date=10 September 2009
}}
</ref> but does not provide the education sufficient for a license to practice as an [[Attorneys in Japan|attorney in Japan]]. All candidates for licensing must undertake a 12-month practical training by the Legal Training and Research Institute after passing the bar examination.<ref>
{{cite conference
|last=Foote |first=D.
|year=2005
|title=Justice system reform in Japan
|conference=Annual meeting of the Research of Sociology of Law
|place=Paris, FR
|publisher=European Network on Law and Society
|url=http://www.reds.msh-paris.fr/communication/docs/foote.pdf
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320130621/http://www.reds.msh-paris.fr/communication/docs/foote.pdf
|archive-date=20 March 2009
}}
</ref> Similarly to the United States, the Juris Doctor is classed as a {{Nihongo|professional degree|専門職|senmonshoku}} in Japan, which is separate from the academic class of postgraduate master's degrees and doctorates.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Degree Regulations of Nagoya University
|publisher=[[Nagoya University]]
|url=http://jalii.law.nagoya-u.ac.jp/stuwork/nurule416_104-420_109-a.html
|access-date=16 September 2016
|archive-date=27 August 2016
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827012132/http://jalii.law.nagoya-u.ac.jp/stuwork/nurule416_104-420_109-a.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite report
|title=Kobe University degree regulations
|publisher=[[Kobe University]]
|url=http://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/documents/en/about-kobe-university/info-disclosure/Kobe%2520University%2520Degree%2520Regulations.pdf
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224144134/https://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/documents/en/about-kobe-university/info-disclosure/Kobe%20University%20Degree%20Regulations.pdf
|archive-date=24 February 2021
|access-date=16 September 2016 |url-status=dead
}}
</ref>
 
====Philippines====
In the [[Philippines]], the graduate JD exists alongside the more common undergraduate LLB. Like the LLB, it requires four years of study. The JD comprises courses in core bar subjects in 2.5 years, following which students may take elective courses; an apprenticeship; and the defence of a thesis.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Ateneo de Manila University
|date=10 February 2017
|website=Ateneolaw.ateneo.edu
|url=http://ateneolaw.ateneo.edu/index.php?p=93&PHPSESSID=3de3cb420701c7a80495dc7f3ea2679c
|access-date=17 April 2017
|archive-date=27 September 2007
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927204011/http://ateneolaw.ateneo.edu/index.php?p=93&PHPSESSID=3de3cb420701c7a80495dc7f3ea2679c
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Ateneo de Manila Law School – Philippine Leadership Crisis and the J.D. Program
|url=http://ateneolaw.ateneo.edu/index.php?p=93&PHPSESSID=04d268c43e1b638ebebab5e5c486677a
|access-date=17 April 2017
|url-status=bot: unknown
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080508125109/http://ateneolaw.ateneo.edu/index.php?p=93&PHPSESSID=04d268c43e1b638ebebab5e5c486677a
|archive-date=8 May 2008
}}
</ref>
 
The degree was first conferred in the Philippines by the [[Ateneo Law School|Ateneo de Manila Law School]], which developed the program later adopted by most law schools. In 2008, the [[University of the Philippines College of Law]] began conferring the JD on its graduates, renaming its LLB program into a JD to reflect the view that the "nomenclature does not accurately reflect the fact that the LLB is a professional as well as a post-baccalaureate degree."<ref>
{{cite news
|title=News
|date=25 April 2008
|publisher=University of Philippines College of Law
|url=http://law.upd.edu.ph/news.php
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531110210/http://law.upd.edu.ph/news.php
|archive-date=31 May 2008
}}
</ref> In 2009, the [[Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila]] and the [[Silliman University College of Law]] also renamed their respective LL.B programs to Juris Doctor.<ref name="JDSilliman">
{{cite news
|first=Princess Dianne Kris S. |last=Decierdo
|date=15 July 2009
|title=S.U. Law adopts Juris Doctor Program.
|newspaper=The Weekly Sillimanian
|volume=LXXXII |number=4
|quote=Archived copies can be viewed and verified at the Sillimaniana Section of the Silliman University Main Library
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|title=Curricula
|publisher=[[Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila]]
|place=Manila, PH
|url=http://www.plm.edu.ph/curricula.html
|access-date=14 July 2009 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708125525/http://www.plm.edu.ph/curricula.html
|archive-date=8 July 2009
}}
</ref> The newly established [[De La Salle University College of Law]] is likewise offering the JD.
 
====Singapore====
The degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence is offered at all three law schools in Singapore, which also offer LLB degrees. It is a qualifying law degree for the purposes of admission to the legal profession in Singapore.<ref name=SMU-c2014/> A graduate of these programmes is a "qualified person" under Singapore's legislation governing entry to the legal profession, and is eligible for admission to the Singapore Bar.<ref>{{cite report
|title=Rule&nbsp;5A, Legal profession (qualified persons) rules
|at=Cap.&nbsp;161, s.&nbsp;2(2)
|publisher=Ministry of Law
|place=Singapore
|url=http://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/dam/minlaw/corp/assets/documents/linkclick0667.pdf
|access-date=14 February 2014
|archive-date=22 February 2014
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222174629/http://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/dam/minlaw/corp/assets/documents/linkclick0667.pdf
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>
 
====United Kingdom====
The [[Quality Assurance Agency]] consulted in 2014 on the inclusion of "Juris Doctor" in the U.K. Framework for Higher Education Qualifications as an exception to the rule that "doctor" should only be used by doctoral degrees. It was proposed that the Juris Doctor would be an award at bachelor level, and would not confer the right to use the title "doctor".<ref>
{{cite report
|chapter=Part A: Setting and maintaining academic standards
|date=August 2014
|title=U.K. Quality Code for Higher Education
|edition=Post consultation draft (v.&nbsp;4) |pages=34, 35
|series=The frameworks for higher education qualifications of U.K. degree-awarding bodies
|publisher=QAA
|chapter-url=http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/AboutUs/Documents/QAA%20Board%20Meeting%20-%20October%202014/QAA-Board-FHEQ-Part-A-Quality-Code-October-2014.pdf
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110105911/http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/AboutUs/Documents/QAA%20Board%20Meeting%20-%20October%202014/QAA-Board-FHEQ-Part-A-Quality-Code-October-2014.pdf
|archive-date=10 January 2017
|quote=Comment&nbsp;[s4]: <br /> Footnote as follows will need to be added depending on decision re. the J.D.:<br /> • the award of a Juris Doctor is an exception to the principle that the title 'doctor' should only be used for qualifications meeting the qualification descriptor for FHEQ level&nbsp;8 / SCQF level&nbsp;12 on the FQHEIS in full<br /> • the Juris Doctor is not a doctoral qualification at level&nbsp;8 of the FHEQ / SQCF level&nbsp;12 but at level&nbsp;6 of the FHEQ / SCQF level&nbsp;10 on the FQHEIS (with some modules at level&nbsp;7 of the FHEQ / SCQF level&nbsp;11 on the FQHEIS)<br /> • holders of the qualification are not entitled to use the title 'Dr.'
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite report
|chapter=Part&nbsp;A: Setting and maintaining academic standards, the U.K. frameworks for higher education qualifications
|date=18 June 2014
|title=Consultation on the U.K. Quality Code for Higher Education
|page=6
|publisher=[[University of Ulster]]
|department=Learning and Teaching Committee
|chapter-url=https://www.ulster.ac.uk/academicoffice/download/TLC/18June2014/12-UKFrameworks.pdf
|access-date=8 December 2018 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110104549/https://www.ulster.ac.uk/academicoffice/download/TLC/18June2014/12-UKFrameworks.pdf
|archive-date=10 January 2017
}}
</ref> This was not incorporated into the final framework published in 2014.<ref>{{cite report
|title=The Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of U.K. Degree-Awarding Bodies
|date=October 2014
|publisher=QAA
|url=http://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/quality-code/qualifications-frameworks.pdf?sfvrsn=170af781_14
|access-date=4 August 2018
|archive-date=22 October 2021
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022223825/http://www.qaa.ac.uk/docs/qaa/quality-code/qualifications-frameworks.pdf?sfvrsn=170af781_14
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
 
The only JD degree currently awarded by a U.K. university is at [[Queen's University Belfast]]. The 3–4 year degree is specified a [[professional doctorate]] at the doctoral qualifications level, sitting above the LLM. It includes a 30,000-word dissertation.<ref>{{cite report
|chapter=Law – J.Dr.
|title=Programme Specifications (2019–2020)
|publisher=[[Queen's University Belfast]]
|department=Academic Affairs
|chapter-url=https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/AcademicStudentAffairs/AcademicAffairs/ProgrammeSpecifications/2019/pgt/detail/?org=SLAW&plan=LAW-JDR
|access-date=20 November 2019
|archive-date=7 April 2022
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407002326/https://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/AcademicStudentAffairs/AcademicAffairs/ProgrammeSpecifications/2019/pgt/detail/?org=SLAW&plan=LAW-JDR
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite report
|title=Study regulations for research degree programmes
|publisher=[[Queen's University Belfast]]
|url=http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/AcademicStudentAffairs/AcademicAffairs/GeneralRegulations/StudyRegulations/StudyRegulationsforResearchDegreeProgrammes/
|access-date=16 September 2016
|archive-date=14 September 2016
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914163730/http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/AcademicStudentAffairs/AcademicAffairs/GeneralRegulations/StudyRegulations/StudyRegulationsforResearchDegreeProgrammes/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
 
Joint LLB/JD courses for a small number of students are offered by [[University College London]], [[King's College London]], and the [[London School of Economics]] in collaboration with [[Columbia University]]. King's also offers a joint LLB/JD with [[Georgetown University]].<ref>{{cite web
|title=Dual LLB/Juris Doctor (JD) with Columbia University, New York
|date=14 September 2017
|publisher=University College London
|url=https://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/study/undergraduate/dual-llbjuris-doctor-jd-columbia-university-new-york
|access-date=30 August 2022
|archive-date=30 August 2022
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830171558/https://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/study/undergraduate/dual-llbjuris-doctor-jd-columbia-university-new-york
|url-status=live
}}</ref><ref name=kcl>{{cite web|title=Undergraduate|work=The Dickson Poon School of Law|publisher=King's College London|url=https://www.kcl.ac.uk/law/undergraduate|access-date=30 August 2022|archive-date=30 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830171559/https://www.kcl.ac.uk/law/undergraduate|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Double degree programme: Columbia Law School
|publisher=London School of Economics
|url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/law/study/double-degree
|access-date=30 August 2022
|archive-date=30 August 2022
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830171556/https://www.lse.ac.uk/law/study/double-degree
|url-status=live
}}</ref> King's College London and the [[University of Exeter]] offer joint LLB/JD degrees with the [[Chinese University of Hong Kong]], with two years in the UK followed by two years in Hong Kong.<ref name=kcl/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/law/law_llb_jd/|title=Dual LLB / Juris Doctor (JD) with the Chinese University of Hong Kong - 2023 entry|accessdate=30 August 2022|publisher=University of Exeter|archive-date=30 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830170557/https://www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/law/law_llb_jd/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
[[Harvard Law School]] and the [[University of Cambridge]] offer a JD/LLM Joint Degree Program enabling Harvard JD candidates to earn a Cambridge LLM and a Harvard JD in 3.5 years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=School |first=Harvard Law |title=Harvard Law School and University of Cambridge J.D./LL.M. Joint Degree Program |url=https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/ils/hls-cambridge-joint-degree/ |access-date=2022-06-07 |website=Harvard Law School |language=en |archive-date=15 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615220322/https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/ils/hls-cambridge-joint-degree/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
The [[University of Southampton]] offers a two-year graduate-entry LLB described as a "JD pathway" degree.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Law Accelerated Programme JD Pathway (LLB)
|publisher=[[University of Southampton]]
|url=https://www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/law-accelerated-programme-jd-pathway-degree-llb
|access-date=30 August 2022
|archive-date=30 August 2022
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220830173454/https://www.southampton.ac.uk/courses/law-accelerated-programme-jd-pathway-degree-llb
|url-status=live
}}</ref> The [[University of Surrey]] previously offered a course similar to Southampton's.<ref>
{{cite web
|title=Law (J.D. pathway) LL.B. (Hons.)
|year=2017
|publisher=[[University of Surrey]]
|url=http://www.surrey.ac.uk/undergraduate/law-jd-pathway
|access-date=17 September 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160918010617/http://www.surrey.ac.uk/undergraduate/law-jd-pathway|archivedate=18 September 2016
}}
</ref> The [[University of York]] offers a three-year so-called "LLM Law (Juris Doctor)" degree.<ref>{{cite web
|title=LL.M. law (Juris Doctor)
|series=Postgraduate courses
|publisher=[[University of York]]
|url=https://www.york.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/courses/llm-law-juris-doctor/
|access-date=24 July 2020
|archive-date=7 April 2022
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407002328/https://www.york.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/courses/llm-law-juris-doctor/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
 
==In academia==
In the United States, the Juris Doctor is the degree that prepares the recipient to enter the law profession (as do the [[Doctor of Medicine|M.D.]] or [[Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine|D.O.]] in the medical profession and the [[Doctor of Dental Surgery|D.D.S]] or D.M.D. in the dental profession). While the J.D. is the sole degree necessary to become a professor of law or to obtain a license to practice law, it (like the M.D., D.O, D.D.S, or D.M.D.) is not a "research degree".<ref>
{{cite book
|editor1-first=Kenneth Kaoma |editor1-last=Mwenda
|editor2-first=Gerry Nkombo |editor2-last=Muuka
|year=2009
|chapter=The academic rank of a J.D.
|title=The Challenge of Change in Africa's Higher Education in the 21st&nbsp;Century
|pages=87–88
|publisher=Cambria Press
|isbn=978-1-60497-610-6
|postscript=none
}} – see esp. Mwenda's comments on pp.&nbsp;87–88, in the section labeled "The Academic Rank of a JD" and the quoted material from Pappas immediately preceding it.
</ref>
 
Research degrees in the study of law include the [[Master of Laws]] (LL.M.), which ordinarily requires the J.D. as a prerequisite,<ref name="law.yale.edu">{{cite web
|title=LL.M. admission
|publisher=Yale Law School
|website=Law.yale.edu
|url=https://www.law.yale.edu/studying-law-yale/degree-programs/graduate-programs/llm-program/llm-admission
|access-date=17 April 2017
|archive-date=10 January 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110104317/https://www.law.yale.edu/studying-law-yale/degree-programs/graduate-programs/llm-program/llm-admission
|url-status=live
}}</ref> and the [[Doctor of Juridical Science]] (S.J.D./J.S.D.), which ordinarily requires the LL.M. as a prerequisite.<ref name="law.yale.edu"/>
 
However, the [[American Bar Association]], which accredits US law schools, has issued a Council Statement stating:<ref>{{cite web
|title=Council Statements
|website=ABANet.org
|department=Legal Education Accreditation
|publisher=[[American Bar Association]]
|url=http://www.abanet.org/legaled/accreditation/Council%20Statements.pdf
|access-date=17 April 2017
|archive-date=26 July 2010
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726103926/http://www.abanet.org/legaled/accreditation/Council%20Statements.pdf
|url-status=live
}}</ref> <blockquote>''WHEREAS, the acquisition of a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree requires from 84 to 90 semester hours of post baccalaureate study and the Doctor of Philosophy degree usually requires 60 semester hours of post baccalaureate study along with the writing of a dissertation, the two degrees shall be considered as equivalent degrees for educational employment purposes.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/misc/legal_education/Standards/2013_2014_council_statements.pdf |access-date=2022-09-23 |website=www.americanbar.org |title=Archived copy |archive-date=23 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923235252/https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/misc/legal_education/Standards/2013_2014_council_statements.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>''</blockquote>
 
Accordingly, while most law professors are required to conduct original writing and research in order to be awarded tenure, the majority have a J.D. as their highest degree and are qualified to teach and supervise LL.M. and J.S.D candidates. However, research in 2015 showed an increasing trend toward hiring professors with both a J.D. and Ph.D. in a field that confers Ph.D. degrees, particularly at more highly ranked schools.<ref>
{{cite news
|first=Orin |last=Kerr
|date=22 October 2015
|title=The rise of the Ph.D. law professor
|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]
}}
</ref>
Professor Kenneth K. Mwenda criticized the council's statement, pointing out that it compares the J.D. only to the taught component of the Ph.D. degree in the United States, ignoring the research and dissertation components.<ref>
{{cite book
|first=Kenneth K. |last=Mwenda
|year=2007
|title=Comparing American and British Legal Education Systems: Lessons for Commonwealth African Law Schools
|pages=21–22
|publisher=Cambria Press
|isbn=978-1-62196-959-4
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jOyVvAPtTcwC&pg=PA21
}}
</ref>
 
The United States [[Department of Education]] Center for Education Statistics classifies the J.D. and other professional doctorates as "doctor's degree-professional practice." It classifies the Ph.D. and other research doctorates as "doctor's degree-research/scholarship."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/report-your-data/data-tip-sheet-reporting-graduate-awards |title=The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System |publisher=Nces.ed.gov |date= |accessdate=2022-05-05 |archive-date=16 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516000443/https://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/report-your-data/data-tip-sheet-reporting-graduate-awards |url-status=live }}</ref> Among legal degrees, it accords the latter status only to the Doctor of Juridical Science degree.
 
In Europe, the [[European Research Council]] follows a similar policy, stating that a professional degree carrying the title "doctor" is not considered equivalent to a research degree, such as a Ph.D.<ref>
{{cite report
|title=PhD and Equivalent Doctoral Degrees: The ERC Policy
|publisher=European Research Council
|url=http://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/erc_policy_phd_and_equivalent_degrees.pdf
|access-date=25 May 2013
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106105821/http://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/erc_policy_phd_and_equivalent_degrees.pdf
|archive-date=6 November 2013
|quote=First-professional degrees will not be considered in themselves as Ph.D.-equivalent, even if recipients carry the title "doctor".
}}
</ref> The Dutch and Portuguese [[National Academic Recognition Information Centre]]s both classify the JD granted in the United States (along with other professional doctorate degrees) as equivalent to a master's degree,<ref>
{{cite report
|title=Recognition of Qualifications
|page=49
|publisher=NARIC Portugal
|url=http://internacional.ipvc.pt/sites/default/files/Reconhecimento%2520de%2520qualifica%25C3%25A7oes_EN.pdf
|access-date=18 September 2016 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711103735/http://internacional.ipvc.pt/sites/default/files/Reconhecimento%20de%20qualifica%C3%A7oes_EN.pdf
|archive-date=11 July 2018
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite report
|title=The American education system described and compared with the Dutch system
|page=3
|publisher=NUFFIC
|url=https://www.epnuffic.nl/en/publications/find-a-publication/education-system-united-states.pdf
|access-date=18 September 2016
|archive-date=9 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409145311/https://www.nuffic.nl/
|url-status=live
}}</ref> while the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland states with respect to United States practice that: "The '...&nbsp;professional degree' is a first degree, not a graduate degree, even though it incorporates the word 'doctor' in the title"<ref>
{{cite report
|title=Review of Professional Doctorates |page=3
|date=October 2006
|publisher=National Qualifications Authority of Ireland
|place=Dublin, IE
|url=http://www.eua.be/eua/jsp/en/upload/Review%2520of%2520Professional%2520Doctorates_Ireland2006.1164040107604.pdf
|access-date=18 September 2016 |url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110103934/http://www.eua.be/eua/jsp/en/upload/Review%2520of%2520Professional%2520Doctorates_Ireland2006.1164040107604.pdf
|archive-date=10 January 2017
}}
</ref>
 
[[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries also often consider the JD granted in the United States equivalent to a bachelor's degree,<ref>
{{cite book
|first=Kenneth K. |last=Mwenda
|year=2007
|title=Comparing American and British legal education systems: Lessons for Commonwealth African law schools
|page=27
|publisher=Cambria Press
|isbn=978-1-62196-959-4
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jOyVvAPtTcwC&pg=PA27 |via=Google Books
}}
</ref> even though the [[U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services|United States Citizenship and Immigration Services]] has advised that "while neither degree is likely equivalent to a Ph.D., a JD, or MD degree would be considered to be equivalent to, if not higher than, a masters degree".<ref>{{cite web
|first=Michael
|last=Aytes
|date=2 May 2006
|title=Chapter&nbsp;31: H-1B&nbsp;cap exemption for aliens holding a master's or higher degree from a U.S. institution
|id=AD06-24
|series=AFM Update
|publisher=U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
|url=https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/Static_Files_Memoranda/Archives%201998-2008/2006/ac21_050206.pdf
|access-date=13 February 2017
|archive-date=12 February 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212070205/https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/Static_Files_Memoranda/Archives%201998-2008/2006/ac21_050206.pdf
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
 
==Use of the title "doctor"==
Since at least the 1920s, it has been contrary to custom in the United States to address holders of the JD as "doctor".<ref>
{{cite journal
|first=A.L. |last=Crabbe
|date=March 1925
|title=Who is a doctor?
|journal=Peabody Journal of Education
|volume=2 |issue=5 |pages=268–273
|doi=10.1080/01619562509534672 |jstor=1487677
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web
|first=Robert
|last=Hickey
|title=How to address an attorney or lawyer in the United States
|publisher=Protocol School of Washington
|url=http://www.formsofaddress.info/attorney.html
|access-date=18 September 2016
|archive-date=9 May 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509015314/http://www.formsofaddress.info/attorney.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
 
In the late 1960s, the rising number of American law schools awarding JDs led to debate over whether lawyers could ethically use the title "doctor". Initial informal ethics opinions, based on the ''Canons of Professional Ethics'' then in force, came down against this.<ref>
{{cite journal
|title=Summaries of informal opinions of the Standing Committee on Professional Ethics
|date=July 1968
|journal=American Bar Association Journal
|volume=54 |issue=7 |page=657
|jstor=25724462
|quote=1001. A lawyer holding a J.D. degree may not ethically use, either orally or in print, the title 'doctor' professionally or socially.
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite journal
|title= Summaries of informal opinions of the Standing Committee on Professional Ethics
|date=June 1969
|journal=American Bar Association Journal
|volume=55 |issue=6 |page=589
|jstor=25724818}}
</ref> These were then reinforced with an ABA ethics opinion that maintained the ban on using the title in legal practice (except when dealing with countries where the use of "doctor" by lawyers was standard practice) but allowed the use of the title in academia "if the school of graduation thinks of the JD degree as a doctor's degree".<ref>
{{cite journal
|last1=Boodell |first1=Thomas J. |last2=Carson |first2=C.A.
|last3=Gates |first3=Benton E. |last4=Joiner |first4=Charles W.
|last5=McAlpin |first5=Kirk M. |last6=Myers |first6=Samuel P.
|last7=Sperry |first7=Floyd B. |last8=Armstrong |first8=Walter P.
|journal=American Bar Association Journal
|date=May 1969
|title=Opinions of the Committee on Professional Ethics
|volume=55 |issue=5 |pages=451–453
|jstor=25724785
}}
</ref> The opinion generated much debate.<ref>
{{cite journal
|first=David |last=Hittner
|date=June 1969
|title=The juris 'doctor' – a question of ethics?
|journal=American Bar Association Journal
|volume=55 |issue=7 |pages=663–665
|jstor=25724845
}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite journal
|first=William H. |last=Shields
|date=June 1969
|title=Don't call me "doctor"
|journal=American Bar Association Journal
|volume=55 |issue=20 |pages=960–963
|jstor=25724927
}}
</ref>
 
The introduction of the 1969 ''Code of Professional Responsibility'' settled the question in favour of allowing the use of the title in states where the code was adopted.<ref>
{{cite journal
|last1=Hillsberg |first1=Richard W. |last2=McGiffert |first2=David E.
|last3=Herbert |first3=Williard A. |last4=Lansdowne |first4=Robert J.
|last5=Hyatt |first5=Hudson |last6=Chandler |first6=Kent
|last7=Pederson |first7=Virgil L. |last8=Bodkin |first8=Henry G.
|last9=Marks |first9=Edward |last10=Wasby |first10=Stephen L.
|last11=Kandt |first11=William C. |last12=Taylor |first12=Herman E.
|last13=Berall |first13=Frank S. |last14=Collins |first14=Hugh B.
|last15=Barr |first15=J.E. |last16=Mellor |first16=Phillip
|last17=Hittner |first17=David |last18=Turnbull |first18=Frederick W.
|last19=Adams |first19=Paul |last20=Widman |first20=Joel L.
|last21=Tollett |first21=Kenneth S.
|date=November 1969
|title=Views of our readers
|series=Editor's note
|journal=American Bar Association Journal
|volume=55 |issue=11 |page=1024
|jstor=25724947
}}
</ref> There was some dispute over whether only the Ph.D.-level [[Doctor of Juridical Science]] grant the title,<ref>
{{cite journal
|first=S.C. |last=Yuter
|date=August 1971
|title=Revisiting the 'doctor' debate
|journal=American Bar Association Journal
|volume=57 |issue=8 |pages=790–892
|jstor=25725564
}}
</ref> but ethics opinions have read the ''Code'' as allowing JD-holders to be called 'doctor', while acknowledging that the older ''Canons'' did not.<ref>
{{cite journal
|title=Summaries of informal opinions of the Standing Committee on Professional Ethics
|date=August 1970
|journal=American Bar Association Journal
|volume=56 |issue=8 |page=750
|jstor=25725213
}}
</ref>
 
As not all state bars adopted the new code, and some omitted the clause permitting the use of the title, confusion over whether lawyers could ethically use the title "doctor" continued.<ref>
{{cite journal
|author=Kathleen Maher
|date=November 2006
|title=Lawyers are doctors, too: But there is no clear ethics rule on whether they may say so
|journal=American Bar Association Journal
|volume=92 |issue= 11 |page=24
|jstor=27846360
}}
</ref> While many state bars now allow the use of the title, some prohibit its use where there is any chance of confusing the public about a lawyer's actual qualifications (e.g. if the public might believe the lawyer is a doctor of medicine).<ref>{{cite magazine
|author=S.A.P.
|date=1 March 2013
|title=Trust me, I'm a doctor of law
|series=(Samuel) Johnson
|type=blog
|magazine=[[The Economist]]
|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2013/03/professional-titles
|access-date=13 July 2017
|archive-date=1 July 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701141822/http://www.economist.com/blogs/johnson/2013/03/professional-titles
|url-status=live
}}</ref> There has been discussion on whether it is permissible in some other limited instances. For example, in June 2006, the [[Florida Bar Association|Florida Bar]] Board of Governors ruled that a lawyer could refer to himself as a "doctor en leyes" (doctor in laws) in a Spanish-language advertisement, reversing an earlier decision.<ref>{{cite news
|first=Gary
|last=Blankenship
|title=Debate over 'doctor of law' title continues
|date=1 July 2006
|newspaper=The Florida Bar News
|publisher=[[Florida Bar Association]]
|url=https://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/JN/JNnews01.nsf/Articles/7CA2D2C795627B038525719A0047170E
|access-date=18 September 2016
|archive-date=10 January 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110104134/https://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/JN/JNnews01.nsf/Articles/7CA2D2C795627B038525719A0047170E
|url-status=live
}}</ref> The decision was reversed again the following month, when the board voted to only allow the use of untranslated names of degrees.<ref>{{cite news
|first=Gary
|last=Blankenship
|date=15 August 2006
|title=Bar board settles 'Dr. of Law' debate
|newspaper=The Florida Bar News
|publisher=[[Florida Bar Association]]
|url=http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/JN/JNNews01.nsf/Articles/E568F349EA03E82C852571C40052C818
|access-date=18 September 2016
|archive-date=10 January 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110104034/http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/JN/JNNews01.nsf/Articles/E568F349EA03E82C852571C40052C818
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
 
''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' notes specifically in its stylebook that "Lawyers, despite their JD degrees, aren't called ''doctor''."<ref>{{cite book
|first=Paul
|last=Martin
|date=15 June 2010
|title=The Wall Street Journal Guide to Business Style and Us
|page=72
|publisher=[[Simon and Schuster]]
|isbn=978-1-4391-2269-3
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3mjxg9iNAQUC&pg=PA72
|via=Google Books
|access-date=1 November 2020
|archive-date=9 April 2023
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409145147/https://books.google.com/books?id=3mjxg9iNAQUC&pg=PA72
|url-status=live
}}</ref> Many other newspapers reserve the title for physicians only<ref>{{cite news
|first=Robin
|last=Abcarian
|date=2 February 2009
|title=Hi, I'm Jill. Jill Biden. But please, call me Dr.&nbsp;Biden
|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]
|department=National
|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-feb-02-na-dr-jill-biden2-story.html
|quote=Newspapers, including [[The Los Angeles Times|the Times]], generally do not use the honorific 'Dr.' unless the person in question has a medical degree.
|access-date=2 May 2017
|archive-date=22 October 2018
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022133118/http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/02/nation/na-dr-jill-biden2
|url-status=live
}}</ref> or do not use titles at all.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Why doesn't the Times call Condi 'Dr.&nbsp;Rice'?
|date=27 December 2000
|website=Slate
|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2000/12/why_doesnt_the_times_call_condi_dr_rice.html
|access-date=1 May 2017
|quote=Most newspapers dispense with such formalities and on second reference call people only by their last names.
|archive-date=24 January 2017
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170124231616/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2000/12/why_doesnt_the_times_call_condi_dr_rice.html
|url-status=live
}}</ref> In 2011, [[Mother Jones (magazine)|''Mother Jones'']] published an article claiming that [[Michele Bachmann]] was misrepresenting her qualifications by using the "bogus" title "Dr." based on her JD. They later amended the article to note that the use of the title by lawyers "is a (begrudgingly) accepted practice in some states and not in others", although they maintained that it was rarely used as it "suggests that you're a medical doctor or a Ph.D. – and therefore conveys a false level of expertise."<ref>{{cite magazine
|first=Tim
|last=Murphy
|date=18 August 2011
|title=Michele Bachmann is not a doctor
|magazine=Mother Jones
|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/08/michele-bachmann-not-doctor-phd
|access-date=9 July 2018
|archive-date=9 July 2018
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709094526/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/08/michele-bachmann-not-doctor-phd/
|url-status=live
}}</ref>
 
==See also==
* [[Bachelor of Civil Law]] (B.C.L., LL.B., or LL.L.)
===Other law degrees===
* [[Bachelor of Laws]] (LL.B.]])
* [[Doctor of Canon Law]] (J.C.D.)
*[[LL.M.]]
* [[Doctor of Juridical Science]] (J.S.D. or S.J.D.)
*[[J.S.D.]]
* [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D.]])
* [[Master of Laws]] (LL.M.)
*[[L.Sc.D.]]
* [[Legal education]]
* [[Admission to practice law]]
* [[Accelerated JD program]]
* [[Law degree]]
* [[Law school in the United States]] – describes general characteristics of the J.D. curriculum in the United States
* [[Lawyer]]
 
==Notes==
{{notelist}}
 
==References==
{{reflist|25em}}
 
==External links==
{{Wiktionary|Juris Doctor}}
 
{{Academic degrees}}
{{Authority control}}
 
[[Category:Doctoral degrees|Law degrees]]
[[Category:Law degrees]]
[[Category:Master's degrees]]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juris_Doctor"