- J.D. redirects here; for alternate uses, see J.D. (disambiguation)
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. Prior to the practice of law, a J.D. holder is required to be member of the bar association of the state in which he or she intends to practice. 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.
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.
The J.D. was formerly known as the LL.B. in most U.S. universities. Doctors of Law who are admitted to the practice of law often append the suffix 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 stipulates that lawyers do not use the title.) Unlike the J.D., however, the Doctor of Juristic Science (J.S.D.), Doctor of the Science of Law (L.Sc.D.), and the Legum Doctor or Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) do confer the title of "Doctor".
Courses required
The first year of a J.D. program is usually devoted to core courses on contracts, property law, torts and civil procedure. Later courses might include things such as: