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Although most lawyers in the United States do not use titles, the law degree in that country is the Juris Doctor, a professional doctorate,[228] and some JD holders in the United States use the title “Doctor” in professional[229] and academic situations. In most civil law countries, the government has traditionally exercised tight control over the legal profession to ensure a steady supply of loyal judges and bureaucrats. Although the French judiciary has begun to experiment with the Anglo-American model of appointing judges from accomplished lawyers, the few lawyers who have entered the judiciary in this way are despised by their colleagues who have taken the traditional route to the office of judge. [105] As in almost all employment sectors, emerging trends continue to affect the legal profession: increased use of consultants, contract legal services and accountants by legal professionals, but legal services remain one of the most important industries in almost all employment sectors. Whether they rank in the top 10 jobs or somewhere near the bottom segment, there will always be a need for lawyers. Lawyers are always free to form their own voluntary associations, except for licensing or compulsory membership, which may be required by the laws of their jurisdiction. Like their mandatory counterparts, such organizations can exist at all geographical levels. [92] [151] In American English, these associations are called voluntary bar associations. [152] The largest pro bono professional association of lawyers in the English-speaking world is the American Bar Association.

In common law countries where the legal professions are divided, lawyers traditionally sit on the Bar Council (or at a law inn) and lawyers on the Bar. In the English-speaking world, the California State Bar is the largest mandatory professional association of lawyers with 230,000 members. England, in particular, the mother of common law jurisdictions, emerged from the Middle Ages with similar complexity in its legal professions, but then evolved into a unique division between barristers and solicitors in the 19th century. In some civil law countries, a corresponding separation has developed between lawyers and prosecutors; These two types did not always monopolize the exercise of rights, because they coexisted with notaries. [15] [16] [17] A key difference between countries is whether lawyers should be regulated exclusively by an independent judiciary and its subsidiary institutions (a self-regulating legal profession)[138] or whether lawyers should be subject to the supervision of the Ministry of Justice in the executive branch. In most common law countries, especially those where professions have merged, lawyers have many options throughout their careers. News once ranked a lawyer as a worse job than nail technician in the wake of the Great Recession, in the era of the pandemic, being a lawyer is considered one of the best jobs of all. To keep this ranking known for lawyers who like the U.S. News Law School ranking, check out the top 14 best jobs for 2022: Law firm partners, also known as shareholders, are lawyers who co-own and operate the firm. The types and structures of business partnerships may vary. Sole proprietorships – firms with a single lawyer – partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), professional associations and limited liability companies (LLPs) are the most common. In other countries, particularly the United Kingdom and the United States, law is mainly taught in law schools.

[69] In America, the American Bar Association decides which law schools are approved and which are considered the most respectable. [70] In England and Wales,[71] the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) must have the right to work and to be appointed as a solicitor. Students who choose a non-legal subject at the academic level may instead study the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL) after graduation before starting the Legal Practice Course (LPC) or BPTC. In the United States[72] and in countries that follow the American model (such as Canada[73] with the exception of the province of Quebec), law schools are graduate or vocational schools where a bachelor`s degree is a prerequisite for admission.