Steps to become a Lawyer/Attorney in Pennsylvania

Follow the step by step process or choose what situation that best describes you:

Pennsylvania Undergraduate Pre-Law Education
Take the LSAT (Law School Admission Test)
Go to Law School in Pennsylvania
Take the Pennsylvania State Bar Exam and become an Attorney
Now that You’re a Member of the Pennsylvania State Bar

Law Careers in Pennsylvania

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that 49,412 lawyers were employed in Pennsylvania in May 2022, averaging an annual mean wage of $144,570. Those working in the Philadelphia metropolitan area averaged the highest yearly wage, at $159,900. Law specialties for attorneys in Pennsylvania include worker’s compensation law, bankruptcy law, government law, consumer protection, taxation, and environmental law. The Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners reports that students at Pennsylvania law schools fared generally well on the July 2018 bar exam, with 81% of Drexel University law students attempting the exam for the first time passing; 92.68% of law students from the University of Pennsylvania law school passing; and 83.51% of law students from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law passing the bar on the first try. Follow the steps below if your desire is to become a member of the Pennsylvania Bar.

Step 1

Get Your Pennsylvania Undergraduate Pre-Law Major

Under the rules of the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners, you must receive your pre-legal undergraduate education from an accredited college or university prior to attending law school. You need a minimum of a bachelor’s degree to enter law school.

Accreditation

Your undergraduate college or university must have accreditation from a regional or national accreditation agency that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Not only the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners but also the American Bar Association (ABA) requires this for entry into an ABA-accredited law school after you graduate with at least a bachelor’s degree.

Requirements and Standards

The Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners and the ABA have not specified any requirements for your undergraduate pre-legal education besides national accreditation of the college or university where you receive your education. Regardless of your major, there are some courses that you should enroll in prior to law school, such as:

Philosophy
History
English
Political Science
Business
Economics
Mathematics
Psychology
Sociology
Cultural diversity/multicultural relations

Degree Options

The Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners and the American Bar Association both require that you obtain at least a bachelor’s degree prior to admission to an ABA-accredited law school. The major of this degree is not mandated by either organization. However, some majors lend themselves more aptly to future law school success. These include political science, governmental relations, history, economics, business, and human relations.

Featured Programs:

Pre Law Advisor

Your undergraduate college or university may have a pre-law advisor as part of its faculty. It is this person’s job to steer you in the right direction as you choose your major, minor and electives. A pre-law advisor can assist you in taking courses during your undergraduate education that will help to ensure your future success in law school.

Step 2

Law School Admission Test in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners requires that you graduate from an ABA-approved law school. Entry into such a school requires that you pass the LSAT (Law School Admission Test). This standardized exam lasts for a half-day and is offered quarterly at testing stations worldwide.

How to prepare

Preparation for the LSAT is important so that you are ready for the types of questions and topics on which you will be tested. You can view free study resources at the LSAC (Law School Admission Council) website, including practice tests and sample questions. For additional readiness to take the LSAT, you may wish to enroll in LSAT exam preparation courses, such as the following that are offered throughout Pennsylvania:
LSAT Exam Preparation in Pennsylvania:

LSAT Test Prep, Duquesne University, and Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
Test Masters LSAT Course, various locations, live and online
LSAT Preparation, Reading Area Community College, online
LSAT Prep, University of Scranton, Scranton and online

Exam content

Skills that you will need to succeed in law school are determined when you take the LSAT. You must complete four areas:

Writing Sample – You are given a writing prompt and have 35 minutes to plan your essay and write it on the topic provided
Reading Comprehension – You will read a lengthy passage and answer questions based on that passage
Analytical Reasoning – You will read a passage and infer or deduce conclusions based on that passage
Logical Reasoning – You will read a short passage and answer just one or two questions in which the answers can be reasoned logically.

Application process

Application to take the LSAT must be done online. It is administered in the United States twice weekly (Mon and Sat) during the following months: November, January, March and June. Not every test center offers the LSAT during each month, so plan ahead and register accordingly. LSAT Test Centers in Pennsylvania include:

Muhlenberg College, Allentown
Lehigh University, Bethlehem
University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, Bradford
Pennsylvania State University – Lehigh Valley, Center Valley
Cheyney University, Cheyney
Lafayette College, Easton
Gannon University, Erie
Grove City College, Grove City
Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana
Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster
Bucknell University, Lewisburg
Drexel University, Philadelphia
Holy Family College, Philadelphia
La Salle University, Philadelphia
Temple University, Philadelphia
University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh
University of Scranton, Scranton
Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock
Pennsylvania State University, University Park
Washington & Jefferson College, Washington
Lycoming College, Williamsport

Fees

The fee to take the LSAT is currently $190 (Jan 2019 figures). You must pay fees online when you register to take the LSAT by credit card.

Receiving Your Score

You should receive your LSAT scores by email three weeks after the exam. Your lowest possible score is 120, and highest possible score, 180. If for some reason on exam day you want to cancel your scores, so that they are not reported to the Law School Admission Council, there is a box on the answer sheet to do so. If you decide after the test that you want to cancel your scores, this may be accomplished online through your LSAC.org account up to six days after taking the test. Visit this link for more information.

Step 3

Go to Law School in Pennsylvania

FIND SCHOOLS

Law School Application process

Now that you are over the LSAT hurdle, you are closer than ever to becoming a member of the Pennsylvania Bar! Next, you must submit your law school application(s). The LSAC can assist you in this regard, as they are storing LSAT scores and you have an account online with their organization. Most law schools that are ABA-accredited require that you use the services of the LSAC in applying to law school.

Credential Assembly Service

One of the most important services offered by the LSAC is their Credential Assembly Service (CAS). This time-saving LSAC service organizes your documents and credentials and even applies to the law schools of your choice for you. Three components of the CAS exist:

Transcript Collection: The CAS will help you to collect official transcripts from all institutions you ever attended (whether you received a degree).
- If you attended any international colleges or universities, instructions will be given on collecting and mailing these transcripts as well.
Collection of Letters of Recommendation and Requests for Evaluations: The LSAC will help to collect these necessary items for you, if you:
- Give the LSAC names and contact information of persons who have agreed to supply you with letters of recommendation
- Give the LSAC names and contact information of persons who have agreed to submit online evaluations of your qualifications and work
- Indicate to the LSAC how many letters/evaluations each person will write and the general content of each
- Indicate to the LSAC the names of the ABA-approved law schools to which you want to apply, and which letters and evaluations should be submitted by the LSAC’s CAS to each
- The LSAC will instruct you to print forms to hand to your recommenders, and they must submit these forms with their letters of recommendation directly to the LSAC
- The LSAC will email your evaluators and give them instructions on completing an online evaluation of your qualifications and work
Pay fees: The LSAC charges law school applicants $195 for the Credential Assembly Service. It is payable through your online LSAC account. The fee will be used to summarize your college transcripts, create law school reports, process letters of recommendation, process evaluations, and submit electronic applications to your chosen ABA-approved law schools. Additionally, you must pay the application fee charged by the law school(s) to which you are applying.

Accreditation

The Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners requires that you receive your Bachelor of Laws (LLB) or Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from an ABA-accredited law school in order to gain membership in the Pennsylvania Bar. This school must be located in the United States, Canada, or any U.S. territories. The only way that you may seek bar admission if you graduated from an unaccredited school is if you are already a member of the bar of a reciprocal state and meet Pennsylvania’s reciprocity requirements (see Step 4 below).

(A Bachelor of Laws degree is the Canadian equivalent to a Juris Doctor degree).

ABA-Accredited Law Schools in Pennsylvania

Below is a list of Pennsylvania law schools holding ABA accreditation:

Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law, Philadelphia
Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh
Dickinson School of Law, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park and Carlisle
University of Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia
University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pittsburgh
James E. Beasley School of Law, Temple University, Philadelphia
Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, Villanova
Widener University Commonwealth Law School, Harrisburg

Course requirements

The Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners notes that the following subjects are tested on the state’s bar exam and should therefore be covered in your law school curriculum:

Pennsylvania and Federal civil procedure
Conflict of laws
Criminal law (which includes related Federal and Pennsylvania constitutional issues and DUI)
Business organizations (including partnerships, corporations, professional corporations and limited liability companies)
Contracts
Wills, Trusts and Decedents’ Estates (including related fiduciary responsibilities)
Family law
Evidence (includes Federal and Pennsylvania)
Federal Constitutional law
Professional responsibility
Federal income taxes (only personal, limited to non-taxable and taxable income, proprietorships, deductions, and capital transactions)
Torts
Real property
Employment discrimination (Title VII, ADEA and ADA)
Uniform Criminal Code Article II – Sales

Under ABA rules, you must complete at least 83 semester hours of college credit or 129 quarter hours of college credit. As you can see from the list above, all Pennsylvania law schools require more hours than the minimum to earn your J.D. degree.

Online Law Degrees

View Online and Campus Law and Legal Studies Programs

(For students who choose to focus on a subset of law other than an attorney.)

Internship

Under ABA standards for accreditation of law schools, your law school must offer you many opportunities to participate in off-site practical experience activities. You usually will not participate in an internship or other off-site experience until you have completed at least one year of law school. These can be through any of the following:

Live client experiences
Real-life practice experiences
Pro bono activities
Trial and appellate advocacy
Clinics
Field placements

Degree Programs

Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiner rules state that bar admission in Pennsylvania is possible if you have the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree or the Bachelor of Laws (L.L.B.) degree (which is normally found in Canadian law schools). Other law degrees offered by Pennsylvania law schools, along with the schools that offer them, include the following:

J.D./Master of Business Administration: Duquesne University School of Law; Earle Mack School of Law, Drexel University; Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University; University of Pittsburgh; Temple University; Villanova University; Widener University
J.D./Master of Divinity: Duquesne University School of Law
J.D./Master of Health Care Ethics: Duquesne University School of Law
J.D./Master of Science in Environmental Science & Management: Duquesne University School of Law
J.D/Master of Environmental Pollution Control: Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University
J.D./Ph.D. in Law and Psychology: Earle Mack School of Law, Drexel University
J.D./PsyD: Widener University
J.D./Master of Marine Policy: Widener University
J.D./Master of Library Science: Widener University
J.D./Master of Public Health: Earle Mack School of Law, Drexel University; University of Pittsburgh; Temple University; Widener University
J.D./Master of Science in Public Policy: Earle Mack School of Law, Drexel University; University of Pittsburgh
J.D./Master of Public Administration: Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University
J.D./Master of Social Work: University of Pittsburgh
J.D/Master of Arts in Bioethics: University of Pittsburgh
J.D./Master of International Affairs: Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University
J.D./Master of Laws (LLM) in Taxation: Temple University, Villanova University
J.D./LLM in International Studies: Villanova University
J.D./Master of Science in Forest Resources: Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University
J.D./Ph.D. in Forest Resources or Wildlife and Fisheries Service: Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University
J.D./Master of Education in College Student Affairs: Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University
J.D./Master of Arts in Educational Theory and Policy: Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University
J.D./Master of Education in Higher Education: Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University
J.D./Master of Educational Leadership: Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University
J.D./Doctor of Educational Leadership: Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University
J.D./Master of Science in Human Resources and Public Relations: Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University
J.D./Master of Science in Information Systems: Dickinson School of Law, Pennsylvania State University
J.D./Master of Arts Management: University of Pittsburgh

Graduates of Foreign Law Schools

If you graduate from a law school outside of the United States (and therefore outside of the ABA’s accreditation boundaries), the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners may admit you to the Bar if:

You are a member of the Bar of your foreign country and have received a certificate of good standing from them
You have been practicing law for at least five of the past eight years
You have completed 30 credit hours in an ABA-accredited American law school in coursework including the following (no more than 4 credit hours may be from anyone subject):
- Constitutional law (must have at least 4 credits)
- Conflict of laws
- Corporations
- Contracts (must have at least 4 credits)
- Decedents’ estates (must have at least 4 credits)
- Criminal law (must have at least 4 credits)
- Family law
- Evidence (must have at least 4 credits)
- Real property (must have at least 4 credits)
- Torts (must have at least 4 credits)
- Uniform Commercial Code, Article II – Sales
- Uniform Commercial Code, Article III – Commercial Paper
- Uniform Commercial Code, Article IX – Secured Transactions
- Federal and/or Pennsylvania Civil Procedure (must have at least 4 credits)
- Professional responsibility (must have at least 4 credits)

Step 4

Take the Pennsylvania State Bar Exam

Once you have graduated with your J.D. degree from an ABA-accredited law school, you are ready to take the Pennsylvania Bar Examination. It is given twice each year in February and July in the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas.

Preparation

The Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners provides Bar Exam review information on its website. Various test prep organizations offer Pennsylvania Bar Exam preparation courses. They include Kaplan and Barbri. Other PA Bar Exam preparation courses and reviews are held by most law schools, including:

Bar Preparation, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
Bar Prep, PennState Law
Bar Exam Information, Temple University Beasley School of Law

Exam content

You will take the Pennsylvania Bar Examination over a period of two days, and cover the following content:

Day One:
- One Performance Test (PT) question or Multistate Performance Test (MPT) question requiring you to write such things as:
  - Letters to opposing counsel
  - Letters to clients
  - Contract or will provisions
  - Legal briefs
  - Petitions
  - Legal memoranda
  - Legal motions
- 6 essay questions that could cover any of the following subjects:
  - Business organizations
  - Civil procedure (PA and federal)
  - Criminal law (PA and federal, and DUI)
  - Conflict of laws
  - Contracts
  - Employment discrimination (Title VII, ADA and ADEA)
  - Evidence (PA and federal)
  - Family law
  - Federal Constitutional law
  - Federal income taxes (personal only)
  - Professional responsibility
  - Real property
  - Torts
  - Uniform Commercial Code, Article II – Sales
  - Decedents’ Estates, Wills and Trusts (including fiduciary responsibilities)
Day Two:
- Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)- 200 multiple choice questions covering:
  - Constitutional law
  - Civil procedure
  - Real property
  - Evidence
  - Criminal law/procedure
  - Contracts
  - Torts

Application Process

application, you may be required to submit Supplemental Documents (along with an Amendment to Application form for each document) and Third-Party Documents (which must also be accompanies by an Amendment to Application form). Documents that you may need to submit or have submitted by a third party include:

Name change request (with a copy of your marriage license, divorce decree or court order)
Criminal history records from all states in which you have lived if you were arrested, charged, cited, accused or prosecuted for any offense (misdemeanor or felony) other than a summary citation or minor traffic violation since age 16
Original driving records for each state from which you ever held a driver’s license, and/or in which you were stopped, arrested, charged, cited, accused or prosecuted for DUI or any serious traffic violation
Certified law school transcript if you attended a foreign law school
Certificates of Good Standing for any other jurisdiction in which you are a member of the Bar
If you worked as a sole practitioner at any time for which you are claiming employment history, have a judge and two attorneys provide professional references on their letterhead
If you worked in a non-legal capacity for most of the past five years, have two people provide professional references on their letterhead
If you are currently working in a legal capacity in PA, have your supervisor send a letter of verification on letterhead explaining your duties, along with an Attorney Disclaimer Form

Mail all supporting documents to Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners, 601 Commonwealth Ave, Suite 3600, P.O. Box 62535, Harrisburg, PA 17106-2535. When the Board accepts your application, you will receive an email.

Filing Deadlines and Fees

If you wish to take the February Bar Exam and are a new applicant:
- File/pay by Oct 30 – $650
- File/pay by Nov 15 – $800
- File/pay by Nov 30 – $1100
- File/pay by Dec 15 – $1500
If you wish to take the July Bar Exam and are a new applicant:
- File/pay by April 15- $650
- File/pay by April 30-$800
- File/pay by May 15 – $110
- File/pay by May 30 – $1500
Fees may be paid online by credit card or by certified check, cashier’s check, law firm check, corporate check, or money order payable to the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners

Character and Fitness Determination

Once you file your application to sit for the Pennsylvania Bar Exam, you authorize the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners to conduct a fitness and character investigation. They must find that you have a history of honesty, trustworthiness, reliability and diligence. The Board may contact your schools, employers, police agencies, credit agencies and other sources to make this determination. The determination will not be finalized until after you have passed the Bar exam.

Pass Rates

Results of the February Bar Exam will be released in April, and of the July Bar Exam, in October. You will be notified of your score by mail. To pass, you must have combined MBE and Scaled Essay/PT scores of 272 or more. If you pass, your name is published on the Press Release of Successful Applicants. Pass rates for recent exams are as follows:

February 2018	52.23%
July 2018	71%

Licensing and Admission to the Bar

After you pass the Pennsylvania Bar Exam, you will receive a Certificate Recommending Admission to the Bar. You then have six months to submit an Application for Admission to the Bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania along with your certificate to the Pittsburgh office of the Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania within six months of the date on the certificate. After six months, your certificate lapses, and you must pay a fee and undergo another character and fitness evaluation. If you do not file to become a member of the Bar within three years of receiving your certificate, you must take and pass the bar exam again. You will be admitted to the Bar in a court ceremony to be held in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia.

Reciprocity

According to Rule 204 of the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners, if you are licensed to practice law in another state, you may seek admission to the Pennsylvania Bar if you meet all of the requirements below:

You have a Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited law school
You are a member of the Bar of a reciprocal state (currently, states considered to be reciprocal to Pennsylvania include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming)
You have received a certificate of good standing from all jurisdictions in which you are licensed to practice law
You have practiced law in at least one state for at least five of the past seven years
You have never failed the Pennsylvania Bar Exam
You have passed the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE)

Step 5

You’re a Member of the Pennsylvania State Bar

Kudos to you on passing the Pennsylvania Bar Exam! As you can see from the passing statistics listed above, this is no easy task. You have proven that you can work hard and deserve a plum job as an attorney in Pennsylvania. But where do you want to work? Should you open your own practice? Join a small firm? Work for a larger conglomerate? The choices are endless in a state the size of Pennsylvania.

If you join a smaller firm or start an independent practice, you might want to join the Solo and Small Practice Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. This organization is especially designed for independent practitioners and smaller law firms, and publishes a quarterly newsletter on law office management, automation, technology, and more.

FIND SCHOOLS

Legal specialty certification

Some members of the Pennsylvania Bar choose to specialize in a legal area, serving a certain population. With proper training, experience and sometimes passing examinations, certifications for many legal specialties are approved by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, including:

Certified Elder Law Attorney, National Elder Law Foundation
Business Bankruptcy Attorney, American Board of Certification
Civil Trial Advocacy, National Board of Trial Advocacy
Criminal Law Trial Advocacy, National Board of Trial Advocacy

Requirements for maintaining license

Once you have your law license in Pennsylvania, you must maintain it by completing 12 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) each year. This includes a mandatory one hour of ethics courses. The rules and regulations that CLE must meet are listed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Continuing Legal Education Board.

Court Systems in Pennsylvania

The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania consists of:

Supreme Court: Pennsylvania’s highest court, hears about 2,500 civil and criminal appeals each year, holds sessions in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia
Superior Court: One of Pennsylvania’s two intermediate appellate courts, reviews criminal and civil case appeals from the Court of Common Pleas in all the state’s 67 counties. Appeals are held in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia
Commonwealth Court: One of Pennsylvania’s two intermediate appellate courts, jurisdiction limited to legal matters of state and local government and regulatory agencies. Held in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Pittsburgh.
Courts of Common Pleas: Pennsylvania’s trial courts that hear major criminal and civil cases. Organized into 60 judicial districts across Pennsylvania’s 67 counties
Magisterial District Courts: the first level of the judicial system in Pennsylvania. 544 magisterial judges preside over community courts throughout the state. Philadelphia has both a Magisterial Court and a Traffic Court, while Pittsburgh has a Municipal Court.

Elective membership organizations

Think about becoming a member of one of the following professional organizations for Pennsylvania lawyers:

2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Lawyers reflect national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed April 2023.