Guide to Finding Greenville Lawyer

What is a Greenville Lawyer?

A Greenville attorney is certified to practice law within the state of South Carolina and may or may not attend one of South Carolina’s two law schools. There are a number of steps a Greenville lawyer must take in order to receive proper certification to practice law within the state, and the first step involves attending an accredited undergraduate college or university. An undergraduate who is interested in law may in fact major in pre-law and minor in any number of related subjects. However, because law schools are required to admit a quota of students from outside majors (and often like to anyway), an undergraduate student may choose to major in any degree of subjects from business or economics to English and history.

The next step to becoming a lawyer and possibly practicing around the Greenville area includes attending an accredited law school within the United States or even the state of South Carolina. A large percentage of lawyers who attend law school in South Carolina will go on to practice law within the same state, but not always. The reason why many lawyers go on to practice within the same state will be explained later in the article.

South Carolina Bar Exam

After attending law school, a student with a newly acquired J.D. will choose to take the S.C. bar exam if they choose to possibly practice within the state and/or Greenville. Before taking the exam, however, a student must take any number of tests and submit applications:

• One of these tests includes the MPRE, or Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination. The exam tests an individual’s knowledge of ethical procedures within the legal profession, and a student who wishes to take the bar exam must pass the exam with a score of 77.

• A prospective Greenville lawyer in South Carolina must also undergo a “moral screening process” that is overseen by the South Carolina State Bar Association. The screening process may also be overseen by the American Bar Association in some cases as well. The hopeful student and prospective Greenville lawyer must submit their fingerprints for a federal background check and name any number of professional and personal references the bar association may contact. The screening process investigates whether the prospective Greenville lawyer has shown honesty and helped within their home and school community, shown values and trustworthiness within former workplaces, and if the person has a good financial standing.

If the prospective Greenville lawyer showcases good ethical standards within the “moral screening” process, they can now go on to take the bar exam within South Carolina. The bar exam lasts for three days and contains the following sections:

1) The Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) which consists of multiple choice questions and six essays.

2) The South Carolina Bar which consists of multiple choice questions and essay questions as well. The essay questions target the following subjects:

• Business Law

• Civil Procedure

• Commercial Law

• Domestic Relations

• Equity

• Insurance

• Legal Writing & Research

• Trial Advocacy

• Wills

• Trusts and Estates

Once a prospective lawyer passes the bar exam, they are now certified to practice law within the state of South Carolina. As mentioned above, many law students who study within the state of South Carolina will go on to practice within the same state, and oftentimes the attorney has a private practice.

Greenville Lawyer : Why do most SC law students stay in the state?

Lawyers around Greenville and the rest of the state often attend law school within the same state because there are very few law schools. In fact, there are only two law schools in South Carolina. The two schools are the University of South Carolina School of Law and the Charleston School of Law.

University of South Carolina School of Law

The law school enrolls the most students within the state. The school is only ranked 87th within the United States, and many of the graduates face unemployment issues as they come out of law school. Since the school has only limited ratings and advantages given to students, the graduates only have a limited amount of options. However, the university usually enrolls a large number of Pro Bono Greenville lawyer who are often well known for their services and often go on to establish their own private practice.

Charleston School of Law

Almost all graduates from this law program go on to practice in the state of South Carolina because the program wasn’t even listed as an accredited law institution until August of 2011. However, the program is gaining strength as an institution within the state and receiving recognition from the rest of the country.

If you are looking for an outstanding Greenville lawyer, it’s always a good idea to hire a Greenville lawyer who has graduated from a highly ranked law school in the United States and decided to take the South Carolina bar exam. However, the education of a Greenville lawyer doesn’t necessarily reflect the level or his or her capabilities. The two law programs within the state provide very affordable tuition to in-state students. Additionally, a Greenville lawyer who has grown up and attended law school within the state their whole life is practically guaranteed to be thoroughly knowledgeable about state law and unique, local laws.

What are good resources to help me find an outstanding lawyer?

There are a number of lawyer organizations around the state of South Carolina, and some associations specifically target the Greenville area. Below is a list of some organizations you may want to refer to when looking for a lawyer:

• South Carolina Bar Association

• Greenville Country Bar Association

• South Carolina Association for Justice

• South Carolina Defense Trial Attorneys’ Association

The above associations are only some of the programs you can refer to when looking for a Greenville lawyer in or outside the Greenville area. If you have a specific Greenville lawyer in mind, you may want to refer to the state’s official lawyer request association.