How to Become a Child Advocate Lawyer

Obtain your Bachelor’s degree. You cannot get into an ABA (American Bar Association) accredited law school without obtaining a Bachelor’s degree. Law schools are not concerned with your major, but they do tend to prefer majors that include a lot of writing and reading. The most important thing about your undergraduate degree is to keep your grades up. Law School Admissions is extremely competitive. ^[4] If you want to advocate for children, however, you may want to focus your major on a subject matter involving children and/or child development. Some programs that may help you in your career include:

• Child development
• Psychology
• Social work
• Early childhood education

Take the LSAT. To get into law school, you must take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). You will want to take this no later than December of your senior year of undergraduate school. You can take it earlier if you like. Your score is valid for five years, and you want to give yourself ample opportunity for a retake if you have a low score.^[5]

• The exam is offered four times a year.
• You must register with LSAC (Law School Admissions Council) to take the LSAT.
• The LSAT is a half-day test in multiple-choice format with an unscored essay at the end of the exam
• You can take an LSAT preparation class before. taking the exam

Apply to law schools. To be a child advocate lawyer, you must be a lawyer. To be a lawyer, you must go to law school. Most states will only allow you to take the bar exam and admit you to practice if you attend an ABA-accredited law school. Some of the things ABA-accredited law schools consider when deciding what students to admit include:^[6]

• Undergraduate GPA
• Score on the Law School Aptitude Test (LSAT)
• Your personal history

Attend law school. While attending law school, there will be certain required coursework. When selecting your electives, you will want to choose courses that have to do with children. These courses may include juvenile delinquency, dependency and neglect, family law, and domestic violence. In addition, take part in your school's family law clinic. A clinic will help you gain real-world experience dealing with family law issues, which includes issues surrounding child advocacy. Before choosing a law school, check with them to ensure they offer this type of clinic. Some great schools that offer family law clinics include:

• Boston College;
• the University of California, Berkeley School of Law;
• The University of Chicago Law School;
• Cornell Law School;
• Emory University School of Law; and
• Harvard University Law School.

Take the MPRE. Most states require all prospective attorneys to take and pass the MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination). Most people take it in their second year of law school, but you can take it at any time before being admitted to the bar.^[7]

• The MPRE is a two-hour multiple-choice exam covering ethics and professional responsibility
• The MPRE is given three times per year, and you must register with NCBE (National Conference of Bar Examiners) to take the exam
• Many bar exam preparation courses offer free programs to study for the MPRE
• Some states require that you also take a professional responsibility course before admission to the bar.

Apply for admission to your state bar. Every state has its requirements for admission to the bar (getting your license to practice law). Some states encourage early applications by providing a discounted fee to students who apply in their first year of law school. This allows the bar examiners to conduct a thorough background check (character and fitness examination) while you are in school. Almost all states bars require that you apply for admission before being allowed to sit for the bar exam. Common requirements for admission include:^[8]

• Graduating from an ABA-accredited law school
• Passing the MPRE
• Passing the state bar exam
• Passing the character and fitness examination

Pass your state bar exam. With few exceptions, you will be required to pass the bar exam in your state before being allowed to practice law. The exam is given in February and July of every year. Each state determines the contents of the bar exam, but they tend to include:

• The multistate exam: This part of the exam tests laws, theories, and practices common in every state. Where the states are not the same, the test focuses on the law as it applies in most states. The format is multiple choice.
• The state exam: This part of the exam tests laws, theories, and practices specific to the state you are testing. It frequently includes both a multiple choice and an essay portion.
• The practical exam: This part of the exam tests your ability to perform based on the laws, theories, and practices in the state in which you are testing. You may be required to draft a legal document, summarize a course of action, or do other tasks of a legal nature.

Take part in informational interviews. During informational interviews, you will have an opportunity to have a conversation with someone in the divorce law field who will hopefully be able to give you information and advice.^[9] To conduct an effective informational interview:

• Find people to interview. Call, email, or send letters to people in the family law field that interest you.^[10] When you do so, tell them a bit about yourself and why you are contacting them.^[11] Also, prepare several open-ended questions to ask the person as well.^[12] When you talk to them, ask them about a convenient time to meet them in person or to have a conversation over the phone.^[13]
• Conduct the informational interview. When it is time to conduct the informational interview, dress professionally and be prepared.^[14] Tell the person about yourself and why you are conducting the interview.^[15] Ask them questions regarding their career path and how you might be able to get started.^[16] Show genuine interest and take notes if you need to.^[17]
• Follow-up. Once the interview is complete, follow up and thank the person for their time.^[18] Also, follow-up with any contacts given to you during the informational interview.^[19]

Work out an arrangement to rent office space. Talk to divorce attorneys in your geographical location and discuss the possibility of renting office space from them. As a part of these discussions, be willing to take the attorney's overflow caseload, be able to make court appearances for them, and pay them a referral fee for cases you get paid for.

• These types of arrangements are common and can often be mutually beneficial. While you get a place to work and some initial cases, the other attorney gets to save time by passing on unwanted cases.

Apply for jobs with child advocacy organizations. Many groups, often non-profit groups, specialize in providing child advocacy. Individual organizations will tend to focus on different issues that impact children. Often, volunteers are hired before outside applicants are considered. Some of these organizations include:^[20]

• Organizations who provide legal services, such as guardians ad litem, for children involved in dependency and neglect proceedings (abuse, foster care, etc.)
• Organizations that provide services for children whose rights have been violated in schools and other required programs
• Organizations that provide services for child victims involved in criminal proceedings

Apply for jobs with state agencies. Many state agencies provide legal services for children. Consider applying with agencies such as:^[21]

• The Department of Children’s Services maintains foster care and legal services for children involved in dependency and neglect proceedings.
• The Office of the Public Defender provides legal defense services for minors involved in the juvenile delinquency system.
• While not always child advocacy, attorneys employed by the Board of Education, Departments of Public Health, and other divisions of government also deal with issues that affect children.

Register with your local court. Some courts maintain a list of attorneys available to be appointed in cases for various issues. Check with the clerk of court to see if your court maintains such a roster and what the requirements are to be placed on it. Once you are on that list, you will be contacted when the court needs your assistance.^[22]