Although the legalities of education are not widely discussed, many students, parents, and educational institutions actually benefit from the efforts of education lawyers worldwide. Education lawyers make sure that various laws concerning equal education opportunities, school functions, and quality education provisions are followed accordingly. (1) If you wish to pursue a career as an education lawyer, what you will need is an education law degree.
Earning an education law degree actually involves taking education law courses as part of legal education. Since education lawyers are practicing attorneys, they will need to enroll in a good law school and obtain a professional law degree called the Juris Doctor degree (J.D. degree). The Juris Doctor degree usually takes three to four years of intensive legal study on various law theories and their applications in real-life situations. (2) Prospective education lawyers take Juris Doctor degree programs after a three or four-year college education where they earn a bachelor’s degree. Since education would be the highlight of their law practice, prospective education lawyers may want to have a bachelor’s degree in education as a framework of their future legal profession.
After earning a Juris Doctor degree, it may be necessary for practicing education lawyers to obtain another education law degree called Master of Laws degree in Education Law. The Master of Laws degree (or MSL degree) involves an advanced legal study for one year, which allows practicing lawyers to have an in-depth knowledge on specific aspects of law, such as education law, intellectual property rights law, and administrative law. (3) As such, it provides a perfect opportunity for practicing education lawyers to improve their legal knowledge and effectively project credibility.
A law career becomes even more meaningful when practicing lawyers decide to become education lawyers. For more information on education law degree programs, make sure to contact the law school of your choice and ask for information regarding curriculum and admission requirements.
(1) http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/oea/lawsrule.html
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juris_Doctor
(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LL.M.