Does a higher IQ make a better lawyer? It depends on who you ask. After all, there are many different skills a lawyer must possess to be successful. Attorneys need strong time management, research, and negotiating skills. They may have to multitask and remain calm under pressure. While certain high IQs may help, most lawyers land a position based on education, experience, and personality.
The reality in the legal profession is that your IQ matters, but how you use it matters the most. If you’re struggling with your law school grades, then focus on your “soft skills” such as presenting, writing, and networking. The assumption is that you have a high IQ and other qualities that set you apart.
How to become a lawyer?
Becoming a lawyer isn’t as simple as going to law school, obtaining your JD, and jumping right into the world of law practice. If you “only” have a law degree from an accredited law school, you are not eligible to practice law in the United States. You must first further your education by taking a few years of professional education, called a “year of standing,” before you can become a practicing attorney. The first year of standing is your opportunity to gain experience under the mentorship of a licensed attorney. This might include interning or clerking at a law firm or joining a large law firm as a paralegal. Once you’ve completed a year of standing, you can apply to take the bar exam and become licensed to practice law. However, there are a couple of things to consider before you take the bar exam.
Law school is hard. It is a degree we never thought we’d pursue many of us until, suddenly, we’re responsible for our LSAT scores and debt. The stress of law school can be overwhelming, so here are tips to help you get through it.
- Read, Read, And Read
Reading is essential for any college student, but while most find the act of reading in itself enjoyable, attending to and recalling what you’ve read supplies the meat of knowledge. The act of reading provides the most basic building block to knowledge, and the act of reading itself provides the building blocks of knowledge. Reading requires you to comprehend, remember, and apply what you have read, among other skills.
- Make Sure To Review Before Class
Review the reading notes (case briefs) right before class. That way, the cases will be fresh in your mind. You will substantially increase your ability to follow the class discussion (not to mention avoid the embarrassment associated with being unprepared when called on).
- Make Sure To Pay Attention In Class
Law school is one of the most challenging programs a student can choose to undertake. Students are expected to acquire a broad base of knowledge so they can function successfully as attorneys. Students achieve this goal by devoting long hours to study, labs, and tutorials. In addition, they are expected to complete many tasks during the term. This level of commitment requires stress resilience.
- Review Always
College is one of those times in life where learning about things—things that have very little relevance in the real world—becomes more prevalent. It’s a time when you learn about things like time management, test-taking, and presentation skills. However, these are not skills that are useful for the rest of your life. In fact, relying on them will only make this post-college transition harder. You thought you were done with finals, but you’ve had more on your plate. Your professor announced another exam. You answered every question the best you could, but you still ended up with a C on the exam. You still feel as if you were at your reading period, and you didn’t accomplish as much as you had hoped.
- Create An Achievable Study Plan
Plan in advance to have enough time in meeting all the law school’s demands and still have time to enjoy some outside activities.
What Is The Average IQ Of Lawyers?
High IQ and high emotional intelligence (EI) are desirable skills in some professions, such as law, but research shows that there are significant correlations between the two. While the correlation between IQ and EI is very strong, IQ and job success are not. Research shows that a high IQ does not guarantee high job success and that emotional intelligence is just as important. In fact, a study found EI to be more important than IQ for lawyers. Lawyers are one of the most intelligent professions, but they commonly struggle with EI skills such as listening and empathy. These findings have important implications for hiring lawyers and suggest that firms recognize that IQ and EQ are not mutually exclusive. Although high average IQ scores (in the 115-130 range) and low EI scores (85-95) are not uncommon in the legal profession, many people question the importance of the average IQ score in everyday life. Most of us don’t understand the impact that a 130 IQ score can have on everyday life, but in the legal profession, a 130 IQ score is a necessity.
Do You Need A High IQ To Be A lawyer?
Being a lawyer requires you to be very smart. It requires you to be a good communicator. It requires you to be able to think on your feet. It requires you to research any topic in a matter of seconds. It requires you to be able to argue your case in court. It requires you to have excellent people skills. It requires you to be able to work in a team. It requires you to be able to present your case with clarity. It requires you to be able to manage people. It requires you to be detail-oriented. It requires you to be organized. It requires you to have excellent time-management skills.
As you should know by now, getting into the best school for lawyers that you will have to be at to be a good lawyer places you at about the top five percent in IQ that places you at 130 to 145 range of IQ and work ethic of 90th percentile to boot.
If you thought only academically gifted people could become lawyers, think again. After all, only a handful of students get into top law schools each year, and even fewer pass the bar exam. So while it’s no guarantee you won’t face challenges as a first-year law student, it’s never too late to get focused and work your tail off. In fact, maybe it’s time you started even earlier than that. Unless you work hard, you won’t get a good education or graduate from law school.
