Doctorate as A Lawyer: Interesting Facts About the Legal Dissertation
In contrast to some other subjects, it is not absolutely necessary to do a doctorate in law. If you have a doctorate, however, the chances and salaries are usually higher.
Law doctorate: useful or a waste of time?
Although the image of the doctorate has suffered somewhat in recent years due to plagiarism scandals, it is still highly regarded by graduates and employers. It is not only proof of an independent research contribution, but also testifies to perseverance and discipline. In view of the long duration of law studies and the subsequent legal clerkship, however, many lawyers wonder whether a doctorate is worthwhile for one’s own career.
Doctoral degrees for lawyers: when it makes sense
While a doctorate was once considered a prerequisite for a successful career, its value in professional life is more controversial today. Those who are striving for a career at the university can still not avoid a doctorate. However, if you want to become a lawyer, you usually do not need a doctorate. This is due, among other things, to the fact that there are many other career-promoting additional qualifications for lawyers. Specialist lawyer title or further training as a mediator, for example, help lawyers in their day-to-day work and in client acquisition. The LL.M. title is also very popular. Such a Master of Laws can either be acquired subject-related at a German university or as a foreign language legal qualification abroad.
Nonetheless, the doctorate is welcome in many industries. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that it is rare compared to other sciences: on average, only around 1,200 lawyers do their doctorate each year. Anyone who decides on a dissertation can look forward to a unique selling point compared to many colleagues. In the case of applications, doctorates will also be considered positively, especially if the candidate just missed the grade examination. A dissertation is therefore a popular way to improve the chances of getting your personal dream job as a judge or lawyer in a law firm.
In addition, a doctorate can also be associated with financial advantages. According to e-fellows.net, lawyers who have a doctorate earn an average of $ 14,000 more per year than their colleagues. There is a clear difference in the entry-level salaries in particular. Management consultancies, for example, reward a doctorate with a starting salary that is up to $ 30,000 higher.
Opportunities for a law doctorate without distinction
In order to meet the requirements for a doctorate in law, a successfully completed first state examination is required. As in many legal areas, the dream grade also plays a major role here. Since it is also possible to do a doctorate without a second exam, the grade of the first legal exam is usually decisive.
According to Forbes, however, only around 16 percent of the graduates achieve a “fully satisfactory” (nine points). When selecting their doctoral students, doctoral supervisors and mothers are therefore increasingly taking into account performance in the university’s focus area. So it is possible to do a doctorate in law even without a distinction. Those who fear not reaching the nine-point mark in the exam should also make contact with professors at an early stage. Anyone who has already worked at the chair of their possible supervisor during their studies also has a good chance of being admitted to a doctorate.
In addition to the university doctoral regulations, the admission criteria of the respective professor should also be observed. For example, some supervisors require that candidates have already written a seminar paper for them.
Financing options for a doctorate in law
Since you also have to make a living during your doctorate, financing is an important issue for many doctoral lawyers. Very few doctoral students can afford to only do a doctorate. That is why there are different models for reconciling employment and doctoral degrees, such as:
- The doctorate at the chair
- The doctorate alongside the job
- The use of a doctoral scholarship
- The use of student loans
- Doctorate at the chair
The classic way is to do a doctorate at the chair. Working as a research assistant also has other advantages: On the one hand, there is a great thematic reference to one’s own academic work and, on the other hand, there is easy access to the relevant specialist literature for specialization, such as bankruptcy attorney or criminal lawyer. As a rule, several doctoral students are employed at one chair at the same time, with whom a scientific exchange on one’s own topic is possible. In addition, the supervisor is available as a contact person at any time.
Doctorate alongside the job
Another popular option is to take part in a doctorate outside of the university. External doctoral students can, for example, work part-time as research assistants in a law firm. Those who have already passed the second state examination can also be employed as a lawyer. A job outside of the university usually offers the advantage of better remuneration. In addition, there may be the opportunity to get to know the scientific topic in practice.
Use of a doctoral scholarship or student loan
In addition to gainful employment, there are other ways to finance a legal doctoral thesis. Are particularly popular doctoral scholarships. They are awarded, for example, by the German National Academic Foundation or party-affiliated organizations. As a rule, the doctoral candidate receives monthly support for these doctoral grants. There are also grants that can be used to finance the printing of the law doctoral thesis. It should be noted, however, that a scholarship is only awarded to the very best candidates. Good grades alone are not enough – social commitment and internships are also taken into account.
Duration of the law doctorate
While many PhD students plan to complete a PhD within two years, the actual length of time depends on many different factors. Jobs besides the doctorate as well as family commitments influence the schedule the most. But the chosen topic itself can also ensure a quick or later conclusion. Those who have already dealt intensively with the legal field of their doctoral thesis during their studies have an advantage over those who have to familiarize themselves with it from scratch. The scope of the work also plays an important role: While some law doctorates are only a little more than 100 pages long, significantly more pages can be required for complex topics. As a rule, a doctorate in law will therefore take between one and five years to complete.
In addition to the time required for the writing itself, the further course of the doctoral procedure should also be taken into account. After a doctoral student has finished his or her thesis, it is read and critically examined by a first and a second reviewer. Since both are professors who have other responsibilities such as their own publications and lectures, this can take some time. This is followed by the disputation, the oral defense of the dissertation. Then doctoral students have to take care of the publication of the doctoral thesis. Because only after the publication can you obtain the doctorate “Dr. in law” official title.
The right time for a law doctorate
The question of how long a law doctorate takes is also linked to the question of when it is right. Those who do their doctorate after the first exam often have no family commitments. Immediately after graduation, many doctoral students also find it easy to maintain their simple student standard of living. In this way, you keep your expenses low and do not have to work so much besides the dissertation. In addition to this extra free time, the time pressure is also higher for a doctorate after the first exam, since the traineeship is still pending on the way to becoming a fully qualified lawyer. Many doctoral students do not want to start this too late because they fear that they will forget too much of what they have learned for the first exam for the second exam.
Those who do their doctorate after the second exam, on the other hand, do not feel this pressure. In addition, fully qualified lawyers can look back on seven or more years of legal training, which can be helpful for a doctorate. However, the need to finally earn money and get into professional life is very great for many and can mean that the motivation for a quick graduation is low. It is therefore not a general idea to say when is the best time for a law doctorate. The advantages and disadvantages of an early doctorate must therefore be weighed individually.
