How to Be a Real Estate Attorney

By eHow Careers & Work Editor

I Did This Rate: (6 Ratings)

A real estate attorney involves the same educational background and level of difficulty as any other field of law. However, the benefits of becoming a real estate attorney are quite different. With a background in both law and real estate, your career and future opportunities are wide-open. Use these steps to learn a little more about what a real estate attorney does and how to become one.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Step1

Get into law school. This may sound as easy as applying to college, but it isn't. The odds of getting into law school are much lower. You have to apply to law school just as you did college. You also have to complete and score well on the LSAT (Law School Admission Test). You should have completed a degree in criminal justice, real estate, political science or business.

Step2

Work hard through law school and concentrate on the area of real estate. You can also take different law and economics courses which will help your knowledge of real estate and the law. Familiarize yourself with the real estate market in your area and see if you can spend some time with a mortgage broker or realtor to gain firsthand knowledge on how the field of real estate operates. You could even see about spending some time in a builder's sales office--anything to be around real estate and learn how it works. Ask if you could sit in on a home closing, too..

Step3

Get an internship. This is one of the most important things you can do for your career while you are still in school. Getting an internship will not only look great on your resume, it will give you an opportunity to work in real estate law and work into a job after graduation. If you can't find a position with a law firm, see if you can do odd jobs for a real estate office.

Step4

Polish your resume. Aside from a real estate law internship, there are many opportunities to build your resume during law school. Join political clubs, law reviews and be a part of other activities on campus.

Step5

Plan for life after graduation. If you have not done an internship with a real estate law firm, then you should still be looking for a place to go after graduation. Many firms like to hand-pick people out of law school and you need to be on the ball to be one of those people. Have a polished resume and outgoing personality.

Step6

Pass the bar. Each state requires law school graduates to pass the bar exam in their state before being allowed to legally practice law in that state. Each state is slightly different in their process and some states require testing in a multistate testing format. Visit the American Bar Association website for more specific information.