If you want to be a lawyer, you may

If you want to be a lawyer, you may want to consider following in the steps of Abraham Lincoln. Instead of going to law school, Lincoln taught himself through reading the law. He later successfully applied to the state bar of Illinois. While completing law school and being admitted to a state bar is almost always a pre-requisite for practicing law, there's a way to become a lawyer without going to law school. In California, Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming and Washington state, you can "read the law" by serving as an apprentice for a practicing attorney or judge - and completing the process and testing required to pass the state bar. If you want to pursue this alternative route to a legal education, here's how to get started.