Juris Doctor

The Juris Doctor degree or Doctor of Law degree (J.D.), also known as the Doctor of Jurisprudence degree (D.Jur. or DJur), is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law. The degree is earned by completing law school in the United States, Canada, Australia, and other common law countries. Many who hold the degree of Juris Doctor are individuals who practice law and may choose to focus their practice on criminal law, tort, family law, corporate law, and/or a wide range of other areas.

To be authorized to practice law in the courts of a given state in the United States, the majority of individuals holding a J.D. degree must pass a bar examination. The State of Wisconsin, however, permits the graduates of its two law schools to practice law in that state, and in its state courts, without having to take its bar exam, a practice known as the "Diploma Privilege." In the United States, passing an additional bar exam is not required of lawyers authorized to practice in at least one state to practice in the national courts of the United States, courts commonly known as "federal courts." Lawyers must, however, be admitted to the bar of the federal court before they are authorized to practice in that court.