A lawyer is a person who practices law as an advocate, barrister, attorney, counselor or solicitor or chartered legal executive. The average lawyer makes about $136,260. In order to become a lawyer you have to graduate high school. You can study pretty much anything at an undergraduate level in order to become a lawyer. Your undergraduate degree can potentially affect your specialty as a lawyer later on. Certain degrees, like political science, journalism, philosophy, and business, obviously have a much more broad reach than degrees like biology or supply chain management. Once you get into law school, you obviously need to graduate. It typically takes three years of schooling to obtain your juris doctor degree, but it can sometimes take up to four years.