![]() ![]() In Formal Opinion 183, decided May 10, 1938, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility held that “it would be improper for a lawyer to place upon” a professional letterhead “any degree conferred” because “it would serve no purpose other than to advertise the qualification of the lawyer,” according to the San Diego County Bar Association. The American legal profession’s reluctance for law degree holders to advertise or utilize their degree in advertising has added to the challenge and current confusion as to the appropriateness of the term for JD holders. Even now, the continental countries of Europe continue to award the doctorate degree in law and utilize that honorific title. Interestingly, the first time that the doctorate degree was ever bestowed in any profession was in Bologna, Italy, in the 12th century and was awarded in civil law and then in canon law, medicine, grammar and other fields. ![]() Nevertheless, the American tradition that JD degree holders should not use the prefix “Dr.” persisted. “Between 19, at the encouraging of the American Bar Association, most American law schools … upgraded their basic law degree from the traditional” LLB to JD “to reflect the (by then) almost-universal postgraduate status of the degree,” according to a 2012 blog post from the Marquette University Law School. The mid-20th century saw a change in law school education with the law degree primarily becoming a graduate degree that required a four-year bachelor’s degree as a prerequisite for law school entry. In 1903, the University of Chicago Law School, which was one of five law schools then demanding a college degree from its applicants, first conferred the JD on its graduates. The awarding of the JD degree was first suggested by the Harvard Law School faculty in 1902, but the proposal did not meet with university approval. The evolution of the JD as a graduate degree was deliberated throughout most of the 20th century. Harvard University first awarded the LLB in 1820 as an undergraduate degree. Part of the challenge of perception with JDs using the title “Dr.” is that at one point, the American law degree was considered a bachelor of laws, or LLB. History of the JDĪ juris doctor or a doctorate in jurisprudence is a three-year professional degree historically known for its considerable intellectual rigor. In America, among those with earned doctorates, only juris doctors are not afforded the courtesy of the title “Dr.” Understanding the history of this degree could be helpful in determining whether there should be a change in protocol. Since the JD is a doctorate, the appropriate title for clergy who have a JD should be “the Rev. While on a planning committee to be the keynote speaker for a Martin Luther King commemoration a few years ago, my title of “pastor” was used along with the suffix “Esq.” A sitting judge on the committee took umbrage with this combination and made it known. This includes those who attended seminary, as well as those who have received this title from the full spectrum of institutions and honorary doctorates proliferate. I am also an ordained minister, and the term “Dr.” is increasingly used by clergy, as well. So began my ongoing exploration of the term “Dr.” And through that exploration, I have come to challenge the assumptions of not using the title for those whose terminal degree is the JD. At the elevator after the meeting, one of participating attorneys snidely asked me whether I had another terminal degree besides the doctorate in jurisprudence. ![]() One of my students, who was also an administrative assistant for a local judge, referred to me as “doctor” one day in her judge’s outer chamber while scheduling a hearing. It never occurred to me, however, that lawyers would use the title "Dr." until a few years after graduating from law school, when I accepted an adjunct position at a local college while also practicing law. I have been a practicing lawyer since 1988, and I’m acutely aware of the interesting and curious dance that attorneys have with how to be addressed professionally, particularly in academic settings. ![]()
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