U.S. Presidents that Started off as Lawyers
Happy Presidents’ Day weekend! Did you know that over 50% of U.S. Presidents were lawyers before entering the Oval Office? Even though 26 U.S presidents had a legal background before becoming Commander in Chief, not all of them attended law school! According to the American Bar Association, two U.S. Presidents (Benjamin Harrison and William Howard Taft) became presidents of the American Bar Association after they served as POTUS.
Abraham Lincoln is one of the most well-known lawyer presidents, and yet, he never attended law school. During his time, most lawyers studied as apprentices; however, Lincoln was self-taught and then joined the Illinois Bar in 1836. He first practiced law in New Salem, Illinois. Lincoln then moved to the then-new capital of Springfield, Illinois to practice there. President Andrew Jackson was also a self-taught lawyer.
Many lawyer-presidents who were lawyers learned about the law from apprenticeships. Before James Monroe and Thomas Jefferson became presidents, Monroe started studying as an apprentice under Thomas Jefferson in 1870.
Out of the Presidents that went to law school, four graduated from Harvard Law school. The Harvard Law School graduates were John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Barack Obama. Even law school dropouts, Harry Truman and Theodore Roosevelt went on to become U.S. presidents. Truman withdrew from the University of Kansas City Law School but became a judge before being elected president. Therefore, although not being a lawyer, Truman had a legal background before his presidency. Roosevelt started at Colombia Law School but withdrew before completing his degree, and he did not continue a career in law.
If you want to see the full list of president-lawyers, check out the ABA’s article. If you would like to learn more about our experienced lawyers at Strellis and Field, take a look at their biographies here!
