You said: Wait a minute. You're a lawyer if you graduate from law school. You get admitted to the bar in your state and can practice law if you pass the bar exam. I think it's fair for him to say he's a lawyer if he graduated from law school; he should just not say that he is a practicing attorney.
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I have to disagree. If you graduate law school you are a law school graduate. You can put JD after your name (if you are lame). A lawyer is someone who practices law, and to do that you must pass the bar exam and be admitted to practice.
If I took a plumbing course at a technical school and passed it, I couldn't call myself a plumber unless I had a license.
Now, being a JOURNALIST is different, since there is no license required. All you have to do is write stuff-- I don't think you even have to be published.