J.d.

I called up one of the law schools in USA asking them if I graduated from their J.D can I use Dr. in front of my name? The answer is a clear cut "No".

 

It's jurisdiction dependent, and it has already been discussed at length in this thread with corresponding evidence cited. For example, the Michigan state bar association opinion was posted here. The rule in Michigan is that attorneys may use the title unless it's a case where it's misleading or inappropriate for some reason. Despite that, attorneys licensed in Michigan or teaching in law schools in Michigan do not use the title nonetheless. With regard to law schools, part of that probably has to do with the fact that some older professors have the LLB, and while some of them requested and had their LLB converted to a JD, not all professors did this. After most all LLB professors are retired or gone, I predict that law professors in the U.S. will start using the title, but probably not attorneys at large.

There are quite a number of doctoral degrees where a person will not ordinarily use the doctor title unless they're teaching. A classical musician with a D.M.A. will most likely never sign his name doctor or have people call him as such unless he takes a faculty position at some point. I mean, a small fraction of them will, but then a tiny percentage of attorneys do this, too.

 

If we follow this way of thinking and I decided to pursue a J.D. or a second academic doctorate that would be post doctoral work, because it followed my first doctorate. That is simply inaccurate. The first would simply be a first professional doctorate and the second would simply be another academic doctorate. Neither would officially be post doctorate work. I would have to be officially admitted to a post doctoral program. The same is true of a JSD or DDS. The first academic degree earned after the first professional doctorate is a master's degree. The Ph.D or JSD that follows is not post doctoral work, rather it is the first work on an academic doctorate.

 

No. You need to read more carefully. The first doctorate has to be a "prerequisite" for the degree coming after it, as in the case of both dentistry and law. It's not difficult to understand.

 

In the world of the community college, the law degree seems to grant license to its holder the right to be called "Doctor."

Personally, I feel the only people for whom using the title "doctor" seems appropriate is physicians, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, professors within the academic realm, and ministers with ThD or DivD. I don't really care if an attorney wants to be called "doctor"; it just seems silly to me.