Yes, I am aware of what JD stands for. Glad that we can agree that it's not really equivalent to a PhD.

A little known fact is that provided one can pass their local bar exam, they're still a lawyer/officer of the court, regardless of whether they attended law school or not.

It's not really a thing anymore, but historically a lot of lawyers served a kind of apprenticeship in lieu of law-school.

Abraham Lincoln is a great example, for instance.