What exactly is a family lawyer and what does it take to become one?

how many years total would law school be? thank you

In the Philippine setting, there is no such thing as "specialization" unlike in the US or in other countries where the lawyers study and take the bar for a specific practice. You might be referring to a lawyer who "concentrates" in the practice of the family code and other related family and domestic relations law, especially with respect to adoption, annulment of marriages, declaration of nullity of marriage, legal separation, custody, support.

Law school requires that the enrollee be a Baccalaureate Degree holder, meaning you should have graduated a four year course at the very least. That four years already. If you are considering pursuit of legal education, and is about to enter college, I suggest that you take a Bachelor of Arts course like Philosophy, English, Political Science, Legal Management. Something which will require a lot of reading and will increase your vocabulary to adequately prepare you for any law school. Law School is another four years of school and one year for the review and taking the BAR EXAMS. All in all, if you are fresh out of high school, that is 9 more years AT LEAST.

I hope I answered your question quite clearly....

An attorney dealing with family law matters such as Divorce, emancipation or Minors in need of supervision...etc.

You go to law school and pass the bar exam to 'become one'.

A family attorney practices in the area of family law, ie; divorce, adoptions, custody cases. You have to go to law school and then once there you would pick an area to specialize in ie; tort law, family law, criminal defense, tax, real estate, probates/estates/trusts, business law etc.