Legal Commentary

Advice to the Pre-Law Student

By Professor University of Miami School of Law

A college student writes asking for pre-law advice:

Hi. My name is —— ——- and I am a freshman at Framingham State College in Massachusetts. In my expository writing class we were assigned a paper in which we have to research our future career goals. A part of the requirement is a personal interview which can be done via email. At Framingham State I am an English major and I aspire to get my JD in law. I would like to be a criminal defense lawyer. If you have the time could you please respond to a few of my questions?

1. What are the most popular majors that apply to law school?
2. Which major do you feel would be the most useful/helpful?
3. What could I do in college that would help me get into the school?
4. What is the most challenging aspect of law school?
5. What would people be surprised to know about studying law or working in law?

I really appreciate if you could get back to me. The assignment is due October 1st.

Thank you,

—— ——-

So I replied. My answers are below; readers are invited to supply better answers so I can use them next time.

1. What are the most popular majors that apply to law school?

Popular doesn't mean “good” — it just means that many people who go to law school chose it. History and political science are very popular; law schools often prefer people with more diverse interests, however. [I didn't comment on the infelicity of the question. Maybe I should have given that the writer is an English major. Then again, s/he is only a Freshman, and it's early in the year.]

2. Which major do you feel would be the most useful/helpful?

Anything that teaches writing and logic is good. Anything with the word “pre” in its name is awful. Criminal Justice is an extremely poor choice too.

3. What could I do in college that would help me get into the school?

See http://law.tm/lawFAQ.htm#major where I wrote:

If you really want to be a good lawyer, I don't personally recommend majoring in anything directly related to law as an undergraduate, or even taking courses in it. That includes “Juvenile Justice”. Colleges always teach the stuff “wrong” from the point of view of a lawyer - maybe right from the point of view of a cop or probation officer or something, but wrong from the point of view of someone who needs to work with law rather than recite it. So you will start out behind the other students since you will have to 'unlearn' what you think you know. Really.

Far, far, better to major in something that teaches you about the world: history, economics, literature, math or even art. You will get all the law you need in law school - why waste college getting a 3rd-rate version of it? Why not get the stuff that makes you a well informed person, and thus a much better lawyer in the long run.

The only rule that over-rides the one above is: major in what you like best. Because ultimately you will get the best grades in what you like best, and grades count! A lot. A whole lot. Especially if you are not going to college at a very high prestige Ivy League or similar school.

If possible - it's not essential - I'd try to take the following courses at some point regardless of what you major in:

* two semesters of economics
* at least one Intro to Philosophy and/or Political Philosophy
* as much US history as you can stand (law is about context, and precedents must be understood in the context of their times)
* a course that covers the structure of the US political/governmental system

Big bonus points if you can manage a course in basic statistics.

I also very highly recommend you subscribe to a first-rate national newspaper and read it every day (your college may have a student discount deal). You will learn essential information about the political and legal system without even realizing how much you are learning. The New York Times is the best, but if your interests are more business oriented then the Wall St. Journal or the Financial Times are ok too. Local papers don't really have enough national and international news to cut it.

4. What is the most challenging aspect of law school?

It is a lot of work. You can't slack off like in college.

5. What would people be surprised to know about studying law or working in law?

1) The economics of it are not as good as they used to be: the hours are up, the pay is headed down.

2) Law is much more flexible than most people think - it's not just about looking up the rules and applying them.

Full post as published by Discourse.net on September 22, 2009 (boomark / email).