what major do i need to be a lawyer

I'll meet you in courtroom. ... I mean class.

And then you want to be a lawyer. Y'all're flipping through your schoolhouse's undergraduate grade catalogue and looking for classes to start your career.

Having trouble finding the law courses? Well, they're probably not there.

Law is one of the rare fields that doesn't require students to complete a set form of study for  acceptance into an advanced degree program. And while a few undergraduate schools offer prelaw tracks, some experts urge students to avoid them.

While no major is off the tabular array for a budding law student, some better prepare students for the challenges of law school and teach the blazon of skills needed for success in the field.

Here are seven majors for the lawyers of tomorrow, all recommended by the lawyers of today.

Business concern

A business major is a swell selection for those who are entrepreneurial-minded. Students interested in corporate law might find that classes in management and economics are well-suited to their postgraduation career needs. Give-and-take of alert, business organisation majors should be careful not to focus solely on the fundamentals. Electives in the humanities and liberal arts are critical in society to flex their analytical and critical thinking muscles, too.

Common classes: communications, economic science, ethics, direction, and marketing.

Skills y'all'll larn: communication, leadership, and project planning and management.

Why it's adept for aspiring lawyers:

Boris Lavent, founding partner of Lavent Police force

Sometimes a caste seemingly unrelated to the law is the best choice. I'd urge prospective lawyers to consider getting a business organisation caste, or better yet, a degree in business organization administration.

Run your own business firm. Setting upwards and running your ain law business firm gives yous the liberty to exercise law when and where you'd like. Yous're in command. Having a business degree can be incredibly helpful equally you not only practice the constabulary, but run a business concern. Yous'll exist prepared to manage personnel, handle firm finances, and prepare yourself up for success.

Business organization classes teach you invaluable analytical skills. Law is all about analysis and argument. You lot have to be able to place an issue, analyze the problem, and develop a persuasive argument. One could argue that this is exactly what business is all well-nigh. When you're in business school, you'll get a crash course in negotiation and persuasion. You'll learn how to blueprint a proposal and statement to get a desired outcome. When you're representing your clients, these skills volition be incredibly beneficial.

Criminal Justice / Criminology

Criminal justice is the identification and explanation of criminal beliefs patterns. Criminology is the report of law-breaking and can be applied through criminal justice. Students of these majors study offense, criminals, and the criminal justice system. These majors are popular choices for those interested in law because of the foundational knowledge gained of criminal offense and police. Be certain to stand up out with a specialized focus or electives in the hard sciences.

Mutual classes: criminal justice, criminal law, methods of research, statistics, U.South. court systems, and victimology

Skills you'll learn: critical thinking, investigative abilities, and effective exact and nonverbal communication

Why it'due south practiced for aspiring lawyers:

Eric Trabin, managing member at the Trabin Constabulary Firm

Criminology majors volition learn nearly the history of criminal justice, constabulary practices, constitutional rights, and the functions of the legal system. A criminology major will graduate with a thorough agreement of how the criminal court system is designed and operates, while also possessing a central agreement of the theories on causes and solutions of crime. This knowledge will be critically useful during negotiations with opposing counsel, court arguments, or hearings dealing with the police.

Economics

An economics major spends a lot of fourth dimension summarizing big amounts of quantitative data. This is great grooming for law school as an econ major will be well-prepared to sort data and evidence in order to build a case backed by prove. As a bonus, econ majors will be familiar with the economical policies and procedures that lawyers encounter in their cases.

Common classes: econometrics, mathematics, macroeconomics, microeconomics, and statistics

Skills you'll larn: how to seek out testify to support claims, draw conclusions, make recommendations, present findings, and explain complex data

Why it's good for aspiring lawyers:

Michael Dye, founder at the Police Offices of Michael A. Dye, PA

My undergrad caste is in economics. I was the only person that I know that had an econ degree and I did well, but econ is non a hard science despite the fact that it is pretty difficult compared to other social sciences. I think that an [undergraduate caste] in econ would be a skilful indicator of ability to succeed in law school, but it might just be me.

I saw an interesting pattern in the instance of my friends and my classmates. The individuals with an undergraduate caste that involved a substantial amount of belittling/disquisitional thinking seemed to perform much better in law schoolhouse than those who had other majors.

So difficult scientific discipline, engineering, economic science, yes!

Brady McAninch, partner at Hipskind & McAninch, LLC

Math is i of the few areas of study where critical thought underlies everything. This is a peachy way to develop those skills that you will need in law and in practise.

English

Lawyers must be well-versed with the English language as they spend a lot of their time researching, writing, and speaking in court. English majors will learn how to analyze and synthesize large bodies of text, developing a command of written and exact language (sometimes more than one).

Common classes: artistic writing, English language literature, and foreign language

Skills you'll learn: how to analyze different types of texts, write thorough and concise summaries that justify ideas, and communicate tactfully

Why information technology'south expert for aspiring lawyers:

Michele Mirman, founder and senior partner at Mirman, Markovits and Landau, PC

In truth, any undergraduate degree tin can assistance to set a student who aspires to be an attorney. I found that my English degree has been exceptionally helpful throughout my legal career. Why? The law is an art. In social club to main that fine art, it helps to have a house grasp on the English language language and an expansive vocabulary. It's of import to know how to bend and manipulate language to my benefit. As an English major, I dedicated a lot of time to reading, analyzing, and writing. I learned to step back, assess a story I was told, and call back outside the box. In reality, I was honing skills that are critical for any practicing chaser. Even though my degree was not necessarily substantively relevant to my legal exercise, the skills I acquired in my studies take proven to exist invaluable.

Philosophy

Is at that place a more "prelaw school" major than philosophy? It'southward no surprise that students majoring in philosophy swoop deep into logic, ethics, and morality, which are all large, existential questions relevant to the written report and do of law.

Common classes: epistemology, ethics, logic, metaphysics, and moral and political philosophy

Skills yous'll acquire: how to debate, present arguments, and do research to support a case

Why it's good for aspiring lawyers:

David Reischer, CEO of LegalAdvice.com

A philosophy major is skilful discipline to study for future lawyers because a student of 'philosophy' volition learn how to analyze arguments and organize their thoughts into coherent and cogent ideas. These students will learn how to follow the rules of logic when making arguments besides every bit how to accept the opposite side of an argument and question the bounds and assumptions that support a conclusion. This type of grooming is important for an aspiring lawyer because learning how to understand the inner mechanics of how to contend and think outside of the box are of import qualities in a future lawyer.

Brady McAninch, partner at Hipskind & McAninch, LLC

Philosophy merges history with assay. It is the most like to what you will go far a law school classroom. The Socratic method of teaching, which is used in the majority of law schools, is very akin to how most philosophy courses are taught.

Political Science

Political science majors should exist prepared to study political systems, public policy, and the relationship betwixt types of regime and the law. This major is probably the closest to a law school curriculum in undergrad that a student will notice.

Common classes: American political systems, early and modern political thought, principles of economic science, law, politics, and justice, and enquiry methods

Skills yous'll larn: how to research, analyze data and documents, and write a case study

Why it's good for aspiring lawyers:

Jim Yeargan, owner and founding partner of Yeargan & Kert, LLC

Immature adults who desire to become lawyers should consider majoring in political science in college. With a political science caste, you lot'll get a solid foundation in how the government is structured, how laws work, and who has power. These are all critical if you lot want to work in the police force.

When I was in college, my political science classes fostered keen conversations and debates, which helped me to hone skills that have been invaluable to me as an attorney. I learned to place an issue, analyze important data, and generate a thought-out and reasoned argument. Since my discussions were somewhat tied to the constabulary, I feel equally though that provided me with a great foundation for law school.

In law school, I was able to build on what I'd cultivated as a political science major in higher.

Psychology

Psychology is the study of human behaviors and this major gives students insight into the homo psyche. For example, students might apply their psych studies to criminal cases, questioning how human being fault could peradventure pb to wrongful convictions or how innocent people sometimes make incorrect judgments.

Mutual classes: biological psychology, history of psychology, neuroscience, sensation and perception, and social psychology.

Skills you'll acquire: abstract reasoning, interpersonal skills, and research ethics.

Why information technology'south good for aspiring lawyers:

Meredith Atwood, former attorney and founder of Swim Bike Mom

The best majors for aspiring lawyers will be in the realm of human being beliefs, public speaking, and writing. The practice of law is essentially the pursuit and communication of justice and conflict resolution, so any training in communication will exist central to winning cases, treatment clients, and more.

Psychology is powerful because it will help in all aspects: dealing with clients, helping in mediation, and understanding behaviors and experts.

Bottom Line

For students considering a career in police force, some majors are a reliable source of the skills and knowledge central to the profession. All the same, no major will guarantee a law school acceptance letter — and no major will disqualify a student, either. No matter what major students ultimately choose, a high undergraduate GPA and killer LSAT score will boost their chances of gaining comprisal to a elevation-tier program, and from their, securing a position at a firm and launching their career.

Article contributors

Meredith Atwood is a former attorney, founder of Swim Bike Mom, and 4x IRONMAN triathlete. She is likewise the host of the podcast, The Same 24 Hours, and is an author of "Triathlon for the Every Adult female," and upcoming, "The Year of No Nonsense."

Michael Dye was awarded a bachelor of science from the College of Business Administration with a concentration in economics from Gardner-Webb University in 1998. Dye enrolled at Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Schoolhouse in 2000. While there, he was a fellow member of the Law Journal and authored an article examining various provisions of the North American Complimentary Merchandise Agreement and the respective effects on the economies of Mexico and the United States. Upon graduating and passing the Florida bar exam, Dye accepted employment at a nationwide securities litigation and arbitration firm. In 2004, Dye opened his own practice primarily focusing on criminal defence force.

Boris Lavent, a graduate of the University of Chicago School of Constabulary, is the founding partner of Lavent Police force in Miami, FL. Since opening the business firm in 2014, he has been committed to helping accident victims assert their rights and obtain the money they deserve.

Brady McAninch was born in Alton, Illinois, and has lived in the St. Louis metropolitan expanse for almost of his life. McAninch graduated magna cum laude from Southern Illinois University School of Constabulary and clerked for Judge Catherine D. Perry, Chief Gauge for the United States District Courtroom for the Eastern District of Missouri. After law school, he immediately went to work as a trial lawyer for some of St. Louis' preeminent ceremonious litigation firms. During that time, he litigated numerous cases and was responsible for managing litigation on behalf of a Fortune 100 Company in both Illinois and Missouri. He co-founded Hipskind and McAninch, LLC, with his law partner, John Hipskind, in 2015. Since and so, the two have spent most of their time litigating personal injury cases in the St. Louis metropolitan expanse.

Michele S. Mirman is a nationally-recognized trial chaser with more than twoscore years of experience representing accident victims across New York City. She is the founder and senior partner at Mirman, Markovits and Landau, PC.

David Reischer, Esq., is an attorney and CEO of LegalAdvice.com. Reischer is a New York business attorney who was admitted to the bar in New York in 2004 and specializes in real estate, mortgages, finance, and general tax and estate planning police. He is committed to the traditions of client service, professional evolution, and community involvement, while embracing the innovations driving the legal profession in the 21st century.

Eric J. Trabin grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida. After graduating from Suncoast Community High School in the International Baccalaureate programme, he was accustomed to the Honors Program at the University of Florida, where he received his undergraduate degree with a major in criminology and a small in philosophy in 2003. He remained there to receive his JD in 2006. He currently practices criminal defense force and family police force in primal Florida with an office in Maitland.

Jim Yeargan, a sometime DUI prosecutor, is the owner and founding partner of Yeargan & Kert, LLC in Atlanta, GA. "DUI Jim," as he is known to most in the community, has more than 15 years of experience handling DUI cases.

kahleofeen1939.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.opploans.com/oppu/college-resources/best-majors-for-lawyers/

Share this post