Best major in undergrad for law career?

Many different majors will lend themselves well to the study of law, including:

English

History

Philosophy

Political Science

Business

If you are a highly dedicated student who is willing to focus on a difficult curriculum for four years, I highly recommend St. John’s College (Annapolis, MD and Sante Fe, NM) as superb preparation for law school.

If you can identify two or three law schools that you are interested in, you can contact their admissions office. Ask there if there are specific undergraduate majors that they believe are most helpful in preparing a student for law school.

DO NOT ask them which major is best. Ask them what majors BEST PREPARE a student for the curriculum and rigors of law school. Factor their input into your decision, but remember that if you don’t like what you are studying — if you don’t have an affinity for it or if you do not see its relevance in your life — you won’t do well in it; so while input from others is helpful, you should make a decision based on YOU and who YOU are.

Also consider calling or stopping in at a couple of law firms in your area. Tell the receptionist that you are a high school student who is interested in becoming a lawyer. Ask if there are any lawyers in the firm who might be willing to speak with you for 10 or 15 minutes. Have a list of questions ready, including your question about what majors would be helpful in best preparing you for law school.

There are a lot of good people out there, and I’m sure you will encounter one or two who are willing to share their knowledge and experience — so long as you are respectful of their time (that means ready with your questions, well-mannered, and keep to the 10 or 15 minutes that they agree to give you).

All the best to you!

What skills enable you to succeed in law school and as an attorney? You must be good at reading, writing (prose, not necessarily creative) and comprehension, think logically and critically, and notice details. While you can specialize in some areas of law that does not requires oral eloquence, some level of oral communication is necessary for success in law school.

What majors promotes development of the requisite skills? Law schools have essentially no prerequisites, as you can see from the LSAT (in contrast to MCAT, GMAT, etc.). Pretty much any major in liberal arts and sciences (and many others) can help develop your skills. As others have pointed out, it is much easier to teach law to a student with a science/technology undergraduate degree than to teach sci/tech to a lawyer, so if you a scientifically inclined, an undergraduate degree in sci/tech will keep more options open for you.

Visit a few colleges that interest you. Try to determine if a major at those particular colleges will help you develop the necessary skills. You may be surprised that there are great variations from college to college, and even from major to major within a college.

As to your corporate focus, that might be enhanced in many ways, including undergraduate major in business, accounting, or economics, or even masters degrees concurrently with your postgraduate law studies.

Okay lots of things have already been suggested. Let me offer something a little different. If you are strong in science and math, try majoring in engineering or chemistry. Then, when you have your BS degree, you can go for a career in patent law. That is a booming field and the litigators especially make huge bucks. Thus, one way to think about your college major is to think about having something that you can turn into a specialty. If you’re an accounting whiz, then major in economics, minor in history, and think about tax law. See what I mean?

PS Law schools love guys who have gotten degrees in physical science or engineering because they know how to think, they’ve survived real hard courses, they aren’t afraid of weird terminology, and they can solve problems.

Anything, it literally does not matter. But here is my advice, don’t go to law school without working in a law office and/or taking some law related classes in undergrad. Law school sucks, and about 60% of lawyers hate their jobs. Don’t do it because you think its cool or because you will make alot of money (most lawyers dont get paid all that much, and the ones that do have to work hundreds of hours a week so they don’t have the time to enjoy their money), do it because you really like the law.

Best Majors For Lawyers

Political science and government classes often are directly related to law; some of the classes may even be entitled “law.”

Most law is based upon precedent, so basically you are looking at history. Therefore, a background in history can be very helpful in teaching you to think like a lawyer.

You may want to consider specific aspets of law that can be combined with undergraduate studies. For instance, if you are interested in patent law, study engineering; for environmental law, study ecology, environmental science, or biology. You can study labor relations if you wish to get into labor law, while political science and international relations would be helpful for international law.

Having a CPA and a law degree can lead to a lucrative position, so accounting can be useful. Understanding the ins and outs of the corporate world can be helpful, so you might want to consider business administration or finance.

Law schools generally want well-rounded students, rather than a set undergraduate major. Law generally fits in with the liberal arts, rather than fine arts, engineering, science, business, or agriculture, but you could study any of these areas and still get into law school if you applied yourself.

My father, mother, and brother are all attorneys. I’ve worked for attorneys specializing in family, estate, personal injury, real estate, and corporate law. These attorneys have all recommended an English major for someone interested in the field. The reason? Most attorneys do a ton of reading and writing, and few majors offer a better opportunity to hone these skills. Additionally, the analysis required of an English Major is a good segue to the type of critical thinking required of an attorney.

The best major is what you want to do. Don;t choose a major just because of what people say. If you aren’t sure, remember you dont declare a major till the end of your freshman year or beginning of your sophomore at most schools. So take classes in various things to see what you are good at.

It used to be poli sci but any more that isn’t the case. I recommend a good old fashioned liberal arts program, with a minor in the subject you feel you would want to practice. I.E. if you are scientific, patent/trademark is a great area of law; if you are more analytic business and mergers acquisitions is a good area. The field is overloaded with litigation attorneys so try to pick a field other than that. Also, probate / estate is a great field.

good luck.

Lawyers need to be eloquent speakers who know how to present their points in clear and convincing ways. An English/History major would be good to prepare you to do this. If you want to be a corporate lawyer, I would take some finance classes or maybe have that as a second major