Best major for law school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone in my family is a lawyer. You can major in anything. Psychology, Spanish, drama, journalism, accounting, economics, English, art history, advertising, biology, computer science, etc.

+1
I was an accounting major and went to law school.

What kind of law do you do now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD is interested in going to law school. Was previously marketing major but switching now but doesn’t know which one will be good for a high gpa but also good preparation to get into a t14 law school preferably. Any advice? She is going into her sophomore year of college

Well, what interests her? That's the question. The major in that.

You can go in a lot of different directions with a law degree, depending on your interest. What interests you in undergrad will probably also interest you in law school. So an accounting major may become a tax attorney. A science major may become a patent attorney. An English major may become an appellate litigator because they like to write. Etc.

[Anonymous]

Does where you go to law school even matter anymore?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one that gets you a 4.0.

And if STEM, so much the better.

Preferably EE or Comp E.

Or chem or biology, but only if your willing to get an MS too

+1 esp. on the EE. Great for patent law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one that gets you a 4.0.

And if STEM, so much the better.

Preferably EE or Comp E.

Or chem or biology, but only if your willing to get an MS too

+1 esp. on the EE. Great for patent law.

It doesn't matter for patent litigation and patent prosecution is becoming a commoditized field

[Anonymous]

If you want to join the patent bar, you have to have certain undergraduate majors.
There's a list here on page 3: https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/OED_GRB.pdf
On page 4, there is a list of requirements for coursework if you didn't qualify by major.

If you want to do tax law, accounting and business is useful.

Otherwise, any major is fine. Do something that helps you think and write and read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Philosophy with an emphasis on logic could be helpful. But I had a theater major and everywhere that I applied loved that for some reason. So she should follow a passion if she has one.

I have to ask Colin how do you know they “loved” it? Simply because they accepted you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does where you go to law school even matter anymore?

Absolutely yes. You obviously know less than zero about law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone in my family is a lawyer. You can major in anything. Psychology, Spanish, drama, journalism, accounting, economics, English, art history, advertising, biology, computer science, etc.

OP here. I should add that she isn’t a math or science person at all so would poly sci be a good option?

At the very least she should choose a major that leads to a career path, just in case she chooses not to go to law school. Poly sci isn't a great choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fashion Merchandising

Ha! With an "A" in History of Polka Dots!

Degrees in fields followed by work experience in those field always help. It's easier to serve a client if you understand their business

[Anonymous]

Why does the kid want to go to law school? What type of law do they want to practice? The answers to those questions should provide insight into what kind of major they should pursue.

[Anonymous]

The people I knew from law school who were most sought after and advanced the fastest where the ones with prior experience in the area they wanted to practice (the most niche, the better). The two I know who made partner first were a CPA coming from a big 4 who did tax law and a military contracting officer who went into government contracts. I'm sure Harvard and Yale were different, but at GW

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Everyone in my family is a lawyer. You can major in anything. Psychology, Spanish, drama, journalism, accounting, economics, English, art history, advertising, biology, computer science, etc.

+1
I was an accounting major and went to law school.

What kind of law do you do now?

NP, but DH was an accounting major (practiced accounting as a CPA for a few years) -- he is now a tax litigator. That's how we met, at work. I studied theater undergrad but fell in love with tax in law school.

[Anonymous]

A major which involves a lot of close reading and concise writing, such as history or philosophy. Accounting if interested in tax law.

[Anonymous]

The best advice I got in college (knowing that I wanted to go to law school) was major in what you love so you’ll get the best possible grades. I did and majored in US History. Graduated with honors.

But here’s my advice (as a lawyer): only go to law school if you have a real PLAN for what you’re going to do with it, how you’re going to pay off your debt, etc. Don’t just expect that you’ll go work for a big firm and make partner and make lots of money and love it. That rarely happens. Have an alternative plan.

Or, truly, major in what you love, earn the great GPA, and then you’ll have tons of options for graduate school and career paths. Which may or may not include law school.