<p>I am interested in applying to law school after my undergrad studies at Berkeley. I know you have to have a good GPA and LSAT scores, etc but was wondering what characteristics will make someone a successful lawyer. For example, I don't enjoy reading something like Crime and Punishment or particularly "love" history but I do enjoy writing and researching.....and I am good at it. Also, what classes at Berkeley are recommended for someone who wants to study law? What do people who attend law school usually major as a undergrad student? What extracurricular activities are recommended? Etc etc. Any tips will be appreciated.</p>
<p>There really is no usual choice of major for law school students, but there are those which may help with your LSAT (any logic intensive program).</p>
<p>You may want to look into Rhetoric, Philosophy, or even Math to refine your logical abilities.</p>
<p>For more information you may find this forum more helpful than others:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/law-school/</a></p>
<p>I think the right characteristics will depend on the intended legal specialty. There were four MDs in my law school class, one who went into medical malpractice law and three who went in-house at bio-tech companies. There were many science majors who went on to careers in intellectual property. There were intense, brilliant math types who went on to become tax lawyers. The vast majority of my law school class was comprised of history, English and political science majors who liked to write and research and weren’t necessarily sure what they planned on doing after law school.
Some are happy, and some are not.
My advice would be to take whatever classes actually interest you and do some internships in different legal environments to see what works for you. (Yes, before you apply to law school.) Berkeley Community Law Center used to be a great place to volunteer for Cal students…I’m not sure what it’s like now.</p>