<p>For law? For my foreign language study, I am considering Japanese, Chinese, or Latin. Latin seems like a very interesting language but may not be as worthwhile since it is rarely spoken anymore, but if it would be beneficial for law school I would still consider it. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>No special benefit. Yes, there are some latin phrases scattered here and there in the law, but those are easy enough to learn (as necessary) on the fly.</p>
<p>Obviously there is a general benefit in law school from any class that requires you to study, learn, and apply your knowledge on a test.</p>
<p>thank you that was what I was needing to know. I guess I might brave Chinese then.</p>
<p>I'm told by my father that Chinese and Japanese are both becoming very valuable among corporate job applicants, mainly because there's so much business to be done with those countries, but English fluency/fluidity is far less widespread there than it is in, say, most of western Europe. </p>
<p>(Now, he may or may not be a reliable source, but he's in a position where it should have been a pretty well-founded claim. Take it with a grain of salt, but hey, it could conceivably help you out in interesting ways.)</p>
<p>i chose latin over chinese my senior year in college and am now a 1L.
Latin was great, but not because I had an advantage in learning the few Latin terms you actually need to know in law school.</p>
<p>I actually learned enough Latin in one year that I felt like I'd really accomplished something--I could read whole pages of text (slowly, but with full comprehension). I didn't think I'd be able to do that in Chinese--certainly I wouldn't know enough to be of any use in the law (you have to be utterly fluent to be able to deal with clients in another language--miniscule changes in meaning or tone can be very significant and costly to your clients!)</p>
<p>I also loved my professor, got high grades (your gpa counts a lot for law school applications!), learned to be a better studier, and became more attentive to small details. These are big advantages for law school, but aren't unique to any particular language.</p>
<p>thanks these comments are helpful.</p>
<p>As I am going to be transferring in as a junior and starting my foreign language studies then, I think Latin would be a good choice (especially after reading Stacy's post) and may combine that with a study of French (since I am somewhat familiar with that language from HS). Mastering Chinese or Japanese to any significant point in two years seems like it would be very stressful and I may find myself sacrificing my grades in my major classes.</p>
<p>Though learning Latin may help you in some ways, it will not in any way enhance your comprehension in law school or give you a leg up in the practice of law. Though there are a few latin phrases commonly used in the practice of law, there is nothing that someone who knows only English couldn't figure out. In fact, there is an increasing emphasis in the legal profession on writing eloquently in "plain English". Black's Law Dictionary will give any law student all of the Latin ability that he or she needs.</p>
<p>To the extent that you want to learn a language that may open doors for you during your future legal career, attaining fluency in Chinese and Japanese would be an excellent investment of time. Remember, though, that it is truly only fluency that would help your career (it would also be extremely important to understand the customs and culture of the speakers of that language).</p>
<p>How about Spanish? As a practical matter, it would be the most useful language for law practice in the U.S. (for international practice, Japanese and Chinese could be a good choice, too). Latin is worth studying for its own sake, but not as an aid to legal studies -- res ipsa loquitur!</p>
<p>Studying Latin would be quite useful to a specialist in canon law.</p>
<p>I agree that Spanish can be useful for an attorney - particularly if you are practicing in New York City, Florida, or California and are doing immigration law, personal injury, employment law, etc.</p>
<p>In a big firm type setting, I am skeptical that any foreign language is particularly helpful. The fact is that English is the lingua franca (haha) for international business. Besides, translators are very inexpensive compared to the rates that BIG(f?)LAW charges for attorneys.</p>
<p>I studied Japanese in college just for kicks and it didn't help me in the slightest as a BIG(f?)LAW associate.</p>
<p>If you really want a leg up on law school, I would attend a couple first year law school classes without registering and without telling anyone about it and then take the previous year's exam for that class (usually available in the library.) At most universities, there's no rule that says you can't do this.</p>
<p>Just my humble opinion, of course.</p>
<p>"I agree that Spanish can be useful for an attorney - particularly if you are practicing in New York City, Florida, or California and are doing immigration law, personal injury, employment law, etc."</p>
<p>This presupposes the individual will reach a level of proficiency good enough to either help him get (and deal with) clients or to do substantive work in that language. For a person who is planning to start a language in college, neither will be the case. Even if one goes to a place like middlebury, to gain the level of proficiency needed to make a difference in one's career is unlikely . Do yourself a favor and take a class you'd enjoy instead--it's fine if it happens to be a language. IMHO, the best learn to learn a language is by living AT the country that language is spoken--and even this is not sufficient for one to do legal work in that language...but it would be challenging and enjoyable.</p>
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I'm told by my father that Chinese and Japanese are both becoming very valuable among corporate job applicants, mainly because there's so much business to be done with those countries
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<p>Yes, but it's not as if we have no trading partners in Latin America, either. :p</p>
<p>(I know, I know.)</p>
<p>Just so long as you know ;)</p>