<p>which business majors are good prep for a graduate degree in corporate or tax law? my dad is a finance professor and he says that accounting, finance, and econ are good choices. i'm really interested in philosophy and political science as well, but i'm a junior in HS and am a bit confused as to what would help me the most. any thoughts? thanks.</p>
<p>You're probably a little young to be worried about this yet. </p>
<p>Try taking some classes in both business, philosophy, and political science, and see what grabs you. If you get good grades (and a good LSAT) you'll get into a good law school. I would think that finance or econ would be more interesting and broad-based than accounting, with accounting perhaps more practical for immediate employment. But again, you're way too young to be worried about that yet. Enjoy yourself a little.</p>
<p>Law school has NO prerequisites. Well, okay, they want you to take the LSAT and have a bachelor's degree, but some of them don't even care about the degree. :)</p>
<p>So - why worry? Why torture yourself with four years of classes that you don't like, in the hopes of pleasing some old guy reading your application - who, in reality, doesn't care if you are economics or poli sci, because it's all kind of the same? </p>
<p>Ultimately, you will do better in things that you are interested in. That is what will get you a lot of attention in the application process - accolades of professors, internships, a strong resume, a coherent reason for going to law school, and a great thesis. I've never seen any study which claims that one major or another, all other things (i.e. GPA) being equal, will help you out more. </p>
<p>If you absolutely hate economics, it's likely that corporate law will not be a good fit. Likewise, if you take poli sci, fall in love with some of it, you could figure out that international law would be a better fit for you. </p>
<p>This is my usual speech - just think back to the fifth grade and what you wanted to do when you were older, what colleges you thought were "cool," and what you thought you liked to study (or would study in college). Got that? My guess is that a lot has changed in the past several years; likewise, more will change in the next few years for you. Avoid the urge to plan out your entire life when you are 17. </p>
<p>(Rant done. This is from someone who was dead-set on being a scientist, then studied ancient Greek for fun, and is now crashing around law school - yeah, trust me, what you want will change. It's a good thing.)</p>
<p>If all else fails - you study poli sci in college, think it's downright nifty, then decide you want to be a corporate lawyer - get a masters beforehand; work for a few years, build connections, and do a JD/MBA. Not the end of the world.</p>
<p>Probably logic, or symbolic logic, the only areas of study more boring than what lawyers do.</p>
<p>I work in-house for a corporation, but don't regard myself as a "corporate lawyer." They're the people who work on corporate governance (preparing notices of shareholder meetings, drafting corporate resolutions, being familiar with the articles of incorporation of the corporation(s) they work for), securities regulations, quarterly and annual reports, and a lot of work related to mergers and acquisitions. They spend a lot of their time worrying about compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley.</p>
<p>Out of the dozen or so attorneys in my department, three are corporate attorneys. Most of us spend most of our time drafting and negotiating licensing agreements, one is an employment law specialist, and the remainder are pure IP attorneys.</p>
<p>The work the corporate guys do bears no resemblance to anything I saw ever heard or read in an economics class. One of the three in my department majored in English, and another majored in history. (I'm not sure what the third one majored in.)</p>
<p>Even if you think you want to be a corporate lawyer, my advice is to major in whatever you like.</p>
<p>And don't think that if you want to work in-house, or work for a big law firm whose clients are mostly corporations, that you have to become a "corporate lawyer." You can specialize in real estate law, bankruptcy, intellectual property, complex litigation, employment law, antitrust, administrative law, or a dozen or two other things and get one of those jobs.</p>
<p>thanks so much for the advice everyone.</p>
<p>i was finishing up some ap euro stuff and it's nice to see that people actually responded to my post. cardozo, i understand that i am still young and in HS, but thinking about the future is exciting and to me it's pretty important.</p>
<p>i don't even know if i definitely do want to pursue law, but i do know that i don't want to specialize in bankruptcy or admin or some kind of ambulance-chasing law. i think international, tax, or corporate would suit me best, but i do like litigation and antitrust cause that really interests me too. decisions, decisions...</p>
<p>sigh. thanks again :)</p>
<p>Fortunately these are not decisions you have to make now, or even when you're in law school for that matter; nor do you have to feel that any decision you make on what sort of law to specialize in is irrevocable. </p>
<p>Keep an open mind. After you learn more about a subject, you mind find there's more of interest than you had ever imagined.</p>
<p>Bankruptcy, for example, is an important aspect of the capitalist system. Dealing with personal bankruptcy cases isn't necessarily the most glamorous line of work. But most business don't make it, and the issue of how to divvy up their remaining assets in an equitable way (or how to restructure their debts in a way that makes sense and is fair to all concerned) is important, honorable work, and raises as meaty a set of intellectually challenging issues as any other area of the law.</p>
<p>"cardozo, i understand that i am still young and in HS, but thinking about the future is exciting and to me it's pretty important."</p>
<p>There's certainly nothing wrong with thinking about it, and it's clearly important. My point, I suppose, is that you don't really have to tie yourself down too much in this area, even if you do decide to go into corporate law down the road. (Greybeard makes this point pretty well.) </p>
<p>So chart a course that seems to make sense, but don't be afraid to alter it along the way. And do try to have some fun while you're still young -- you'll have plenty of time down the road to be completely serious.</p>
<p>Hey there, I realized there are many in the room who are knowledgable of law school acceptance of engineers into J.D. Programs. I happen to be a senior at Stevens Institute of Technology and although the name might not be the most popular in the country, I realize that many companies in industry have heard of the school. This point withstanding, let me know what you think my chances are for law school acceptance:</p>
<p>Year: Senior (4 out of 4)</p>
<p>Degree(s):
B.E. in Mechanical Engineering
M.E. Engineering Management
(Bachelors of Engineering just means that in addition to my mechanical technical coursework I have also taken additional courses in electrical and chemical engineering)</p>
<p>GPA:
Undergraduate - 3.86
Graduate - 3.80</p>
<p>LSAT:
153</p>
<p>Credits:
Undergraduate - 175.5
Graduate - 30.0</p>
<p>Schools I have applied to:
Hofstra (safety) - full time
St. Johns - part time
Cordozo - part time
Brooklyn - part time
Fordham (long shot) - part time</p>
<p>Now I know my LSAT score is pretty below par, but I admit that there should be some saving grace in my diligent performance in my school work. I made it very clear in my written statements that I plan to ultimately take up Patent Law (Intellectual Property).</p>
<p>Just lay the truth on me, tis all I ask. Anyone may reply, I just want to get some outside opinion.</p>
<p>Joe</p>
<p>I have a son who is a senior in high school, which is how I happen to be poking around CC in the first place.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, as a U of C Law School grad, 20+ year criminal-defense lawyer, here are my thoughts on this question:</p>
<p>--There is no single "best" undergraduate major for legal education or for a legal career. In fact, that's part of what makes both law school and the practice of law stimulating. I came to law school, after several years away from school altogether, with an English Literature major. To me, that was great preparation. But so are history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, economics . . . well, you get the idea.</p>
<p>--My views on what to do as an undergrad, if you have an eye toward eventually studying law, are two-fold:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Follow your passion. Don't pursue something you're less eager about just because you assume it will somehow look better to a law school admissions office. (Such an assumption would likely be false.)</p></li>
<li><p>Study and read widely. Yes, follow your passion, but don't limit yourself. Take some of this and some of that and some of that over there. Think about the relationships among disciplines.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>--At the end of the day, I don't think that the sort of undergraduate education that will best prepare one for going to law school is any different than the sort of education that will best prepare one simply to be a well-read and well-educated person.</p>
<p>Hey - I'm not offering any of this as any sort of "last word." Just a few off-the-cuff thoughts . . . .</p>
<p>I completely agree with epistrophy's post, but I must say that it is comforting to have my take on things validated by someone who is already a lawyer. I have not yet applied to law school, but it is definitely in my plans. </p>
<p>I have always been interested in absolutely everything, which was a serious problem for me when I first started college. I had no idea what career to choose, because I was afraid of limiting myself and I wanted to do everything. Career ed aptitude tests did not help because they all said that I would do well in anything. </p>
<p>Then I discovered law when I realized that it was a lot like philosophy (pretty much my favorite subject in college). I took a wide variety of courses from all different disciplines, but mostly liberal arts. My writing ability is one of my best assets. From what I can gather, law schools are looking for people like me. </p>
<p>I particularly like what epistrophy says about considering the relationships between disciplines. Being able to see the "big picture" is a real asset. </p>
<p>It remains to be seen where I'll be accepted, so I can't speak from experience on how well my application was recieved. I have done some research on the subject however, and predict that I will be competitive. </p>
<p>One thing I'd like to add is that I hope those of you considering law school have thought about whether it would really be a good fit for you. My suggestion is to choose a career that fits with you, instead of forcing yourself to mold to a career that doesn't fit naturally. Of course, your future is in your hands, but I think this approach generally leads to greater overall happiness and satisfaction in life.</p>
<p>Someone mentioned before that if everyone majors in english/poli-sci/econ, then how do we distinguish ourselves in order to get into a top law school. Well how DO you? I know there are ECs to do, but what ECs are recommended? I'm entering college in the fall, & am thinking of doing a variety of things that I like to do--newspaper, Broadcast TV, scuba diving, volunteering, etc., am def joining the Pre-Legal society, but are things like running for Student Government helpful come time for admissions? Would minoring in something like computer science add more "substance" to a so-called 'easy' major? On the other hand, the difficulty of such courses could pull down the GPA too, right?</p>
<p>safron13, I feel there is a commonality in our interests. I feel that I have an interest in every field because I value my education and the world around me. Although, I did find that philosophy sparked my interest the most while Economics left me with a dull impression of business. I'm about to explore Political Science this semester so I'll see how that goes. I thought about majoring in Sociology or Philosophy but there are not many jobs held for these majors coming fresh out of college. I want to play-it-safe and choose a major that would give me somewhat job security and good pay while concurrently exploring a major that I have a general passion and interest for. Hopefully that'll be my intended major, Political Science.</p>
<p>"...how do we distinguish ourselves in order to get into a top law school?"</p>
<p>Primarily by your prior academic success (i.e. undergraduate GPA, with some weight given to "degree of difficulty"), and your LSAT score. EC's may help them chose between two marginal candidates with comparable credentials, but otherwise are not particularly relevant to the law school admissions process.</p>
<p>I agree with Greybeard. </p>
<p>Law school admissions is unlike college admissions. There are a zillion high schoolers with 1500 SATs, 4.0s, and NHS. Except for a very small number (like two) law schools, just having the numbers is enough to distinguish yourself. </p>
<p>Find the LSAT/GPA grids. They will give you the percentage of students who are admitted with certain combinations of GPAs and LSATs. Often, if you have top grades and a top LSAT score, the odds are really in your favour. </p>
<p>It's math time!
Statistically, there are only about 1,500 students every year who will get a 171 or above on the LSAT (99th percentile = top 1%; .01 x 150,000 students = 1,500).<br>
Of those students, some will have mediocre grades (hard major, didn't apply himself, grade-deflated school, whatever), some will have stellar grades - from some no-name school - and some will have another big flaw.<br>
H, Y, S enroll about 1,000 students/year between the three of them. </p>
<p>->The top 10 schools cannot fill all of their slots with 99th percentile LSAT scorers, regardless of grades, major, LORs, geography, etc. Ergo, having the LSAT and the grades is a big plus. Having them from a good school, with a respectable major, and a reasonably nifty resume puts you in the running for any school in the country, YLS excepted.</p>
<p>That isn't to say that you should assume that an application made up solely of a good LSAT score and a high GPA will get you into law school. It's just that anyone who happens to have the combination of stellar numbers is distinguished by that alone.</p>
<p>Anyone? Y'all can disagree. :)</p>
<p>how does a sociology major look to law schools?</p>
<p>i'm sorry, but did you even read the previous posts to this thread? if not, at least read the previous page, especially posts 63, 65, and 70.</p>
<p>I know this is an old thread but I was all set to major in finance before I came acoss this. Now im thinking!</p>
<p>the program~~</p>
<p>hey how about a major in PR, marketing, or economics??</p>