<p>Guys, I'm kinda torn.... </p>
<p>ASSUMING I get into SC this year, I can't pick between Business, accounting, or communications.</p>
<p>I wanna go on to law school after my undergraduate degree, but I also want to get my foot through the door in hollywood: internships, etc.</p>
<p>What's a good degree for this, and for when I go onto law? Any advice?</p>
<p>I'd recommend staying away from communications as a major. You can certainly get into law school with a communications degree, but most New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, ABC, CBS, NBC, etc., reporters have degrees in the liberal arts (economics, political science, history, English) not in journalism or communications.</p>
<p>im going to be majoring in philosophy. Is that good to get into law school? The only thing i am concerned about is that it might not be as interesting as other majors. Tell me if im wrong</p>
<p>if you enjoy philosophy then do it...it is one of the typical pre-law majors...</p>
<p>I'm going to do Political Science.</p>
<p>Polisci is even more typical than philosophy :)</p>
<p>I shouldn't be talking though, I'm doing econ.</p>
<p>As long as it's a normal academic field, just take a major that allows you to have a high GPA. I recommend psychology since I found it straightforward and interesting enough.</p>
<p>does nebody know ne body doing philosophy that is also gonna go into law. I want to know more about it.</p>
<p>Yes. I do know someone.</p>
<p>My mother told me her friend who's a lawyer recommended I take a science major such as Biology (I'm poli sci) because there are already too many poli sci majors and it will be hard to stand out among the crowd...however I feel like this is simply another one of my mother's ploys to get me into a science major...basically what I'm asking is do they look at you in a different light for being a non-poli-sci, non-humanities major? Thanks!</p>
<p>Take what you wanna take. The reason that I'm taking polisci is not simply because I want to go to law school, but because it interests me. If you like science, then take it. And yes, I know of some ppl who took a bio major and got into law school. But I think that a social science makes more sense. Just my opinion.</p>
<p>Pick a major you actually like and will do well in. No sense studying Bio or Philosphy if that's not what you're into. You may eventually decide Law isn't for you - then you'd be stuck with a degree you hate!</p>
<p>I'm doubling in Economics and NeuroBiology, so a liberal art and science...I know many science pre-laws end up in patent law but i'm not into it personally. Picking a major you're not into for the sake of making your mom happy makes no sense, and Bio isn't easy to get a high gpa in. So pick something you like and be happy :)</p>
<p>It's also a good idea to think about what kind of law you think you'd like to practice. Yeah, you can worry about it later, but a BA in biology isn't going to do you any good if you're, say, a corporate lawyer or tax lawyer.</p>
<p>Actually I'm an econ major with law and society and business minors.</p>
<p>but at the same time, don't choose to not study something because it won't apply to your law career. How many 18-20 year olds are 100% sure they want to be lawyers? i'm not. my majors leave me with so many options...I can take my Econ BA + JD and do basically every type of law, or take my NeuroScience degree and go to Med school, or I could do research, or I could go into Business, etc. It's nice having options and your Mom is probably worried about that, she's looking out for you. </p>
<p>Don't choose to not do something because you think, "Oh, I love ___ but lawyers don't do that". what happens if you end up needing to work before law school for money? what if you decide law isn't for you? lots of people change their minds in college.</p>
<p>A BA in biol can DEFINITELY help a corporate lawyer! I'm not saying you need one, but there are certainly instances in which having one could help.</p>
<p>I don't mean to be an asshat, but I fail to see how a BA in bio will help a tax lawyer.</p>
<p>Well, first you did say a corporate OR tax lawyer and I did say that it could help a corporate lawyer and didn't mention tax. </p>
<p>Lots of corporations are involved in scientific research or have products that involve science applications. Being able to understand what it is your clients do is a major advantage. First, it is just human nature that clients tend to think that if the lawyer clearly doesn't understand the process or product, (s)he is incompetent and they'll go find one who does. That's not that unreasonable when the lawyer is being paid by the hour. No client wants to spend $1,000 + in fees explaining to a lawyer just exactly what a polymer or some such thing is. If you're the lawyer who HAS that understanding already, it can be an advantage. </p>
<p>So, using a hypothetical, if you're an attorney who is working on the prospectus for the initial public offering of a company involved in scientific research of one sort of another, it helps in writing the prospectus if you actually understand what you're writing. </p>
<p>If you are representing a conglomerate that wants to acquire a biotech company which is privately held and you're trying to figure out how to value the target company, being able to understand what it is that the biotech company does will help. Yes, you will hire an expert, but there are a gazillion experts and a gazillion ways to value any company. If you have some understanding of what it is the biotech company does, you'll have a better understanding of which of those gazillion methodologies will work.</p>
<p>And what if the CEO of the conglomerate asks you whether the acquisition might raise antitrust concerns, both here and in the EU. I think you'd have to understand the products of both the target and acquiring company to answer that question. </p>
<p>As for a tax lawyer, well, I'm not one, but I can imagine that there might be times when in preparing the tax returns of a corporation, it would again help to know how buying a watchmallit for the lab should be treated for tax purposes. And it really might not be self evident how it should be classified. And, if the company has to have someone spend an hour giving you some understanding of what a watchmallit (made up) is and the purposes it is used for, the client may be more than a bit annoyed.</p>
<p>In my experience, there's a lot more lawyers who understand econ and business than there are lawyers who have a good grasp of science. So, when a client needs a lawyer who understands science, the lawyer with scientific knowledge has an advantage.</p>
<p>Okay, fair enough.</p>
<p>But corporations retain lawyers for the legal knowledge, they don't expect the lawyer to understand all of their products and the industry. That's what industry analysts are for.</p>
<p>nyustudent - who said anything about tax law? the op didn't mention a specific type of law. A Bio degree would be useful for Patent Law, an Econ degree more practical for Tax/Corporate law. Seriously, just major in whatever you want, use your undergrad years to explore an interest. How many 17 year olds plan this out ahead of time? people often change their majors, change their mind about becoming lawyers.</p>
<p>I personally love how much freedom my Economics and NeuroSci degree gives me. I could do patent law, tax law, corp law, etc....I could do med school, become a scientist, a researcher, an economist, a businessperson...but I guess there are people who are 100% sure they want to do Law from an early age and they plan this out at 18?</p>
<p>The best major is something that you'll do well in and actually enjoy.</p>
<p>
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But corporations retain lawyers for the legal knowledge, they don't expect the lawyer to understand all of their products and the industry. That's what industry analysts are for.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I don't agree with this statement. Corporations do indeed expect their lawyers (including outside counsel from law firms) to have a good understanding of their products and their industry. A good corporate lawyer (as well as tax lawyers) will find him or herself having to become a mini-expert in each of the industries of his or her clients.</p>