<p>I want to be a corporate lawyer. I know that if someone wants to be a doctor, they could do something like volunteer at a hospital, but I can't seem to find anything for someone who wants to be a lawyer. What could I do that relates to my career or prepares for it?</p>
<p>I'm doing Speech and Debate, my school doesn't have Mock Trial. I couldn't find any local law firms interested in having me, even unpaid. I called a law library nearby, and they said I can't work there, even volunteer for free, because I'm not 16 yet, but once I'm 16, I can maybe get a paid job. I think this would be great but I don't know if I'd have time. The woman said I could work for a few hours after school, so I guess they'd be flexible and I could do that. </p>
<p>What are some high school activities that relate to law or business? If you're in law school or preparing for it, what did you in high school?? </p>
<p>I'm also planning to take community college classes, so what is there that relates to my career? I'm thinking Intro to Business, Philosophy, etc. </p>
<p>Also, I'm thinking that next summer I could apply for some programs that let high school students intern in big law firms, such as in New York City. Anyone know of any such programs? </p>
<p>Not to deflate your bubble, but I think you have some unrealistic assumptions about law school and preparation for it. </p>
<p>In all honesty, the vast majority of law school students did not participate in “law-related” activities in high school, and I would venture to guess that that holds true even for college. For instance, I never took a constitutional law course in college or interned/worked at an organization even remotely related to the practice of law. Many of my friends who are currently in or will soon be starting law school had similar situations. </p>
<p>Before you get ahead of yourself, you need to think about college first. While your undergrad school has very little impact on law school admissions itself, how you perform in college does matter. So focus on that first. Attend a school that suits you and excel. Worry about law school later.</p>
<p>And hate to burst another bubble here, but law firms don’t really hire high school interns. For that matter, most probably don’t even hire college students as interns. The youngest people you’re likely to find at a law firm would be the paralegals fresh out of college and the third-year law students working over the summer in the hopes of getting a full-time offer. And while the vast majority of summer associates usually had to put in little effort to get that full-time offer, given the dire straits the legal industry is in, competition is fiercer than ever for those positions. So taken from that perspective, a law firm would be extremely unlikely to hire even an unpaid college student as a summer intern, much less a high school student.</p>
<p>I agree completely with crnchycereal. In high school, you have to focus on your academics first of all, because you need to develop the drive and skills needed to succeed in college, and ultimately law school. You can’t be concerned with preparing for law school so early in the process, it just doesn’t work like that. </p>
<p>I am pre-law myself as an undergrad, and when I recall high school, here’s what I did – I focused really hard on my studies, and tried to develop effective study habits which would and have helped me now. Also, I was really involved in the community. I was the president of a city-wide community service organization, and networked with a lot of city officials and community members. The real world skills I learned from that were invaluable. </p>
<p>My advice? Get involved with things you really like, things which will help you sharpen your writing and speaking skills. You’re already involved with speech and debate, that’s awesome. Try to get leadership positions in clubs or activities which you really enjoy. Excel in your English and language arts oriented classes. That’s what you should be focusing on in high school, not something that’s so far down the road. Take it slow and enjoy yourself while you’re at it!</p>
<p>Hope that helps, and best of luck in your high school experience.</p>
<p>Well I’ve heard that you should relate your activities to a specific theme, your career in particular.</p>
<p>I have seen online about programs where high school students work in law firms as interns. I was wondering if anyone had more info about this. So, they do definitely exist. They’re programs where students would apply, and I think they select about 20 or so to go work over the summer in a law firm in New York City. That was just the one that I was looking at. There was another one where high school students even get paid internships.</p>
<p>While I don’t want to diminish the value of these internship programs, just keep in mind that they will at most accomplish two things:</p>
<ol>
<li>Give you a feel for how the industry works, which is valuable in so far that it can help you to make up your mind as to whether or not to attend law school</li>
<li>Be a nice soft factor for COLLEGE ADMISSIONS</li>
</ol>
<p>But please note that a high school internship at a law firm will have virtually no impact for law school admissions. In fact, it is highly inadvisable to list any high school activities whatsoever on your resume when applying to law school, unless you did something truly extraordinary like win Siemens or something.</p>
<p>Law school admissions comes down to two things: your GPA and your LSAT. Everything else is secondary. And I do mean everything else. It doesn’t matter how many law-related activities you’ve racked up. If your numbers are not within range for a certain school, you can kiss your chances goodbye (short of something like a Rhodes scholarship on your resume).</p>
<p>Berkeley, I’ve also noticed in other posts you’ve made that you plan on pursuing a pre-law concentration. Be advised that “pre-law” as a major is actually considered something of a joke by most law schools. Majoring in something more canonical like Philosophy, Economics, History, etc. is usually a safer route. Of course, don’t rule out subjects like the hard sciences or math either. My main point is simply that pre-law as a major is a liability when it comes to law school admissions, not an asset.</p>
<p>i wasnt doing any of this to help with law school or law school admissions anyways. this was for college admissions (as one factor), to get some good ECs, and get a feel of a law career. as well as interning in a law firm seemed like fun to me lol</p>
<p>I did some library filing and summer-secretarial work for law firms starting as a freshman in college through a temp agency. I’ve never heard of a legal internshp program for high school students. You might try checking with Junior Achievement and your high schools’s guidance office to see if they know of any program that will let you shadow a lawyer, if you are trying to find something in this area. Likewise, you could call the Court Clerk’s office of any local Court in your area (call in the afternoon - they’re very busy in the morning) to ask if they are aware of any program directed to high school students. </p>
<p>I’d think any responsible summer job is of value for college admissions. </p>
<p>Your high school record won’t be of interest to law schools. Only 1 of 20 laws even asked for my S’s SATS when he applied this year.</p>
<p>If you are a minority, there is the Thurgood Marshall Program offered through the City Bar Association. </p>
<p>Some law firms, especially small law firms, participate in the internship programs of the Newcomer High Schools. (These are public high schools for recent immigrants.)</p>
<p>PS: I just checked your prior posts. I’m fairly sure only local residents are eligible for Thurgood Marshall.</p>
<p>what you can do is “work shadow” somebody at a law firm. This depends entirely on your (parents’) connections. In england we start work shadowing around freshman year, to get an overall feel for the work place and daily schedule. Certain firms are kind enough to accept-they either have such a program implemented already or students call/email them up at their own initiative. Another thing, you might find it most beneficial to develop your writing and analysis skills. Take a range of subjects which balances out. For example, in england (where I am mostly based) universities like prospective (we have undergrad law here) candidates who have done a good range/combination of subjects, common respected ones being english literature and history, the rest like politics and or philosophy, economics are said to help. Maths/music and the like will help enhance your overall academic development. Also, languages are a big sell especially in this day. If I were you I’d start learning foreign languages as a hobby in anyway possible. I assume you are from the states so Spanish might be the most logical option, but don’t forget things like mandarin’s also a big sell. Other things I’d suggest is keeping abreast with current events either through school/college subscriptions or e-news and or blogs. You can never go wrong with the economist dot com. You’d be surprised to know that it is possible to intern starting sophmore year of college (pm me for details if you’d like) at certain companies, in the US there are a lot of undiscovered opportunities and advantages…some people have just not looked into it yet. Good luck with your aspirations :)</p>
<p>Oh yeah btw if you are thinking of corporate law, it would save you a lot of trouble if you concentrated on maths very early on. Pay attention in class, read outside of class, just keep up with your school curriculum (try and challenge yourself by doing tough math APs) as the skills you’d use now will help you deal in a quantitative manner easily in the future.</p>
<p>oh yeah and don’t major in pre-law…try to cross/double major in philosophy, politics, economics, even literature/history (the analytical skills you’d gain will be advantageous come law school)…it’s sort of like hs students in the uk being advised against taking A Level (ap equivalent in the uk) “law”…unis usually like more traditional subjects.</p>