I'm planning on going to law school in the near future, and I'm wondering what a good undergraduate degree is!

Hi Hermella!

As one who has worked on Criminal Defense and Civil Rights cases, I would like to encourage you to spend your time in school learning something that will truly help you to help your future clients.

I majored in Sociology, became a cop, retired, and now do some work for attorneys. Sociology, at least waayyy back then, taught me to think, analyze, and write. It is one of the easier subjects to major in. So, what should you major in? I don't know. If you have a lot of electives, you can use them outside the major to make up for some of the shortcomings of the major. For example, I took my electives in political science and criminal justice.

Something to think about:
vehicular homicide: Your client struck a pedestrian. Things you will need to think about: curves/hills potholes in the road, road surface (asphalt, etc) age of road surface, warning signs, lighting, vehicle tires, vehicle brakes, availability of crosswalks, condition of the pedestrian (impairments: drugs/alcohol, vision/hearing). A lot of science and math goes into all of this. Your client may not be able to afford to hire an expert. A lot of accused criminals cannot. You need to be able to at least recognize which of these factors is significant to your case, then, hopefully, you have a friend who you can "run it by" for their feedback.

Actual case: Police officer beat a suspect, really bad, for "resisting arrest." When looking at all the officer's prior resisting cases, this never happened. What was different this time? This answer had to do with understanding how cops think. The officer was mad at himself, because he had left another officer alone to watch his prisoner while he went to do something else.

Another case: this traffic stop officially lasted only 15 minutes. But the client insisted he had been held for over an hour. This had to do with understanding cops and technology. The officer on the traffic stop said that he would back-up another officer on another stop at a nearby location. Because an officer cannot be in two places at one time, the dispatcher had to show on the computer that the officer was through with his first stop before she could assign him as backup on the second stop. In reality, he was not physically "backing up" the second officer, but, was close enough to respond if needed. Cops do this because it saves a third officer from getting called to the location. This happens quite a bit, especially when it is busy.

Sociology won't teach you any of this. I encourage you to switch to psychology, or possibly criminal justice. Also, try to get into a "citizens police academy" if your city police force has one (but don't tell them why you are in it...tell them you are thinking of becoming a cop!!). And, make sure to take a Logic course, which helps with analyzing situations, and of course, speech/debate classes.

Keep in mind that many criminal defense attorneys start as prosecutors. Even if your heart is not in it, it is a very good way to learn how your (future) opponent thinks and operates. Also, please realize that law schools are graduating more people than there are jobs. This is a very serious problem. I am not trying to discourage you, however, you might want to think about what you want to do in the alternative, and major in that field. Law school is extremely expensive, and, if you don't find employment, trying to pay back that debt will be difficult.

Another option is to become a paralegal. While the starting pay is not very good, within a few years you can be making pretty good money. Paralegals can do everything lawyers do, except give advice and set fees. They are the backbone of many law practices. Not all paralegal schools are equal. Many do not do a good job. If you want to look into this, look for one that is approved by the American Bar Association. (ABA). Since I have my BA already, I was going to get an Associates from a non-approved junior college program. I did not find it challenging. So, now I am going to an ABA approved Paralegal Master's degree program - an M.A. in Legal Studies. It is my first semester, but so far, I am impressed! I hope you give this some thought.

Feel free to ask any follow-up questions, and let me know how you are doing!
Kim

I would recommend a major that could potentially lead to a job even without going to law school. For example, accounting or one of the STEM majors (science , technology, engineering, and math). Getting good grades is very important, because law schools look at your grades when deciding if they want to accept you.
What's my major quiz: http://www.luc.edu/undergrad/academiclife/whatsmymajorquiz/
Here's a quiz if you have any interest in STEM: http://www.purdue.edu/STEM/
Info about accounting: http://www.aiuniv.edu/blog/september-2015/is-accounting-a-good-major
Info about STEM jobs: http://money.usnews.com/careers/slideshows/the-25-best-stem-jobs-of-2016

Be aware that you need to get good grades to go to law school!

1. 
   

   Deciding if you want to go to law school
   Law school takes 3 years and is very expensive (hundreds of thousands of dollars - your loans could be from $100,000 to $275,000)
   A good article to consider if you want to go to law school: http://www.vox.com/2015/6/5/8724555/should-i-go-to-law-school
   After you have graduated from college, you may want to work for a year or two. This is good because it gives life experience, and you can think about if you really want to be a lawyer. Law is a big commitment - law school is for 3 years and very expensive. You can look into internships or jobs at a law firm or a court to see if you like law as a career path.

   
   


2. 
   

   Applying to law school
   Here are a couple of recommended timelines about applying to law school: https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/help/timeline_student.cfm https://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/articles/2015/03/12/timeline-a-law-school-application-guide-for-2015

   
   

Applying to law school is a lot of work because you need the following:
1) LSAT scores - The law school admissions test.This is a standardized test that you need to study for. Your score is also very important. Along with your undergraduate GPA, it's 1 of the 2 main factors that law schools look at. You probably want to take the exam in June of the year you are applying/want to start. You can also take an earlier exam. Best practice is to take it once and get your highest possible score. So take at least a few months (4 preferably) to study https://www.powerscore.com/lsat/help/about/ 2) Recommendation letters - Letters from professors/employers recommending you for law school 3) Undergraduate transcripts 4) Essay - You have to write an admissions essay about why you want to go to law school