2 answers
Nubia
Student
Yuma, Arizona
1
Question
Asked
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What do you need to learn before becoming a lawyer?
I am in 8th grade and want to learn about how to become a lawyer or what I need to learn to become one. I hope to be one by the age of 28 and want to study in Harvard.
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2 answers
Melody Tharpe
Education - Teacher
160
Answers
Indianapolis, Indiana
Updated
Melody’s Answer
I found this article which has a lot of useful advice. the site is
https://lawstuffexplained.com/how-to-prepare-for-law-school-in-middle-school/
s a law school graduate and lawyer myself, I often wish that I had started preparing for law school and my career much earlier.
Here are my thoughts for a young person ready to get started preparing for law school.
How To Prepare For Law School In Middle School (Tips and Advice)
Law Schools Look For Well-Rounded People
There’s no question that law schools only accept students with great grades.
No matter what, you’ll have to do well in high school and college to be accepted into law school.
But what you might not know is that law schools look for well-rounded students, meaning they want students who are interested and good at many things, in addition to school.
In fact, a person who has a lower GPA but has done many awesome things could be accepted to law school over someone with the best grades.
This is also true out in the world when applying for lawyer jobs.
If all you are is your grades (meaning the only thing you do is study law), you might not get into the law school of your choice.
What Does Well-Rounded Look Like?
Well-rounded can be many things, and there isn’t one formula.
They just want to see someone with a wide variety of interests and skills.
These interests could include: traveling, volunteering or public service, work experience, leadership roles in clubs or organizations, sports or other physical activities, competitions of all kinds (robotics, cooking, Battle of the Books), etc.
As a person who wants to get a start on becoming well-rounded, not only do you want to do the activities, you want to find a way to do the best you can in the activity, and find your way into leadership positions in the activity.
If you are involved in lots of activities at a high level, you’ll have ample experiences for your college applications essays, and for law school as well.
And you’ll probably be a more interesting person.
Public Speaking Skills
Seek out opportunities to speak in front of other people, in big groups and small groups.
This could be through taking on leadership roles in schools, clubs, or activities.
Or this could be seeking extra opportunities with your teachers or at church to prepare for and make presentations.
Thinking on your feet is a really critical skill.
Being able to answer questions on the fly is really hard to do when you aren’t used to it.
The more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll get, and the less stressful the experience will become.
One way I personally get better at speaking was actually through a podcast I was working on.
In editing the podcast, I became aware of the things that I said that needed to be cleaned up, such as ‘um’ or ‘ah.”
A lot of people also don’t realize that they make clicking noises with their tongues or smacking noises with their lips when they are speaking.
These little quirks that can only be ironed out after speaking a lot in public, and it is hard to work on them if you don’t even realize that you are doing them.
A podcast (or even youtube videos where you have to speak) help you get comfortable with speaking words you had pre-planned, but don’t want to necessarily read right off the page.
It takes a lot of practice and skill to write and deliver a pre-written speech without sounding like you are reading it word for work.
Doing your thing in front of crowds is another element you have to get used to.
You can get used to performing by speaking in front of them, or with other activities, such as sports, drama, choir/band/music, and more.
Should a Middle Schooler Study Law?
If you are interested in law, and you enjoy studying the law, then it doesn’t matter what age you are, you should feel free to do it.
You can do this in several ways.
You can follow current cases that are high profile in the news, watch the trials, read articles about them, and listen to commentary about them from lawyers. You can dig into law school subjects, such as civil procedure, criminal procedure, property, torts, and constitutional law. This can be done by obtaining old law school text books, reading through law school study guides, taking online law school prep courses, or just reading what you can find online.
Read law focused books that are either fiction or non-fiction. Check with your parents, but there are a ton of true crime books that will tell you a story along with explain a lot about the justice system. There are also many awesome true crime podcasts.
Visit the courthouses in your area and around the state, and observe actual trials in progress.
Remember, the ‘study’ of law doesn’t always mean that you have to sit at a desk with a book.
Think back to the beginning of this article, where we talked about becoming well-rounded.
The more ‘interesting’ and ‘unusual’ things you can do, the more likely you will stand apart and above your future law school compatriots.
You’ll be more likely to get into law school, be successful in law school, and to get a good job in your chosen field once you graduate.
Wrap Up
Thinking about law school?
Check out our library of completely free articles aimed to help future law students. https://lawstuffexplained.com/category/law-school/
https://lawstuffexplained.com/how-to-prepare-for-law-school-in-middle-school/
s a law school graduate and lawyer myself, I often wish that I had started preparing for law school and my career much earlier.
Here are my thoughts for a young person ready to get started preparing for law school.
How To Prepare For Law School In Middle School (Tips and Advice)
Law Schools Look For Well-Rounded People
There’s no question that law schools only accept students with great grades.
No matter what, you’ll have to do well in high school and college to be accepted into law school.
But what you might not know is that law schools look for well-rounded students, meaning they want students who are interested and good at many things, in addition to school.
In fact, a person who has a lower GPA but has done many awesome things could be accepted to law school over someone with the best grades.
This is also true out in the world when applying for lawyer jobs.
If all you are is your grades (meaning the only thing you do is study law), you might not get into the law school of your choice.
What Does Well-Rounded Look Like?
Well-rounded can be many things, and there isn’t one formula.
They just want to see someone with a wide variety of interests and skills.
These interests could include: traveling, volunteering or public service, work experience, leadership roles in clubs or organizations, sports or other physical activities, competitions of all kinds (robotics, cooking, Battle of the Books), etc.
As a person who wants to get a start on becoming well-rounded, not only do you want to do the activities, you want to find a way to do the best you can in the activity, and find your way into leadership positions in the activity.
If you are involved in lots of activities at a high level, you’ll have ample experiences for your college applications essays, and for law school as well.
And you’ll probably be a more interesting person.
Public Speaking Skills
Seek out opportunities to speak in front of other people, in big groups and small groups.
This could be through taking on leadership roles in schools, clubs, or activities.
Or this could be seeking extra opportunities with your teachers or at church to prepare for and make presentations.
Thinking on your feet is a really critical skill.
Being able to answer questions on the fly is really hard to do when you aren’t used to it.
The more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll get, and the less stressful the experience will become.
One way I personally get better at speaking was actually through a podcast I was working on.
In editing the podcast, I became aware of the things that I said that needed to be cleaned up, such as ‘um’ or ‘ah.”
A lot of people also don’t realize that they make clicking noises with their tongues or smacking noises with their lips when they are speaking.
These little quirks that can only be ironed out after speaking a lot in public, and it is hard to work on them if you don’t even realize that you are doing them.
A podcast (or even youtube videos where you have to speak) help you get comfortable with speaking words you had pre-planned, but don’t want to necessarily read right off the page.
It takes a lot of practice and skill to write and deliver a pre-written speech without sounding like you are reading it word for work.
Doing your thing in front of crowds is another element you have to get used to.
You can get used to performing by speaking in front of them, or with other activities, such as sports, drama, choir/band/music, and more.
Should a Middle Schooler Study Law?
If you are interested in law, and you enjoy studying the law, then it doesn’t matter what age you are, you should feel free to do it.
You can do this in several ways.
You can follow current cases that are high profile in the news, watch the trials, read articles about them, and listen to commentary about them from lawyers. You can dig into law school subjects, such as civil procedure, criminal procedure, property, torts, and constitutional law. This can be done by obtaining old law school text books, reading through law school study guides, taking online law school prep courses, or just reading what you can find online.
Read law focused books that are either fiction or non-fiction. Check with your parents, but there are a ton of true crime books that will tell you a story along with explain a lot about the justice system. There are also many awesome true crime podcasts.
Visit the courthouses in your area and around the state, and observe actual trials in progress.
Remember, the ‘study’ of law doesn’t always mean that you have to sit at a desk with a book.
Think back to the beginning of this article, where we talked about becoming well-rounded.
The more ‘interesting’ and ‘unusual’ things you can do, the more likely you will stand apart and above your future law school compatriots.
You’ll be more likely to get into law school, be successful in law school, and to get a good job in your chosen field once you graduate.
Wrap Up
Thinking about law school?
Check out our library of completely free articles aimed to help future law students. https://lawstuffexplained.com/category/law-school/
Saumya Shridhar
Investigations Counsel / Litigator
11
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Saumya’s Answer
Hi Nubia ! You're already off to a good start if you're thinking ahead. Since you're in 8th grade, here's a few skills that you may work towards that will come handy on your journey to a law school and even later.
1. General knowledge- Reading the papers (and other sources) to keep abreast with local and global news in various areas and especially the areas of your own interest. This habit will always help you stay up to date and ahead of the curve, not only as a student but even as a practicing attorney.
2. Reading and comprehension- Practicing reading long articles on various subjects and attempting comprehension questions based on the same. This will prepare you to be able to grasp a new and unfamiliar topic faster and be able to tackle it more efficiently as a law student and a future attorney.
3. Public speaking- Participating in as many debates, speeches, elocution, presentation opportunities as you can. This will help eliminate fear, if any, of public speaking. If your school does not offer too many of these opportunities, even public facing activities before your family, neighborhood and community can help in this direction.
4. Co-curricular activities- Engaging in activities outside of academics will make you a well-rounded student as well as professional later in life. It'll help you balance your studies/ work along with your other passions (sports / arts etc.).
All the best !
Saumya
1. General knowledge- Reading the papers (and other sources) to keep abreast with local and global news in various areas and especially the areas of your own interest. This habit will always help you stay up to date and ahead of the curve, not only as a student but even as a practicing attorney.
2. Reading and comprehension- Practicing reading long articles on various subjects and attempting comprehension questions based on the same. This will prepare you to be able to grasp a new and unfamiliar topic faster and be able to tackle it more efficiently as a law student and a future attorney.
3. Public speaking- Participating in as many debates, speeches, elocution, presentation opportunities as you can. This will help eliminate fear, if any, of public speaking. If your school does not offer too many of these opportunities, even public facing activities before your family, neighborhood and community can help in this direction.
4. Co-curricular activities- Engaging in activities outside of academics will make you a well-rounded student as well as professional later in life. It'll help you balance your studies/ work along with your other passions (sports / arts etc.).
All the best !
Saumya
Thank you! What is the yearly income of a lawyer?
Nubia