Do English majors make good lawyers?

Asked by: Kelly Barrows  |  Last update: December 24, 2023
Score: 4.6/5 (17 votes)

Regardless of their niche, the cornerstones of every successful lawyer are exceptional reading comprehension and persuasive writing. These are skills that a major in English will improve.

Is English a good major for a lawyer?

As a large number of our majors and minors know or discover, the English major or English minor is excellent preparation for law school and a career in the law.

Why is English a good major for law?

Courses in English not only immerse you in great stories and great poetry; they also are the places in which students develop the capacity to read and analyze texts of significant complexity and sophistication, many of which deal directly with matters of law. These very skills are tested on the LSAT.

How does an English degree help for law school?

Students of the English major study dense and complex literature and are then required to process the information, make connections and create organized analytical arguments and defend positions. In this light, the critical thinking skills required of English majors mirror the skills required by law students.

Is a literature major good for law school?

A major in Comparative Literature develops the close-reading skills and the attention to detail that are the bread and butter of legal interpretation and legal writing.

Ted Talk: Why English Majors Make Good Lawyers

45 related questions found

What degrees look best for law?

As you select your undergraduate major with the intent to apply to law school in the future, these are some of the leading majors to consider.
  • History. ...
  • Business. ...
  • English. ...
  • Philosophy. ...
  • Political Science. ...
  • Economics. ...
  • Arts and Humanities. ...
  • Psychology.

What percent of lawyers are English majors?

Also worth noting is that 5% of English majors become lawyers. Here you can see the most popular categories of roles in which English majors work: Education and libraries: 22% Management occupations: 16%

Do English majors do well on LSAT?

English Majors

Clearly, the Reading Comp section is going to be comfortable ground. But don't underestimate the benefits an English major brings to the Logical Reasoning section. A keen eye for patterns of language could help you quickly sweep up some long parallel reasoning questions that slow many test-takers down.

What majors score the highest on the LSAT?

Here are some of the results:
  • Mathematics/Physics: 160.0.
  • Economics/Philosophy/Theology: 157.4.
  • International Relations: 156.5.
  • Engineering: 156.2.
  • Government/Service/Chemistry: 156.1.
  • History: 155.9.
  • Interdisciplinary Studies: 155.5.
  • Foreign Languages: 155.3.

What are the benefits of an English minor?

If you plan to major in a field like biology, chemistry, clinical laboratory science, engineering, exercise science, nursing, nutrition and fitness, or psychology, for example, an English minor can help you interpret complex concepts and detailed information into language that non-experts can understand.

Is an English major helpful?

English majors often go on to work in grant writing, public relations, content editing, and technical writing. Those written and verbal skills that you'll be developing during your studies can make you marketable in industries where messages are everything.

What language is most useful for law?

Further, almost all literature on American law practice is written in English. Hence, the ability to read and use the literature depends on a person's knowledge of the English language. French is another language that is very useful to an international lawyer, especially in Europe.

Is criminology a good major for law school?

Criminology is one of the most appropriate majors for those planning to pursue a career handling criminal cases as a lawyer or judge.

What BA is best for law school?

“You may choose to major in subjects that are considered to be traditional preparation for law school, such as history, English, philosophy, political science, economics or business,” their website says, “or you may focus your undergraduate studies in areas as diverse as art, music, science and mathematics, computer ...

How intense is law school?

Law school is difficult, but it's also a fruitful and rewarding experience for those who work for it. There are many reasons why law school is challenging. From the teaching methods, long, complex readings, and the time commitment.

Is a BA or BS better for law school?

The ABA does not recommend any undergraduate majors or group of courses to prepare for a legal education. Students are admitted to law school from almost every academic discipline.

What was Obama's LSAT score?

Unraveling the secret behind Obama's LSAT Score

Hence it's very likely that Obama had an LSAT Score around the median of the class (43 on the then-used 48 point scale).

How realistic is it to get a 170 on LSAT?

However, it is possible. Despite what many people believe, there is no trick or shortcut to getting a 170 or more on an LSAT score. Very few people can walk into the room on test day with very little or no practice and be able to score that highly. It takes a lot of hard work to be able to score up to 170 or higher.

Is 165 a bad LSAT score?

We've already developed a general sense of LSAT score percentiles from some of the common score thresholds above (160: 80th percentile; 165: 90th percentile; 170: 97-98th percentile, and 174: 99th percentile).

Does LSAT or GPA matter more for law school?

Just how important the LSAT relative to other elements of your overall application package varies a little from school to school. However, generally, your LSAT score alone is thought to be anywhere from twice as important as your GPA to four to five times as important!

What LSAT does Harvard require?

As you can see from these numbers, an LSAT score of 170 or higher and a GPA above 3.75 will give you a chance of gaining admission to Harvard Law School. If you have a GPA of 3.94 or higher and above a 175, you are pretty much a lock for admission, particularly given the class size of ~560.

Do law schools prefer LSAT?

The reality is that, for now, schools prefer to see an excellent LSAT score over an excellent GRE score for two reasons: The LSAT is a better indication of how a student will fare at law school, and. The LSAT is a powerful component of law school rankings.

Is there a demand for English majors?

The great news is that people with English degrees commonly find employment in education and legal services, but graduates have also filled positions in a variety of other industries [1].

Are English degrees employable?

Employers such as advertising marketing and public relations agencies, media organisations and publishing companies, the NHS (National Health Service), educational institutions, financial and legal firms and local and national government, all value the broad set of skills English graduates have.

Where is it hardest to become a lawyer?

1. California

Law students across the US may be familiar with the famed “impossible” California bar exam. But why is the California bar exam so hard? For starters, the cut score (the score needed to pass the test) of the California bar is 1390 out of 2000, which is 40 points above the national average.