Law-Forums.org

[fionnbharr]

Hello, all -
I'm planning to get a double major in International Studies and Philosophy at the University of Scranton and plan to attend law school. I'm studying Chinese, Arabic, and French, and I've already taken a significant amount of Spanish.
I plan to go to law school - possibly Georgetown, Penn, or Cornell - and I'm wondering how this major can adequately prepare me for law school and if it can help me in other areas of law besides the blatantly obvious international law. I'm also considering a career in corporate law, possibly involving foreign work, and I'm also curious as to whether such a field exists and if International Studies could prepare me for corporate law, or if I should pursue a different major.

Thanks to anyone who gives their opinion on any or all of these questions!

[mate]

International law is a rare specialty that every attorney seems to want to do, but very few ever actually get to practice. I mean, who doesn't want to travel to foreign and exotic lands and get paid obscene amounts of money to do it? Many who do practice international law do so from the United States and don't travel much. A lot can be done over the phone and email.

Some corporate attorneys do work abroad or work with international organizations, but most don't. I just want you to be prepared for that possibility.

Philosophy might help you in law school - teaches you how to think critically, dissect and analyze arguments, find flaws in reasoning, understand the connections between ideas, all skills useful when studying the law and, more importantly, when studying for the LSAT.

International Studies won't do much for you unless you can actually break into international law, but even then I'm not so sure that it'd be particularly useful.

If you want to attend GULC, Penn or Cornell, then you should focus on keeping your GPA up (ideally, over 3.5-3.6). When you begin preparing for the LSAT, treat that sucker like your full-time job and study for 3-6 months.

[christos]

International law is a rare specialty that every attorney seems to want to do, but very few ever actually get to practice. I mean, who doesn't want to travel to foreign and exotic lands and get paid obscene amounts of money to do it? Many who do practice international law do so from the United States and don't travel much. A lot can be done over the phone and email.

Some corporate attorneys do work abroad or work with international organizations, but most don't. I just want you to be prepared for that possibility.

Philosophy might help you in law school - teaches you how to think critically, dissect and analyze arguments, find flaws in reasoning, understand the connections between ideas, all skills useful when studying the law and, more importantly, when studying for the LSAT.

International Studies won't do much for you unless you can actually break into international law, but even then I'm not so sure that it'd be particularly useful.

If you want to attend GULC, Penn or Cornell, then you should focus on keeping your GPA up (ideally, over 3.5-3.6). When you begin preparing for the LSAT, treat that sucker like your full-time job and study for 3-6 months.

Well, considering law schools don't require a prerequisite major, it's perfectly fine. I'd even encourage it since philosophy is known to augment your analytical/critical thinking skills which are essential to possess in order to succeed in law school and as a lawyer. As long as this major maintains your interest it's a perfectly viable option. There are students in law school who've majored in various disciplines that also succeed just as well, ie)engineering, economics, business administration, etc..

[montgomery69]

Major in whatever you like! It is very important for you to keep a high (3.85+) GPA if you are interested in top law schools, and the key to keeping a high GPA is to major in a subject you actually like. Philosophy is a great choice if you enjoy it, but really anything is fine.

I don't think that International Studies would open any doors for you that something like History, Poli Sci, English, or Philosophy wouldn't also. (Although all the Logic you need to take in Philosophy WOULD help you do really well on the LSAT). If you are at all interested in patent law you should go major in a hard science or engineering - but otherwise I'm pretty sure you can get into something like corporate law with any undergraduate major, as long as you excelled in both undergrad and in law school.

I do want to say though that it is very worthwhile to learn other languages, especially Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic. Those are great strengths and will open a number of doors for you in the future - in law, in business, or elsewhere.