What is the best undergrad to become a family lawyer?
I decided that I want to become a lawyer, and possibly practice family law or something similar. What is the best major to prepare me for law school and my career?
I have heard that a business degree is a strong choice, because you can fall back on it if you decide not to pursue law school. The problem with this is that I hate math. I have had numerous tutors throughout middle school, high school, and college. Math has never clicked for me, so I need another idea for a major because it would only weaken my GPA.
I am a very strong writer and thinker. I am currently in the journalism program, but I absolutely hate it. Its boring, too structured, stressful, and the pay sucks.
If anyone could give me an idea of which majors to check out that involve little math and can be used in case I decide not to go to law school, I would really appreciate it.
This is a long question, thank you for your time.
3 Responses
ownpool
21 Feb 2010
JadeNikki
21 Feb 2010
Social work or psychology might be good choices if you want to work in the family setting. A business degree was, in the past, a good thing on which to fall back, but with the economy like it is, only having a business degree isn’t going to cut it quite like a more specialized degree is.
T.Smitty
21 Feb 2010
Just work hard and love your boyfriend.
I am a retired attorney. My wife is a retired family law attorney. We discussed your question.
We were both history majors in undergraduate school and agree that the preparation required for law school is best met by a history major in that the skills of critical reading and writing for history and law are very similar. Of course, the only other common career for which an undergraduate history degree prepares a student is high school teaching of history.
A person’s eventual specialty in law should not play a role in selecting an undergrad major, except that business can be helpful if you know you want to practice business law.
As you do not like math, a business major is not a good choice.
The best law students have usually decided on law as a career by the end of their sophomore year, so the concept of a fall-back career only comes into play if you are not admitted to law school. If you have
a 3.5 GPA you will probably have the grades and earn the test scores necessary for law school. If your GPA is 3.0 or lower, your chances of admission to law school and success in law are low enough that you probably should consider another career.
I hope this info has been helpful. Feel free to email if you would like further discussion.