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What subjects should i take in grade 9 if i want to become a lawyer
I am very confident, i love helping people stay away from trouble. #lawyer
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Gonzalo’s Answer
Hi Liyema - Here is my recommendation on the types of courses you should take:
1. Social Studies Courses: The law keeps the world running in order. If you want to work in law, you’ll need to understand why we have the laws we do. Social studies courses covering social issues, world history, government, and criminal law are all recommended for future legal workers.
2. English Courses: Critical thinking is the cornerstone of law. You need to know how to interpret the intent and letter of the law if you want to have a successful legal career. eAchieve English classes cover more than just writing and reading comprehension. Learning how to read effectively can make life easier when you’re stuck reviewing an old legal document used to establish precedent. We also have AP classes which go over classic and modern literature.
3. World Language Courses: Knowing multiple languages can expand your job opportunities in the legal field. Being bilingual or even trilingual can open the door for countless job offers all over the world. eAchieve language classes include beginner and AP-level Spanish, French, German, and Chinese. A lot of legal terminology is based on Latin. Our Latin 1, 2, and 3 language courses teach you basic grammar and vocabulary.
4. Business Education Courses: Business education classes are a smart choice for high school students interested in working as a business lawyer. Business lawyers can work at law firms or be employed as in-house counsel in a wide variety of business types.
1. Social Studies Courses: The law keeps the world running in order. If you want to work in law, you’ll need to understand why we have the laws we do. Social studies courses covering social issues, world history, government, and criminal law are all recommended for future legal workers.
2. English Courses: Critical thinking is the cornerstone of law. You need to know how to interpret the intent and letter of the law if you want to have a successful legal career. eAchieve English classes cover more than just writing and reading comprehension. Learning how to read effectively can make life easier when you’re stuck reviewing an old legal document used to establish precedent. We also have AP classes which go over classic and modern literature.
3. World Language Courses: Knowing multiple languages can expand your job opportunities in the legal field. Being bilingual or even trilingual can open the door for countless job offers all over the world. eAchieve language classes include beginner and AP-level Spanish, French, German, and Chinese. A lot of legal terminology is based on Latin. Our Latin 1, 2, and 3 language courses teach you basic grammar and vocabulary.
4. Business Education Courses: Business education classes are a smart choice for high school students interested in working as a business lawyer. Business lawyers can work at law firms or be employed as in-house counsel in a wide variety of business types.
Thank you very much Sir.
This was very helpful. May God bless you.
Liyema
Updated
Desiree’s Answer
Good for you, Liyema, for getting a head start and preparing for law school. First, let me say that I'm in the US and I can only answer from a US prospective, it may be different in ZA. In the U.S. you need to have an undergraduate degree (4-year bachelor's degree), and good law school admission test (LSAT) scores to get into law school. Law school is 3 more years after you graduate from university.
In the U.S. there is no particular required major - or minor - for that bachelor's degree. It's pretty common for people heading to law school to major in History, Political Science, Business, or English. However, you should major in something of interest to you and in which you'll get stellar grades. Having good grades is key to being admitted to law school. So if Math or Chemistry is your passion, do that! (I am a lawyer, my undergraduate majors were Biology and Marine Science.)
To do well in law school - and the practice of the law! - you need to have strong analytical, reasoning and writing skills. Any courses that help develop those "muscles" will prepare you. Depending on what type of lawyer you want to be, you need my need additional skills. You may consider classes in that focus on your country's Constitution, public speaking, logic, debate, writing composition, etc. which will be helpful to any lawyer anywhere. If you are interested in say, criminal law, then you might consider classes about criminal justice, forensics, criminal science. If you are interested in say, environmental law, the a basic understanding of statistics, biology and chemistry will serve you well. Corporate law? Consider math, accounting, business classes. I imagine you can see a pattern forming: the law has many focus areas and you can select classes that align with the area of your interest.
I understand that you are trying to be focused with your studies, but honestly, I cannot think of any classes I took in high school that were "unnecessary" to law. Part of being a good attorney is being well-rounded and having the ability to synthesize a lot of different information. Some of my courses work may not have a straight line to law, but in terms of honing analytical or people skills, they must have been helpful. Don't be so laser focused on being a lawyer that you skip courses that are of interest to you. You'll be amazed what unforeseen issues come into your practice of law!
Research your local law school admission requirements
In both High School and University, take elective classes or participate in extracurricular activities involving the field of law or key legal skills (public speaking, debat, model UN, etc.)
In the U.S. there is no particular required major - or minor - for that bachelor's degree. It's pretty common for people heading to law school to major in History, Political Science, Business, or English. However, you should major in something of interest to you and in which you'll get stellar grades. Having good grades is key to being admitted to law school. So if Math or Chemistry is your passion, do that! (I am a lawyer, my undergraduate majors were Biology and Marine Science.)
To do well in law school - and the practice of the law! - you need to have strong analytical, reasoning and writing skills. Any courses that help develop those "muscles" will prepare you. Depending on what type of lawyer you want to be, you need my need additional skills. You may consider classes in that focus on your country's Constitution, public speaking, logic, debate, writing composition, etc. which will be helpful to any lawyer anywhere. If you are interested in say, criminal law, then you might consider classes about criminal justice, forensics, criminal science. If you are interested in say, environmental law, the a basic understanding of statistics, biology and chemistry will serve you well. Corporate law? Consider math, accounting, business classes. I imagine you can see a pattern forming: the law has many focus areas and you can select classes that align with the area of your interest.
I understand that you are trying to be focused with your studies, but honestly, I cannot think of any classes I took in high school that were "unnecessary" to law. Part of being a good attorney is being well-rounded and having the ability to synthesize a lot of different information. Some of my courses work may not have a straight line to law, but in terms of honing analytical or people skills, they must have been helpful. Don't be so laser focused on being a lawyer that you skip courses that are of interest to you. You'll be amazed what unforeseen issues come into your practice of law!
Desiree recommends the following next steps:
Zeenat Dasoo
Executive Director IBM South Africa: Transformation and Special Projects
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Zeenat’s Answer
Hi
I recommend that you look at the law school requirements at the universities that you intend to apply to to see how they weigh up different subjects. From experience you will need the core subjects in school that will enable you to get a matric exemption. Additional subjects you can consider are History/ Accounting/IT, depending on what you enjoy. If you are good at Math, I would recommend that you do this as well - I don't however believe that it is a requirement for admission to law. Another recommendation is to utilise the free services offered by universities for career counselling. When you are in Grade 11, I would recommend that you obtain job shadowing experience.
When considering what degree path to choose when applying to university, most students would choose to do the Bachelor of Arts degree and the post graduate LLB. To set you apart, my advice to you (if you are interested) is to consider doing an undergraduate degree in the commerce faculty or the science faculty and to then consider doing a post graduate LLB degree. The undergraduate degree from these faculties gives you more options to pursue different paths as a lawyer. Apart from the Bachelor of Arts degree, some of the other degrees you can consider doing are ( engineering, pharmacy, teaching, computer science,Bcom Accounting Science, BMusic, Quantity Surveying, BSC general, Bcom General, BCom /BSC Information Systems, Bcomm/BA PoliticsPhilosophyEconomics etc.) and then proceed to do an LLB degree.
Hope this helped and good luck.
I recommend that you look at the law school requirements at the universities that you intend to apply to to see how they weigh up different subjects. From experience you will need the core subjects in school that will enable you to get a matric exemption. Additional subjects you can consider are History/ Accounting/IT, depending on what you enjoy. If you are good at Math, I would recommend that you do this as well - I don't however believe that it is a requirement for admission to law. Another recommendation is to utilise the free services offered by universities for career counselling. When you are in Grade 11, I would recommend that you obtain job shadowing experience.
When considering what degree path to choose when applying to university, most students would choose to do the Bachelor of Arts degree and the post graduate LLB. To set you apart, my advice to you (if you are interested) is to consider doing an undergraduate degree in the commerce faculty or the science faculty and to then consider doing a post graduate LLB degree. The undergraduate degree from these faculties gives you more options to pursue different paths as a lawyer. Apart from the Bachelor of Arts degree, some of the other degrees you can consider doing are ( engineering, pharmacy, teaching, computer science,Bcom Accounting Science, BMusic, Quantity Surveying, BSC general, Bcom General, BCom /BSC Information Systems, Bcomm/BA PoliticsPhilosophyEconomics etc.) and then proceed to do an LLB degree.
Hope this helped and good luck.