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What are some tips or advice for someone wanting to become a lawyer?
I’m in high school and want to pursue a law career. Any classes I should take or books I should read to give me a head start?
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Stacy’s Answer
Hi Claire! This is such a great question, and I’m truly impressed that you are thinking about this now! I have a few different ideas but the best tip I can give you right now is to read and write as much as you can, about anything and everything. The most important skills for a lawyer are the ability to read critically, synthesize vast and often divergent information, and set the information that is most relevant forth in a clear, cogent, accessible manner - both in writing and orally. Anything you write in which you have to take a position and make an argument - whether in a short essay, a lengthier report or paper, or an even lengthier thesis - is going to teach you and hone your advocacy skills. I mean anything! The more you do it, the better you get at it. As a lawyer, one thing that you spend a lot of time thinking about is if you have a few different arguments to make, which one should come first? Which should be last, or which gets stuck in the middle? Do I even include this one if it’s not that important or helpful to the point I’m trying to make? Anything you can do that helps you to think in these terms is great preparation.
Another thing that I think would give you a leg up is working on speaking skills. Is there a debate team or Model Congress or something like that you can join? I did that in high school and I don’t think I was particularly good at it, but it gave me the experience in speaking in front of people at a time when I had few opportunities for that.
Certainly if your school offers something law related - I took a business law class in high school that I really enjoyed - go ahead and take that, and when you get to college, hopefully you will have plenty of opportunities to take classes on or related to the law thru the poli sci department, and I would encourage you to do so.
I’m not sure of the age parameters for this, but volunteering at a local politician’s office or at the district attorney’s office or legal aid now or in the future would be a great way to learn more about the legal system, how lawyers work, and criminal law more specifically if you intern with a prosecutor for example. I think working for a politician is great bc while it doesn’t seem to be directly on point, you will need and develop the same skills working in that type of office as you will need as a practicing attorney - researching/locating the information you need, writing persuasively, making cogent arguments, learning tact. Plus, politicians office are full of attorneys, and much of the work there entails working with the legal departments of various government agencies. Also, a lot of law schools have legal clinics at which the law students work under the supervision of their professors and assist clients. If you could volunteer at one of those - even if it was just doing clerical work - I think it would be a rich source of info as well as networking to some degree. Plus, since they are specifically geared towards teaching, they are likely to be very willing and patient about answering questions, explaining why they are doing whatever it is they are doing, etc., and perhaps let you sit in with clients, etc.
I haven’t kept up with the literature on the law school experience so I can’t point you to any particular book unfortunately, but I’m sure there are plenty of websites and blogs that can point you in the right direction. I read a book called “One L” by Scott Turow quite some time ago that I thought gave a real flavor for what law school was like. I’m not sure if it is in print any longer but maybe it would be available at the library or thru a used book site. it would be somewhat dated I imagine, but I remember reading it before law school and after my first year and thinking that the book really nailed the experience of being a law student, both good and bad.
I hope this has been helpful to you. Best of luck.
Another thing that I think would give you a leg up is working on speaking skills. Is there a debate team or Model Congress or something like that you can join? I did that in high school and I don’t think I was particularly good at it, but it gave me the experience in speaking in front of people at a time when I had few opportunities for that.
Certainly if your school offers something law related - I took a business law class in high school that I really enjoyed - go ahead and take that, and when you get to college, hopefully you will have plenty of opportunities to take classes on or related to the law thru the poli sci department, and I would encourage you to do so.
I’m not sure of the age parameters for this, but volunteering at a local politician’s office or at the district attorney’s office or legal aid now or in the future would be a great way to learn more about the legal system, how lawyers work, and criminal law more specifically if you intern with a prosecutor for example. I think working for a politician is great bc while it doesn’t seem to be directly on point, you will need and develop the same skills working in that type of office as you will need as a practicing attorney - researching/locating the information you need, writing persuasively, making cogent arguments, learning tact. Plus, politicians office are full of attorneys, and much of the work there entails working with the legal departments of various government agencies. Also, a lot of law schools have legal clinics at which the law students work under the supervision of their professors and assist clients. If you could volunteer at one of those - even if it was just doing clerical work - I think it would be a rich source of info as well as networking to some degree. Plus, since they are specifically geared towards teaching, they are likely to be very willing and patient about answering questions, explaining why they are doing whatever it is they are doing, etc., and perhaps let you sit in with clients, etc.
I haven’t kept up with the literature on the law school experience so I can’t point you to any particular book unfortunately, but I’m sure there are plenty of websites and blogs that can point you in the right direction. I read a book called “One L” by Scott Turow quite some time ago that I thought gave a real flavor for what law school was like. I’m not sure if it is in print any longer but maybe it would be available at the library or thru a used book site. it would be somewhat dated I imagine, but I remember reading it before law school and after my first year and thinking that the book really nailed the experience of being a law student, both good and bad.
I hope this has been helpful to you. Best of luck.