Law School
From Unofficial Guide to Engineering
Contents |
Introduction
Law Schools do not require a specific undergraduate major, or even a list of core courses. Indeed, you can be an architecture major, art major, or an engineer, and still apply for law school. With the number of interdisciplinary fields related to law constantly increasing, law schools are receiving more applications from non-traditional pre-law majors every year. The only requirements are usually an undergraduate degree, a score on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), and a completed application form, usually with recommendation letters and essays.
There are, however, certain skills that law schools look for in applicants. After all, as a lawyer, your job will require drafting cogent arguments and solutions to problems, then communicating those arguments and solutions effectively to persuade and convince a judge or jury.1 To evaluate these skills, law schools look at a number of factors, including essay, extra-curricular activities, and your academic history. Law schools usually spell out their admission criteria, including the relative weights given to different areas, very clearly on their website, so a quick search of your desired law schools should give you a good breakdown of what you’ll need. For all law schools, however, two factors stand far above any other: your undergraduate GPA (taken within context), and your LSAT score. These two factors predict with remarkable accuracy law school admissions, so you’ll want to watch out for these from the very beginning of your undergraduate career.
The Juris Doctor, or JD, is the most common degree conferred by law schools. All American Bar Association-approved law schools usually require 3 years of full-time study to earn a JD. Some law schools also offer part-time programs that generally take 4 to 5 years to complete. In addition, many schools offer joint degrees, such as a JD/MBA or JD/MA that may take 4-5 years to complete, but generally take less time to complete than completing the two degrees separately.2
In the following sections, we’ll look at reasons why an engineer might want to consider law school, how to choose a school, and then go step by step through the admissions process.
How is Law School different from an undergraduate education?3
While law school students learn to become better thinkers, writers, and speakers, law school is not merely an extension of a letters and sciences undergraduate degree program. Here are a few ways that law school differs from undergraduate education:
Focus: While you will learn to "think like a lawyer" rather than to memorize specific laws, your studies will be more focused than they were as an undergraduate. At most law schools, your first year of classes will be composed of required courses and most of the electives available in the second and third year will also be law-related.
Teaching method: During first year classes and sometimes beyond, you will probably encounter the case method of teaching, also known as the Socratic Method. You will be assigned to read voluminous amounts of judicial opinions and to write summaries of them called briefs. Then, you may be called upon in class to answer a series of questions about the opinions, including the facts presented in them as well as the legal principles and reasoning used to formulate them. The case method tests your ability to synthesize information and to apply knowledge to new situations.
Evaluation: One of the hardest things for many new law school students to adapt to is the fact that they may not see any form of evaluation or grade until the end of the semester. Some law schools only distribute grades once a year.
Why Law School?
First, the engineering-specific reason.
One of the key tasks for technology corporations in today’s business environment is securing patent rights for newly developed products and technologies. Here, more than anywhere else, engineers have a distinct and significant advantage over their peers because of the technical training they receive as an undergraduate. In fact, when hiring new employees, new companies are more likely to discriminate against weak technical knowledge more than lack of knowledge in patent or copyright law.4 That’s because the latter can be learned much quicker, whereas the former requires years of training and is much more complex. As such, there is an increasing demand for engineers in the field of law.
Technical ability alone, however, will not make one a successful lawyer. You will still need all of the skills that are generally thought to be necessary for a good lawyer. In addition, many engineers may want to explore fields of law outside of the tech industry. If you’re trying to decide whether or not law school is for you, the best way to start is probably to talk with other law students, lawyers, and career counselors. Berkeley has all of these in spades, so take advantage of the enormous amount of resources at your disposal. Don’t be scared if you do not have a specific area of law that you want to practice in mind when entering law school, as most first-years students do not. However, understand that law school is an enormous commitment, in terms of money, time, and energy. Naturally, it will have a large impact on your future career, so you want to make sure that law school is something you are ready to commit to if you do indeed decide to apply.
How do I choose a law school?
The first step is to make an honest evaluation of where you stand with regards to your grades and test scores. While schools do look at a multitude of factors, GPA and LSAT should give a good indication of what “tier” of law schools might be best suited for an applicant. Do not let the numbers discourage you too much, however, as applicants with other strong qualities and/or accomplishments will be admitted to schools even if their numbers are lower than average. Similar to undergrad, it is advisable to apply to three types of schools: “reach” schools whose chances of offering you admission are less likely, schools that you would be competitive at, and safety schools where you will likely be admitted.
Another important factor is school location. At most schools, the job opportunities available to a student are closely related to the location of the school. If you want to practice in California, for example, it may be best to go to a law school in the state. Not only will you be closer to work and internship opportunities, but your classroom curriculum may also be more closely tailored to the nature of the work performed by legal practitioners in the area. The one exception to this is the top tier of law schools. Due to their prestige and broad-based education, a degree from a top law school should open doors wherever you decide to move.
Third, consider the cost of your education. The current tuition and fees at UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall (a public school) is roughly $23,000 for an in-state resident. The estimated total cost, which includes living expenses, is about $42,000. At UC Davis, where fees and living costs are lower, the in-state estimate is only $30,000. On the other hand, a year of law school at a private school usually runs between $55,000-$60,000. There are a lot of financial aid opportunities for prospective students, so don’t let cost close any doors completely, but keep in mind when choosing a school that cost and loans will likely have an effect on your post-graduation plans.
Below is a more extensive list of factors that will help you choose a law school. The relative weights given to each of these factors depends on each individual student, and this list is by no means an exhaustive list.5
- Diversity of student body and faculty
- Campus political climate
- Availability of classes in your areas of interest
- Career services and placement rates
- Campus facilities (housing, library, classrooms)
- Faculty (legal training, areas of interest, accessibility, diversity)
- Extracurricular activities (Law Review, moot court, student clubs)
- Academic programs (clinical opportunities, joint degree offerings, study abroad options)
Application Process Overview
Although most law schools do not release their applications for fall applicants until the previous August, you can get a pretty good idea of what a school’s application will look like by glancing at the previous year’s application. These applications change very little from year to year, and are almost always available for inspection on the school’s website. Because of other demands during the school year, it’s advisable for you to begin planning your personal statement during the summer before your senior year. While you will still have time before the deadline to work in the fall, finishing early allows you to avoid worrying about it during the school year.
Most schools have de-facto rolling admissions, even if they don’t explicitly say so. The earlier you submit your application, the better off you will be. Some schools also have Early Admissions (EA) or Early Decision (ED) options. An EA simply means that you will receive an earlier admissions decision provided that you complete and submit your application by a certain due date. An ED, on the other hand, is a binding agreement that you will attend the school you applied ED to if you are accepted. As such, you can only apply to one school ED. This choice is becoming increasingly more rare, as more ED options are transforming into EA options to provide more flexibility to applicants.
Timeline6
Junior Year
- Continue exploring the legal field
- Attend the Cal Law School Fair in the fall
- Attend Law School Workshops on applying, writing the statement, obtaining letters, etc.
- Obtain the LSAT
