Law School Preparation
In choosing a course of study while preparing for law school, students should start
by considering which subjects they enjoy most. Aptitude and academic success usually
go hand in hand with interest: students tend to perform better in the areas they like
the most.
If they major in a discipline that they find unappealing, they may hurt, rather than
help, their chances of getting into law school, and their experience in law school
may end up being far less rewarding than it could have otherwise been.
Nonetheless, some courses of study are better preparation for law school than others.
And the humanities provide particularly good preparation. Collectively, they do a
great deal to sharpen the particular set of skills that are essential for studying
and later practicing law.
Edward Cohen, former professor at University of Texas at Austin (one of the nation's
leading law schools), always urged pre-law students to "get the broadest liberal arts
education you can; spend far and away the most time on the humanities. That's the
most helpful thing you can do in getting ready for law school." One of Cohen's students
explained:
"When you get to law school, you'll study plenty of business law, for example-all
you'll need and more. But you won't study history, philosophy, and so on. Your course
of study is going to be very rigorous and limiting. You'll no longer have the opportunity
to get a broad education, and you'll need to have made use of the opportunity in undergraduate
school, because it's a broad education that makes you a literate, well-rounded person.
If all you've studied in college is [for example] math and business law then . . .
you'll be limited in how effectively you can practice law. For example, you may not
be able to put together a sentence decently. You certainly won't be able to speak
eloquently or with any persuasive force."
Similarly, when asked by one of the authors of this handbook, one trial attorney said:
"None of the most accomplished trial lawyers I ever met was a CPA by training or majored
in business. All of them were bright, intellectually curious people. Their curiosity
is what led them to take a broad range of courses. Sometimes they'd switched majors
a number of times. They could speak to you convincingly. They had a broad range of
ideas to pull from. . . . Many times [in practicing trial law] I fell back on what
I'd learned in history. From the very broad range of courses I took in the humanities,
I got [among other things] names I could drop and phrases I could turn, and I understood
people much better. I studied Latin and Greek; I took English classes until there
were just about none left to take; I spent a lot of time in the history department.
. . ."
As this suggests, there are good reasons to gravitate toward the humanities in preparing
for law school. For one, both law students and attorneys must have a knack for analyzing
issues well, reading critically, offering accurate interpretations, writing and speaking
clearly, making sensible inferences, and crafting forceful arguments. Meanwhile, law
students and attorneys need to understand people so as to be adept at talking with
clients, gaining their trust, interviewing them to glean details that are relevant
to a legal case, dealing with the opposing side in the case, and so on.
Moreover, in order to handle the rigors of law school and, ultimately, of practicing
law, a person needs to be accustomed to doing academic work that is vigorous and demanding.
One of the most famous trial lawyers of all time, Louis Nizer, used to stress heavily
that preparation is crucial in the practice of law. And in a similar vein, another
attorney said:
"In my view, good study skills-those relevant to law study and practice-are the most
important things to be taken from undergraduate study. . . . Students will need to
work tirelessly if they really want to excel in law school. [They'll need to d]ig
into the material deeply and spend more time than necessary, as opposed to less. People
may be able to skate by in undergraduate school, but this just won't work in law school."
He mentioned two assets that are the most crucial for a student to have when entering
law school. One of them is a tolerance for very heavy loads of reading, and the other
is the patience to go over the same material as much as is required in order to clear
up all misunderstandings and ambiguities. He also said that this tolerance and patience
have to be cultivated and must become habitual in the undergraduate years if a student
is to succeed in law school: "The importance of good habits can't be overstressed.
I witnessed many bright people do poorly in law school and fail the bar exam because
they simply didn't have the habits they needed."
Not surprisingly, he added that the necessary habits are best developed through study
in the humanities. These habits are essential not only for law students, but also
for attorneys, who need to be attentive to details, disciplined, and utterly thorough.
In short, there are sizable advantages that the humanities share with one another
when they serve as pre-law training. There also are other advantages specific to each
discipline in the humanities. What follows is a catalogue of some of them.
Philosophy
It is easy to see why admissions committees at law schools tend to favor philosophy majors. Perhaps more than anything else, law students and attorneys need to be skilled at
evaluating the strength of arguments and counterarguments. And philosophy centers
on a process in which arguments are weighed against counterarguments about various
issues so as to reach truth or knowledge by figuring out which views we have the best
reasons to adopt. Philosophy students learn to carry out this process with great rigor
and sophistication.
Emphasizing all of this, one attorney said: "If you want to do well in law school,
major in philosophy. Double major, if you want. But whatever you do, take a lot of
philosophy classes." Similarly, when asked what course of study she recommends first
and foremost as pre-law training, another attorney replied: "That's easy-philosophy.
No question." Still another lawyer put it this way:
If students aren't used to analyzing argument after argument, they won't succeed in
law school. . . . [In the study and practice of law, i]t's not enough just to be able
to craft a good argument of your own. You also have to be so familiar with argumentation
that you can immediately spot the flaws in other people's arguments. That's why philosophy
courses are hands-down the best pre-law training. There are a lot of disciplines [in
which] you'll get some good practice at assessing arguments. But you'll get the most
practice, and the best practice, in philosophy.
The area of philosophy known as philosophy of law is of obvious importance for pre-law
students. But so are other fields in philosophy, such as logic, which is the general
science of inference. From the study of logic, students gain basic tools with which
to distinguish good reasoning from poor reasoning. In order to have a complete set
of tools and grow adept enough at using them, students will need to continue their
study of philosophy during the undergraduate years. But the tools gained from a logic
course are indispensable, and the study of logic is essential for any pre-law student.
Ethics and political philosophy, two other fields in philosophy, grapple with issues
involving justice, fairness, duty and obligation, and the like. In turn, ethics and
political philosophy reflect the very essence of law: foundational notions of right
versus wrong, the proper interests of both individual and society, what people owe
one another, the balance of rights they have, the basis for claiming a right, how
disputes are to be settled with equity, when a law may defensibly be violated, and
so on. Ethics and political philosophy are tightly linked with legal study.
Finally, since law is founded upon what humankind has concluded is known and knowable,
pre-law students also do well to study the area of philosophy called epistemology,
which concerns such issues as what knowledge is. But logic, ethics and political philosophy,
and epistemology are just examples of fields in philosophy that are relevant. Pre-law
students have a lot to gain from all of the philosophy courses offered at Seaver College.
All of the parties in a legal conflict have to provide compelling arguments in their
defense. In a wide range of instances, law students and attorneys must ask whether
the arguments that are offered are satisfactory. No other undergraduate students are
better prepared to size up an argument than philosophy majors.
History
History, too, is an excellent major or area of emphasis for a pre-law student. As the study
of past events and people, and the significance they still have, history looks at
where we have been and where we are going. Rather than simply reporting what came
before us, history helps us learn from the past so that we can make better judgments.
For example, we consider how people have responded to crises, analyze the decisions
they have made, and weigh the merits of the strategies they have used; in the process
of uncovering certain patterns in the past, we can learn lessons that are useful here
and now. History also deepens our appreciation for various points of view, reveals
the value of disagreement, and helps us see more clearly the interrelationships among
other fields of study.
For that matter, law itself is history in large part: a lengthy succession of case
law sets precedents that guide legal decision-making. Additionally, the development
of our justice system is inextricably intertwined with both American and world history,
in part since English common law from centuries ago gave life to most American law.
The role of law in American culture cannot be fully appreciated without due regard
for the history that produced our conceptions of law and that produced the laws under
which we live and function. To understand what our legal system is and why it is the
way it is, we have to know the history of American jurisprudence, a history which
is at the heart of the American experience.
One feature of American culture that sets it apart from other cultures in history
is that the United States has a government of laws and not people, meaning that written
statutory law or court-developed case law are what decide disputes and govern virtually
every facet of American life: laws guide us, rather than the arbitrary whim of a despotic
ruler who would violate fundamental rights and liberties.
The decision of the original 13 colonies to declare independence from England was
based largely upon onerous British laws to which the colonists were subjected, and
the arguments to justify wrenching free from England were based upon legal concepts
that were said to transcend any one nation or individual.
Many of the leading figures in the conflict were lawyers, and lawyers have served
this country in every key capacity from president to local justice of the peace. The
federal Supreme Court is an equal partner in the tripartite form of American government,
and its decisions have dramatically shaped major national and individual issues since
the early years of United States history.
Understanding this history, and the nature and role of law, is an invaluable asset
when one studies the law itself. History majors thus are particularly well equipped
when they enter law school. Incoming law students who have a grounding in history
can better understand what they encounter in law school, which adds to their confidence
and self-assurance.
In addition, the analytical skills they have acquired through the study of history
serve them well when they tackle case law, when they need to distill key legal principles
from it, and when they work to appreciate why the law is as it is. They will need
to carry out these tasks not only in law school, but also in practicing law.
Moreover, the intellectual discipline gained from the study of history is excellent
preparation for a career in law. The historical enterprise is based on the search
for truth via meticulous research, the careful weighing of evidence and opinions,
and the construction of persuasive arguments and narratives. Students in history are
confronted with often overwhelming loads of information that they must sort through
critically, discriminating between true and false representations of past events.
In studying history, students must discern order within the information they gather,
and then describe this order, using language that is clear, organized, and persuasive.
In carrying out this task, they develop an array of finely-honed skills that are of
tremendous value in the legal profession-a profession based on evidence, order, precedent,
and clarity of expression.
English
The study of English provides essential preparation for law school and the legal profession. Our language
is the medium in which we formulate effective questions, think through issues, discern
alternatives, and reach insights. Students of English acquire the habit of using that
language with precision, employing the rich resources of grammar and style to achieve
logical clarity, and translating their skills in focus, order, and coherence into
effective argument. Testifying to the importance of the study of English as pre-law
training, one attorney emphasized that law students must be able "to write succinctly,
zero in on the issues, and form an intelligent well thought-out argument." After a
long and distinguished career of trying cases, another lawyer said:
"I'd pick English first and foremost as preparation [for law school], because you
really need a good mastery of the English language [to be a capable attorney]. Judges
play with words. Law is filled with terms of art. Lawyers have to use language properly.
I saw lawyers run the gamut from incredibly articulate to semi-literate, and there's
no question that your facility with the English language has a lot to do with whether
you're successful in practicing law."
English Studies at Pepperdine includes the study of rhetoric in historical and contemporary
contexts and offers courses developing a broad range of persuasive writing skills.
Rhetorical skill is invaluable for any attorney, and not only for trial lawyers. While
a trial lawyer must persuade the judge and jury in a court of law, all attorneys need
to communicate compellingly when they are negotiating with other attorneys and consulting
with clients.
Since the study and practice of law involve extensive reading and analysis, a mastery
of English proves critical in every field of law-from trial law to tax law, from administrative
to corporate to constitutional law. Statutes, contracts, and legal articles require
skill in close reading, and so do the rulings and opinions that the courts hand down.
One attorney has even said that "dissecting a poem is very similar to briefing a case."
But the more literate students are, the better they will fare in every field of law.
Attorneys must often be skilled interpreters. This requirement is one that students
of English are especially capable of fulfilling: they become adept in interpretation
of the written and spoken word because they study the functions of words and the relations
among the parts of complex sentences. In interpreting texts they learn to pay attention
to detail, discover patterns of evidence, formulate judgments that connect details
to general concepts, and construct proofs supported with textual analysis and adhering
to common reasonableness. As many teachers of legal writing recognize, these are the
essential components of legal arguments.
Through the study of literary and rhetorical theories, students of English learn skills
integral to legal thinking: understanding concepts, analyzing issues and discovering
common ground, maintaining argumentative consistency within a system of assumptions
(like law), and critically comparing and evaluating interpretations arising from different
systems. The study of theory, moreover, makes English truly inter-disciplinary. Learning
to use concepts from psychology, sociology, history, philosophy, linguistics, and
rhetoric, students become familiar with the same culture-forming sources that have
influenced legal thinking. In working with theory, students of English gain broad
and sophisticated cultural knowledge and establish their own values on a coherent
basis.
Finally, through the study of poetry, drama, prose fiction, and non-fiction, students
of English amass a wealth of vicarious experience. Literature brings readers into
contact with people in all their diversity of life choices and situational dilemmas.
By closely reading literature, students become more practiced at drawing inferences,
discerning and connecting events, and entering into diverse points-of-view. Literature
absorbs every facet of human life, so it is no accident that legal issues, which often
permeate everyday thinking, have also found their way into literature and helped to
shape its themes and stories: deception and crime, judgment and sympathy, guilt and
punishment, belief and certainty, responsibility and authority and justice are the
perennial concerns of great literature. Observing these themes embodied in stories,
the candidate for the legal profession becomes a more full sensitized and capable
interpreter of the human scene.
Other Opportunities in the Humanities
Within the humanities, there are still other areas of study that provide excellent
pre-law training. Pepperdine offers two alternative ways of fulfilling many of the
general studies requirements for graduation.
In the Great Books Colloquium, a four-course sequence, students read and discuss masterworks of political thought,
ethics, literature, and religious thought, including authors who have shaped Western
debates on law and justice (Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Locke, Kant) as
well as major contributors to our cultural tradition (Homer, Virgil, Dante, Shakespeare,
Milton, Goethe, Austen, Dostoevsky). This series of limited-enrollment seminars engages
students in shared inquiry and close reading of texts, and in analytical, exploratory,
and argumentative writing.
In the Social Action and Justice Colloquium, also a four-course sequence, students read and discuss texts focusing on issues
such as human rights, gender and racial equality, the environment, the influence of
socio-economic background, and religious activism. At the same time it engages students
in service-learning activities related to the issues they are studying. This course
of study is especially relevant to potential law students interested in issues of
societal injustice.
Students interested in law school should also consider the broad opportunities to
focus on a minor that would complement and augment the skills and subject matter of
their major area of study. The Humanities Division offers minors in philosophy, history,
and English with the benefits described in the sections above. Those interested in
increasing their writing skills may also follow a minor in writing, while those desiring a broad general education would be well advised to follow a
Liberal Arts major.
It is well to bear in mind that attorneys and law students must be more than just
purveyors of the law: they are citizens whose preparation, self-images, and usefulness
to others are colored greatly by the depth and breadth of their undergraduate education.
Francis Bacon was right to say that "laws and institutions must go hand in hand with
the progress of the human mind." And as one attorney has recently put it, "life is
more than just one line of study or a particular profession, and an excellent grounding
in the humanities makes one both a better law student and a richer person."