Exploring Careers in Law

By Kurt Schmoke

Consider the following careers: TV and movie actor, business executive, sports league commissioner, foundation director, diplomat, journalist, church pastor, elected official, teacher. I know individuals currently engaged in all these careers. What do they have in common? They are all law school graduates.

Attending law school can be a wise and rewarding personal choice. But to get there you'll need to know how law schools select students, and how students should go about selecting law schools. You should also know how employers choose which graduates to hire and how graduates choose to use their law degrees. This article may help remove some of the mystery from the law school admissions process and give you a better understanding of why so many people consider a law degree to be a great door opener to a wide range of professional opportunities.

First, the law school admissions process. Students often ask if there is a preferred major that should be pursued to be accepted by a law school. The answer is no. Overwhelmingly, law schools will focus on how well you did in your major, not what your major was. The legal profession needs people trained in science, engineering and math, as well as those trained in history, political science and sociology and other liberal arts disciplines. Most law schools have an admissions committee comprised of professors and the director of admissions. They review thousands of admissions applications each year. Because they see so many applications, they often establish certain criteria to automatically exclude some applicants and include others for further review. Usually the criteria are a combination of cumulative undergraduate grade-point average (UGPA) and the standardized Law School Admission Test (LSAT). Once they  review the numbers, they begin to look at the rest of the application to learn more about students’ backgrounds, future interests and extracurricular activities. Offers are made based on this review.

Students deciding to apply to law school must make sure they have the strongest possible UGPA and LSAT scores. Then they should review the recent admissions history of particular law schools to see if their scores fit what the law schools have shown they will accept. Where do you get this information? Three possible sources: the law school itself, the American Bar Association (ABA) Web site (particularly the section on Legal Education) or from one of the annual rankings (US News & World Report being the best known).

How you use the rankings is a matter of personal taste. Talk with any recent graduate of a law school and they will tell you rankings are not destiny. Schools listed in the top 10 of the US News report on the 190 ABA- approved law schools are often referred to as the “elite” law schools. I attended one of those elite laws schools, and I am dean of a law school not in that elite category. What I have learned is that employers will focus on how well you did in law school more than where you went to law school. There is no denying there are distinct advantages to attending an elite law school, the primary one being that a “B” student at an elite school is considered by law firms to be a better job prospect than a “B” student at a non-elite school. That does not mean average students at non-elite schools will be unemployable. It just means certain employers, such as multinational law firms, are likely to overlook them in initial employment offers. It is clear, however, that those who are top performers at non-elite law schools will get job offers every bit as good as those given to students at the “elite” law schools.

The Internet has improved the task of law school selection. Students should thoroughly explore information on the Web sites. There are approximately 190 ABA-approved law schools in the United States (California also permits some law schools to operate that are not ABA approved, but the graduates of those schools can only practice law in California). Students will find great diversity in these law schools, different missions, different cultures, different areas of emphasis. Matching your interest with that of the law school is far more important than selecting based upon where the school sits on a ranking ladder.

Once you are admitted and do well academically, you will be faced with two important decisions: what type of job to pursue after graduation and in which state to take the bar examination? And remember. The range of possibilities is vast. Some graduates work  in large law firms. Others prefer small or solo practices. Many enter government, business or academic life. All of them, however, obtain an education that enables them to become problemsolvers for individuals and organizations. Choosing how to use the law degree depends on personal preferences about how one chooses to engage the world.

Becoming a lawyer in the United States involves two major steps: graduating from an accredited law school and passing a certification test called the bar examination. Each state and the District of Columbia administer a bar exam. To practice law, you must have passed the bar exam in at least one of those places. It is important to get information about a given state's bar exam so you will know which subjects are likely to be tested and what is the format of the test. The exam may be given over two days or three, it may be predominantly essay or multiple choice questions, and there may be other differences depending on where the exam is given. Because portions of the exam test subjects students encounter as far back as the first year of law school, most enroll in a bar exam preparation course. These courses usually run for six weeks and end a few days before the exam itself. The wise person takes a bar prep class. This is the type of test that you don’t want to have to take a second time.

What follows after you graduate and pass the bar exam is unlike what you see on “Judge Judy” or any other similar TV program. Many students are surprised to learn that most lawyers spend their time trying to stay out of court rather than being in court. Those arguing guilt or innocence before a jury make up just a small segment of the legal profession. The majority of lawyers work in offices drafting documents (contracts, wills, deeds, etc.), researching the law, organizing businesses, negotiating contracts, assisting in property sales, lobbying government agencies. Once they develop strong professional skills and become known in their community, more opportunities open up in such areas as business, politics and philanthropy. For many lawyers, the early years of  practice open doors of opportunity that they had not dreamed they would pursue when they entered law school.

Much more could be said about the early stages of a career in law. However, the most important thing to note is that our country has been and will be affected by the decisions of lawyers. The legal profession needs creative, sensitive, hard-working and enthusiastic people. If those words apply to you, you should definitely consider a career in the law.

Kurt L. Schmoke is dean of the Howard University School of Law. He is the former mayor of Baltimore, a graduate of Yale and a Rhodes Scholar.