Weigh the Benefits of Attending Law School for Policy Careers
Welcome to the latest installment of Law Admissions Q-and-A, a monthly feature of Law Admissions Lowdown that provides admissions advice to readers who send in questions and admissions profiles.
If you have a question about law school, please email me for a chance to be featured next month.
This week, I will address challenges candidates face when considering their career options while applying to law school, as well as rules around attending law school outside the U.S.
Dear Shawn: My passion is for economics, public policy and fiscal and regulatory policy, and I hope to pursue an advanced degree that will best equip me to be successful in my career. Therefore, my primary motivation to pursue law school would be to earn a degree that equips and teaches me how to navigate policy concepts and legal issues. I want to ready myself with the tools to effectively impact these policy areas.
Despite these goals, I have not completely determined whether I would like to officially "practice." Several people working in the areas that I am interested in have suggested that unless I am absolutely committed to practicing law and litigating cases, I should not pursue a law degree.
Could a law degree be beneficial to someone interested in a career in public policy? In your opinion could law school really be beneficial or is it truly the kind of degree to pursue only if I wanted to explicitly practice? - Public Policy Pursuer
This is a fantastic question. In law school, you will learn an enormous amount about the intersection of economics and public, fiscal and regulatory policy. Therefore, your initial belief is correct -- a law degree will definitely give you the tools to understand and impact those policy areas.
As you weigh your decision to apply, bear in mind that a law degree is extremely versatile. There are many nonpracticing lawyers. However, most lawyers who no longer practice law did practice it for at least a few years after law school.
[Consider the pros of earning a master's in public policy instead of a J.D.]
Law school provides a great theoretical education, but in order to fully understand the practical application of the knowledge gained during law school, you usually have to actually practice law, at least for a short time.
Without knowing more of the specifics of your plan, I would advise you to do some research, including examining the requirements for jobs you would like to pursue and see if any require a law degree.
Another way to inform your decision is to look into the resumes and credentials of people who currently hold jobs that you have your eye on and that you would like to pursue down the road. The more people who have law degrees, the more beneficial a law degree will be, both with respect to getting the job you want and with respect to giving you the tools to be successful in that job.
[Learn more about pursuing law school if you don't plan to practice.]
Overall, it sounds like law school makes sense, but you should be prepared to practice law for at least a few years to gain practical understanding before moving into a policy-oriented position.
Dear Shawn: I am American and plan to practice law in the U.S., but I was wondering if there would be any benefit to attending law school abroad. If I get a law degree abroad, what will my prospects be for practicing law in the U.S.? -- Law Abroad
The answer to this question depends largely on where in the U.S. you want to practice law. In order to practice law in the U.S., you must be admitted to the bar in the state in which you will practice, and each state has different rules and requirements for bar admission.
Many states require that your legal education be in the English common law system -- the legal system used by the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and most former British colonies -- but most states do not require that you obtain a law degree from a school in the U.S.
[Target international law school programs to prepare for a global career.]
States that do admit lawyers educated abroad often require that those lawyers get an LL.M., an advanced legal degree offered in the U.S., which usually requires an additional year of study.
From a practical perspective, unless you are planning on practicing international law, you should make sure that your education prepares you for practicing law inside the U.S.
Look into the bar admission requirements for the state in which you intend to practice. Even if you are not required to study law in a country that uses common law, you should strongly consider doing so in order to be fully prepared for practicing common law in the U.S.
