Pre-Law Program

Only you can answer that question, but there are several ways to increase your chances of making a good decision. Don't just watch "The Good Wife," "Law and Order" or "How to Get Away With Murder." TV dramas dramatize and romanticize the professions they portray, including the lives of lawyers. Instead of watching television, take action and do so early in your college years, preferably in your freshman, sophomore or junior years.

Work, intern or volunteer at law offices. Even if you only do menial tasks and are not paid, it will be worth your while to spend time at law firms, government law offices, courtrooms, or  other legal settings to see how lawyers actually work. If you go into law practice, it is likely that you will be doing something similar in a few years.  Would you enjoy doing what the lawyers in your office do on a daily basis? Can you yourself as a lawyer doing these things for many years?  

Observe court hearings and trials.  Duquesne is located only minutes away from federal and state courthouses that are open to the public and you! Take a few days to visit a courtroom and see litigators in action. Although some lawyers never enter a courtroom, many do. Can you see yourself litigating or judging? Would you enjoy it?

Talk to lawyers. Ask your parents and friends if they know a lawyer. Call this person and quiz them about their professional lives — what they like and dislike. Most people enjoy talking with college students about their jobs. Try to obtain several perspectives, particularly from lawyers who practice in different areas of law.

Observe law school classes. The law school experience differs significantly from law practice, but "attending" law school for a day can be a useful experience. In addition, ask law students you know about their experiences.

Read reliable books about the lives of lawyers. Check the ratings of lawyer satisfaction in the books. Sadly, lawyers as a whole are one of the least satisfied groups of professionals in the country, and many switch to new careers after several years of practice. But others love the law!

Most people practice law with a Juris Doctor (J.D.), but law practice is extremely diverse in its subject matter, everything from aviation law to workers' compensation. In a general sense, however, most lawyers do similar things: they analyze practical problems faced by individuals and organizations, and they use their writing and oral skills to solve those problems. This takes place in many settings from the law library and law office to the courtroom.

Lawyers work in the private sector, in government offices, and in nonprofit organizations. While lawyers are "service" professionals, those they serve are extremely diverse — the rich and the poor, guilty and innocent, corporations and individuals, etc. Your own personal philosophy should guide you in deciding who you want to serve as a lawyer.  

Many people also use a law degree to land jobs outside law, in business, academia, or other endeavors. But most people do practice law with their J.D. and you generally should not attend law school unless you plan to practice law, at least initially.

Here are a few of the many law or law-related jobs that Duquesne graduates now do.

Throughout your career at Duquesne, you should be taking challenging courses that require analytic thinking, high level reading, and extensive writing. This is the best preparation for law school.

Work hard at your classes and earn good grades. Do not take your freshman year (or any other year) for granted. When you apply for law school, your freshman year will be 1/3 of the grades that law schools will review. It is important to do well throughout your college career.

Use the Pre-Law Timeline and Checklist to guide yourself. Talk to the Pre-Law Program Director.

Anything that interests you, from chemistry to political science to philosophy, as long as the major has rigorous courses, with significant amounts of reading, analysis, and writing. Law schools prefer that you broaden and challenge yourself as an undergraduate. There is time enough for you to specialize in law school (or other grad schools). College is a time to explore new and interesting areas of study--and law schools encourage that, rather than narrow pre-professional training.

Certain courses in your major may help in your preparation for law school. In addition, the Political Science Department offers a Minor in Law & Politics open to students in any major.

Political science majors may also take a Concentration in Law & Politics. Majors in the Palumbo-Donahue School of Business at Duquesne may also pursue the Legal Studies minor. 

First, never take the LSAT without preparation. This is a difficult test that demands significant practice and thorough preparation. Every score you receive on it will be reported to law schools, and many schools will average two or more scores in deciding on admissions.

Second, study hard for the LSAT. Many students take LSAT preparation courses. The Pre-Law Program takes no position on the merit of these courses.  If you are a self-motivated student who is serious about studying a test prep book, you may not need a prep class. If you do not believe you have the discipline to study on your own for several months, take a class. Whether or not you take an LSAT course, be sure to take several practice tests under real test conditions, most importantly strict timing. This is critical so that you go into the LSAT knowing the format of questions and the speed with which you will need to answer them.

Most law schools will take your highest score on multiple tests. In this case, it may sometimes make sense to retake the LSAT, to improve your chances of admission and of obtaining financial aid. Check with individual schools to determine their policy on re-takes. If you have already submitted an application but are planning on retaking the LSAT, you can always send an email to the Admissions Office at the schools you have applied to, letting them know of your upcoming exam.

Some law schools average scores from multiple LSAT testings. For these schools, your chances of dramatically improving on your first score are small, unless you really did blow the first exam. How would you know if that is the case? If in the timed practice tests that you took before the LSAT, you consistently scored much higher than the score you received on the real test, there is a good chance that you may be able to improve on a retake. In this circumstance, it may make sense to retake.

First time test-takers can also take advantage of the LSAT Score Preview option. First-time test takers who sign up for score preview will receive their scores at the same time other test takers receive theirs (assuming they have completed their LSAT Writing and have no holds on their accounts), and will have six (6) calendar days to decide if they want to cancel or keep their score. If no action is taken, their scores will be added to their LSAC account and released to law schools to which they have applied at the end of the six-day period. Score preview costs $45 for candidates who sign up prior to the first day of testing for a given test administration, or $75 for those who sign up during a specified period after their test administration.

Various organizations, including most prominently U.S. News & World Report magazine, rank law schools using a variety of criteria, from professorial scholarship to alumni giving to entering students' LSAT scores. How useful these rankings are for the most important issue — the law school's ability to teach you law — is questionable.

For better or for worse, however, the rankings have considerable importance. If you go to a high ranked law school, your fellow students are, on average, likely to have much higher LSAT scores than if you attend a low ranked school. As a result, your in-class experience is likely to be richer and more challenging. The rankings also have a major impact on your job opportunities immediately after law school. If you graduate from a top ranked school, major law firms and other employers may seek you out for high-paying jobs and you may have opportunities to practice law in a variety of settings. If you attend a lower ranked school, you will have to work harder to find employment as a lawyer and your opportunities and salary will be smaller.

All that said, it is also true that if you do well in a law school of any rank you will have a good chance of eventually finding a job in law. Particularly if you make the school's law review and clerk for a judge, you will likely have a wide variety job opportunities.

Finally, bear in mind that your law school is most important in landing only your first job. Thereafter, your skills and reputation as a lawyer will determine how far you can go with your law degree.