Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you are here to learn about the best extracurriculars you can do if you’re interested in law. The courtroom is a fascinating place full of challenges and puzzles as you figure out how to use the law to help your client. Even when they aren’t in the courtroom, lawyers have to know how to use the tools available to them to get the best result for their client; and that requires them to really know and understand their field.
Whether you’re interested in criminal law or any other legal field, you need to understand how it works and build skills that will help you be the best. When you put together an application for your dream school, you have to think like a lawyer and bring solid evidence that you’re the right person for them to admit into their program – aka, your extracurriculars. So let’s start building your case.
Clubs
At your school, there’s a fair chance you have the option to join a lot of different clubs that can help you build a good base for pursuing pre-law. You might join Model UN, the debate team, student government, or mock trial, of course depending on what your personal interests are. Passionate about going into international law? That’s more Model UN. Want to be a high-powered trial attorney? That’s more mock trial. Make sure what you spend your time on is aligned with your eventual goals. Oh, and if your school doesn’t have any of these clubs, you should start them.
Summer Programs
Summer programs are a great opportunity to take some of your free time from school and get an experience of what life will be like as a pre-law undergrad and graduate student without dedicating all of your time to it. Some of them may even be run by the school you want to go to for your undergraduate or law degree, so it’ll really catch their attention on your application in the future if you go there. Some of our top picks for pre-law summer programs are Harvard’s (they offer three different ones based on what you want to do!), Cornell's Pre-Law Program and Internship, Stanford’s Law and Trial Program, Georgetown’s Law Academy, and more. Some of these can even help you get ahead of the game by getting college credit before you even step foot on campus as a freshman!
Research
Getting to research with a college professor is like, the golden goose of the activities section. It can be hard to get as a high school student, but don’t let that dissuade you. Since you’ll probably be pursuing a humanities major like poli sci, sociology, or philosophy (to name a few), reach out to professors doing research in your interest area and write a super professional email asking to meet and talk about their work – then you’ll make your pitch.
Internships
Many district attorneys, public defenders, and law firms offer internships after school, work, or during the summer. It’s an extra layer of responsibility on top of what you already have on your plate, but internships are great for getting experience and learning what parts of the law field you really enjoy. Because you aren’t a college graduate yet, you might only handle small things like paperwork; but you might get to accompany a lawyer into the courtroom or sit in on a trial to really get an idea of what they look like in a real-world scenario. If you find an internship that you like, we absolutely recommend you take advantage of the chance to get experience and use it to figure out what you want to do in law.
While a big part of getting into the legal field is finishing law school, it doesn’t mean you have to wait until you’re in college or have finished your bachelor’s to get started. Taking an interest in the opportunities available in your community and online are a great way to start specializing and learning about how you can excel as a future lawyer. Not only will the skills and knowledge you get from sticking your neck out help you understand the legal field, but it’ll give you a leg up in your college admissions processes and even job applications in the future!
Need help planning your pre-law extracurriculars? Reach out to us today.