Choosing the Right Undergraduate Degree to Launch Your Legal Career

The path to becoming a lawyer is a challenging yet rewarding journey, requiring dedication, strategic planning, and a strong academic foundation. While there's no single "best" undergraduate degree for aspiring lawyers, the choices you make during your bachelor's studies can significantly impact your success in law school and beyond. This article explores the essential steps and considerations for selecting an undergraduate degree that will set you up for a thriving legal career, particularly focusing on the context of Texas, a state with a dynamic and competitive legal market.

The Legal Landscape in Texas

Texas boasts a robust legal industry, being the second-largest state in size and population. Today, Texas is home to approximately 95,000 lawyers and has experienced significant growth in its lawyer population, with an 18% increase over the past decade. Lawyers in Texas earn strong salaries, reflecting the state’s large and diverse economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual salary for attorneys in Texas is approximately $126,130. However, wages vary based on factors like geographic location and experience level.

Understanding the Role of a Lawyer

Lawyers are licensed professionals who provide legal advice and assist clients in resolving legal issues. Their daily responsibilities can vary greatly depending on their work environment and area of practice. Some lawyers may focus on drafting legal documents, while others represent clients in negotiations or in court.

The Journey to Becoming a Lawyer in Texas

It typically takes about seven to eight years to become a lawyer in Texas. This includes four years for a bachelor's degree and three years for a Juris Doctor (JD) degree. The path also involves passing the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and the Texas Bar Exam, along with undergoing a character and fitness review.

Step 1: Earning Your Bachelor's Degree

The first step in your legal education journey is to earn your bachelor’s degree. While the American Bar Association (ABA) allows you to choose your field of study at the undergraduate level, attending a school accredited by the ABA is mandatory to become a lawyer in Texas. While there aren’t any specific undergraduate degree requirements for law school, studying in an area related to the field is beneficial.

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Strategic Considerations for Choosing a Major

The ABA encourages aspiring lawyers to consider undergraduate studies that build their problem-solving, oral communication, and public service skills. Law schools do add weight to your major. Practicing law requires a combination of legal knowledge and other skills. So many branches of law exist that almost any subject you choose to study could be helpful.

Popular Pre-Law Majors

While there’s no one major that's more impressive for getting into law school, Business Administration, Communications, Economics, Finance, Political Science, and Sociology are some good options. Interest and aptitude should be the most important factors when choosing a pre-law major. Admissions committees will focus on your performance and whether you’ve developed the skills needed to do well in law school.

Developing Essential Skills

Incorporating a diverse range of subjects throughout your education gives you a well-rounded baseline on which to specialize. Consider subjects that build your soft skills and contribute to your overall education. The legal system is based on hundreds of years of precedents that set the standards we understand today.

Communication: A strong command of written and verbal English can mean the difference between a good lawyer and an average one. Consider taking classes that improve your communication, and participate in public speaking and debating activities.
Philosophy and Ethics: Many legal cases involve ethical dilemmas.
Statistics: Part of being a lawyer is working through massive amounts of information and drawing logical conclusions.

Step 2: Preparing for and Taking the LSAT

As you reach the end of your degree and determine that law school is right for you, you’ll need to take and pass the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). Through multiple-choice questions and a written essay, this half-day standardized test measures your reading comprehension, reasoning, and writing. Ideally, you should take the LSAT at least eight months before enrolling in law school. An LSAT preparation course can be immensely helpful. Along with your LSAT score, your GPA is a significant factor that will influence which law school you get into.

Understanding the LSAT

LSATs are purpose-built to test people applying to law school and focus on the essential skills you’ll need to succeed there. The first part of the exam is entirely multiple-choice and aims to test your reading, comprehension, and reasoning skills. Although many law schools require LSAT results, some are now accepting GRE scores in their place. The GRE is a more standardized test, ideal for anyone applying to various graduate programs.

Step 3: Attending Law School

As indicated by the Texas Board of Law Examiners, attending an ABA-accredited law school in the United States is mandatory if you wish to gain admission to the bar. After you’ve enrolled in an ABA-approved law school, you’ll need to file the Declaration of Intent to Study Law with the Texas Board of Law Examiners. Your first year of law school will focus on foundational topics, from constitutional law to civil procedure.

Choosing a Law School

The average scores for acceptance to top law schools in Texas are between 163 and 172, depending on the law school.

Step 4: Taking the MPRE

Once you’ve been accepted to law school and started working on your JD, you’ll also begin preparing for the bar exam. Before taking it, you must take the MPRE, which occurs commonly in your second year of law school. The exam is two hours long and covers 60 multiple-choice questions.

Step 5: Passing the Bar Exam

To practice law in Texas, you must be admitted to the bar and pass the bar examination. The exam tests a range of legal knowledge and skills. Bar exams are known to be thorough and challenging-and Texas is no exception. The February 2023 Texas Bar Exam had a pass rate of only 44.6%. You can take this test in February and July at testing sites on university campuses throughout the state in cities such as Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. You’ll also need to undergo a character and fitness review, which the Texas Board of Law Examiners conducts.

Understanding the Bar Exam Format

The bar exam takes place over two days. It comprises three parts - the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) and the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE). Each part consists of a combination of multiple-choice questions and written essays. Texas requires a passing UBE score of 270. In addition to passing the UBE, Texas requires you to complete several additional components for bar admission:

MPRE: Pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination for admission.
Texas Law Component (TLC): Complete the required online Texas Law Component. The TLC is done online and requires approximately 12 hours of work. Applicants may complete the TLC up to one year before taking a bar exam and up to two years after passing a bar exam in Texas.

Additional Requirements

All newly licensed attorneys must complete the Justice James A. Baker Guide to Ethics and Professionalism in Texas no later than 12 months after being licensed. Effective with the July 2028 bar exam, Texas will administer the NextGen UBE.

Step 6: Practicing Law in Texas

After obtaining your law degree and passing the bar, you can start practicing law in Texas. Based on your career aspirations, you may start your own solo practice, join a small or large firm, or find work at a non-profit or government agency. As your hard work pays off and you take on more cases, you’ll quickly find that legal technologies can make your life significantly easier. The State Bar of Texas also requires that members complete at least 15 hours of continuing education each year to maintain their license.

Alternative Paths with a Pre-Law Degree

If you decide becoming a lawyer is not for you, a pre-law degree can still be beneficial in other fields. For example, you can work in advocacy, legal writing, compliance, or mediation.

Developing Essential Skills Through Coursework

Certain courses can provide a solid foundation for a legal career. Here are some examples to consider if you want to apply for law school.

Political Science Courses: A few political science courses will also provide a background knowledge of constitutional law, a field that law school students will meet in their second year of law school. A constitutional law course will introduce the students not only to the basics of the field, but also a taste of how the Constitution connects to criminal justice.
Criminal Justice Courses: Courses in criminal law also offer a big picture look at the legal system, illuminating the macro level of societal context that influences how the whole criminal justice system works. In law school, students will look at cases closely with a micro perspective, dealing with the details of each isolated issue. With a larger perspective, you can understand the pipeline that sends people to jail.
Environmental Science Courses: Courses in environmental science could be extremely beneficial if you decide to become a lawyer who works in this branch of the law.
Biology and Medical Courses: Aspiring lawyers who want to practice medical tort law will be better at their jobs if they have a background in medicine and biology.
Accounting Courses: Tax law and business law would also have direct intersections with this field.
Research-Heavy Courses: Legal research and legal writing skills are important for all legal professionals. Law students consistently need to demonstrate their research abilities.
Writing and Communication Courses: Use your undergraduate degree years to get some extra training in oral and written communication. Law schools' curriculum will cover these skills specific to the field, but getting a head start is a good idea. A strong foundation in writing will also help with your law school application and the coursework you fulfill as part of your juris doctor degree.
Exam-Heavy Courses: To prepare for the LSAT and the other tests you will face in law school, choose exam-heavy courses during your undergraduate degree.

Weighing the Pros and Cons of Law School

Considering both the pros and cons of attending law school is one of the necessary steps to becoming a lawyer.

Pros

Career Options: Attending law school opens so many doors for someone interested in the justice system. Graduates go on to be judges, prosecutors, politicians, professors, legislators, mediators, and so much more.
Earning Potential: Lawyers are well-paid. Being a lawyer is often related to having a high salary. In fact, the average lawyer salary in the US is $150,000 a year or more.
Skill Development: As a student and practitioner of law, you’ll need to have plenty of technical and personal skills like critical thinking, negotiation, and written and verbal communication.

Cons

Cost: The cost of law school is high. Typically, attending law school means three more years of pricey education, especially at the best law schools in the US. On average, the cost of law school is $230,163, and most students take out loans to cover the cost.
Stressful Course Load: The course load can be stressful. If you are wondering how to become a lawyer, you should know that attending law school is no easy task.
Job Market Competition: There is no guarantee of high earnings or obtaining the job you want.

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