You have passed your high-school and you are wondering what you actually want to study? Have you already decided on law and still need reasons to confirm your choice? Or do you want to convince your friends inside? No problem: Here are 11 reasons to study law.
Law – that dry, boring subject where you have to memorize paragraphs and definitions? Yes, but not only. There are a lot of stereotypes and prejudices about law school. Not all are completely unfounded. So law is actually considered a particularly difficult and learning-intensive subject, but boring? Definitely not! There are very good reasons for studying law. Here are the top 11:
1. Help people
Quite a few choose to study law because they have a keen sense of justice and want to help people. Indeed, Law offers many ways to do just that. On the one hand, of course, in later professional life. Here, for example, you can get involved in the authorities for socially disadvantaged people or, in the classic way, as a lawyer: support clients in need. In addition, there are of course many national and international organizations, associations and NGOs that welcome skilled lawyers with open arms.
But even while studying law there are many opportunities to get involved and help people. For example, in law clinics, in which as a student you can give legal advice free of charge – and also collect important skills for your studies and your legal career. Law clinics focus on many different topics, for example asylum law or tax law. You can also get involved in the student council, in the student parliament or in the student union during your law studies. With this you not only help your fellow students, it is also a lot of fun and your argumentative skills will be of use to you.
2. Become a debate professional
If there’s one thing you learn in law school, it’s to argue and express yourself eloquently. A skill that you will of course need later in the courtroom, but which should not be underestimated in any other way. If, for example, a heated discussion sparked again at a family celebration, or if you had to grapple with the clerk of your mobile phone provider on the phone. To argue cleanly and to be able to express yourself clearly – that is helpful in many situations.
But of course, in law school you not only learn to debate, but also to look at a situation from all sides, carefully weigh the pros and cons, and come to a clear point of view without bias. It helps that as a law student you have to naturally slip into different roles if you want to solve cases legally. Sometimes you represent the plaintiff in an exercise, sometimes the defendant. In law studies, you learn to empathize with other positions and therefore also with people.
3. Solid craft
Anyone who thinks that law is all about making rousing speeches and poring over the law books all night is far from it. Law is primarily a craft. Here you will learn to deal with (legal) texts, to filter information and to process it in a very specific way. You will develop the ability to cast stories about people into legal solutions.
In a way, you learn another language in law school and you can help people translate their issues and problems into that language. This is a tool that is also quite exclusive. It is not for nothing that people turn to lawyers with their legal questions. Studying law makes you a specialist in your field.
4. Diverse professional world
Of course, everyone knows the classic legal professions judge: in, lawyer: in and public prosecutor: in. All three are versatile and offer countless opportunities to specialize. As a lawyer: you can roughly decide on a field of law that interests you particularly. You have the choice, as an individual lawyer: to set up a law firm, to work in a large commercial law firm or as an in-house lawyer: to join a company. It is similar with the judge’s office. There are specialized courts and various lower courts, including the highest courts, which have a say in the fate of society as a whole. So much for the classic professions for lawyers.
But also outside of the classic legal professions, law graduates are open to many doors inside. Lawyers, for example, often go into the civil service and work for authorities and ministries. Or they opt for a career as a professional politician. But some are also drawn to non-governmental organizations or the private sector. It is possible to become legal advisor: in an association or company. You can work as a tax advisor: in or as a tax auditor: in. And of course you can also get into science at universities or institutes. Even those who later want to turn their backs on law will be well positioned with a law degree. Law graduates are often successful in journalism, in politics or administration, and also as managers.
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Learn to think in a structured way
Law school teaches a certain way of thinking, and so the particular institutions where you can find professional LNAT tutors, such as Law Mind. So much so that it can be a bit annoying at times. The world seems to be absorbed in paragraphs. But the legal mindset is also particularly structured. It’s efficient and clear. This helps when formulating texts, but also in conversation. As a rule, lawyers are perceived by their environment as well-structured organizational talent. This is mainly because law school is very much about rules and accuracy. Nuances can make the difference between right and wrong. To grasp these nuances and to address them clearly requires a careful and scientific way of working. You will learn this skill in law school and will often find it helpful throughout your career.
5. Understand connections
The legal system – that is the framework of our social coexistence. And in law school you learn quickly: Everything is somehow related to everything. Our rights and obligations as citizens, the functioning of the state and all contractual relationships that we maintain with one another. In law school we try to understand the legal framework that makes this coexistence possible. And in doing so, you automatically learn to understand connections – political, sociological and historical. Where does a law come from? What is its purpose Which area of coexistence does it regulate and why does this area have to be regulated at all?
Whether medicine, administration, police, environmental or labor law. Law is just everywhere. Economics, politics and history are just a few of the areas that are very closely linked to law and about which one can acquire a broad knowledge in the course of the course. To put it simply: studying law teaches you to understand how society works.
6. Good salary and positions of power
Yes, that is also one of the reasons that speaks for studying law. Being financially secure is of course not a disadvantage in later professional life. Especially in large law firms and companies, as a law graduate, you can achieve a lot more. You can expect good career opportunities and the opportunity to advance quickly. In large units, such as commercial law firms, the starting salaries are above average, but the higher the position in the company, the more attractive the remuneration.
In the civil service, for example in the judiciary, salaries cannot keep up with those paid in large law firms. But here you have the opportunity to take on real responsibility. You literally judge people and their fates.
In the highest courts in particular, or in politics, there are also powerful positions that offer the opportunity to help shape the law. Few other professions offer so much influence and participation.
7. Time to practice
Sure, one or the other course of study includes a practical semester, or perhaps a compulsory internship in a company. But that’s nothing against the legal clerkship. After the first state examination, as a freshly qualified lawyer: in two years you have time to look around in all professional fields and to try everything out once. And best of all: the state pays. Well, the remuneration is not great now, but you will never again have the opportunity to sniff everything so easily in your later professional life.
In the legal clerkship you complete various stations, for example you are placed at the regional court, with an authority, in a law firm and with the public prosecutor’s office. A good opportunity to gain practical experience, to orientate yourself and to make one or two mistakes.
8. Frustration tolerance
Whether you like it or not, when you study law, you inevitably increase your own tolerance for frustration. No matter how much fun studying can be, at some point there will come for everyone: n the point where you really have to grit your teeth. Be it the amount of material that can be overwhelming, a difficult exam or even the exam at the end of law studies. But: that is a reason to be happy. The challenges of a difficult and intensive subject will make you stronger. Studying law teaches you stamina and frustration tolerance. It will show you what you are actually able to do.
9. History and tradition
Law is a very traditional and also conservative subject. There are many ways to experience this tradition during your studies – for example at a lecture on legal history or by studying the old texts and judgments. Many of the laws have an interesting historical background, they arise from their own zeitgeist and each epoch has contributed to shaping the law as it is today. When interpreting the laws, their origin and the will of the historical legislator are also important.
Whether it’s the robe in the courtroom or the pompous old faculty building, the traditional flair can still be felt in law school. And if you are interested in history, you can take a lot with you here.
10. No Bachelor / Master system
For a long time, legal training successfully defied all attempts to be squeezed into the corset of a Bachelor / Master system. It is true that the necessary reforms are slowly being implemented in legal training – some universities now also offer a Bachelor of Law – but the Bologna system has not yet established itself. This has the great advantage that learning in law is relatively free and not as schooled as in other courses. As a law student: r you can structure and organize your studies freely, as most courses do not build on each other. Even if this freedom may not be beneficial for everyone. The basic pillars are given, but there is nothing against postponing a lecture or combining the subjects as you see fit. Hardly any other degree program offers so much flexibility.
