Business Leadership pre-law studies

Are you wrestling with the idea of combining your interests in business and law? Have you thought about a career in corporate law or its related fields? Consider the following examples of opportunities available to people who understand both business and law:

Corporate lawyer

Goverment regulation of business

Judge

Labor or sports arbitrator

Labor attorney

Labor leader or labor union counsel

Taxation attorney

International trade attorney

Business executive

Real estate attorney

Corporate consultant

These are just a handful of the exciting career prospects that are available to people who possess specialized expertise in both business and law. What would you like to do with your business and law degrees?

Studying pre-law with Business Leadership

There is no one "required" pre-law course of study. Students interested in going to law school should aim to excel in the University's core curriculum and choose a major that will interest them and augment the broad liberal arts training from the University's core curriculum.

Your pre-law preparation should provide to you both breadth and depth of study that will allow you to excel in graduate school and in your career. Business Leadership is one path toward the goal of a challenging and fulfilling career in corporate law.

In addition to your major requirements, we recommend the following courses:

Constitutional Law

Civil Rights

Public Law

Law and Economics

Philosophy of Law

Legal Environment of Business

Depending on your career goals, we recommend the following concentrations:

Corporate Ethics and Social Responsibility: A challenge faced by all attorneys and business executives is how to make decisions that reflect an appropriate moral and ethical character and serve the needs of both the corporation and society. Select the link to learn more about the concentration.

Financial Accounting: Taxation law is a very specialized field of study that requires intensive coursework not only in law, but also in accounting. Students wishing to pursue this path should consider preparing not only for law school, but also to sit for the CPA exam. Select the link to learn about the concentration that prepares students in accounting.

Legal Studies: To formalize and guide your pre-law studies at the University, the Legal Studies concentration is designed to put you on the right path toward law school by integrating your coursework and extracurricular activities. The requirements for this program are detailed below.

Legal Studies concentration requirements

A) The following courses are required to earn the concentration:

1. Constitutional Law
2. Civil Rights
3. Public Law & Administration
4. Law & Economics
5. Legal Environment of Business

B) Participation (and earning of credit) for at least one year (two semesters) in Moot Court. As an alternative, students may complete an internship appropriate for legal studies. Such internships must be approved by the pre-law advisor, must be for credit, and must fulfill the requirements specified in the University Bulletin for receiving academic credit.

C) Regular consultation with the University's Pre-Law Advisor, and membership and regular activity in the University's Pre-Law Society.

How successful are U.D. students at getting into law school?

U.D. regularly places students at Notre Dame, U.T. Austin, University of Houston, Baylor, SMU, Texas Tech, and Ave Maria.

U.D. students have also been admitted to top schools such as the University of Virginia, University of Chicago, and Northwestern University, among others.

Success in law school admissions comes not only from the University’s reputation for excellence in the liberal arts, but also from the high LSAT scores of its students. The median LSAT score for U.D. students reporting their scores is normally around 158, which puts U.D. into the upper tier of colleges and universities nationally.

What should you do to prepare for law school?

Perform well academically and take advantage of the University's outstanding core curriculum. Law schools rely heavily upon your GPA in making admissions decisions. Academic excellence is of paramount importance.

Communicate with your pre-law advisor regularly. Make sure to stay in contact with the University’s Pre-Law Advisor. This can be especially beneficial when applying to law school, as the advisor knows and is in frequent contact with the deans and admissions officials at the law schools where U.D. students traditionally apply.