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I'm considering honing in on my Spanish language skills by taking some difficult, but potentially necessary (insofar as becoming fluent is concerned) Spanish courses. I may well end up getting involved in other immersion type things too. Anyway, will Law Schools Admissions give a white Caucasian a boost for knowing Spanish? Do Law firms value this trait, generally? I would love to be able to actually use it in practice, in hope that it would allow me to broaden my field of work from the national to the international (maybe even public transnational (ICJ, Inter-American Court, etc.)). I know I still have some growing up to do and all, and I know that knowing a language is probably > not knowing a language, but from this more narrow/practical perspective, is it worth it?

Thanks.

Depends on what you want to do. Most biglaw firms won't care, unless you are trying to get a job in Miami (or wherever their Latin America team is). For other types of jobs it will open a lot of doors. Many legal aid jobs, and other public interest work where you deal with people, require knowledge of another language, usually with a preference for Spanish. As someone who is working overseas now, I wish I had language skills of any kind. Spanish is useless in my particular area of the world, but still it would be greatly helpful in an interview with the UN or Oxfam or one of a million other organizations that work around the world.

Add to answer your question: I have no idea how law school admissions views this.

Isn't this what translators are for

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rad lulz wrote: Conversational or even moderately fluent Spanish is not going to impress anyone at any international courts

I have to disagree with this. Conversational or moderately fluent Spanish is especially important in a place like the ICJ because you will interact with native Spanish speakers but your working language will not be Spanish. In Central or South America, conversational Spanish may not be enough.

I am an 0L, but can definitely say that if you want to be fluent, you need to live abroad in an immersion situation, preferably as the only English-speaker for miles. I took some very advanced Spanish courses in undergrad, and although I did learn a lot, my GPA suffered my senior year for it. What I didn't realize when I was taking Advanced Modern Latin American Literature etc. is that you will not learn everyday conversation skills from a class that doesn't force you to speak with native speakers, although your writing may improve.

Not sure of your situation or interests, but if you are an 0L, have a desire to live abroad and learn from another culture, I would recommend deferring law school and applying for the Peace Corps. Of course any immersion that is at least 6-8 months depending on your entry level of Spanish will definitely boost your speaking ability.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions Re Peace Corps. Best decision of my life in terms of professional development and language training.

Spanish will probably help you in almost any career depending on your goals and the types of clients you want to interact with. I want to work in indigent criminal defense and currently use Spanish often in my work with clients at a legal non-profit. I don't think it will make a difference in any application, be it for law school or a job, if you don't have the other credentials. But it doesn't hurt, especially if the office or firm has a need for a Spanish speaker.

On a side note, really gaining fluency in a second language is intrinsically rewarding and opens doors to so many opportunities to engage with the world! I am so happy I have an applicable skill that literally brings me joy.

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rad lulz wrote:If you really wanted to work at the international Court of Justice you would learn French, but you're not going to get a job there, so don't even worry about it

Despite that I have said Spanish will help, probably this.

Yeah, in certain parts of the country, the public defender/FPD won't hire you if you aren't fluent in Spanish. It won't make a difference in law school admissions, though, unless you focus your whole application around your desire to do [insert relevant law practice requiring Spanish fluency here] (and even that probably won't make a difference, but it will make you look like you don't know what you're doing).

A. Nony Mouse wrote:Yeah, in certain parts of the country, the public defender/FPD won't hire you if you aren't fluent in Spanish. It won't make a difference in law school admissions, though, unless you focus your whole application around your desire to do [insert relevant law practice requiring Spanish fluency here] (and even that probably won't make a difference, but it will make you look like you don't know what you're doing).

Credited. A lot of defense attorneys in the southwest region know Spanish because a lot of defendants only speak spanish. For Law school, no one cares. For jobs, depending on your region, it could help big time. I say do it.

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Perhaps could be helpful if you're doing real estate and want to work abroad. I know several companies, such as one I worked for before law school, have had job listings for real estate attorneys in places like Spain.

Edit: That being said, I believe the position wanted about 5 years of firm experience in a real estate practice group, so like others are saying, it's not going to be something that's going to open a lot of doors early in your career, but perhaps down the road...?

Well now that this topic is here...is being completely fluent in Spanish something BigLaw firms tend to value? I'm hispanic, but light skinned and don't have a typical hispanic name so I never considered myself as someone who'd be considered a "diversity hire", but I'd love to get some insight on if knowing a second language could significantly affect hiring.

I doubt it will significantly affect hiring but there are a number of biglaw firms that like to see foreign language skills. When looking up attorneys you'll often see languages listed on firm bios.

I think learning Spanish would be beneficial to you regardless of whether or not you practice law. I hope you choose to take Spanish classes next semester so that you can know it. It's really not going to hurt you.

As has been mentioned earlier, you will never reach anything near fluency in a classroom. Full immersion is absolutely a necessity. If anything, take Spanish if you're interested in the language and could see yourself using it for travels or if you have a niche interest like those listed above (public defender in Texas, Florida, the Southwest), but otherwise it's not going to help you.

SLS_AMG wrote:As has been mentioned earlier, you will never reach anything near fluency in a classroom. Full immersion is absolutely a necessity. If anything, take Spanish if you're interested in the language and could see yourself using it for travels or if you have a niche interest like those listed above (public defender in Texas, Florida, the Southwest), but otherwise it's not going to help you.

Thanks but, I'm already near fluency and most of it was through the classroom.

manillabay wrote:Thanks but, I'm already near fluency and most of it was through the classroom.

Lol. I'm not gonna argue with you, but I can assure you that you're nowhere near fluent if you haven't spent a considerable time in a Spanish-speaking region. Now, if you define fluency as the ability to get your point across despite making a lot of speaking mistakes, then sure, you may be "near fluent." But language classes do not teach you the nuances of a language such that you may be confused with a native speaker - you're nowhere close to that. And that's pretty much what everyone in this thread has said with regards to the marketability of Spanish - unless you're seeking a public defender position or something similar, an intermediate level of Spanish is not going to help your career.

Spanglish.

I live in an area where over the years there has been a sizeable influx of Spanish speaking people. I am fairly good at Spanglish…. Spanish spoken with a large admixture of English, especially American, words and expressions. We have a few Spanish clients and Spanglish does the trick. Not that hard.

SLS_AMG wrote:

manillabay wrote:Thanks but, I'm already near fluency and most of it was through the classroom.

Lol. I'm not gonna argue with you, but I can assure you that you're nowhere near fluent if you haven't spent a considerable time in a Spanish-speaking region. Now, if you define fluency as the ability to get your point across despite making a lot of speaking mistakes, then sure, you may be "near fluent." But language classes do not teach you the nuances of a language such that you may be confused with a native speaker - you're nowhere close to that. And that's pretty much what everyone in this thread has said with regards to the marketability of Spanish - unless you're seeking a public defender position or something similar, an intermediate level of Spanish is not going to help your career.

I dated a Spanish girl and was around her family very often experiencing the nuances of the Spanish language. One of my best friends was also a native Spaniard. I speak it pretty well and haven't traveled to a Spanish country. I realize it will help, but to say that I can't reach "near fluency" w/o attending a Spanish speaking region is erroneous. If I were to take it as true, however, perhaps I was in a synthetic Spanish speaking region.

Fluency useful for crim and immigration and a plus in hiring for these fields.

Just lol at "international law" and your knowledge of Spanish being at all useful for obtaining a job in this. Farsi, maybe. Spanish - no.

Veyron wrote:Fluency useful for crim and immigration and a plus in hiring for these fields.

Just lol at "international law" and your knowledge of Spanish being at all useful for obtaining a job in this. Farsi, maybe. Spanish - no.

false... know kjds working on latam capmkts and going to foreign offices on basis of grades and spanish speaking abilities alone

manillabay wrote:

SLS_AMG wrote:

manillabay wrote:Thanks but, I'm already near fluency and most of it was through the classroom.

Lol. I'm not gonna argue with you, but I can assure you that you're nowhere near fluent if you haven't spent a considerable time in a Spanish-speaking region. Now, if you define fluency as the ability to get your point across despite making a lot of speaking mistakes, then sure, you may be "near fluent." But language classes do not teach you the nuances of a language such that you may be confused with a native speaker - you're nowhere close to that. And that's pretty much what everyone in this thread has said with regards to the marketability of Spanish - unless you're seeking a public defender position or something similar, an intermediate level of Spanish is not going to help your career.

I dated a Spanish girl and was around her family very often experiencing the nuances of the Spanish language. One of my best friends was also a native Spaniard. I speak it pretty well and haven't traveled to a Spanish country. I realize it will help, but to say that I can't reach "near fluency" w/o attending a Spanish speaking region is erroneous. If I were to take it as true, however, perhaps I was in a synthetic Spanish speaking region.

Well, if that's the case, then most of your learning was done outside the classroom, no? Classrooms are necessary for the basics, but they don't teach you how to speak like a native. Dating a native and living with an exclusively Spanish-speaking family would do the trick, even if in the US.

It's just that, in my experience, if someone puts "fluent" on their resume for a language, they better be ready to have their job interview in that language. If you can handle yourself in an interview with a job riding on the line, then yeah, you're fluent.