Top Law Schools

Hey all,
I am preparing for LS interviews right now and ironically I found the "why law" question to be a really difficult one. Please don't take me wrong. I am still determined to attend law school and I do have a plan with my law degree after graduation (probably I will make small changes after really getting in and I am also open to that). The problem is, it took me a long time to make the decision after trials and errors. I started school with a STEM major, gradually shifted into the field of social science, and realized I want to have practical skills as well as (modestly) make a difference. So it's more like a "one thing led to another" process and it's really hard for me to condense it into a one minute answer. I want to give examples but I don't know which one to go with. Should I talk about a specific class that inspired my curiosity in the first place? Should I reflect on my own research on law-related issues? Should I describe my internship at a law firm? Or should I just reiterate my "career path" answer? They are all really important for my final decision but I know it's impossible to include them all. Can I get some suggestions from you guys? Any input would be appreciated:) Thanks!

yc820 wrote:
I am still determined to attend law school and I do have a plan with my law degree after graduation (probably I will make small changes after really getting in and I am also open to that). The problem is, it took me a long time to make the decision after trials and errors. I started school with a STEM major, gradually shifted into the field of social science, and realized I want to have practical skills as well as (modestly) make a difference. So it's more like a "one thing led to another" process
specific class that inspired my curiosity
my own research on law-related issues
my internship at a law firm

Why do you only have one minute? If you really only have one minute, I'd just pretty much say what I quoted.

encore1101 wrote:

yc820 wrote:
I am still determined to attend law school and I do have a plan with my law degree after graduation (probably I will make small changes after really getting in and I am also open to that). The problem is, it took me a long time to make the decision after trials and errors. I started school with a STEM major, gradually shifted into the field of social science, and realized I want to have practical skills as well as (modestly) make a difference. So it's more like a "one thing led to another" process
specific class that inspired my curiosity
my own research on law-related issues
my internship at a law firm

Why do you only have one minute? If you really only have one minute, I'd just pretty much say what I quoted.

I'm afraid long answers will sound boring or rehearsed or if I need three or four reasons to support one decision someone might think none of them is strong enough itself...so okay if I just say everything I want to say?

Generally in interviews, keep your answers short and if your interviewer wants to hear more, they will ask. I would just say that your interest in law has developed over time with different experiences, and then give one or two sentences on a few of those experiences. Be prepared to talk about each experience at length, but you don't need to go into it on the first go.

.

I struggled with the question as well before interviews and I basically arrived at giving just a simple pragmatic answer and it generally resonated well.

So say you want to do transactional work: say simply that you were contemplating various career paths and thought the prospect of being able to structure large transactions and help businesses blah blah blah was really fascinating. You liked that it was client driven as well.

Litigation, I don't have experience giving answers too, but rather than focusing on some broad ideal of why you want to do it, just go rubber meets the road like above and I think you'll be perfectly fine.

IMO it probably sounds corny to say that a class inspired you so much that you took on all this risk etc. whereas saying your own personal research toward the profession and what it entails sounds more legit!