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I’m a 2L with a summer associate gig lined up at a biglaw firm. I’m planning to work at a firm for a few years before becoming a public defender. So obviously, criminal law is what I’m interested in and passionate about. My transcript is currently stacked within criminal law classes.

Does it matter if I don’t take corporations? If I dropped it I’d be able to fit in another criminal law class. I think corporations is pretty boring so far. However, I have no business experience and would probably benefit from some exposure to it.

Thoughts? I appreciate the help.

you don't have to take any particular law school class. do whatever you want. I found corporations to be useful in civil litigation and also in studying for the bar exam, but you'll be fine if you don't take it.

johndhi wrote:you don't have to take any particular law school class. do whatever you want. I found corporations to be useful in civil litigation and also in studying for the bar exam, but you'll be fine if you don't take it.

Pretty much agree here. It isn't necessary at all, but it is the backdrop for a fair amount in the legal world.

Yes.

mister logical wrote:

johndhi wrote:you don't have to take any particular law school class. do whatever you want. I found corporations to be useful in civil litigation and also in studying for the bar exam, but you'll be fine if you don't take it.

Pretty much agree here. It isn't necessary at all, but it is the backdrop for a fair amount in the legal world.

Eh, disagree with the bolded, but agree with the overall premise that not necessary at all. For the most part, anything on corporations for bar purposes will be mostly limited to how a company is organized and its liability, which is simple. You can study all of that in a bar prep book or course.

assuming OP is going lit, probably not.

I do corporate work, and I never took Corporations. Hasn't been a big deal at all.

deadpanic wrote:You can study all of that in a bar prep book or course.

Pretty much this.

I took it with a good professor and enjoyed it a lot -- lot of real world knowledge that will be helpful to have just as an educated person, I thought. But I wouldn't take it just to take it or for the bar or anything, especially if the professor isn't good

You don't "have" to take anything other than your required 1L classes. As long as your transcript doesn't obviously reflect a huge pile of fluff your 2L and 3L years, it's highly unlikely anyone's going to comb through it to see whether you took a specific class or two. I can see a few exceptions here and there (e.g. evidence if you're going to lit, admin law if you're going to, well, admin law, federal courts if you're applying to clerkships), but even then I don't think it's common to ding people for not taking certain classes.

why would u work biglaw if you wanna do public defense?

At my school, Corp was all about executive liability and shareholder suits and shit, so maybe marginally relevant if you’re going into executive comp? Completely useless for almost all biglaw.

Taking corporations is really helpful if you're going to take classes about securities or startups/venture capital. With respect to actual employment, I have found that classes matter to the extent that they affect your overall GPA and signal interest in a particular subject area.
It might be useful for the bar, but that shouldn't be a driving force to take the class if you don't want to take it.

Desert Fox wrote:why would u work biglaw if you wanna do public defense?

help pay off loans?

deadpanic wrote:

mister logical wrote:

johndhi wrote:you don't have to take any particular law school class. do whatever you want. I found corporations to be useful in civil litigation and also in studying for the bar exam, but you'll be fine if you don't take it.

Pretty much agree here. It isn't necessary at all, but it is the backdrop for a fair amount in the legal world.

Eh, disagree with the bolded, but agree with the overall premise that not necessary at all. For the most part, anything on corporations for bar purposes will be mostly limited to how a company is organized and its liability, which is simple. You can study all of that in a bar prep book or course.

yeah nah you're right, I just found it useful as background information but it's far from necessary.

*Fordhamites gnashing teeth*

Going to disagree with pretty much everything here. I suppose it depends on firm, but generally big law lit is going to have some corporate components, and it's a good foundation to have. That being said, no, it's not necessary. You can learn it for the bar or just on the job. In law school I usually did a mix of classes I was generally interested in and more foundational courses, and I'm thankful I did. If anything, there are classes I skipped that I wish I hadn't (Sec Reg). Regardless, you will be fine, so if its a class you are dying to take just take it and consider Corporations another time.

OP here, thanks for the input. I dropped corps and picked up the criminal law class. I appreciate all of the input, it really made the difference for me.