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Does your undergrad major matter at all toward your field?

Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2010 7:35 pm
by theman123
Would majoring in finance, accounting or another business major handcuff me to practicing tax law, or other business law? Or could I still do other fields of law?

Re: Does your undergrad major matter at all toward your field?

Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2010 7:40 pm
by the_kidult
The answer is "No, undergrad majors don't matter, but with exception."

If you wish to pursue a career in a field like patent litigation, you can't even take the patent bar without having a bachelor's in the hard sciences.

Re: Does your undergrad major matter at all toward your field?

Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2010 7:57 pm
by vyelps
those fields won't handcuff you. Accounting and/or finance could be helpful in practice. If you want to go into tax, securities, M&A, etc., I could see it being helpful especially when talking to clients. Lawyers tend to have a hand in shaping business decisions as well so understanding accounting and finance would be a plus. That being said, you can pick up a lot of stuff on the job. Major in what you enjoy studying.

Re: Does your undergrad major matter at all toward your field?

Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2010 8:07 pm
by BioEBear2010
the_kidult wrote: If you wish to pursue a career in a field like patent litigation, you can't even take the patent bar without having a bachelor's in the hard sciences.
Not to be nit-picky, but patent litigators do not need to pass the patent bar. That is only necessary for patent prosecution (i.e. drafting and pushing through patents).