Learning Arabic Forum

torchiestacos215 · Post by **torchiestacos215** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 3:48 pm

I've studied Arabic throughout college and have the option to study abroad in the middle east for a year immediately following my senior year. Would learning Arabic be beneficial to a career in law? Perhaps in immigration or international law? Or would it be a waste of time?

OhBoyOhBortles · Post by **OhBoyOhBortles** » Mon Mar 23, 2015 3:53 pm

Even if it isn't beneficial to a career in law, it is a) awesome and b) very valuable on the whole. Do it. Think about law afterward.

Bird Lawyer · Post by **Bird Lawyer** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:15 pm

OhBoyOhBortles wrote:Even if it isn't beneficial to a career in law, it is a) awesome and b) very valuable on the whole. Do it. Think about law afterward.

That is correct.

Having said that, being able to write legal documents requires a crazy high level of proficiency, and I doubt you would be able to do so after one year of study. It's probably helpful in immigration, although obviously people speak dialects and not standard Arabic (which I assume is what you'd learn), and most educated professionals in the Arab world speak English if not French.

But it's super cool and can be beneficial to your career in more intangible ways (like connections, having something in common with Arab clients, etc.)

ILoveYou · Post by **ILoveYou** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:24 pm

That is an awesome opportunity. I don't think studying abroad is ever a waste of time. While I agree with what the other posters have said about the benefits being largely indirect/intangible, both for your career and personally, I also want to stress that those intangible benefits will be HUGE.

Also, if you decide to return to law and do international/immigration stuff, I can definitely see using that experience to give you a leg up/sell your interest and commitment to international work.

rdawkins28 · Post by **rdawkins28** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:36 pm

Not my area of law, but I have a few colleagues who do EB-5 immigration and most of the clients in that game seem like they would be loaded. You might want to check to see if learning Arabic will help you there.

Nebby · Post by **Nebby** » Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:11 pm

torchiestacos215 wrote:I've studied Arabic throughout college and have the option to study abroad in the middle east for a year immediately following my senior year. Would learning Arabic be beneficial to a career in law? Perhaps in immigration or international law? Or would it be a waste of time?

Do it.

torchiestacos215 · Post by **torchiestacos215** » Mon Apr 13, 2015 8:23 pm

Regardless whether or not I choose to study abroad, I'm curious as to whether there is any field of law where knowing Arabic is really beneficial? Immigration? Energy? Human Rights? What really interests in constitutional comparative law, though I don't know if there are many or even any jobs in this. Any chance Islamic finance will make its way into the U.S. like it has in Europe?

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