Areas of Focus? Forum

[Goliath]

I'll get right to it, I have some questions about areas of focus at law school.

I graduated with an bachelors in Public Administration and a Minor in Bible this spring. Since then I have been re-evaluating my plans for my life, and have been very seriously considering law school. I am studying up for the LSAT this December, but I am confuse as to picking a focus. My questions are

1. Do I need to pick a focus of law before I go to law school?

2. Is there any good material on what focus I should pick?

3. I am an extrovert who needs to work with people, and enjoys leading people. Any suggestions for a focus of study just based on that?


Also on a non-related note, How good are practice exams at predicting what your LSAT score will likely be?

[tazmolover]

PT's are pretty good at predicting. Nerves may cause a few points down.

GPA?

[Goliath]

2.75

I'm a good test taker, so hopefully I can get a good enough LSAT score.

Schools I'm looking at would be U of Cincinnati, Indiana University both bloomington and Indianapolis, Pitt, Michigan State. I think Michigan Sate will likely be my best bet unless I pull off a crazy good LSAT.

[Hattori Hanzo]

No focus needed. You'll get to choose only one class in your entire 1L year and that's in the 2nd half of the year. By that time you will know more about what you like/want to do. Specialization in law mostly happens after you graduate from law school and start working with 2L and 3L elective classes at a distant second.

[kalvano]

No focus needed. You'll get to choose only one class in your entire 1L year and that's in the 2nd half of the year.

Some schools, not even that.

[Bosque]

2.75

I'm a good test taker, so hopefully I can get a good enough LSAT score.

I think that first number disagrees with you about your test taking skills.

In all seriousness though, I am not so sure I would waste much more of your time on this if I were you. Unless you are testing in the 170s on your practice tests, the chances are you will wind up with a JD that aint worth much, 6 figures in debt, and jobless.

That said, there are only a few things you can do in law school to "specialize". In fact, the most hard line specialty, IP, is something you have to have already specialized in before you even get there. Other than that, all you can really do is get involved with moot court if you want litigation, or get involved with the interest group of the specialty you think you like. Even then, they are not going to be a huge help or hinderance if you do or don't do them