Legal Studies

The legal system is one of the most important institutions in our society. Developments in the legal system affect all aspects of our lives, including our work lives, our family lives, and our lives as citizens who participate in the democratic process.

The law also represents a body of ideas and values that have been studied by scholars in a wide variety of fields, including sociology, political science, cultural studies, history, economics, and business. The Legal Studies Concentration provides students with the opportunity to study law from a variety of these perspectives. Students considering careers in law may find that taking courses in this concentration helps them determine if they want to go into the field of law after they graduate from college.

The concentration, however, does not constitute a pre-professional course of instruction. The Babson Legal Studies Concentration strives to give students a broad exposure to legal issues as future thought leaders, managers, and citizens. 

Sponsored by: Accounting & Law

Faculty Contacts: Leslie Garbarino

Elective Courses

Choose at least three (3) courses from the following list:

• LAW 3515 Entertainment Law
• LAW 3525 White Collar Crime and Corporate Crime
• LAW 3560 International Business Law
• LAW 3573 Building Contracts for a New Venture
• LAW 3601 Public International Law
• LAW 3602 International Human Rights Law
• LAW 3605 Privacy Law (previously LAW 3530)
• LAW 3615 Sports Law and Policy
• LAW 3661 American Constitutional Law: Civil Rights, Liberties
• LAW 3662 American Constitutional Law: Federal Systems
• LAW 3675 Innovation and the Law: A Critical Analysis
• MKT 3525 Marketing Law, Ethics and Social Responsibility
• TAX 3500 Taxes
• TAX 3650 Tax Policy

The remaining course for the concentration may be taken from the approved electives list above or one of the courses listed below:

• FIN 3512 Real Estate Transactions and Law
• LIT 4682 Interdisciplinary Approaches to Human Rights
• ANT 4605 Anthropology of Law

Curriculum Mapping for Education Abroad

If you plan to study abroad, the curriculum map below is intended to be a guide, providing a sample framework to complete the requirements for a concentration and spend a semester abroad on an approved Education Abroad Program through the Glavin Office. Students can utilize the curriculum map as a starting point for creating an academic plan that is specific to their personal, career, and academic goals.

Legal Studies Concentration Curriculum Map

Law School Path

Basic Information

While Babson does not have a formal pre-law program, we do offer a law concentration. We believe that Babson education—whether a student has concentrated in law or not—is good preparation for law school and for a legal career. The law faculty is always willing to help students with the process of deciding whether law school may be for them and with the application process.

In thinking about law school, you’ll need to do some research. The process itself involves finding the right mix of schools for you, registering, preparing, and taking the LSAT, preparing your application, and then hopefully, deciding where you want to go and how to pay for it. The best place to start your search is the web site of the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). If you’re serious about law school, you’ll be spending a lot of time at this site. The LSAC offers a general guide entitled Thinking About Law School to get you started.

Law School Faculty Contact: Cheryl Kirschner

Is Law School Right for Me?

Law school is only partially a path to a specific career. Many graduates become attorneys in private practice. Other graduates work as attorneys for corporations or government agencies. Still others work in the business functions at corporations or in investment banking. Others use their legal education to go into politics, and still others use their degrees in social or political activism. If law school is what you are thinking about, how do you find out if it’s the right path for you? After all, it’s three years of hard work and generally an expensive investment. It’s better to know before you go.

There are lots of ways to find out. Talk to people who are lawyers now. Find out what they do, and whether they are happy doing it. Talk to law school admissions offices. Take tours of law schools and ask to sit in on a law school class. Babson’s CCD has lists of alumni contacts who are currently lawyers.

Preparing for Law School

There is no prescribed course of study or set of majors that are expected from undergraduates. Law students come from all majors. A Babson education will be very useful in law school, as you’ll have a practical understanding of the way the world of commerce works. You need not make the law concentration your course of action as preparation for law school—focus on whatever you like the best. If you do that, you’ll be happy and your GPA will reflect your level of interest in your major subject. The American Bar Association has an official statement on Preparation for Legal Education that you may find useful.

Internships in law firms are not easy for undergraduates to find, as most firms prefer to hire law students. However, some corporate law departments hire interns, as do some small law practices. You’ll likely be doing non-legal work, but you’ll see how the offices actually work and what lawyers there do. You should also consider internships with politicians or for government agencies, both at the state and federal levels. Another possibility is interning for an advocacy organization. While the work is unpaid, the experience of working toward social or political change can be invaluable.

Should you work for a few years before going to law school, or go straight from college? The answer depends on your skills, interests, and needs. Many law students work for a few years before applying to law school. Sometimes, the added maturity and skills gained from working will really help you succeed in law school. Sometimes the financial stability really helps. Prior work experience often proves valuable in pursuing a law-related career, both in terms of being admitted to a better law school and performing better when you are there. On the other hand, many students have the focus, drive, and motivation to go for three more years of study directly from their undergraduate education.

Finding the Right Law School

There are about 200 law schools in the United States, so narrowing the choices is an early task for every applicant. You can use several criteria to narrow your search.

• Accreditation. The American Bar Association is the accrediting agencies for law schools in the U.S. Accreditation makes a difference. If you go to an unaccredited law school, you may have some difficulty taking the bar exam when you finish. Unaccredited schools usually arrange for students to be able to take the exam in the school’s home state; however, should you want or need to take the exam in other states, those states may or may not recognize your degree. The LSAC site has a guide to all the accredited law schools in the U.S. and Canada.
• Geography. The practice of law operates on a state-by-state basis, so if you know where you want to be when you are done with school, generally, that’s the place to go to school. The top law schools are all well-recognized nationally, but second, third, and fourth tier schools are more narrowly known. On the other hand, some of these schools may be the best place to start your career in a particular city or state.
• Reputation. The better the reputation of a law school, the easier it will be for you to start your career after graduation. Hiring Committees tend to want to employ people who went to schools they know and respect-often this means the schools they went to. There are many ways to get a sense of a school’s reputation. One is to ask lawyers who are doing the kinds of work you think you might like to do. Another is to consult one or more of the ranking systems. All are widely criticized, but they may be helpful as one source of information about a school.
• Specialties. Law schools provide all students with a general education, good across a variety of career paths. However, some schools have national reputations in specific areas of study. Sometimes a school that is not generally well-known will be very widely respected in a particular area. In New England, for example, Vermont Law School has an excellent reputation for environmental law, while the University of New Hampshire is quite well known for its intellectual property work.
• Cost. Law school can be really expensive. Depending on your financial situation, you may have to factor in the cost of a law school in your school selection process. In some states, the state universities have excellent law schools that charge reasonable tuition. Other states, such as Massachusetts, New Hempshire and Vermont, have no publicly-supported law schools.
• Curriculum. As you start to narrow your search, examine the courses available at each potential law school. Does the school have courses in the subjects you are interested in? Does the school allow you to take a course at another school in the university? Does it offer a joint degree program if you are interested in one? Can you study abroad over a summer or even a semester (if this is something that interests you)?

Taking the LSAT

The LSAT is a key component to the process of going to law school. Unlike the SAT test, the LSAT is a one-time event for most people. Law schools tend to average the scores of multiple attempts, so you get one chance to do as well as you can.

If you want to go to law school, you will need to take the LSAT no later than December of the prior year. You may also take the test in October or June for admission for the following September. Most full-time programs start only in September, so these deadlines are important. Find the deadlines, registration requirements, test dates, locations, and preparation information at the LSAC website. Take the sample tests available there.

You should prepare to take this test. Some people prepare by using the information available at the LSAC and commercial review books available in bookstores. This is the minimum you should do. If you are disciplined and diligent, it works. If you need more motivation or help, there are several test preparation companies happy to help for a price. Kaplan is the best known review course, but Princeton Review also runs well-respected review courses. Other commercial test prep companies also are available—you should do some research to sort out which one is right for you.

The LSAC provides limited opportunities to waive the fees associated with the LSAT and related services. It is impossible to provide guidance on this in the abstract because eligibility varies considerably based upon individual circumstances. If you think you might qualify, your starting point is to consult the LSAC’s Fee Waiver information page.

The Application Process

Once you’ve narrowed down your list, you can begin the application process. There are several steps, all of which involve the LSAC:

• Register for the LSAT
• Register for the LSAC’s Law School Credential Assembly Service (CAS), which formerly was known as the Law School Data Assembly Service (LSDAS). This is a central point for the collection of transcripts, scores, and some recommendations.
• Consider whether you want to use the common electronic application.
• Get the applications from your target law schools. Note the requirements of each application and the deadlines carefully. It might be good to make a checklist so you know when the parts are done.
• Get the data to the CAS.
• Ask early for recommendations—this process can take a while. Ask people who know you and hopefully have good things to say about you.
• Get to work on your essays. Make sure you have at least one other person read them before you send them. The writing center can help, as can faculty advisors.
• Get those applications done on time. They should be perfect—this is your chance to sell yourself to the law school. Some law schools use rolling admissions, such that completing your application earlier (before the deadline) may provide some advantage in the admissions process.

Other Resources

• The Internet Legal Resource Guide’s Pre Law Student Services page.
• The LSAC guide to Canadian law Schools.
• Topics featured on FindLaw Student Channel include the following: Considering Law School, Financing Law School, Admissions, Discussion Groups and Pre-Law Organizations.
• Boston College also has some useful law school program locators, including one that lists the 25th-75th percentile LSAT scores and GPA ranges of students at accredited law schools.
• Review Massachusetts Lawyer Weekly for current information about the legal studies industry.