Pre-Law
About Legal Professions Advising: Pre-Law
The pre-law program is offered through F&M’s Legal Professions Advising as a supplement
to your chosen major. While you won’t declare this major until your sophomore year,
your pre-law advising experience will begin the moment you step on campus. As a pre-law
student, you’ll enjoy guidance on which courses to take and specialized programming,
resources, and more to help you develop the skills and experiences you need to be
a competitive applicant to the nation’s top law schools.
Law School Admission Test (LSAT) Preparation
Law School Application Support
Internships and Fellowships
Gaining hands-on experience now will allow you to explore law prior to entering the field and help you build your portfolio to gain a competitive advantage. We encourage you to work with F&M’s Center for Career and Professional Development to search for and land opportunities. Pre-law students also have access to two funded internships:
Thomas J. Tourish Memorial Endowed Fund Internship
The Thomas J. Tourish Memorial Endowed Fund Internship enables two F&M students to work as interns during the summer with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C. The fund was established by Deborah L. Dokken, P’11, and honors her late husband, Thomas J. Tourish, Jr. P’11. The fund’s goal is to advance Tourish’s dedication to the law and public service.
Steinwurtzel Environmental and Legal Fellowship at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation
The Steinwurtzel Environmental and Legal Fellowship allows an F&M student to work as a paid fellow with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Environmental Protection and Restoration Program. The fund was established by Robert Steinwurtzel, Esq., ’75, P’16, and honors Professor Grier Stephenson.
Research Opportunities
Clubs & Organizations
Clubs and organizations offer a fun and exciting way to get involved while supplementing your academic experience. Pre-law students have several options, including the John Marshall Pre-Law Honor Society and Mock Trial Club.
John Marshall Pre-Law Honor Society
The John Marshall Pre-Law Honor Society is an exclusive, student-based organization that brings together pre-law students to enjoy law-oriented functions and other programming to foster their personal growth and development.
Mock Trial
In Mock Trial, you will simulate a real trial and work as a team to develop well-planned, competitive case strategies. Mock Trial is a fun way to deepen your knowledge of law, build public speaking skills, and meet other students who share a similar passion.
Success Beyond F&M
F&M graduates are equipped with exceptional verbal and written communication skills. During their four years here, they learn to think critically and reason logically, construct and respond to evidence-based arguments, and build the habit of recognizing and addressing unresolved problems.
Graduate School
It is not uncommon for our pre-law students to graduate with an exceptional GPA and LSAT score. In recent years, qualified applicants (3.0 GPA, 154 or better on the LSAT) were accepted to law school at a rate of 99%. They’ve gone on to law school at some of the top institutions in the country, including:
- Columbia University School of Law
- Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law
- Duke University School of Law
- Harvard Law School
- Penn State University, Dickinson Law
- Roger Williams University School of Law
- Rutgers Law School
- University of Pennsylvania Law School
- Vanderbilt Law School
- Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
- Yale Law School
Career Paths
Many F&M alumni are leaders in the legal field. They hold positions such as:
- Attorney
- Deputy Attorney General
- District Attorney
- Federal Judge
- Federal Prosecutor
- General Counsel
- Law Associate
- Law Clerk
- Law Professor
- State Judge
Student Spotlight
Captain of Mock Trial Explores Her Legal Passion
Audrey Lesser ’25 aspires to become a lawyer. Now she’s a top candidate for law school. Lesser, a government and sociology double major, challenged herself academically and through her many experiences beyond the classroom, including leading the F&M Mock Trial team. “I loved getting to see my friends both in and out of Mock Trial,” she said. “While the activity is fun in itself, the friendships I formed are lifelong, and I was able to have fun with the people I loved both during and beyond team practices.”Read More »
Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Share Real-World Insights for Navigating the Legal Field
When you become a Diplomat, you join a network of tens of thousands of alumni, families and friends of the College who consistently raise their hands to support you. The Black Student Union (BSU) invited two of these alumni — Robbie Suite '17 and Matthew Thomas '19 — to campus to meet with current F&M students interested in pursuing law. Suite, a litigation attorney, and Thomas, a Juris Doctor (JD) candidate at Drexel’s Kline School of Law, shared their personal journeys, invaluable advice, and real-world insights into navigating the legal field as a Black attorney.Alumni Spotlight
“I wanted to get involved with something that really made a difference.”
At age six, Erin Maxwell '22 attended her first protest. A passion for civic engagement has followed since. A government and history double major on the pre-law track, Maxwell said, "Coming to F&M, I knew I was going to be a government major from the get-go, and I wanted to get involved with something that really made a difference." Maxwell is eyeing a career in corporate law. She was accepted into Georgetown University Law Center and New York University School of Law.Read More »
Related Fields of Study
Government
F&M’s Department of Government has earned a reputation as one of the finest in the country. Study government at F&M and examine power, politics, justice, equity, and change while developing skills in language, economics, mathematics and philosophy.
Legal Studies (Certificate)
This certificate enables you to engage and evaluate legal discourse and argument as informed citizens. Drawing upon exploration of legal doctrines, reasoning, and policies in both public and private law, you will critically examine legal controversies from literary, economic, philosophic, and cultural perspectives.
Philosophy
Learn to think clearly and creatively about the big questions: the nature of meaning, morality, justice, art, the mind, knowledge, language, and reality. By studying philosophy at F&M, you’ll search for understanding while discovering how to value the reason for an answer as much as the answer itself.
Beyond Career Services
Legal Professions Advising is offered through F&M’s Center for Career and Professional Development. The Career Center cultivates professional development experiences that embolden students to design and navigate fulfilling careers with courage and curiosity.
Learn more »