Professional Development

A major or minor in Legal Studies will prepare you for a limitless assortment of jobs. Graduates have gone onto big firms (Merrill Lynch, Deloitte, and PricewaterhouseCoopers), iconic companies (Pepsi, Subaru, and Comcast), and government positions across the country. Here are just a few of the many job options for Legal Studies students:

Attorney: A major in Legal Studies offers a uniquely effective route to law school. You will receive hands-on training in how to read cases and statutes, how to do legal research, and how to make a legal argument. Through membership in our national law fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta, you will benefit from many networking opportunities.
Corporate Compliance Officer: Every bank, securities firm, hospital, and insurance company needs a compliance officer. Financial regulations, environmental regulations, health and safety regulations, anti-discrimination regulations—the legal environment of any business is dense, and the consequences for crossing the line can be severe. As this regulatory context becomes more complicated, companies are hiring individuals who specialize in compliance, in making sure their organization avoids the risks of violating federal, state, or local law. A Legal Studies major will familiarize you with these regulatory issues and prepare you to recognize and manage them effectively.
Business Professional: Law impacts every business transaction. Whether you’re starting a company, hiring an employee, manufacturing a product, or negotiating a contract, you are making decisions with significant legal implications. As a major in Legal Studies, you will be exposed to a new way of thinking and critically analyzing issues that will allow you to identify and apply creative solutions to problems in every aspect of the business environment.
Government Employee: Working in the public sector as a civil servant requires a diverse set of skills and an ability to critically reason and solve often complex problems affecting potentially millions of people. A Legal Studies major trains you in key areas, such as policy analysis, regulatory compliance, and administrative law, effectively preparing you for a successful government career regardless of whether you continue on to law school first.

Student Professional Organizations

Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International

Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity International is the world’s largest legal fraternity, composed of pre-law student members, law students, practicing attorneys, legal educators, judges, and elected officials. At Temple, PAD sponsors guest speakers on law-related topics and events that will prepare you for law school and the LSAT. Chapter members also train for and compete in the national mock trial competition at the annual PAD conference in Washington, D.C.

Gamma Iota Sigma

Gamma Iota Sigma’s (GIS) goals are to enhance professional development by building a sense of community among majors, and to improve career opportunities through increasing knowledge of risk management, insurance, and actuarial science. GIS provides its members with professional development and preparation for high quality employment opportunities. This is achieved through scholarships, reimbursement for professional exams, internships, interview workshops, videotaped mock interviews, professional quality resumes, a resume book, guest speakers, field trips, an Annual Awards for Excellence Dinner, student awards dinner, and a career library which contains current information on insurance companies, brokerages and other firms.