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Pre-Law
 Law schools seek students with strong liberal arts backgrounds reflecting quality performance.
Creativity and law? It's not the stretch it might appear to be. Creativity and innovation in law is essential. To create, compare, and assemble ideas, and then to express them as a coherent, persuasive argument are fundamental skills for pre-law students, for law students, and for lawyers.
Hollins also offers a low teacher-student ratio (read Katherine Echternacht's testimonial to find out why that's important to the pre-law student), plenty of opportunity to articulate ideas in the classroom and on paper, and access to outstanding internships.
Photo: Tarin Heilman '98 (history major) and Meg Lyons '98 (American studies) interned with Roanoke judge Diane Strickland during Short Term of their senior year. With a population of 230,000, Roanoke offers many opportunities for pre-law internships.
How to Be Prepared for Law School
Although pre-law is not a major at Hollins, and students who want to go on to law school can major in anything they like, we recommend taking an array of courses that will help you build a solid foundation for law school.
There is no set pattern of courses for a pre-law student, but students will find courses that emphasize reading, comprehension, analysis, and writing useful. Courses that may prove particularly useful include ECON 158, ECON 241, ECON 261, and ECON 321; PHIL 120 and PHIL 211; POLS 101, POLS 216, POLS 363, and POLS 364; SOC 132, SOC 215, SOC 242, and SOC 260; and WS 141 and WS 203. History, mathematics, English, and science courses, particularly physics and chemistry, are also suggested. Your pre-law advisor can help you find courses that will best prepare you to get into, and thrive, in law school. See also How to Get Into Law School on Hollins' economics Web page.
Sabrina Rose '00 and Michelle McCall '00 interned in the Roanoke Commonwealth Attorney's office.
Internships: An invaluable extension of the classroom
Sarah Hatch '96 and Katherine Echternacht '97, whose testimonials appear at right, found their many and varied internship experiences to be invaluable. Your academic advisor and the Career Center are great sources of information when it comes time to plan your internships. Students interested in law have interned for judges, prosecutors, private defense attorneys, the public defender's offices...the list goes on and on. Roanoke, a metropolitan area of 230,000, offers many pre-law internship opportunities. And Washington, D.C., just four hours away, is an even richer source of possibilities.
Your real-world interaction doesn't have to be limited to just the January term. Newnie Rogers, now a partner with Mays & Valentine in Richmond, took time while at Hollins to become familiar with the courtroom by sitting in on traffic and district courts and watching lawyers interacting with the judge, each other, and the commonwealth attorney.
Pre-Law Advisors
Joe W. Leedom, professor of history; B.A., University of Wyoming; Ph.D., University of California-Santa Barbara
Jong Oh Ra, professor of political science; A.B., M.S., Indiana State University; M.S.L.S., Ph.D., University of Illinois
Susan L. Thomas, associate professor of political science; B.A., California State Polytechnic University; M.A., Ph.D., University of California-Riverside
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Pre-Law:
How to Get Into Law School
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To view the academic catalog course listings, click here.
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CONTACT
Joe Leedom
(540) 362-6253
jleedom@hollins.edu
Hollins University
P. O. Box 9702
Roanoke, VA 24020
"The education I received at Hollins prepared me richly for the challenges I would face as a law student. The dynamic courses offered by the political science department taught me invaluable analytical and research skills -- tools that I use daily in law school and that will serve me well as a practicing attorney. My favorite and most challenging Hollins class was Research Methods. Beyond learning to crunch numbers and manipulate and analyze data, the class gave me the confidence to apply to law school. With the help of Professor Jong Ra, I was able to achieve one of the highest grades I received in college in that class. It remains one of my proudest accomplishments."
Tiffany Marshall '97, graduated from the University of Virginia Law School in May 2006. She is also the recipient of the Lewis F. Powell Post-Graduate Public Service Fellowship.
"Hollins gave me confidence. That's the main thing anyone can acquire at Hollins, because of the small class sizes and the fact that it's a women's campus. I learned to communicate with my peers, and I was encouraged to speak out in class. We received grades for class participation, so you couldn't get around that. I've noticed my colleagues at law school, the ones who went to big universities, are not as confident speaking out in class or responding to questions. In addition, my internships were one of the most valuable elements at Hollins. I interned at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection one year, then followed that with an internship at an environmental law firm in Tallahassee."
Katherine Echternacht '97, Spanish and interdisciplinary studies major in environmental pre-law; helped start the pre-law society at Hollins; J.D., Mercer University Law School
"Hollins gave me freedom to develop my own interests. I was not pigeon-holed into a major right away. I was taught to read a lot and digest the important information, and I learned how to write persuasively. The same is required in law school. My internships were also wonderful. I interned at The Roanoke Times, the Florida State Attorney's office, and in my senior year, the Roanoke Commonwealth Attorney's office, which cemented my desire to do criminal law."
Sarah R. Hatch '96, history major; assistant state attorney, Kissimmee, FL
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