Many majors provide good paths to law school, so what's the case for a degree in economics?

How do we measure the "best"?  Salaries provide a good measure of how law firms value the skills and talents of lawyers with different backgrounds.  A study by Craft and Baker (2003) published in the Journal of Economic Education found that lawyers with degrees in economics earned $10,000 more per year than the average lawyer with another degree.  In fact, lawyers with an economics degree earn almost $5,000 more than those with an accounting degree, the second highest degree earners.  A more sophisticated look at earnings reveals that lawyers with an undergraduate economics degree earn about the same premium as those with a Ph.D., and more than lawyers with an MBA or M.S. in other fields.

So, do economics majors make better lawyers?  Based on how actual law firms value the contributions of lawyers with an economics degree relative to those with any other major, the answer is yes!

You may wonder what qualities an economics major provides that might contribute to this surprisingly large difference in earnings.  One answer is found in the synergistic relationship between economics and law.  Economics emphasizes analytical and problem-solving skills, and trains a person to think through problems in a systematic manner.  These are the very skills needed to succeed in a law career.  Ed Tom, the former director of admissions for the U.C. - Berkley law school explains:  "Of all majors, economics ranks in the top four or five consistently year after year for both applications and admissions.... Logical reasoning and analytical skills are critical to legal studies" (Craft and Baker, 2003).  This synergetic relationship is now being formalized in law schools across the country.  Virtually every top law school now has at least one economist on the faculty and all teach law and economics.  Several law schools even offer joint Law and Economics Ph.D. programs.

Finally, you may be wondering whether an economics degree will help you to get into a top law school.  Top law schools do consider economics to be an excellent preparation.  But, one of the most important metrics in determining admission to a top law school is one's performance on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT).  According to the latest data available, economics majors ranked first among majors with at least 2,200 students taking the LSAT.  Economics majors earn an average score of 156.6, which is in the 72nd percentile.  Among all majors, economics ranks third, behind only Math/Physics and Philosophy/Religion.

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Beyond salaries, analytical skills, and LSAT scores, economics teaches you about the key economic issues and problems facing our country and the world.  Some of the most important of these are studied in environmental, health, labor, and international economics.  Indeed, many of the fields offered in law school build on these areas.  

Click here for our suggested program of study for economics majors interested in enrolling in law school.

So, is economics the best training for the study and practice of law?  That's for you to decide.