Law schools do not recommend that you major in any particular field as an undergraduate. But they typically do recommend developing skill in careful reading and especially writing—the precise skills that English majors develop.

In fact, Justice John Paul Stevens of the U. S. Supreme Court has said that “the best preparation for the study of law [is] the study of poetry, and especially lyric poetry”—the study of literature, in his view, helps students learn to analyze language, to recognize ambiguity, and to develop consistency in interpretation. (Source: College English 46 (April 1984): 333-47.)

The English Department also regularly offers a course in “Legal Analysis and Writing,” which is taught by faculty from Villanova Law School’s legal writing program.

The English Department’s advisor for law school applications is Professor Karen Graziano. Prof. Graziano has also developed an extensive set of set of webpages for Villanova’s Law School Advising Program.