6 Ways to Volunteer as a Pre-Law Student

This article is brought to you by Kaplan, the leader in test prep for over 90 standardized tests, including the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT.

If you’re a pre-law student, you probably have a lot on your plate; in addition to all of your normal coursework, you also have the added pressure of fulfilling all of the necessary requirements to apply for law school and ensuring that your application is as strong as it can be.

Though the most important aspects of your law school application will typically be your GPA and LSAT score, having a strong set of extracurricular experiences can go a long way in setting you apart from the competition. If you don’t want to take on the commitment of a full-time job or internship, volunteering is another option that you can take on to gain experience and to help out others. Gaining this experience will mean that you’ll be all the more prepared for law school and the career that follows.

If you’re looking for some ideas for where to get involved, here are six exciting and educational options:

Image via http://pixabay.com

District Attorney’s Office

Regardless of where you live or go to school, a great volunteer option that allows you to truly observe the legal system before fully entering into it is your district attorney’s office. The divisions open to volunteers may depend on your county, but typically they include areas such as Family Protection, Victim Assistance, Cold Case, and Special Operations.

Volunteering for a district attorney’s office is therefore a great option if you’re looking to go into family or criminal law. It’ll help you get used to the kind of environment that you might be working in later, as well as teaching you the relevant political jargon and giving you a better overall understanding of certain areas of justice.

Public Defender’s Office

If you’re looking to go into criminal law, another worthwhile place to look for volunteer positions is at the office of your county’s public defender. While it may again vary by county, volunteers for a public defender can expect to assist attorneys with tasks such as trial preparation, legal research, client interviews, discovery conferences, investigations, witness preparation, drafting pre-trial and post-trial motions, and motion hearings.

UNICEF

As a pre-law student, it’s a good idea to volunteer for large, well-known organizations, as you already know that they’ll provide you with a rewarding volunteering experience. In addition, when it comes time to apply for law school, you can rest assured that the person reviewing your application will be familiar with the organization.

According to the official UNICEF website, the purpose of UNICEF is “to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path.”

In addition to advocating for an amazing cause, volunteering for UNICEF will provide you with some helpful experience if you are thinking of going into human rights or family law.

National Association for Urban Debate Leagues (NAUDL)

NAUDL is an organization that seeks to “provide debate programming to urban middle and high school students.”

In doing so, they hope to teach students in urban areas the skills necessary for them to succeed in college and in their later careers. They provide students with opportunities to earn scholarships by hosting competitions and offer networking events to give students a leg-up.

This is a great volunteer option if you enjoy working with students. It also gives you the opportunity to expand your knowledge on and experience with an area that will play a large role in your success in law school and as a lawyer — the art of debate.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)

CASA is an organization that works with neglected and abused children as they find and adjust to new homes and communities. They seek to ensure that no child “[gets] lost in the overburdened legal and social service system or [languishes] in inappropriate group or foster homes.”

As a volunteer for CASA, you would be appointed by a judge to “watch over and advocate for abused and neglected children.” An ideal option if you enjoy working with children or hope to go into family or child custody law, CASA allows you to strengthen your law school application while working for a worthy cause and gaining valuable experience.

International Rescue Committee (IRC)

The International Rescue Committee is an organization that “responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises, helping to restore health, safety, education, economic well-being, and power to people devastated by conflict and disaster.”

As a volunteer for IRC, you could take on a number of tasks including helping refugees develop job-seeking and interview skills and mentoring refugee families or individuals. You can also participate in an unpaid internship program with IRC.

As an intern, some of the possible responsibilities that you could take on would be “supporting casework management services to refugees,” “assisting with refugee health education and promotion,” and “helping develop and implement programming to support refugee youth.”

If you’re interested in human rights’ law, this would be a great opportunity for you to get involved.

Learn more about Kaplan’s test prep options and start building the confidence you need for Test Day.