For years, pre-law students have obtained their undergraduate degrees in political science, history, philosophy or economics, believing these to be the best route to law school. This allows relevant majors like journalism to slip through the cracks.
“Journalism is an amazing major to get prepared for law school because it teaches you how to approach a huge mass of information, search through it, understand it, then synthesize and regurgitate it to another person,” said William Kozinski, a corporate lawyer at O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles who majored in journalism at UT before earning his Juris Doctorate at the University of California Berkeley School of Law.
It’s time we give journalism the credit it deserves. Beyond writing catchy headlines and chasing breaking news, journalism trains students in skills central to legal success: clear communication, critical thinking, research, reading and writing.
All journalism students at UT are familiar with “Media Law,” a degree required class that many dread for the long, complicated lectures and test questions demanding application of legal knowledge. Students learn about real-world defamation cases, how the First Amendment applies in different contexts and how to dissect legal nuances. This hands-on analysis mirrors what first-year law students tackle.
The class gave Kozinski his first exposure to legal concepts, he said. He developed strong communication and research skills through that course, his journalism classes, writing for the Texas Undergraduate Law Journal and working as a research assistant for Amy Sanders, a former UT journalism professor and licensed attorney.
These experiences all became critical when he started practicing law. Asking sharp questions, distilling complex topics and crafting clear narratives– that’s legal writing 101, Kozinski said.
Students from less traditional undergraduate backgrounds — like journalism — may actually have a surprising edge in the law school admissions process, said Karintha Fenley, assistant director of Pre-Law Services at UT.
“Someone who stands out as a law school applicant is someone who doesn’t have one of those (traditional) majors,” Fenley said. “You automatically stand out as someone that they want to pay attention to — in a good way — just because of that.”
Fenley is actually a former journalist. After earning a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, she worked on media projects that amplified marginalized voices. Fenley often worked with law enforcement and said she saw first-hand the similarities between law and journalism.
She said journalism builds core skills like investigative research, critical thinking, writing and editing, storytelling and meeting strict deadlines — the same skills law schools look for.
“Law school is paying attention to details,” Fenley said. “It’s investigation, analysis, critical thinking and being able to review situations from different perspectives. It’s reading, writing and knowing how to edit your own work. That’s huge.”
The LSAT and personal statement are essential parts of any law school application. Journalism majors typically do well on both — averaging a score of 156.4 on the LSAT in 2024, slightly above political science majors at 156.1.
“You would be shocked at how many people come to me and have no idea how to start their personal statement,” Fenley said. “But for folks who have an English or journalism background? They already cultivated those writing skills.”
Fenley said she doesn’t see as many journalism students as she’d like in pre-law advising appointments, but wishes more would consider it, as they can bring a rare, powerful perspective to the legal world.
“(Journalists) have this position of observation that’s very unique,” Fenley said. “Sometimes that’s enough for them to go, ‘You know what? I want to do something about this. But I can’t do it by just telling this person’s story. I need to go advocate for them.’”
Michael Pearson, an assistant journalism professor and former investigative journalist, made a compelling case for journalism as a pre-law pathway. His career consisted of major articles covering court cases, working in broadcast journalism and now, higher education with a side of freelance reporting.
“Three words: reading and writing,” Pearson said. “In law school, you’re gonna do a hell of a lot of reading and even more writing. You have to take complex subjects and make them understandable. That’s what journalism does.”
Pearson said journalism students often get familiar with the courtroom long before considering law school, another possible edge, especially for those considering trial law. He also shared that covering trials, government and politics almost forces journalists to get familiar with legal processes and jargon.
Pearson even received a law school and job offer based solely on his coverage of a three-and-a-half-month criminal trial in Kerrville, Texas.
“A defense lawyer — Ray Bass — liked my analysis and writing so much that at the end of the trial, he offered to pay my entire way through law school, then give me a job as an investigator at his law firm after,” he said. “(Bass) said I’d make a great lawyer.”
Pearson turned down the offer because he wanted to stay in journalism, but the message was clear: the skills are transferable.
“Fact-finding, argument building, questioning authority — these are all parallels (between journalism and law),” Pearson said. “You also have to do a lot of research and be fair in how you treat that research. Then you’ve got to write something compelling.”
He emphasized journalism’s unique ethical lens, which is often reflected in those who pursue law.
“Speaking truth to power. Questioning people in authority. Curiosity. A healthy cynicism — not paranoia, but skepticism,” Pearson said. “We don’t know what people think or believe — we can only report what they say and do. That’s very much like the law.”
The modern legal world values versatility, communication and clarity — skills that journalism teaches better than most disciplines. In an age where misinformation spreads quickly and media literacy is vital, understanding how news and law intersect is more important than ever.
We must widen the scope of what we consider a strong pre-law education. Journalism isn’t just relevant — it’s essential and it’s time aspiring lawyers realized it.
