The Law: A Career for English Majors

Libby Jacobson (BA 2014) thinks English is an "amazing major" for any kind of work, but especially for the legal profession. "The skills I learned as an English major definitely support what I do," says the Associate at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP. "I practice corporate and real estate law, so I am not writing as much as a litigator—but I do need to understand and explain what certain provisions in different agreements mean, and sometimes make arguments. Also law school and the legal practice involves a lot of reading." Jacobson graciously agreed to be interviewed over email.

What have you enjoyed most about the work, over your career?

I really love working on different projects and with so many different people and companies. It’s a really fabulous way to sort of dabble in a number of different things.

Advice for current majors interested in careers like yours?

Once you find something you might be interested in doing, I highly recommend talking to as many people as you can that have that job. Ask them about what they do, why they do it, what they like, what their days are like, etc. Hopefully you find someone who you really look up to, and then I would say ask that person what they did to get to where they are—what school they went to, jobs they had, etc.

What book are you recommending these days?

Right now, I am recommending The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa, because it was divine!