"Pre-law" isn't a formal track -- there's no required course sequence or major, in high school or college. The American Bar Association is explicit about this: it does not recommend any specific undergraduate major or group of courses to prepare for law school. What it does recommend is building the underlying skills law actually runs on -- close critical reading, analytical reasoning, and clear written argument -- and high school is a reasonable place to start doing that deliberately, alongside getting a real look at what the work is actually like before committing to it.

Build the academic foundation deliberately -- reading and writing, not a fixed course list

Since there's no required subject sequence the way pre-med has a science and math ladder, the foundation here is skill-based rather than course-based. The ABA specifically points to close reading and critical analysis of complex text -- literature, political or economic theory, philosophy, history -- as genuinely transferable preparation, since so much of legal work is careful reading and interpretation of dense written material: statutes, contracts, judicial opinions. Alongside that, it emphasizes written communication as the lawyer's core tool, meaning classes and activities that force you to actually construct and defend an argument in writing matter more than any specific subject label on a transcript. A strong AP English, history, or philosophy course does more for this than a class chosen because it sounds "pre-law."

Get real exposure -- watch actual court, don't just imagine it

Court is public. Most local, state, and federal trial courts allow anyone to walk in and watch a real proceeding, and doing that once tells you more about what litigation actually looks like -- procedural, often slow, far less dramatic than television -- than any amount of reading about it. Shadowing a practicing attorney is another direct option; ask a family connection, a school counselor, or simply reach out to a local firm, since formal shadowing pipelines for minors are less standardized in law than in some other fields. Internships or volunteer roles with a local law firm, a public defender or district attorney's office, a legal aid clinic, or a judge's chambers are realistic asks for a motivated high schooler willing to do direct outreach -- see our piece on how high school students can actually find internship opportunities for how to approach that kind of cold outreach effectively, since most students who want an opportunity like this never get one simply because they never ask.

Mock trial and Youth & Government -- large, established programs built for exactly this

Two national programs give you structured, competitive practice at the actual skills lawyers use, rather than asking you to build something from scratch.

High school mock trial is a real, long-running competitive circuit: the National High School Mock Trial Championship began in 1984 with five Midwestern states and has grown into an annual national tournament drawing a champion team from each of the 50 states plus several U.S. territories and international teams, built on top of hundreds of local, regional, and state-level tournaments that most students actually compete in first. Teams argue both sides of a fictional case, examine and cross-examine witnesses, and make real objections under real rules of evidence -- it's the closest a high schooler gets to practicing litigation directly, and most schools run it as a club or class rather than requiring you to start a program yourself.

YMCA Youth & Government, founded in 1936, now runs in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. and serves more than 55,000 students nationally. It's mostly known for its mock legislature, but most state programs also include a judicial branch component -- a National Judicial Competition modeled on real appellate argument -- making it a genuine second path into legal-style argument beyond mock trial specifically. Check whether your school or region already has a chapter before assuming you'd need to start one.

Competitive speech and debate is worth knowing about too, even though it isn't law-specific: the National Speech & Debate Association, founded in 1925, is the largest and oldest organization of its kind, currently reaching roughly 140,000 students, though only about 4,000 of the roughly 25,000 high schools in the U.S. actually have a program -- worth checking directly whether yours is one of them. Formal debate builds the same argument-construction-under-pressure skill mock trial does, just without the courtroom framing.

Don't over-commit this early -- most people who end up in law decide later than you'd think

A national Gallup survey conducted for the Association of American Law Schools, covering more than 22,000 undergraduates and nearly 2,700 first-year law students, found that only about 35% of law students first considered law school before high school -- meaning most current law students weren't locked in this early either, and deciding later is the norm, not a sign you're behind. Combined with the ABA's own position that no specific major is required, there's real room to stay genuinely undecided through high school and much of college without it costing you anything. If you're specifically drawn to an accelerated path, 3+3 programs -- offered by a number of universities -- let a qualified student finish a bachelor's degree and a JD in six years instead of the usual seven, admitting students partway through their third undergraduate year; it's a real option worth knowing exists, but it's also a real early commitment, since it compresses the room you'd otherwise have to explore other paths or take extra time on a competitive LSAT score.

What this means for you

  • Don't chase a "pre-law major" -- there isn't one the ABA recommends. Prioritize classes and activities that build real reading, analytical, and written-argument skills over anything chosen just because it sounds law-adjacent.
  • Watch real court, not just its media portrayal. Most proceedings are open to the public and free to attend, and a single visit will correct a lot of assumptions drama-driven expectations create.
  • Check whether your school already has mock trial, Youth & Government, or speech and debate before assuming you'd need to start something new. All three are large, established programs most schools can plug into directly.
  • Treat direct outreach to local firms, public defender or DA offices, and legal aid clinics as a legitimate path to a real internship -- most students never ask, which is exactly why asking works.
  • Stay genuinely open rather than locking in early. Most current law students didn't decide before high school either, and a 3+3 accelerated program is worth knowing about but is a real tradeoff, not a default path to aim for.

Sources