Career Tracks
Legal Careers
Law schools and law firms have long recognized that English majors are some of the most successful and best prepared people in the legal profession. Our alumni can tell you why they agree. They find in every story a body of evidence, a network of characters, and a range of possible arguments about the text itself.
Specialized classes like Law and Literature (398) work with the breadth of offerings in American Literature (331, 332, 333, 436, and more) as well as courses like Shakespeare (404 and 405) or Restoration and Eighteenth-Century (411) are rich with historical and literary materials that serve future law students. Rhetoric, Writing, and Linguistics is also a popular concentration, where classes like 355, 455, and 494 help students dig deep into the dialectic of arguments and audiences.
Scroll down to explore this career track and see who else has pursued a legal career with a background in English in our Alumni and News sections.
THE POWER OF
An English Background
English teaches essential skills like research, problem-solving, and creative thinking. Join us at our roundtable discussions where we learn exactly how English prepared these graduates for their careers.
Interviews with Alumni in Legal Careers
- Law Professor Jason Smith’s Beginnings as a UT English Major
“Attorneys are storytellers”: Smith shares four ways English is an advantageous precursor to law and education Jason Smith (’04) is Director of Legal Writing and… Read more: Law Professor Jason Smith’s Beginnings as a UT English Major - From Rhetoric to the Halls of Power: Houston Holdren’s Career Path
From Capitol Hill to the skies, English helped Houston Holdren soar. English alumna Houston Holdren (’19) is a Senior Executive Assistant for Government Operations (Defense,… Read more: From Rhetoric to the Halls of Power: Houston Holdren’s Career Path - English Major to Corporate Lawyer: Jasmine Johnson’s Career Path
Jasmine Johnson (2016) is an attorney in Atlanta, GA, where she practices corporate law. She spoke with Professor Katy Chiles about the value of learning to… Read more: English Major to Corporate Lawyer: Jasmine Johnson’s Career Path - A Matter of Character Analysis
English classes, Hall believes, “teach you how to think” rather than “what to think.” For attorney Christopher A. Hall, practicing law is often a matter… Read more: A Matter of Character Analysis
What Alumni Say
What attorney Jasmine Johnson says about being an English major
“No matter what I’m doing, every single day, I’m reading and writing all day, always, always, always. My English degree has definitely come in handy for that…in your class, I was reading, writing, analyzing, and making arguments. And that’s basically what I do now. I read and negotiate different contracts for clients, and if I’m negotiating with the opposing counsel, I have to justify the changes I suggested. I feel the skills that I learned as an English major have directly transferred to what I do now, which is great. And now I can see why the attorneys I met when I was in college recommended majoring in English—the skills go hand in hand with practicing law.“
—from an interview highlighting English Major and corporate attorney Jasmine Johnson’s (’16) career path
News from the Legal Sector
- UTK English Roundtable on Careers in Law, Video Now Available
University of Tennessee English alumni Jasmine Johnson and J. Scott Rose joined Director of Career Development Dr. Erin Elizabeth Smith for a roundtable discussion on… Read more: UTK English Roundtable on Careers in Law, Video Now Available