In What Ways Can A History Major Provide Litigation Support?

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history major for litigation A history degree actually pairs very well with a legal career, including litigation support roles. The degree is commonly recommended to students as a “pre-law” option when no such specialty program is available. Individuals who have gone through a history program will have gained a number of skills that match up perfectly with the needs of litigation support. Here are some ways a degree in this field can provide very good litigation support.

Research

Individuals with a history degree are trained in research methods. Over the course of their schooling, they have done significant amounts of research in:

putting together arguments
research papers
capstone projects and other materials

This experience translates well to the field of law. Litigation support involves significant amounts of research, which can be on any topic relevant to the case. Prior court cases and rulings are usually the topics researched most. This can be done in a physical law library or online through portals such as Westlaw and LexisNexis.

Critical Thinking Skills

History majors do a lot of critical thinking when looking at the people, events, and places of history for their research. Answers are usually not presented to them and they must draw conclusions that are closest to the truth from the information they are able to uncover. This translates well to litigation support. Critical thinking is necessary for quality litigation support because legal professionals must be able to put the pieces of a case together to get the full picture. History majors are well-practiced in critical thinking, making them great choices for providing litigation support on any type of case.

Interviewing Skills

Most history majors have had to do some kind of interview. It be presenting their findings to their peers and fielding questions. It might be doing interviews with people who witnessed. It could be interviewing other historians. Interviewing witnesses is an integral part of litigation support. To help build their case, legal assistants and attorneys alike need to interview:

clients
witnesses
professionals and others

There is a delicate art to legal interviews because the interviewer needs to be extremely thorough and take away all the important, relevant details. History majors are good at sussing out the important details and creating a coherent story from it, which is the goal of all litigation.

Writing Skills

History majors write many papers throughout their educational careers and therefore have strong writing skills when they graduate. Litigation involves a complex array of court documents that legal assistants are often tasked with drafting, as outlined by The Balance Careers. Attorneys are required to sign off on these documents, but much of the basic work is done by assistants in most firms, especially large ones. These documents need to be thorough and put together properly so they will hold up in court. With strong writing skills and attention to detail, anyone who has had an education in history is an excellent choice for to work in this important role. Litigation support requires professionals with strong skills in:

writing
critical thinking
interviewing
research

History majors are trained and have significant practice in all of these skills. A history degree is an excellent option for anyone looking to go into the field of law. Related Resources: