Pre-Law Advising
We use the expression "pre-law" as a convenient way to describe all training, studies, and experience which precede formal law study. It should not be understood as implying that such work is a mere preparation for the study of law. The success and effectiveness of your legal training depend greatly upon the breadth and depth of your background and experience! The student who plans to enter law school would be wise, therefore, to take traditional and demanding academic courses.
The pre-law advisors in the Office of Undergraduate Education counsel students interested in preparing for admission to law school. A library of law school catalogs and resource materials is available, as are statistics about applications and acceptances to law school. Pre-law advising is available during the fall and spring semesters.
To get answers to Frequently Asked Questions or to view the Student Timetable, click here.
Meet the Pre-Law Advisors
Rhea F. Gordon (J.D., Columbia University School of Law) is an Assistant General Counsel with the Rutgers Office of Senior Vice President and General Counsel and serves in Undergraduate Education as one of Rutgers' Pre-Law Advisors. Prior to joining Rutgers in the spring of 2011, Ms. Gordon was a member of the tax department in the New York office of Debevoise & Plimpton, LLP, where she worked with non-profit organizations, individuals and corporations and served on the firm's Pro Bono Committee. Before attending law school, Ms. Gordon worked as a management consultant with Accenture, LLP in the Resources/Utilities market unit.
Milton Heumann (Ph.D., Yale) is Professor of Political Science and Rutgers University Pre-Law Advisor. He was Chair of the Political Science Department from 1997-2003. He teaches courses on civil liberties and civil rights, the politics of criminal justice, and judicial decision-making, and has been the primary Pre-Law Advisor at Rutgers since 1987. Professor Heumann received his B.A. from Brooklyn College in l968, and his M.Phil. and Ph.D. from Yale University (1971, 1976). His publications include Plea Bargaining (1978), Speedy Disposition (1992, with Thomas Church), Hate Speech on Campus (1997, with Thomas Church), and Good Cop, Bad Cop: Profiling, Race and Competing Visions of Justice (2003, with Lance Cassak). In addition to teaching fulltime at the University of Michigan from 1973-1980, Professor Heumann has taught or co-taught at Rutgers-Camden School of Law and Yale Law School (where he also was a Guggenheim Fellow). His current research interests include a series of studies on the consequences of felony convictions (for voting, for professional licensing), an examination of jury nullification in light of recent sentencing reforms, a large scale study of public and private whistle-blowing, and study of the constitutionality of vouchers for public and private school education.
Scheduling an Appointment
Ms. Gordon's pre-law advising hours are by appointment only in College Hall, Room 106, on the Douglass Campus.
Professor Heumann's pre-law advising hours are by appointment only in Milledoler Hall Fellows Room, 2nd floor, on the College Avenue Campus.
To schedule an appointment with a pre-law advisor, please call 848-932-7865 (Monday to Friday, from 8:30-5pm).
Related Links:
Application Prep Resources
Law School Application Information
Law School Admissions Council Online
Law School Admissions Essays
Sample Logic Game
The Boston College Law School Locator
Law School Rankings
ILRG: Brennan's Law School Rankings
ILRG: Cost-Benefit Analysis of Different Law Schools
U.S. News and World Report Law School Rankings
