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Psychology
Psychology and the Law
How this psychology major found his niche in the legal arena.
Posted January 26, 2016 Reviewed by Jessica Schrader
Although law and psychology are two separate fields, they are united by their interest in human behavior. Psychology seeks to understand and explain human behavior while law seeks to regulate human behavior. This means those interested in the study of human behavior should not restrict themselves to considering careers that, at first glance, do not appear to be relevant to psychology. Indeed, educational programs are beginning to recognize the important overlap between psychology and law and this is seen in schools that offer a joint law and psychology degree (i.e. JD/Ph.D.). In order to gain insight into the application of psychology to law, this week we are profiling Craig Michael, B.A. in psychology and JD, who decided to put his psychology degree to work in the legal field.
Michael is like many students in that he was always interested in human behavior, but was not sure how practical this knowledge was for a future career. In fact, Michael admits he did not officially declare his major to be psychology until his junior year at Miami University. Even before his interest in human behavior, Michael had another interest- the law. As a child growing up on a rural Ohio farm, Michael had been drawn to the legal profession where he watched big city lawyers on televisions or in the movies battle out exciting cases in the courtroom. Although Michael realized the entertainment industry’s portrayal of legal careers was not the most accurate, he enjoyed the mystery-solving nature of the law and its quest for the truth of events. He figured the best way to combine his interest in human behavior and the law was by becoming an attorney. So armed with a psychology degree, Michael pursued additional training as a lawyer, earning a JD from the University of Toledo College of Law.
Today, Michael is a lawyer for a small law firm in Cincinnati, Ohio. He will be the first to tell you that early on as a practicing attorney, you quickly learn that cases are not solved in an hour like on TV, and that some situations cannot have the happy and rewarding ending that you would like to see. He will also tell you that having a psychology degree has helped him in his profession immensely, especially in his day-to-day dealings with clients. A big part of his job involves figuring out the particular needs of his clients, and the needs of the other parties involved. According to Michael, his psychology knowledge is particularly useful because “the better an attorney is able to understand and effectively deal with people, the more successful he/she will be in the legal profession.”
Indeed, a big part of Michael’s job is to interact with clients and help to educate them about the law and their rights under the law. After educating clients about their options, the attorney next develops a game plan that is in the clients’ best interests, and then represents his clients to advance those interests. Though Michael says the skills important for an attorney depend upon the type of law being practiced, for his area (worker’s compensation law), psychology has helped him most in his ability to communicate effectively. Communication, according to Michael, is huge since “whether you are trying to help a client understand his/her best option or presenting a case to a jury, you need to be able to communicate effectively.” Understanding human thought and behavior becomes even more critical when Michael feels a client does not want to pursue a course of action that is in his or her best interests. He says at this point it is important to continue to communicate with the client and ascertain why he/she feels the way they do, and that the analytical and communication skills he learned in his psychology courses are invaluable in this regard.
As for his own use of a psychology degree, Michael feels it led to a rewarding career, and that the best part of his job is when he is able to help someone with a problem and see the positive effect it has upon their situation. However, like any profession, a career as a lawyer is a good fit for some but not for others. If you have a psychology degree or are a psychology major, and are interested in applying your knowledge toward a law degree, Michael says that it is best to work in the legal field as an intern first to get some experience and see what the reality of the law is all about.
Hopefully, this post gives you a look at a career option available to psychology majors. Today, choosing psychology as a major does not mean your only option is to continue on to psychology graduate school to become a therapist or researcher. Having knowledge of psychology is becoming more and more relevant across a host of fields, and, as we see here, more value is being given to the unique combination of analytical and communication skills that are developed as a psychology major.
Please note that the comments of Golding and the others who post on this blog express their own opinion and not that of the University of Kentucky.
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