Carrie E. Backman

How did your time as an English major prepare you for your current role or your career?

My English major has been a tremendous asset in my career. When people think of attorney, they picture someone arguing in a courtroom, but that is a very small portion of what I do. I spent the majority of my time writing, reading/researching, and working with real people.

Being able to write effectively is crucial, whether it’s sending an email to a client or writing a brief to be filed with the court. You have to be able to write about complex topics in a manner that is easily understandable. Before I do any of that writing, I’m reading or researching something, whether it be a proposed custody order or case law on dischargeability of debts. My English major, specifically the linguistics classes I took like Grammatical Structures (ENG 360), made sure I had an eye for detail in language before I even started law school. There is a difference between may, must, and shall. Whether a sentence uses “or” or “and” totally changes the meaning. Those skills matter for making sure I can draft effective documents that protect my clients or review contracts to make sure my clients understand their obligations. I can’t imagine trying to do my job without those skills. AI can only get you so far. If you cannot read or draft a sentence and know what it means without a machine giving you an interpretation that may or may not be correct, you are going to struggle to make sure your client is actually protected.

People might not think of an English degree as preparing you for working with real people, but a lot of literature courses involve analyzing people, both authors and characters, and dissecting possible motivations for why they make the choices that they do. A big part of being an attorney is understanding both your own client’s goals and the opposing party’s goals. If I don’t know what is actually important to my client (spoiler—it isn’t always just money), I can’t effectively represent them. The analysis we did in literature classes trained my brain to look at approach a problem from many different angles and to always take a moment to assess a person’s motivations and cultural background. This helps me ask the right questions to get a full picture of client goals.

What advice would you give to someone considering an English major?

An English Degree allows you to go in so many different directions with your career. Try to engage with both linguistic and literature classes to be as well-rounded as possible.