Preparation for a Law Career

Having recently passed the Maryland bar with a J.D. degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law, Jillian Horaneck ’20 is aiming to specialize in entertainment law. She’s looking forward to taking on a range of responsibilities, from drawing up contracts to litigating copyright and intellectual property disputes.

 

To hear her tell it, the seeds for this career path were planted during her time at Washington College, where she majored in both political science and communication and media studies. 

As a student of political science, she gained an invaluable familiarity with the material covered in several of her classes at law school, including government and the laws that derive from it. She also began learning how to analyze laws. She took classes on such subjects as the political philosophies of law, constitutional law, and political theory. She learned why certain laws or cases played out the way they did.

“It's an interesting way to introduce yourself to the law,” Horaneck said. “And if you want to become a lawyer, I think political science is one of the best ways to start that career off because it does have so much to do with what you see as an attorney.”

Horaneck has also been into the arts since childhood, acting in musicals and taking voice and piano lessons. At Washington College, she was able to take her creative pursuits to the next level. For example, her arts and production concentration in her communication and media studies major enabled her to take a course on everything that goes into making a recording, from producing to mixing.

She became a fixture in college musicals, by performing as well as working on costumes, makeup and hair behind the scenes. And she co-founded and served as the talent manager of Radio Free George, the College's podcast channel.

Horaneck believes that these experiences will give her a sound foundation for entertainment law.

“I love the creative process because I find it very hands-on and I find it interesting,” she said. “I also wanted to have an understanding of what my future clients would be doing. I always think that to fully understand and know what to advocate for, you should be able to do it yourself, at least in some capacity.”

— Ken Keuffel