David Feintuch '19
David Feintuch '19
Law Student at Brooklyn Law School
In what ways do you feel your major in history helped to prepare you for your current career? Are there any skills that you developed as an undergraduate history major that are essential to your work?
As of now, I am pursuing a career in tax law. Although at first, a background in history may not appear to be connected to my current career path, the study has helped me develop broad legal skills in numerous ways.
The first skill I gained from being a history major was reading comprehension. As a history major, I was expected to complete a fair amount of reading. Simply put, reading makes you better at reading and as a law student, this is a skill that is fundamental to the practice. With a skill of reading comprehension, issue spotting becomes developed. Issue spotting may be the most important skill an attorney can have as this is the first step an attorney must take when assessing any legal situation. When I took my law school finals, I did not fear missing out on an issue and I believe this lack of fear was aided by my experience as a history major at Brooklyn College. Additionally, tax law is a demanding field than requires strong focus and the ability to synthesize complicated rules and a robust skill in reading comprehension is vital for any good tax attorney.
The second skill a history major helped me develop was writing. For all the reading a history major should complete, writing is the second half of the major. As a history major, I completed many writing assignments. Sharp writing is another fundamental skill for any attorney as this is essential for providing clarity and conciseness to a client’s issue. During my time as a law student, I have had to write a number of memorandums and research papers. I believe my experience as a history major at Brooklyn College has made these assignments all the more easier and enjoyable to complete.
Lastly, a history major will help increase your own intellectual curiosity. Having this type of curiosity will help you enjoy doing research and increase your ability to network. The best work is work done by someone who is happy to do so. Any attorney should be motivated to help future clients with research. Having the intellectual curiosity to do so makes researching a whole lot more enjoyable and easier to connect with a client.
All of these skills played a vital role during my law school internships as well. The first was interning with Justice Levine for Kings County Supreme Court where I had to review court cases and draft memos which I would then explain to the Judge. My second internship currently is with a small business legal counsel where reading cases and drafting memos come into play again but this time I am explaining my research to the private sector, rather than the public one.
Are there any other reflections on your history major or time in the BC History Department that you’d like us to include in your spotlight?
I believe the professors of the history department were and continue to be excellent. They helped me develop my reading and writing skills all at the same time ensuring that the topics taught were interesting and nuanced.
Which history course or courses were particularly meaningful to you during your time as a BC history major and/or have had a lasting influence? Why?
My colloquium on the Age of Enlightenment with Professor Troyansky still leaves me pondering philosophical questions on the works of Hegel and Marx. I believe these topics are still relevant today, especially given the current U.S. political climate.
