[header] How to become a civil rights attorney [title] Consider majoring in political science or sociology. [step] The social sciences can give you a solid background for civil rights laws, especially since many major civil rights cases turned on social science arguments. [substeps] Most civil rights attorneys specialize in one issue, or on preserving and strengthening the rights of a particular group. 
For example, if you are drawn to issues faced by same sex couples, you might want to focus on the equal rights movement for gay, lesbian and transgender people. Depending on your focus, you might choose an undergraduate major or minor that reinforced that issue.