No Interest in BigLaw - Does School Ranking Matter?

carlie.simkunas

Question: I'm curious if people have opinions/advice regarding whether attending a lower-ranked law school would be a bad idea (e.g. would significantly hinder my long-term career goals), considering that I don't have an interest in BigLaw and plan to practice in the Midwest market.

Background: I graduated two years ago with my undergrad and am working full-time as a paralegal at a boutique law firm that specializes in employment immigration. I live in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul), and plan to stay and pursue my law career here. I have no interest in being a "big, fancy lawyer" - I don't want to work 80 hours a week and live under a constant cloud of stress. I want to be successful and proud of my career, but to achieve that, I don't feel the need to do a federal clerkship or work at a top firm even in the Twin Cities. I'm not interested in litigation and prefer administrative law; I have done internships in public interest law and have discovered that it is not for me. The attorneys I work for went to local schools in the Midwest, and they have their own firm, make a very good living, and have high standing in the community. My ideal goal is to go to law school part-time while working full-time (or close to full-time) at my current position. I think it is a good possibility that the firm I am currently at would hire me on as an attorney after I graduate, or at least would help me network and find a position.

I am currently looking at applying to Mitchell Hamline School of Law. With my GPA and LSAT scores, I am fairly certain I could get a full-ride or very close to it. Nationally, the school is ranked very low, but it is well-known and respected in the Twin Cities. They have a part-time program I could attend that would allow me to continue working. However, I believe I could get into the University of Minnesota - a much higher ranked institution - but attending part-time isn't an option, and I doubt I would get close to a full ride.

Conclusion: Basically I'm looking for any comments on the importance/necessity of attending a top-tier school if I have more moderate career goals. Thank you!

LastLSAT

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TexAgAaron

Yes I don't think rank matters as much in your case. Not familiar with Minnesota so I'll leave it at that haha. Good Luck!

AllezAllez21

Rank doesn't matter but employment outcomes do. Mitchell Hamline places 57% of their grads into jobs as lawyers. That's a pretty low number. So just be aware of the risks.

westcoastbestcoast

Be aware that scholarships offered at lower ranked schools tend to be conditional. Theres not only the risk of you not finding employment but also the risk of losing your scholarship

Seeking Perfection

@"carlie.simkunas" said:
Question: I'm curious if people have opinions/advice regarding whether attending a lower-ranked law school would be a bad idea (e.g. would significantly hinder my long-term career goals), considering that I don't have an interest in BigLaw and plan to practice in the Midwest market.

Background: I graduated two years ago with my undergrad and am working full-time as a paralegal at a boutique law firm that specializes in employment immigration. I live in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul), and plan to stay and pursue my law career here. I have no interest in being a "big, fancy lawyer" - I don't want to work 80 hours a week and live under a constant cloud of stress. I want to be successful and proud of my career, but to achieve that, I don't feel the need to do a federal clerkship or work at a top firm even in the Twin Cities. I'm not interested in litigation and prefer administrative law; I have done internships in public interest law and have discovered that it is not for me. The attorneys I work for went to local schools in the Midwest, and they have their own firm, make a very good living, and have high standing in the community. My ideal goal is to go to law school part-time while working full-time (or close to full-time) at my current position. I think it is a good possibility that the firm I am currently at would hire me on as an attorney after I graduate, or at least would help me network and find a position.

I am currently looking at applying to Mitchell Hamline School of Law. With my GPA and LSAT scores, I am fairly certain I could get a full-ride or very close to it. Nationally, the school is ranked very low, but it is well-known and respected in the Twin Cities. They have a part-time program I could attend that would allow me to continue working. However, I believe I could get into the University of Minnesota - a much higher ranked institution - but attending part-time isn't an option, and I doubt I would get close to a full ride.

Conclusion: Basically I'm looking for any comments on the importance/necessity of attending a top-tier school if I have more moderate career goals. Thank you!

If you had a guarantee that your current employer would give you a job, I would say it was okay to do either. But if it's just a possibility, then trying to get a little bit better LSAT score so you can get a scholarship at University of Minnesota is probably best.

hannahco

In your case I don't think ranking matters much. Graduating with minimal debt would be worth it for me if I were in your position- try to make good connections in your legal community!

ChiChi55

I also live in Minneapolis so I am familiar with how people view Mitchell Hamline, St Thomas, and the U. I went to undergrad at the U and have met with the pre law adivsor many times. Based on what she has said and what I know from the Minnesota market, LONG TERM your experience matters more so than your school. School obviously helps with getting jobs right after getting your JD and can help with experience and top paying jobs but 30 years from now experience would matter more. Given what you say, and the fact that both Mitchell Hamline and St. Thomas have good reputations here in Minnesota, I wouldn't think ranking matters. I would use https://www.lstreports.com to help compare employment outcomes, etc. Good luck!

_aisling_

@westcoastbestcoast said:
Be aware that scholarships offered at lower ranked schools tend to be conditional. Theres not only the risk of you not finding employment but also the risk of losing your scholarship

According to their ABA, Mitchell Hamline does not offer conditional scholarships.

RealLaw612

It may still matter. My fiancé is an attorney and graduate of Berkeley. Her job applications have never failed to get her a job: big law or government. An applicant from a lower-ranked school might get looked at with more scrutiny than a T14 grad. Of course, all that might not matter if firms where you are tend to prefer hiring from your school of choice. However, I’d be willing to bet that, in Minnesota, a U of M grad gets more and better offers than other schools...probably.