What do you think?

goalis180

So, I have been wondering about this for sometime now. Is it really THAT important to graduate from a T25 Law School vs. graduating from an ABA accredited law school ranked in the top 50? Do you think it is that much harder to get a job, and that much harder to make a six figure salary? I had a Prof who graduated from temple law, and she was the corporate council of my town, and we were talking and she was explaining to me how she had Harvard, NYU, and Columbia graduates working for her, and she said all they knew how to do was read, and write, hardly ever able to speak in public, I mean she said they were smart, but that's as far as it went. What are your opinions on this?

BTW no I am not in it for the money, however I do not want to graduate with 250K of debt, and then work making 50K a year.

ENTJ

You should really take a look at the TLS forums for this kind of information. It's the age-old question.

ddakjiking

It honestly depends what kind of job you want. Trying to get Biglaw from T25 isn't even guaranteed. If you aren't the top 10-15% of your class at a T50, you might not get a Biglaw and end up making 50k a year in a small firm.

Pacifico

It all depends on your goals. The biggest thing is that the further removed you are from the T14, the better you have to do in ow school to get comparable opportunities. And since most 1L classes are curved, there is no guarantee of how high in a given class you can place, especially relative to the experience of a lot of people in UG.

If you absolutely know what city you want to practice in, then it's worth looking into local schools with decent to great local outcomes. If you don't know where you want to live or don't care, then it's in your best interest to go to the best school possible to keep your options open.

I would take anecdotal evidence like what you posted with a grain of salt because I too would talk shit about people from HYS if they worked for me and I went to somewhere lower ranked. And I think the same would be true of a lot of people. But her experience is pretty useless in the grand scheme of things because the vast majority of T14 graduates will have better outcomes upon graduation than will almost every single Temple graduate. Also, if she is 10-20 years removed from law school then I'm sure there is some generational bias going on as well.

But the real takeaway is all about your goals. If you want big law then you're just making it harder to achieve that goal if you don't go to a T14. But if you want to go home and hang a shingle or be a public defender then just go somewhere in the upper half of law schools and you'll generally be fine.

goalis180

@ENTJ Not asking for info lol, just mere opinions of sagers. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

goalis180

Im planning on doing a JD in international law. Think it matters what law school? Also consider that I will also be getting a masters because its the only way to practice international law.

Pacifico

What do you mean by international law? That is a huge umbrella term that is almost meaningless without actual focus. Do you just want to work on an international level for a large firm or are we talking The Hague here? The former is a legitimate goal and the latter is unicorn stuff. This is something everyone says they want to do and almost nobody does it. And your last sentence amid incorrect because you can get into the field in a variety of ways and a master's degree is not a requirement whatsoever.

While certain schools are better for studying international law because of their faculty and other factors, that does not mean that translates to a job in the field. The route most likely to pay off is to go from a T14 into a big law job where you can convince them to immediately let you into their international division and then lateral out to an NGO or whatever type of gig you are really looking for after 3-5 years at the firm.

Also, do you speak any language besides English? It's not necessary or sufficient but since this is something almost everyone says they want to do then you need quite a bit to separate yourself out from the pack. I speak French and will graduate with my master's in international relations in October and I still would have a difficult time breaking into the field so I would just do a lot more research and temper your expectations somewhat.

goalis180

Yes, idk specifically yet what I would like to do, but its between Internstional bussiness and regulation, or international Mediation Litigation Arbitration. And no, no unicorn stuff lmao. I want to work for a decent sized firm medium-large. I am Egyptian, and I speak Arabic, which I personally feel gives me an upperhand.

Pacifico

Ok cool that's good to know you're ahead of the unicorn chasing crowd then. Honestly I think T14 to Big Law is definitely the way to go for that type of thing, unless you know you want a specific city that is a player internationally (e.g.- Fordham to NYC Big Law is more likely than several schools that outrank Fordham). And I know a lot of people hate on dual degrees, but if you really want to delve into the business side and have some latitude to move between the law/business worlds then I think certain JD/MBA programs can really offer a lot in that regard. And especially now that there are three year programs at a few schools can make it an even better option. If I were you I'd take a look through the Columbia/Penn/Cornell/NU 3 year JD/MBA programs and see what they have to offer. There are a handful of lower ranked schools that have 3 year programs as well, but I'd only jump on those for city specific reasons.

goalis180

I was thinking NYU or Fordham hopefully with the right LSAT score. Just gotta stay on that grind.

Pacifico

Yeah NYC is the way to go to maximize your opportunities in this regard. I know NYU is big on international law but it doesn't seem like it matters too much when it comes to OCI/SA/real job, though it isn't going to hurt. I think Fordham is a great quasi-hidden gem for decent NYC outcomes.

goalis180

Yea I agree. It all depends on what I get my lsat at this point.

nicole.hopkins

@Pacifico said:
It all depends on your goals. The biggest thing is that the further removed you are from the T14, the better you have to do in law school to get comparable opportunities.

Yep ... Look at first year associates' profiles for firms you might like to work at. For instance, various Big Law firms based in Texas ... You'll see a solid showing from T14, SMU, Baylor, U of H, etc. But you can be certain that the folks coming in from the latter 3 schools were all top of their class.

@Pacifico said:
If you don't know where you want to live or don't care, then it's in your best interest to go to the best school possible to keep your options open.

This dovetails with my previous point. If you know your city/region/state, then you can open up more options for yourself. But from what I understand, regional law schools can be great for that region, but opportunities diminish once you get out of the area.