Seems to me that these two websites are the most popular as far as law school research and rankings. I'm finding in several cases that they don't always jive with each other though.
I'm scoring 160s on my PTs, take LSAT in Dec, so I'm not looking at T14. So, it doesn't matter to me that Yale is US News
#1 and ATL
#6.... What does concern me is that USC (my top prospect) is US News
#20 and does not even make the ATL Top 50... and Arizona State (2nd favorite, 2nd highest ranked on my app list) is US News
#26 and ATL ~36ish.
Which is the most reliable? Is there a third reliable site I don't know of? How heavily should I concern myself with these rankings/school prestige?
As always, I thank you all in advance for your insights.
Comments
AFAIK ATL is based more on employment outcomes than anything else, so that should give you pause if you see someone fall out of their rankings. But again, if you're older you should be able to make shit happen for yourself no matter where you go. Even if you went to a terrible law school you should still hopefully outperform your classmates and then you will end up being one of the people bolstering their shitty employment numbers. But that's just my two cents.
For your specific concerns, I wouldn't worry too much about USC being lower ranked by ATL. USC's placement numbers are pretty good in Southern California. They go toe to toe with UCLA for the "regional crown". So unless you're looking for national portability (in which case I still think USC is a solid choice outside of the T14), both USC and ASU should be fine.
Outside of the T14ish schools, desired region of practice should be a, if not the, top factor in choosing a law school. It's cool that ASU offers a program on sports law, but the real question should be whether the program will help you find employment in that field.
You should go into a non-T14 school with an expectation to practice in that general region. While it is certainly possible to make it from, say ASU to practice in San Francisco, without ties to the region it may be difficult to do so. Some regional schools do have more national reach than others, though.
A good source you can use is the ABA's employment summaries. You can find them on most law schools websites or the ABA's website. Here's one for ASU Law. Note that the state where most graduates found work was Arizona. (The next most common state of employment was California, where only 12 graduates went to work). https://www.law.asu.edu/sites/default/files/aba_employment_disclosure_form.pdf
Also, anecdotally, I have heard USC and UCLA are great options to pursue entertainment law from. This is assuming you want to work in California initially.
PS-I would do anything to go to USC or UCLA, and would love to work in California, but I dont know if my LSAT/GPA combo will be high enough. Definitely plan on applying regardless, hoping for a miracle.
Don't give up hope on UCLA/USC. Take the February LSAT if you don't score high enough on the December test. Work hard on your personal statement, and write a convincing addendum for both schools on why you want to go there. Good luck.