Does Rank Matter...

melloish

Does rank matter if you do not intend to get into a big law firm? I want to be a family lawyer, potentially work as a states attorney. Recently, my professor, a previous public defender, stated that going to law school not in tier 1 would overall be a waste of money and time. I was wondering if this is true to those with my aspirations, as listed above? I am not entirely foolish I know better schools have higher hiring rates and they often have higher salaries, but I want to know if I were to go to a school ranked somewhere between 100-150, would this entirely ruin my chances of doing what I want to do?

jennilynn89

I think the answer to your question is an all time favorite of all attorney's out there "it depends".

I have several friends and family members that are attorney's and none of them went to a Tier 1 school. Most of them went to either Tier 2 or a very low tiered school, and they are all super happy with their jobs. Some of them work in public interest, others work in private law firms.

They all told me that the tier of your school truly only matters if you are trying to get into BigLaw or some other prestigious practice of law that requires the name of that school in order to get the job. If this is not something you are interested in (and neither am I) I have been told to go and look for schools in the area you would like to live in. A regional school will have the best alumni network and all other networking opportunities for you to reach out to lawyers/firms/alumni in the area.

I currently work at a major hospital in the legal department. One of the Assistant General Counsel's here went to a tier 4 school, and she clearly did just fine in order to get a job like this. She's pretty young too. I know another guy in the Boston area who applied to a job in a nice private law firm, who went to a tier 4 school, and he beat out some applicant from Harvard for the job because they just liked him better than the Harvard guy.
I personally think if you go to a Tier 1 school and apply to jobs and think you're going to get that job just because of the name of your school, you're just not hungry enough. It'll show in interviews.

The best thing for you right now is to go visit schools and explore which one is the best fit for you. By visiting schools you can interact with students and professors there, sit in on a class, talk to adcomms and view your surrounding area. I think that's the best way to figure out where you belong.

J_Clarkson

Agreed!

Sprinkles

Spot on @jennilynn89

jennilynn89

@montaha.rizeq thank you! Always happy to help!

texvd1988

I had this battle, but conversations with many propel have eased the edge off for me. I have always Had the goal of making it to UT Austin, and I still do, but I realize that my goals aren't a necessarily big law. After listening to many lawyers and students, they told me that the most important part then would be to go to a school that is regional or even in state.

It has eased my mind a lot since I am a heavy splitter (3.2 gpa, need a 170 on the LSAT), and while I strive for the 170 I am happy because I know I will be fine if I go to a St.mary(I plan on living and working in San Antonio for the rest of my life), Dallas(smu), or Houston(u of h).

Basically, don't go to a state school that isn't t14 and expect to move to different cities while getting big work. I think you can get away with anything outside of t14, even tier 3 or 4, if you plan on living in state.