So lately I been doing plenty of research trying to determine which schools I want to go. From what I gather, certain schools place nationally meaning coming out of that school will place you anywhere on the country. These schools consist of the cream of the crop like Harvard, Yale, UVA, Michigan, NW, etc.

In addition, most of the schools ranked lower place regionally, obviously meaning around that area.

I want to know if your firms hire people from certain schools. Or is school less relevant than how the performance is.

For example, if I wanted to practice in DC, would I have a better chance coming out of a school near DC but not top notch like William and Mary, GMU, or American and doing well ( say ranked 50 out of 200 in the class), or some place like a University of Miami or EMory or San Diego ranked 20 out of 200 which is the top 10% in the class.

Any insights please. Thanks in advance. The consensus seems to be that unless you come out of the cream of the crop elite schools, you should generally go to the school in the area you want to practice.

 

NOTE: I am not an attorney

But I did live with one. Anyway, your assessment seems to be correct. The top schools will attract recruiters from all around the country, and they'll be the biggest, most prestegious firms. Plus, name recognition gets you into the bigger/more firms as well.

Regional schools are recruited by regional firms or medium sized firms. I went to W&M undergrad and know a few people who went to law school there. They were recruited into firms in Richmond and NoVa, mostly medium to large sized firms. One guy went BigLaw up in Philly with me, but my roommate at the time also worked at that firm, so he had an in.

Another friend transferred from Notre Dame to Georgetown because he wanted to practice in Boston. Notre Dame had one firm from Boston come to recruiting events. Georgetown had like 15 firms. Now that he works in Boston, his collegues come from Harvard, BC, U of Boston, etc. . . mostly regional schools (and Harvard).

Finally, grades matter much more at the regional schools. Villanova isn't a top tier law school in Philly (versus Penn), but the bigger law firms do hire the top students from Villanova law. I think it would be much more difficult to get a job outside of Philly if you finish at the bottom of the pack at Villanova (which is still regarded as a good school).

Much of this info has been gleamed from living with a lawyer for a year and working as a management consultant (where firms have very similar hiring practices for MBAs).

Good luck. You probably can't go wrong no matter what you decide to do.

Anyway, I'm just using annecdotal evidence to confirm what you already know.

Oh yeah, my roommate went to GW and finished top 5 or 10%. He had offers from law firms in DC, Philly, and Richmond when he graduated. GW is probably more of a regional school, but he seemed to do ok when hiring time came.

 

This is my understanding as well. With law (and also business) schools, there are the big names, and then there's everyone else. If your school is in the "everyone else" category, then it's not likely to make a big difference whether it's near the top or middle of that category.

I'd say your best bet, if you don't go to one of the big name schools, is to pick a school that has a good regional reputation in the area where you want to practice. You'll at least have the benefit of a good alumni network. Also, I think your individual placement (i.e. rank in class) will count just about as much as your school's rank.

Of course, equally important is picking a school that does well in your desired area of practice. Some are better known in government and public works, some are better in intellectual property, and so forth.

Good luck dude.

 

Does one need a Law Degree to take the Bar exam?

 

in most states, i believe so. but i also believe that in some states one can pass the bar w/o law school, but it is very hard.

 

I am the office manager at a Public Defenders office, I pick who my boss (the Public Defender) wants. Its usually someone who is a good guy, will work for what we pay (which is shit) and will deal with literally the scum of the earth. We have a few attorneys who are young (under 30), but its mostly people who have for whatever reason chosen to leave private practice and come to our office.

Other than that all I can really tell you is that its tons of "who do you know" in our office. The D.A.'s office pays better because their clients (the taxpayer) vote for raises and we have to bitch and moan to get raises because no one wants to pay the guys who keep criminals on the streets (thats the publics preception of us) any more money.

Serisously, if you are at all thinking of public service in law, think D.A.s office. I make $14,000 less than the D.A.'s office manager. Our Investigators make $8,000 less. Its bullshit, but thats life.