Top Law Schools

Tier 2...just squeezed in, but it feels so much nicer to say I'm going to a Tier 2 school instead of Tier 3!

http://brightcoast.wordpress.com/2010/0 ... 560a352_o/

gratz! Must feel good =)

Three cheers for Billy Mitch!!!

I know its really pointless rankings business, but it does feel good!

I may be outting myself (sup, Mitchell! I have nothing but love for ya) but I called not too long after the leak and congratulated them on cracking the top-100...the girl laughed alot but didn't know what i was talking about. She then put me into the Dean's office but nobody answered. They were probably all too busy drinking scotch in celebration...

Hahaha nice!

Are you going to WM Slimpee??

This would be huge for the school, although frankly most of the Twin Cities already knows that Mitchell competes for the top law school crown in Minnesota. St. Thomas is close, but too new and not as good a school as Mitchell. Hamline is laughable. I couldn't be prouder of Mitchell if this ranking proves to be true, though I don't know if it is really going to change anything for graduates.

Gunz353 wrote:Tier 2...just squeezed in, but it feels so much nicer to say I'm going to a Tier 2 school instead of Tier 3!

http://brightcoast.wordpress.com/2010/0 ... 560a352_o/

Technically they're Tier 1, according to USNEWS the Top 100 are T1...

WallyGator12000 wrote:This would be huge for the school, although frankly most of the Twin Cities already knows that Mitchell competes for the top law school crown in Minnesota. St. Thomas is close, but too new and not as good a school as Mitchell. Hamline is laughable. I couldn't be prouder of Mitchell if this ranking proves to be true, though I don't know if it is really going to change anything for graduates.

You mean the top law school that is not the U, right?

No, I meant what I said "competes for the top law school crown in Minnesota." If you are talking about going outside of MN, then by all means the UofM beats Mitchell cold. If you are talking about placement and prestige in MN, especially in the Twin Cities, then Mitchell is right up there with the U, they are neck and neck. Anyone that tells you differently doesn't know the MN legal market.

WallyGator12000 wrote:No, I meant what I said "competes for the top law school crown in Minnesota." If you are talking about going outside of MN, then by all means the UofM beats Mitchell cold. If you are talking about placement and prestige in MN, especially in the Twin Cities, then Mitchell is right up there with the U, they are neck and neck. Anyone that tells you differently doesn't know the MN legal market.

It's hard to argue either way on that. I am in at WM and have an application pending at the U. I know both are good regionally, but I was afraid that WM wouldn't pay for itself come graduation time. I'm still debating.

.

WallyGator12000 wrote:No, I meant what I said "competes for the top law school crown in Minnesota." If you are talking about going outside of MN, then by all means the UofM beats Mitchell cold. If you are talking about placement and prestige in MN, especially in the Twin Cities, then Mitchell is right up there with the U, they are neck and neck. Anyone that tells you differently doesn't know the MN legal market.

Are you high? I agree, Billy Mitchell is the better of the tier 2 schools, but get real

spinecho202 wrote:
Are you high? I agree, Billy Mitchell is the better of the tier 2 schools, but get real

Do you live in the Twin Cities? Do you know attorneys and judges in the market?

Yes, the U carries more weight but Mitchell isn't nearly as far behind as the rankings may suggest...

I honestly thought "William Mitchell" was some sort of cheap, shitlaw firm.

Willie Mitchell has always gotten respect. He's been a hell of a defeseman for the Canucks.

Yes, I do live in the twin cities, and yes, I work with attorneys, and William Mitchell is no different than most tier two/three schools in many other states. Top attorneys from the school do well, but the vast majority of attorneys are otherwise from the U

And if people think that WM is some backdoor way into the top spots in the legal community, you're just fooling yourself otherwise. Its no different than like Marquette is to Wisconsin.

Billy Mitchell does better for small firms in the TC area, because most small firms in the area are staffed by WM grads who look out for their own. As a student at the U, I can candidly say that I've been told by some small firm lawyers that they usually don't even interview U students because A) they think they'll leave at the earliest better opportunity that comes along and B) they think they're stuck up. Not all WM grads feel that way, obviously, but there is a healthy dose of insecurity going around some places.

In every other context, the U does better: Big Law, Medium Firms, Clerkships, shit, even competitive volunteering gigs in public interest. My upstairs neighbor is a WM student, and I know next year's EIC of the WM Law Journal: neither have anything lined up for the summer.

If somebody is 100% committed to staying in the TC area, and either wants to do public interest or work at a small firm (and, hey, I might end up doing just that), then going to WM with $$$ could be a good choice and work out real well. In any other set of circumstances, the U is the easy choice.

I think we are arguing on different levels here. First I want to make clear, outside of the Twin Cities I think the U is a better choice, no question about it. Past that, it really depends on the position or firm you are talking about, for instance Briggs and Oppenheimer look for Mitchell students first. I'm not trying to say that Mitchell out places the U here in Minnesota, because it doesn't. It's just closer than a lot of people think.

I also am not trying to argue that just going to Mitchell will land you a job.

spinecho202 wrote:And if people think that WM is some backdoor way into the top spots in the legal community, you're just fooling yourself otherwise.

I can assure you however, that a top student at Mitchell places just as well in the Twin Cities as a top student at the U. For both schools, if you want biglaw, you better be in the top 25% (and in this economy, even top 10% isn't getting too far for either school). If you are going to be a top 50% student, I think the U is a better choice, but you're still screwed because of the economy. I know top 10% students at both schools who don't have things lined up for this summer.

The comment about Hamline being close to Mitchell is a joke, not even in the same discussion. St. Thomas on the other hand is coming on strong, but it is still too new, and doesn't have the alumni network you referenced which is why I wouldn't include it in this discussion. Or look to the MN Supreme Court, 2 justices from Mitchell (granted I know Magnuson is stepping down) and 3 from the U. None from Hamline or St. Thomas.

drleather wrote:I know next year's EIC of the WM Law Journal: neither have anything lined up for the summer.

You're wrong about this too. I may be outing myself, but I'm good friends with her, and she has a clerkship at a firm for this summer lined up. Check your facts next time.

drleather wrote:If somebody is 100% committed to staying in the TC area, and either wants to do public interest or work at a small firm (and, hey, I might end up doing just that), then going to WM with $$$ could be a good choice and work out real well. In any other set of circumstances, the U is the easy choice.

I think this is partially true. To go to Mitchell you had better be 100% committed to staying in the Twin Cities, or at least surrounding states (Iowa, North or South Dakota, even Western Wisconsin). Mitchell isn't limited to public interest or small firm work though. Mitchell is also the top IP school in Minnesota, hands down. Besides that, if you want biglaw or mid-law (to the extent that they exist in MN) then you had better be a top 10% student at Mitchell, but like I said before, in this economy this is true at the U of M as well.

Can't we just settle this with sports?

GO FIGHTING MONDALES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Also, congrats to Billy Mitchell students/admits!)

Haha, I can't stop laughing. WM students don't like the U's elitism, yet they continue to through Hamline and st thomas under the bus

I agree, it is reasonable, but the same could be said about almost any teir 2/ttt school outside of like DC, Chicago, NYC or any over-saturated legal market

spinecho202 wrote:Haha, I can't stop laughing. WM students don't like the U's elitism, yet they continue to through [sic] Hamline and st thomas under the bus

+1

That said, I think Wally's fleshed out description of his (?) view was pretty reasonable.

I didn't know Minnesota had more than one law school.