Pepperdine vs. T10s (Berkeley, Michigan, UVA) for ADR Forum

[1ferret!]

Pitt is an absolute joke IN ANY ECONOMY, go to any T14 T1 school instead.

There, fixed that for ya. (tool)

Regardless, Pepperdine is not your best choice here. The specialty depth is not worth the hit you would take in job prospects.

T2 School that absolutely dominates its secondary market vs. T2 school which gets outplaced by at least 6 IN-STATE schools, the entire t14, and some other T30s in its primary market? I wonder what the consensus on TLS about this will be...

Yep, 3.26 and a 158 lets you be a big fish in a really small, shitty pond, that no one wants to be in. Congrats bro. Should be on the brochure....

[BarbellDreams]

Pitt is an absolute joke IN ANY ECONOMY, go to any T14 T1 school instead.

There, fixed that for ya. (tool)

Regardless, Pepperdine is not your best choice here. The specialty depth is not worth the hit you would take in job prospects.

T2 School that absolutely dominates its secondary market vs. T2 school which gets outplaced by at least 6 IN-STATE schools, the entire t14, and some other T30s in its primary market? I wonder what the consensus on TLS about this will be...

Yep, 3.26 and a 158 lets you be a big fish in a really small, shitty pond, that no one wants to be in. Congrats bro. Should be on the brochure....

Its alright "bro", You can be the tiny fish in the worst legal market in the US where lawyers are a dime a dozen and right around a dozen schools outplace you by quite a wide margin. At least Malibu gives you a nice view while waiting at the unemployment line.

[Boggs]

this thread is going to get good if OP keeps defending Pepperdine.

"OP" is not defending Pepperdine, nor have I defended Pepperdine at any point in this thread. What I did do was try to suggest that the question might deserve a more thoughtful response than

If you can't figure this out on your own, you'll be a perfect fit for our government.

or

Is this how you talk in everyday life?

That may have been a ambitious order. It's possible that most don't find this question interesting and therefore don't feel the need to respond in a useful way. That's fine. I would hasten to add that I do appreciate the posts that addressed the topic at hand. Thank you.

[linquest]

Time for a serious response from someone who actually has experience with ADR...

The main reason why I recommend the top law schools over a specialized ADR program is that most ADR work requires substantial prior experience in a related field. ADR is an extremely tough field to break into, so it's extremely rare that people go straight from law school. The majority of ADR professionals are subject-matter experts. That is, their primary selling point is knowledge of the type of dispute (family law, commercial, labor, etc.) or industry that the dispute arises out of.

Because most ADR professionals get into the field because of their success in a *prior* career, you should consider first how your school selection affects your ability to obtain good legal experience and make contacts that will potentially become clients. In general, although it's not a rule by far, legal employers are more concerned with the overall reputation of the law school than with specialized programs. Sure, it might be fun and intellectually interesting to be able to take courses in family collaborative law, environmental DR, or international commercial arbitration, but if you're planning on becoming a labor arbitrator, those classes aren't necessarily going to substantially help your skill set or marketability.

However, from your earlier posts about your career goals, it's really not clear to me that law school is even the best route to take. In most states, for most types of disputes, there is no requirement that the ADR neutral be a lawyer since the whole purpose of ADR is to resolve problems outside of litigation. One of the biggest controversies in the field is that ADR is becoming too legalized. There are some users that refuse to hire ADR professionals that are lawyers because they can't view and solve the dispute outside of the legal context. You might be better off getting an MPP, MPA, or an MS/PhD in ADR, psych, or whatever specific type of field you'd like to deal with.

Have you talked to any professional neutrals or lawyers that act as advocates in the ADR proceedings? That's what I did when I was trying to decide between law schools. I was told quite bluntly by one prominent mediator/lawyer to ignore the USNWR rankings. Some didn't even know about the specialty rankings! Anyway, feel free to PM me if you have questions.

[Zabini]

Go to Berkeley.

-If you want politics, Boalt will definitely put you in a better position to make the connections you'll need (unless your plan is to come up with the Christian Right, but it doesn't sound like it is)
-If you go to Pepperdine and ever change your mind about your legal career path (or where you want to live, or most anything else), you will be fucked. If you go to Berkeley (or M or V) your options will be wide open.
-If you go to Pepperdine, you might well be fucked regardless of if you change your mind or not ITE, and you will be at a competitive disadvantage no matter what.

[You Gotta Have Faith]

My second main point is that if you look at the ABA directory for ADR, the difference in class offerings between Pepperdine and the T10s I've mentioned is enormous. Berkeley is the only one that even comes close to having anything substantial compared to Pepperdine.

Pepperdine: --LinkRemoved--
Berkeley: --LinkRemoved--
Michigan: --LinkRemoved--
UVA: --LinkRemoved--

You're just not going to take anywhere near all of the classes offered by Pepperdine in this field. What they offer is 3 or 4 years worth of law school all by itself, in one field. If class offerings in ADR are a concern, I guess go to Berkeley. Or alternatively, you could go to your school of choice and spend one semester as an exchange student at Pepperdine and take all the ADR your heart desires. It's really not too terribly crazy (I've known people who do that), and you'll still graduate with your M/V/B degree.

You can probably toss UVA and pick between Berkeley and Michigan though, if this class offering in ADR is one of your key concerns.

I'll leave it up to others to discuss the merits of Pepperdine (at full ride or whatever it is) vs. M/V/B. Don't really feel like getting into that. Just wanted to point the above out.

Also, I agree with linquest's analysis. Good stuff to think about.

[JG Hall]

What happens when you go to Pepperdine, realize ADR sucks, and want to be a Biglaw whore? Nothing, because you're at fucking Pepperdine. At least there are some pretty cliffs in Malibu to jump off of.

[Gatriel]

Its alright "bro", You can be the tiny fish in the worst legal market in the US where lawyers are a dime a dozen and right around a dozen schools outplace you by quite a wide margin. At least Malibu gives you a nice view while waiting at the unemployment line.

Wait . . . . . you go to Pitt and are giving us shit? lol

GTFO and let the adults talk.

OP - What are your numbers? Are you Class of 2014 or 2015?

[Boggs]

Now that's more like it. Thanks everyone.

Linquest, your advice very closely mirrors the advice given to me yesterday by the director of the mediation clinic at UW (though she didn't question the whole idea of a JD). I'll PM you.

Pepperdine is out.

OP - What are your numbers? Are you Class of 2014 or 2015?

Not sure how pertinent this is at this point, but my numbers (as available in my profile) are 3.8/170 and I'm class of 2014.

Thank again.

[danquayle]

If I was in charge of hiring for a firm, I think it would seem a bit silly just to screen those at T14 schools simply because the "broad" JD program sits atop USNWR.

but you're not.... and they do.

This may be the best response I have read all day on TLS.

I don't really have anything to add, I just want to add a tag so I can follow this thread to it's natural conclusion.

Please continue.