Top Law Schools

New to the board but I am looking for thoughts on a dilemma.

I am graduating UG in May with a 3.48 GPA and a LSAT score that is in the low 160s. I have taken the LSAT once and scored in the low 160s. The score is 6-7 points below my PT average which was usually in the 167-172 range.

I have been offered a great scholarship at my state school which is a low T2/high T3. The cost would be around 10K a year + COL + books. My father is a an attorney at a firm and is one of the head partners. The firm hires only a handful of grads a year (2-3) and I have been told that he cannot guarantee me a position at his firm upon graduation.
I am 95% sure I want to come back to my state, however, this hinges on me getting the chance to work with my father.

Should I hold a year and retake the LSAT/try to go to the best school I can get into? or should I take the scholarship and hope for the best?
Looking for some thoughts as I am highly confused as to what to do.

There's a big difference between a 170 and a 162.

Does that school give out full scholarships or stipends? Is it the top school in the region? Would you want to attend said school?

If this school is the top school in the region and you actually want to attend, then it really depends on scholarship availability. Also, what kind of firm is this? Do they have practice areas in which you're interested? It might be a moot point if they're IP and you want to do PI.

OGR3 wrote:There's a big difference between a 170 and a 162.

Does that school give out full scholarships or stipends? Is it the top school in the region? Would you want to attend said school?

If this school is the top school in the region and you actually want to attend, then it really depends on scholarship availability. Also, what kind of firm is this? Do they have practice areas in which you're interested? It might be a moot point if they're IP and you want to do PI.

The schools gives out full scholarships but I did not get one. It is the top school in the state as it is the only LS. The firm is a mid size firm and has various specialties.
I am interested in practicing the type of law my father practices, however, like I stated I am only interested in practicing in my said state if I can work with my father. He just cannot guarantee me a job with his firm. This is why I am wary. I feel like he can get me a job there but he has made it clear it is far from a sure thing.

LS0l wrote:New to the board but I am looking for thoughts on a dilemma.

I am graduating UG in May with a 3.48 GPA and a LSAT score that is in the low 160s. I have taken the LSAT once and scored in the low 160s. The score is 6-7 points below my PT average which was usually in the 167-172 range.

I have been offered a great scholarship at my state school which is a low T2/high T3. The cost would be around 10K a year + COL + books. My father is a an attorney at a firm and is one of the head partners. The firm hires only a handful of grads a year (2-3) and I have been told that he cannot guarantee me a position at his firm upon graduation.
I am 95% sure I want to come back to my state, however, this hinges on me getting the chance to work with my father.

Should I hold a year and retake the LSAT/try to go to the best school I can get into? or should I take the scholarship and hope for the best?
Looking for some thoughts as I am highly confused as to what to do.

If you had a guaranteed job via your father then the T2/3 with scholarship would be the correct answer. Since the job is not guaranteed it matters what school this T2/3 actually is- some T2s are a good idea, others are definitely not. Without knowing what school we are talking about it is hard to say.

Alternatively, if you retake and score 6-7 points higher on the LSAT this T2/3 will probably offer you a full ride and you will have a decent shot at some T14s, so your options would be even better. So long as you are okay with waiting a year I would recommend waiting a year and taking the LSAT again.

St.Remy wrote:

LS0l wrote:New to the board but I am looking for thoughts on a dilemma.

I am graduating UG in May with a 3.48 GPA and a LSAT score that is in the low 160s. I have taken the LSAT once and scored in the low 160s. The score is 6-7 points below my PT average which was usually in the 167-172 range.

I have been offered a great scholarship at my state school which is a low T2/high T3. The cost would be around 10K a year + COL + books. My father is a an attorney at a firm and is one of the head partners. The firm hires only a handful of grads a year (2-3) and I have been told that he cannot guarantee me a position at his firm upon graduation.
I am 95% sure I want to come back to my state, however, this hinges on me getting the chance to work with my father.

Should I hold a year and retake the LSAT/try to go to the best school I can get into? or should I take the scholarship and hope for the best?
Looking for some thoughts as I am highly confused as to what to do.

If you had a guaranteed job via your father then the T2/3 with scholarship would be the correct answer. Since the job is not guaranteed it matters what school this T2/3 actually is- some T2s are a good idea, others are definitely not. Without knowing what school we are talking about it is hard to say.

Alternatively, if you retake and score 6-7 points higher on the LSAT this T2/3 will probably offer you a full ride and you will have a decent shot at some T14s, so your options would be even better. So long as you are okay with waiting a year I would recommend waiting a year and taking the LSAT again.

It is Maine. I am just so unsure. He has a 33 year old working under him making 280K a year. I just do not want to go to the school and come back and end up working some 45k a year job because I could not get in with my father.

- (It is a state school that resembles Nebraska in terms of state size and ranking) I would rather not give the exact state school as to lose my anonymousness.

Nothing wrong with attending a Big Ten law school on scholarship if it is Nebraska. West Virginia, however, is a different story.
Since I looked up states with only one law school: Hawaii, Maine, West Virginia, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota & Montana. Consider Montana if you are an avid fly-fisherman.

CanadianWolf wrote:It's probably West Virginia.

Not WV. The school is in the North. Only state school.


School is Maine. I do not want to confuse anyone.


Just to clarify - School is Maine. Not saying the school is bad by any means. I just do not want to attend and graduate and not have a job with my fathers firm and then be stuck. I also do not want to hold a year if I am losing a year of practicing with my father. Hence the dilemma.

I really have nothing useful to add, except that it's refreshing to those of us without lawyer dads to see a senior partner who won't guarantee his kid a job. Kudos to your dad for having, you know, morals.

Can you find out from your dad (maybe have him ask his partners and perhaps partners at other firms) how Maine places in the region? He may not be a guaranteed source of a job, but he should at least be a guaranteed source of information. If your job prospects are dad's-firm-or-nothing, then it doesn't sound like a great plan. But if Maine grads have reasonable success in finding jobs in the region, then the idea has some merit.

Yes, well, he cannot guarantee me a job according to our past conversation. Is he just saying this? I have no clue. Is waiting a year really that big of a deal? I would hate to pitch a year of my life away.

- Also, a part of me wants to stand apart from my father. I would love to work with him but do not want people to look at me and assume that I only got the job because of my father. I worked my ass of in UG and kind of want my own respect, as dumb as that might sound.

rinkrat19 wrote:I really have nothing useful to add, except that it's refreshing to those of us without lawyer dads to see a senior partner who won't guarantee his kid a job. Kudos to your dad for having, you know, morals.

Can you find out from your dad (maybe have him ask his partners and perhaps partners at other firms) how Maine places in the region? He may not be a guaranteed source of a job, but he should at least be a guaranteed source of information. If your job prospects are dad's-firm-or-nothing, then it doesn't sound like a great plan. But if Maine grads have reasonable success in finding jobs in the region, then the idea has some merit.

rinkrat19 wrote:I really have nothing useful to add, except that it's refreshing to those of us without lawyer dads to see a senior partner who won't guarantee his kid a job. Kudos to your dad for having, you know, morals.

Can you find out from your dad (maybe have him ask his partners and perhaps partners at other firms) how Maine places in the region? He may not be a guaranteed source of a job, but he should at least be a guaranteed source of information. If your job prospects are dad's-firm-or-nothing, then it doesn't sound like a great plan. But if Maine grads have reasonable success in finding jobs in the region, then the idea has some merit.

Hey, riding a powerful person's coattails is the American Dream! I'm disgusted to see that a parent wants his child to succeed based on their own intelligence, work ethic and luck.

Also, OP, kudos to you on wanting to create your own professional identity, but if you end up working at your dad's firm right out of school, know that many of your peers are going to assume it was because of your father. I think it would be a good idea to have more conversations with him and some of his colleagues to see where the Maine legal market is and what opportunities you'd have outside the firm/likelihood of lateraling in after working some place else a couple years.

I figured that since most partners/associates at the firm are MU grads, a degree from a school with some punch might really benefit me in the long run.

If I do hold a year and retake, is there a chance to take some summer classes at law schools that could maybe let me graduate in 2.5 years? That would really allow me to retake and hold a year without feeling that I just blew 12 months.

OGR3 wrote:

rinkrat19 wrote:I really have nothing useful to add, except that it's refreshing to those of us without lawyer dads to see a senior partner who won't guarantee his kid a job. Kudos to your dad for having, you know, morals.

Can you find out from your dad (maybe have him ask his partners and perhaps partners at other firms) how Maine places in the region? He may not be a guaranteed source of a job, but he should at least be a guaranteed source of information. If your job prospects are dad's-firm-or-nothing, then it doesn't sound like a great plan. But if Maine grads have reasonable success in finding jobs in the region, then the idea has some merit.

Hey, riding a powerful person's coattails is the American Dream! I'm disgusted to see that a parent wants his child to succeed based on their own intelligence, work ethic and luck.

Also, OP, kudos to you on wanting to create your own professional identity, but if you end up working at your dad's firm right out of school, know that many of your peers are going to assume it was because of your father. I think it would be a good idea to have more conversations with him and some of his colleagues to see where the Maine legal market is and what opportunities you'd have outside the firm/likelihood of lateraling in after working some place else a couple years.

LS0l wrote:Is waiting a year really that big of a deal? I would hate to pitch a year of my life away.

I suppose it depends what you do with that year. I've been out of UG for 8 years, working, before getting the idea to apply to law school. I'd hate to think that I just "pitched those years away." I got WE, bought a condo, lived some life. Just sitting on your ass eating cheetos and studying for the LSAT would be a pretty lame way to spend a year, but you can make the year worthwhile with a job and/or volunteer work. Both of which could be good softs for your app a year later.

LS0l wrote:I would love to work with him but do not want people to look at me and assume that I only got the job because of my father.

Unfortunately for those of us without lawyer dads, there does not seem to be much stigma against nepotism in the field. You're probably safe from actual negative repurcussions.

LS0l wrote:I worked my ass of in UG and kind of want my own respect, as dumb as that might sound.

I can appreciate that. I'd rather you earned your own respect, too.