Which law school would be better for international law? Forum
Forum rules
Anonymous Posting
Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are revealing sensitive employment related information about a firm, job, etc. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.
Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned.
Anonymous Posting
Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are revealing sensitive employment related information about a firm, job, etc. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.
Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned.
-
- Posts: 63
- Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2009 6:58 pm
Which law school would be better for international law?
Hi everyone,
I am in a bit of a conundrum, I need your help in order to make an informed decision on which law school to choose from. I know this may not seem to be the appropriate forum, but bear with me for a second and you will get the point of posting my question here.
Basically my dilemma has to do with my background and choosing between American University and The College of William & Mary for law school.
I am a foreign attorney graduated in a civil law country; I wish to get a JD degree from a U.S. law school in order to have two countries in which I can practice law. In this way, I want to focus on transnational/international/comparative law because those are the areas of the law where having two nation's licenses (one civil law, the other common law) would make me "special" to employers.
So here we go, if I need to chose between American University, which is ranked 45th overall, and W & M, which is ranked 28th, which one should I pick? It would seem that W & M is the obvious choice (better ranked, cheaper, cheaper cost of living etc.). BUT, American University is ranked 8th nationwide on international law, and W & M is not even top 10.
So I guess, the point at issue is, what do employers value more, graduating from a school better ranked overall or better ranked in the specific field in which one practices law?
What do you guys (and gals) think?
Cheers.
I am in a bit of a conundrum, I need your help in order to make an informed decision on which law school to choose from. I know this may not seem to be the appropriate forum, but bear with me for a second and you will get the point of posting my question here.
Basically my dilemma has to do with my background and choosing between American University and The College of William & Mary for law school.
I am a foreign attorney graduated in a civil law country; I wish to get a JD degree from a U.S. law school in order to have two countries in which I can practice law. In this way, I want to focus on transnational/international/comparative law because those are the areas of the law where having two nation's licenses (one civil law, the other common law) would make me "special" to employers.
So here we go, if I need to chose between American University, which is ranked 45th overall, and W & M, which is ranked 28th, which one should I pick? It would seem that W & M is the obvious choice (better ranked, cheaper, cheaper cost of living etc.). BUT, American University is ranked 8th nationwide on international law, and W & M is not even top 10.
So I guess, the point at issue is, what do employers value more, graduating from a school better ranked overall or better ranked in the specific field in which one practices law?
What do you guys (and gals) think?
Cheers.
- OneKnight
- Posts: 426
- Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:00 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
Double post FTL!!!
-
- Posts: 63
- Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2009 6:58 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
Just trying to get as much input as possible, I never know to which tread people in here are going to read!OneKnight wrote:Double post FTL!!!
-
- Posts: 2431
- Joined: Thu May 21, 2009 9:51 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
Both would have atrocious prospects. W&M is almost good enough to be worth going to, and nothing AU offers in terms of location or clinical opportunities can make up for the fact that W&M grads to better looking for jobs.
Specific field rankings are a crock of shit and never mean anything ever.
Specific field rankings are a crock of shit and never mean anything ever.
-
- Posts: 63
- Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2009 6:58 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
I beg your pardon, but I don't know what is the posting etiquette here. Double posting is a major no-no?danieltorrey wrote:Just trying to get as much input as possible, I never know to which tread people in here are going to read!OneKnight wrote:Double post FTL!!!
Thanks to anyone who may enlighten me.
Want to continue reading?
Register now to search topics and post comments!
Absolutely FREE!
Already a member? Login
-
- Posts: 63
- Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2009 6:58 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
Are you serious about both having atrocious prospects? What would be a good school in your experience?disco_barred wrote:Both would have atrocious prospects. W&M is almost good enough to be worth going to, and nothing AU offers in terms of location or clinical opportunities can make up for the fact that W&M grads to better looking for jobs.
Specific field rankings are a crock of shit and never mean anything ever.
-
- Posts: 2431
- Joined: Thu May 21, 2009 9:51 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
Especially for anything like international law, opportunities are constrained everywhere but you really need to be at a top school to pull down the kind of work people usually refer to (i.e. international human right stuff). If you're only looking for international business, that's big firm law and you need to go to a big firm. Schools outside of the top 20-25 or so struggle to place more than 20%, often struggle to place more than 10%, of their graduates into big firm jobs.danieltorrey wrote:Are you serious about both having atrocious prospects? What would be a good school in your experience?disco_barred wrote:Both would have atrocious prospects. W&M is almost good enough to be worth going to, and nothing AU offers in terms of location or clinical opportunities can make up for the fact that W&M grads to better looking for jobs.
Specific field rankings are a crock of shit and never mean anything ever.
If those are your career goals, neither AU nor WM are likely to make them happen.
Worth giving up? Nah. Worth the risk if you get a scholarship? Sure. But dealing in probabilities, which means reference to difficult law school curves, harsh competition, and crumbling legal economy you have to be cautious at either school.
-
- Posts: 428710
- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
I would suggest W&L over those other two. If you can get into W&M, you should be in at W&L too. W&L is really starting to focus on their Intl Law. They're even making us 1Ls take a mandatory "Transnational Law" class. There are a surprisingly large number of students doing Intl work this summer too. For example, we have students going to the UN, Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, etc. The school is also funding a lot of Intl work. There are a handful of prominent Intl law scholars that teach at W&L, which is why they're forcing the rest of us to take these classes too. If it's something you're interested in, you should look into it.
Anonymous because of outting info about other people's work, and opinions about the mandatory programming. W&L is too small for privacy without blatant anonymity.
Anonymous because of outting info about other people's work, and opinions about the mandatory programming. W&L is too small for privacy without blatant anonymity.
-
- Posts: 11414
- Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2010 4:54 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
Both are good options for you. American due to its location & access to resources, internships & contacts that are unique to being in Washington D.C., and Wm. & Mary because they have a lot of non-law programs available for students interested in international areas of study. Some US law schools offer regular internships with foreign based law firms in their home countries, although I am not sure about American & Wm. & Mary.
-
- Posts: 373
- Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2008 10:08 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
Why not an LLM? You can take the NY bar with one....cheaper/faster. Which country are you trying to work in? Are you a US citizen?
-
- Posts: 63
- Joined: Sat Oct 24, 2009 6:58 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
I contemplated getting an LLM, and you are correct, I could take the bar with my LLB + LLM, in such states as NY or California. So it would seem much better (as you pointed out, faster and cheaper).sophie316 wrote:Why not an LLM? You can take the NY bar with one....cheaper/faster. Which country are you trying to work in? Are you a US citizen?
However, there are other factors involved. First of all, my research indicated that lawyers that go that route can't free themselves from the stigma of being "foreign lawyers"and therefore are not given the same opportunities as to American-trained attorneys. I, being a foreign lawyer, actually agree with that. If I was a client in my home country, I probably would not hire an attorney who had not had the most basic training in that country's positive law.
I am aware that LLM's take an introductory course on American law, but that doesn't come even close to what regular JD students are exposed to. Furthermore, my professional objective is to practice transnational law, and having an LLB + JD is more valuable than LLB + LLM. Moreover, with just the LL.M I would be limited to the few states that allow that, limiting even more my opportunities. For exemple, DC is a prime market for that, which would be virtually unaccessible to me in that scenario. Several big-firms already told me that getting a JD would be better than just an LLM for those reasons.
That being said, if I couldn't get a JD, than I would definitely go for the LLM, but that just as an option if I couldn't get into any JD programs.
There are also my academic reasons for it, but already wrote quite a bit I don't want to bore you guys to death. If anyone is curious, let me know and I'll tell you.
And no, I am not a US citizen, but again, I plan on doing transnational stuff, so I don't plan on just going back to my country and practice there, I plan on going back and forth.
- blackacre
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:02 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
danieltorrey wrote:Hi everyone,
I am in a bit of a conundrum, I need your help in order to make an informed decision on which law school to choose from. I know this may not seem to be the appropriate forum, but bear with me for a second and you will get the point of posting my question here.
Basically my dilemma has to do with my background and choosing between American University and The College of William & Mary for law school.
I am a foreign attorney graduated in a civil law country; I wish to get a JD degree from a U.S. law school in order to have two countries in which I can practice law. In this way, I want to focus on transnational/international/comparative law because those are the areas of the law where having two nation's licenses (one civil law, the other common law) would make me "special" to employers.
So here we go, if I need to chose between American University, which is ranked 45th overall, and W & M, which is ranked 28th, which one should I pick? It would seem that W & M is the obvious choice (better ranked, cheaper, cheaper cost of living etc.). BUT, American University is ranked 8th nationwide on international law, and W & M is not even top 10.
So I guess, the point at issue is, what do employers value more, graduating from a school better ranked overall or better ranked in the specific field in which one practices law?
What do you guys (and gals) think?
Cheers.
If you want to go into international law and you dont go here: http://law.fiu.edu/ = gtfo
- Teoeo
- Posts: 817
- Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 11:21 am
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
Too bad you aren't interested in Dispute Resolution, you could go to Hamline, which is ranked 2nd! (have you guys ever heard of hamline?)
^^^ Specialty rankings
^^^ Specialty rankings
Register now!
Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.
It's still FREE!
Already a member? Login
- bwv812
- Posts: 547
- Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2008 12:18 am
- Lawof_theLand
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:10 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
S. America and Mexico are poised for phenomenal economic growth over the next 10-20 years at least, and for S. American commerce, FIU is hard to beat.blackacre wrote:If you want to go into international law and you dont go here: http://law.fiu.edu/ = gtfo
I think it was a great strategic move for Florida to establish a public university law school with a strong international specialization right in the heart of the country's greatest pool of Spanish and Portuguese-speaking talent with the closest cultural ties to S. America.
When the economy picks up, S. American trade is going to be hot, Miami will be the critical trade center, and FIU will be ideally placed.
Last edited by Lawof_theLand on Sat May 01, 2010 1:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- MoS
- Posts: 404
- Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:59 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
Hahaha! Go to Miami if that is what you want, not FIU. Sorry, but it has no reputation to carry it into another country. UT is a good choice, they have a pretty extensive Latin American program, maybe even Tulane. I don't know how much stock I would put into the mission statement of a school, especially when the name has "International" in it. Maybe in a few years, but now it's not the place to be.Lawof_theLand wrote:S. America and Mexico are poised for phenomenal economic growth over the next 10-20 years at least, and for S. American commerce, FIU is hard to beat.blackacre wrote:If you want to go into international law and you dont go here: http://law.fiu.edu/ = gtfo
I thik it was a great strategic move for Florida to establish a public university law school with a strong international specialization right in the heart of the country's greatest pool of Spanish and Portuguese-speaking talent with the closest cultural ties to S. America.
When the economy picks up, S. American trade is going to be hot, Miami will be the critical trade center, and FIU will be ideally placed.
- blackacre
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:02 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
Lawof_theLand wrote:S. America and Mexico are poised for phenomenal economic growth over the next 10-20 years at least, and for S. American commerce, FIU is hard to beat.blackacre wrote:If you want to go into international law and you dont go here: http://law.fiu.edu/ = gtfo
I thik it was a great strategic move for Florida to establish a public university law school with a strong international specialization right in the heart of the country's greatest pool of Spanish and Portuguese-speaking talent with the closest cultural ties to S. America.
When the economy picks up, S. American trade is going to be hot, Miami will be the critical trade center, and FIU will be ideally placed.
is it hard to beat?
I know people from the T14 or the three schools that are worth anything in FL aren't particularly inclined to go to Florida, especially when this new wave of business reaches within its borders but come on. Get real buddy.
Get unlimited access to all forums and topics
Register now!
I'm pretty sure I told you it's FREE...
Already a member? Login
- Lawof_theLand
- Posts: 61
- Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 12:10 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
I assume you mean Stetson, FSU, and UF.the three schools that are worth anything in FL
- MoS
- Posts: 404
- Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:59 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
Almost, UF FSU and UMiamiLawof_theLand wrote:I assume you mean Stetson, FSU, and UF.the three schools that are worth anything in FL
- Grizz
- Posts: 10564
- Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2010 6:31 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
HAHAHAHAHAHALawof_theLand wrote:I assume you mean Stetson, FSU, and UF.the three schools that are worth anything in FL
no
- blackacre
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:02 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
Lawof_theLand wrote:I assume you mean Stetson, FSU, and UF.the three schools that are worth anything in FL
Communicate now with those who not only know what a legal education is, but can offer you worthy advice and commentary as you complete the three most educational, yet challenging years of your law related post graduate life.
Register now, it's still FREE!
Already a member? Login
- Grizz
- Posts: 10564
- Joined: Mon Jan 04, 2010 6:31 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
If Law of the Land meant the third best school in the Tampa/St. Pete area, then we'd be talking.blackacre wrote:Lawof_theLand wrote:I assume you mean Stetson, FSU, and UF.the three schools that are worth anything in FL
- MoS
- Posts: 404
- Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:59 pm
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
This is oddly an interesting thing to consider. If thats your target market, then maybe you should take stetson over Miami (if you don't want big law and you aren't taking out 150k to attend)rad law wrote:If Law of the Land meant the third best school in the Tampa/St. Pete area, then we'd be talking.blackacre wrote:Lawof_theLand wrote:I assume you mean Stetson, FSU, and UF.the three schools that are worth anything in FL
-
- Posts: 1923
- Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2009 12:45 am
Re: Which law school would be better for international law?
This thread = /facepalm
Seriously? What are you waiting for?
Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!
Already a member? Login