I’m a 1L at my state’s only ls, a tier 3. I *know* I want a career in academia and anticipate that I may need to transfer in order to make that happen. I’m open to teaching anywhere. I have a MA in a social science field (4.00 GPA) and have five years teaching in that field at a state college. I graduated UG cum laude and have a 161 LSAT. 1st semester ls grades put my class rank in the top 7%. My current tuition is extremely low (about the cost of a community college), as my husband works for the university. If I stay here, I will automatically be on law review, be a TA, have an office, etc. I will have ample opportunities for clerkships and research *within this state.* I’m not a native of this state; we moved here b/c of hub’s job, and am unsure if I want to live here forever. So a couple questions
1) Should I transfer?
2) If so, where should I try for?
3) Do I have a shot at Gtown’s early app? If so, would that be a good place given my goals?
4) If I do go to a higher ranked school, and don’t make law review, are there other opportunities for publishing, and do I have still have a chance at academia?
Thanks for any help.

To be a law prof; T6.

The academic market is intensely competitive when it comes to what school you attended. If you can get HYS, then go for it, but below that I wouldn't advise it unless you go for other reasons as well (e.g. biglaw, etc). Congrats on your class rank--fantastic.

Have you checked the bios of professors at your school or any in neighboring states? I am currently in a flyover state and have noticed that many of the professors at the local T2 and T3s are often from the school where they get hired or other lower ranked schools. You probablly won't be able to get to a top school but if you are happy with these type of positions you should have an outside shot.

What school are you at where 95% of the faculty (don't count legal writing and/or adjuncts because they aren't real tenure track professors), are not graduates of T6 or at the worst T20 law schools?

Most higher ranked schools have multiple journals. If they have enough, then virtually anyone who wants to be on a journal will have the opportunity. E.g. at NU, there is law review, the journal of criminal justice and criminology, the journal of international business, the journal of technology and intellectual property, the journal of law and social policy, and the journal of internation human rights. For the first time this year, they offered a write-on competition for transfers (and AJDs). The competition is superior to the old straight write-on path, because it doesn't force you to choose a single journal. You can put in for law review and still get a secondary journal if you don't make it. You will also know whether or not you are on a journal shortly after the writing competition, rather than having to spend an entire semester as a "probationary" member. Check with the schools you are considering to see how they do it.

I believe most schools offer senior/independent research for credit (and to fulfill the writing requirement) as well. I would think this is an excellent opportunity to write something of publishable quality as well, assuming you can recruit an advisor willing to put in the work.

I too live in a flyover state and have actually compiled numbers of the 2006-2008 (3yrs worth) entry-level tenure-track hires at law schools w/in a 150 mile radius of my city because I have an interest in academia, but lack mobility. Although the hiring numbers I had were incomplete (from Solum's entry-level hire blog), IIRC they included >80% of all the people hired across the country during those years. My finding was that only 50% of the hires had come from T14's, and the remaining 50% came from other schools, most but not all of which were T20.

I encourage OP to look through Solum's reports for the past 3-5 years and see the kinds of candidates that are getting tenure track offers. What schools they come from, where they've clerked, what other degrees they have, etc.

http://lsolum.typepad.com/legaltheory/entry_level_hiring_report/

Edit: the report has numbers only at the top, but if you scroll way down you will see candidate bio's listed under the school that hired them.

That Solum data is great, thanks!