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Vanderbilt Law Dean Chris Guthrie on Choosing a Law School, Rankings, and Legal Careers

Last Updated: September 2026

Choosing a law school involves much more than comparing rankings or determining where an applicant's LSAT score and undergraduate GPA are competitive. Students are making a significant investment of time, money, and professional opportunity, and the school they select can influence their educational experience, network, geographic opportunities, and early legal career.

Chris Guthrie, Dean of Vanderbilt University Law School, has spent decades studying, teaching, and leading within legal education. Guthrie has served as Vanderbilt Law's dean since 2009 and is known for his scholarship in behavioral law and economics, negotiation, dispute resolution, and judicial decision-making.

In an original Top-Law-Schools.com interview, Guthrie addressed questions that remain highly relevant to prospective and current law students: What should applicants consider when choosing a law school? How much weight should they give rankings? What makes a strong law school culture? How should students think about career outcomes? And what skills will allow graduates to succeed as the legal profession changes?

Although the original interview was conducted in 2009, many of the principles behind Guthrie's observations remain useful. This updated evergreen edition focuses on those enduring lessons while placing them in a broader context for today's law students.

 

What Should Students Consider When Choosing a Law School?

 

One of the most important decisions prospective attorneys make occurs before their first law school class: deciding where to enroll.

Guthrie's central framework is especially useful because it moves beyond prestige alone. In the original interview, he encouraged prospective students to think broadly about both the experience they will have during law school and the return they are likely to receive from their investment in legal education.

Those two considerations remain a useful starting point.

Applicants should ask themselves:

    • Will I be comfortable spending three demanding years at this school?

 

    • Do students appear collaborative or intensely competitive?

 

    • Are professors accessible and committed to teaching?

 

    • Does the curriculum support my likely professional interests?

 

    • Are clinics, externships, journals, organizations, and other experiential opportunities readily available?

 

    • Where do graduates actually find jobs?

 

    • Does the school place graduates primarily in one region or across several markets?

 

    • How much debt would I incur?

 

    • Do employment outcomes justify the likely cost?



The answer will be different for every applicant. A school that represents an excellent choice for one student may be inappropriate for another because their career objectives, financial circumstances, geographic preferences, and preferred learning environments are different.

For a broader framework, LawCrossing's How to Choose the Right Law School for You: A Comprehensive Guide examines factors including cost, location, program strengths, career services, reputation, and campus life.

 

Look Beyond Prestige to the Actual Law School Experience

 

Applicants understandably focus heavily on admission statistics and reputation. But law school is also where students will spend several formative years learning how to think, write, advocate, negotiate, and operate as professionals.

The quality of that experience matters.

Students should investigate whether professors have reputations as effective teachers and mentors, whether upper-level students can access specialized courses, and whether the school's environment encourages productive relationships between faculty and students.

Culture deserves similar attention.

A school can possess excellent employment statistics yet still be the wrong environment for a particular student. Applicants should visit when possible, speak to current students, attend admitted-student programs, and evaluate whether the atmosphere matches the way they learn and work best.

Vanderbilt continues to emphasize collaboration, connection, small-class interaction, student organizations, and community as important components of its law school experience.

These considerations demonstrate why "fit" is more than a marketing concept. Students who are comfortable in their environment may find it easier to form relationships, participate in organizations, seek faculty assistance, develop professional networks, and take advantage of opportunities outside the classroom.

 

How Much Should Law School Rankings Matter?

 

Law school rankings can provide useful comparative information, but they should rarely make the enrollment decision by themselves.

Guthrie's approach to rankings was pragmatic. He recognized that applicants and law schools pay attention to rankings but cautioned against assigning excessive significance to small differences in numerical position. His larger point was that students should focus on the educational experience and professional opportunities available to graduates rather than simply selecting whichever school occupies the higher numerical position.

Top-Law-Schools.com's own Law School Rankings resource similarly cautions applicants against placing too much value on any single ranking system.

Applicants should therefore ask what lies behind a school's reputation.

Consider:

    • Employment outcomes

 

    • Employer access

 

    • Geographic placement

 

    • Judicial clerkship opportunities

 

    • Faculty strength

 

    • Academic programs

 

    • Bar passage

 

    • Alumni networks

 

    • Cost and scholarships

 

    • Student experience

 

    • Practice-area opportunities



A difference of several ranking positions may matter far less than a significant difference in scholarship support, employment opportunities, geographic reach, or program strength.

For another perspective on evaluating ranking systems, see the TLS interview Brian Leiter on Law School Rankings, Choosing a Law School, and Legal Academia.

LawCrossing also examines the connection between school prestige and professional outcomes in Does Law School Rank Determine Career Success?.

 

Career Outcomes Should Be Part of the Decision

 

Law school is an educational experience, but for most students it is also preparation for professional employment.

That makes career outcomes one of the most important areas for applicants to research.

Instead of looking only at a single employment percentage, prospective students should examine several years of data when possible. They should investigate the types of employers hiring graduates, where those employers are located, how many graduates enter private practice, public interest, government, or clerkships, and how consistently graduates obtain positions requiring a law degree and bar admission.

Geography is especially important.

A student who wants to practice in New York, California, Texas, Washington, D.C., or another specific market should determine whether employers in that market regularly recruit from the school. Conversely, students who are unsure where they eventually want to live may value a school with broader geographic placement.

Vanderbilt currently describes its career placement as national in scope and provides individual career counseling, employer connections, clerkship assistance, and alumni support through its Career Services program.

Prospective students should conduct this kind of research for every law school they seriously consider.

 

Think About Return on Investment, Not Just Tuition

 

The price printed on a law school's website does not tell students everything they need to know about cost.

Scholarships, grants, living expenses, debt, expected career outcomes, geographic salary differences, and individual professional goals all influence the true value of a law degree.

For one applicant, accepting a substantial scholarship from a strong regional school may make more sense than borrowing heavily for a somewhat higher-ranked institution. Another applicant pursuing a specialized career or a particular national market may reasonably reach a different conclusion.

The important point is to make the comparison deliberately.

Students should avoid assuming that a higher ranking automatically produces a better financial return. Instead, they should compare the cost they are likely to incur with the realistic range of professional opportunities available to graduates.

 

Why Law School Culture Matters

 

Professional development does not occur only in classrooms.

Peers become colleagues, referral sources, friends, employers, clients, and professional contacts. Faculty members can become mentors. Student organizations can provide leadership experience, exposure to practice areas, and connections with attorneys.

A constructive culture therefore has long-term professional value.

Guthrie identified collegiality and collaboration as defining characteristics of Vanderbilt in the original interview. That emphasis remains visible in Vanderbilt's current description of its student experience, which highlights collaboration, mutual support, community-building, student organizations, and interaction between students and faculty.

Applicants evaluating any law school should try to determine whether the institution's advertised culture matches students' actual experiences.

Talk to students without admissions personnel present. Ask how classmates respond when someone needs assistance. Find out whether professors are accessible outside class. Investigate how competitive recruiting feels and whether student organizations are active.

These details may not appear in rankings, but they can substantially shape three years of legal education.

 

Strong Legal Education Combines Theory and Practice

 

Learning substantive law remains fundamental, but modern attorneys also need opportunities to apply what they learn.

Clinical programs, externships, internships, moot court, legal writing, transactional exercises, negotiation courses, judicial placements, and pro bono work can help students understand how legal rules operate outside an academic setting.

Experiential learning also helps students determine which practice environments suit them.

A student who expects to become a litigator may discover a passion for transactional work after participating in a business clinic. Another student may discover through a judicial externship that appellate practice is particularly appealing. Others may develop interests in government, public interest, intellectual property, immigration, entrepreneurship, or international work.

Vanderbilt currently offers clinics and other experiential programs in which students can work on real legal matters, participate in externships, and apply classroom knowledge in professional settings.

LawCrossing's How Law Students Can Shape Career Outcomes Through Early Choices further explains how practical experience, strategic coursework, networking, and skill development can influence career opportunities after graduation.

 

Should Students Specialize During Law School?

 

Law students often enter school convinced that they already know what kind of attorney they want to become. Their interests frequently change once they encounter new subjects and gain real-world experience.

That is not necessarily a problem.

A strong general legal education teaches transferable capabilities: analytical reasoning, research, writing, advocacy, problem-solving, judgment, and communication. Specialized courses can then help students explore particular interests without sacrificing that broad foundation.

Students interested in transactional practice, litigation, public interest, international law, business, technology, intellectual property, or other areas should investigate whether prospective schools offer meaningful opportunities in those fields.

They should also remember that a course concentration does not determine an entire career.

Legal careers can evolve considerably after graduation.

 

Joint Degrees and Interdisciplinary Study

 

Legal problems increasingly intersect with business, economics, technology, medicine, public policy, international affairs, and other disciplines.

For students with clearly defined interdisciplinary objectives, joint-degree programs or carefully selected courses outside the law school can provide valuable additional perspective.

However, another degree should not be pursued merely because it sounds impressive.

Students should ask:

    • Does the additional degree support a defined career objective?

 

    • Will employers value the additional training?

 

    • How much additional tuition and time will it require?

 

    • Could relevant skills be gained more efficiently through individual courses or practical experience?



Interdisciplinary education is most useful when it adds capabilities students are likely to use professionally.

 

Public Interest, Pro Bono Work, and Service

 

Legal education can prepare graduates for careers across private practice, government, public interest organizations, judicial chambers, business, academia, and many other settings.

Students interested in service-oriented careers should investigate a school's public-interest curriculum, clinics, summer funding, pro bono opportunities, career counseling, and loan-repayment resources.

Vanderbilt's current Public Interest Office, for example, supports students through public-interest advising, programming, experiential opportunities, pro bono work, and financial support.

Even students planning to enter private practice may benefit from public-service experience. Pro bono work can provide early responsibility, expose students to client counseling, strengthen practical skills, and reinforce the broader professional obligations associated with becoming an attorney.

 

Prepare for a Legal Career That Will Change

 

Perhaps one of the most enduring lessons from Guthrie's original interview concerns adaptability.

Few attorneys spend their entire careers performing exactly the same work for the same employer.

A graduate might begin as a judicial clerk, move into a law firm, later join a corporation, transition to government, open a practice, become a partner, move into management, or pursue an entirely different professional path.

Law students should therefore develop capabilities that remain useful even when their job titles change.

Legal analysis and writing are essential, but attorneys increasingly benefit from complementary skills such as financial literacy, technology competence, business understanding, negotiation, project management, communication, and knowledge of industries relevant to their practices.

LawCrossing's Building Career Clarity: A Practical Guide for Law Students discusses how students can use self-assessment, practical exposure, mentorship, and strategic planning to build more sustainable career paths.

The goal should not simply be to obtain the first legal job after graduation. Students should build a foundation that allows them to remain valuable as their interests, employers, clients, and the legal market evolve.

 

What Prospective Students Can Learn from Chris Guthrie's Perspective

 

Several principles from Guthrie's interview remain particularly relevant for today's applicants:

    1. Choose a law school based on more than rankings. Examine education, culture, employment opportunities, cost, and personal fit.

 

    1. Think about both the three-year experience and the years after graduation. The environment in which you study matters, but so do the professional opportunities the degree creates.

 

    1. Research career outcomes carefully. Look beyond headline employment numbers to employers, locations, practice settings, and clerkships.

 

    1. Value strong teachers and mentors. Faculty accessibility and teaching quality can influence both academic development and professional direction.

 

    1. Take advantage of experiential education. Clinics, externships, public service, internships, and other practical opportunities help students develop professional judgment.

 

    1. Develop skills beyond doctrinal legal knowledge. Business, technology, communication, financial, and other complementary capabilities can increase professional flexibility.

 

    1. Expect your career to change. A legal education should provide a foundation for navigating multiple roles and opportunities over a lifetime.



Final Thoughts

 

The question facing applicants is not simply, "What is the highest-ranked law school that will admit me?"

A more useful question is: Which law school gives me the strongest combination of educational experience, professional opportunity, financial value, and personal fit?

Rankings can contribute to that analysis, but they cannot answer it alone.

Applicants should investigate faculty, students, culture, cost, employment outcomes, geography, practical training, alumni networks, and career services. They should also think realistically about their own priorities and where they hope a legal education will take them.

Chris Guthrie's perspective offers an enduring reminder that choosing a law school is ultimately a decision about both education and opportunity. The best choice is the institution that gives an individual student the environment, resources, skills, and professional possibilities needed to build the career he or she actually wants.

 

Related Top-Law-Schools.com Resources

 

 

 

 



Related LawCrossing Resources

 

 

 

 



Discuss Vanderbilt Law and Choosing a Law School on the TLS Forums

 

For additional applicant perspectives, school comparisons, admissions discussions, and firsthand student experiences, visit:

 

 

 



Editor's Note

 

This page was originally based on a Top-Law-Schools.com interview with Chris Guthrie published in November 2009. This evergreen edition emphasizes enduring guidance for prospective law students and avoids presenting historical admissions figures, rankings, employment conditions, or time-specific Vanderbilt initiatives as current information.

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