People interested in public interest law Forum

[akili]

I'm glad you bumped this! It's nice to see schools compared for what I'm actually most interested in!

+1

Gets old hearing about big law blablabla DC blablabla...firms blabla, although I know it is relevant to many people on TLS.

Thanks. It's responses like this that leads many people to believe that us PI kids are arrogant assholes who believe themselves morally superior to others. They want to go biglaw, not rape children. Knock that shit off.

Wut.

[bjsesq]

I'm glad you bumped this! It's nice to see schools compared for what I'm actually most interested in!

+1

Gets old hearing about big law blablabla DC blablabla...firms blabla, although I know it is relevant to many people on TLS.

Thanks. It's responses like this that leads many people to believe that us PI kids are arrogant assholes who believe themselves morally superior to others. They want to go biglaw, not rape children. Knock that shit off.

Dude. GTFO

Who the fuck are you, Junior?

You GTFO.

[NZA]

Who the fuck are you, Junior?

You GTFO.

TITCR

[dr123]

I'm glad you bumped this! It's nice to see schools compared for what I'm actually most interested in!

+1

Gets old hearing about big law blablabla DC blablabla...firms blabla, although I know it is relevant to many people on TLS.

Thanks. It's responses like this that leads many people to believe that us PI kids are arrogant assholes who believe themselves morally superior to others. They want to go biglaw, not rape children. Knock that shit off.

Diff'rent strokes, Diff'rent folks. No one is claiming some sort of moral high ground for wanting to go into PI, I completely respect those who go into BigLaw, but it's not for me

[bjsesq]

I'm glad you bumped this! It's nice to see schools compared for what I'm actually most interested in!

+1

Gets old hearing about big law blablabla DC blablabla...firms blabla, although I know it is relevant to many people on TLS.

Thanks. It's responses like this that leads many people to believe that us PI kids are arrogant assholes who believe themselves morally superior to others. They want to go biglaw, not rape children. Knock that shit off.

Diff'rent strokes, Diff'rent folks. No one is claiming some sort of moral high ground for wanting to go into PI, I completely respect those who go into BigLaw, but it's not for me

Perhaps my response was a little harsh, so I apologize for that. The law school I attend sends a lot of people to biglaw, and many of them are good people. I would die in biglaw, but that's just me. Some kids garner reputations for themselves pretty quickly as being sanctimonious dicks if they aren't careful. Just be aware: if you go to a top tier law school, you are likely going to be in the minority if you want to go PI. TLS is somewhat representative.

[Elizabeth J]

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• Externships, for course credit toward J.D. degree
o Externs work the number of hours required by their school

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The Goldwater Institute, one of the nation’s preeminent free-market policy organizations, works through research and education to broaden the parameters of policy discussions to allow consideration of policies consistent with the founding principles of free societies. The Center for Constitutional Litigation files lawsuits against governments that abuse or exceed their legal authority, primarily in the areas of economic liberty, property rights, and school choice.

To apply: Send a cover letter, resume, and a legal writing sample to Christina Kohn, Goldwater Institute, 500 E. Coronado Road, Phoenix, AZ 85004, or to csitren@goldwaterinstitute.org. Please note clearly in your cover letter (1) whether you are in your first or second year of law school, and (2) whether you are applying for a clerkship, externship, or both.

For more information: Visit --LinkRemoved-- or contact Christina Kohn at ckohn@goldwaterinstitute.org.

[queenlizzie13]

preLaw magazine ranks/grades the top law schools in public interest:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress ... ex.php#/26

[bilbobaggins]

[quote="bjsesq]Perhaps my response was a little harsh, so I apologize for that. The law school I attend sends a lot of people to biglaw, and many of them are good people. I would die in biglaw, but that's just me. Some kids garner reputations for themselves pretty quickly as being sanctimonious dicks if they aren't careful. Just be aware: if you go to a top tier law school, you are likely going to be in the minority if you want to go PI. TLS is somewhat representative.[/quote]

There's a middle ground.

To be honest, our country and our world would be better off if more intelligent young people went into PI jobs. Does this make someone a bad person for not doing PI work? Of course not. However, this doesn't necessarily mean it's not the better moral choice.

[vicuna]

preLaw magazine ranks/grades the top law schools in public interest:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress ... ex.php#/26

And NYU goes unranked?

[dr123]

mmm

[Marionberry]

preLaw magazine ranks/grades the top law schools in public interest:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress ... ex.php#/26

And NYU goes unranked?

Don't most students go to NYU for BigLaw? Ranking public interest programs seems kind of self selective to me,

It's my understanding that NYU places a good deal of emphasis on PI work. Of course, it's not a bad choice if you want private practice stuff, either.

[almostfamous]

so glad I found this thread!

[vicuna]

preLaw magazine ranks/grades the top law schools in public interest:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cypress ... ex.php#/26

And NYU goes unranked?

Don't most students go to NYU for BigLaw? Ranking public interest programs seems kind of self selective to me,

I think NYU is second only to Berkeley in percentage pursuing PI/Gov.

[dr123]

lllllll

[vicuna]

I dunno bout that dude, NYU isn't listed in the EJW guide, but 40 % of harvard grads go into PI which is more than berkeley and lowered ranks school like vermont and cuny law have well over half of their students going into PI

Huh?

http://www.law.com/pdf/nlj/20080414empl ... trends.pdf

[dr123]

lllllll

[law_monkey]

I dunno bout that dude, NYU isn't listed in the EJW guide, but 40 % of harvard grads go into PI which is more than berkeley and lowered ranks school like vermont and cuny law have well over half of their students going into PI

Huh?

http://www.law.com/pdf/nlj/20080414empl ... trends.pdf

Those numbers are kind of old, the EJW has harvard listed for about 40% into Pi and there numbers are more recent. but NYU didn't participate in EJW's survey so I dunno Also U washington and u cinci are both up there with boalt on the nlj

Edit: I'm not saying NYU is a bad school to go to if one desires to go into pi if anyone is getting that impression, NYU is a great school

Yeah I heard that they're especially solid if you want to do government/crim law. But they're a great school for any type of PI.

[Marionberry]

Does the 40% for Harvard PI include federal clerkships?

[vicuna]

Huh?

http://www.law.com/pdf/nlj/20080414empl ... trends.pdf

Those numbers are kind of old, the EJW has harvard listed for about 40% into Pi and there numbers are more recent. but NYU didn't participate in EJW's survey so I dunno Also U washington and u cinci are both up there with boalt on the nlj

Edit: I'm not saying NYU is a bad school to go to if one desires to go into pi if anyone is getting that impression, NYU is a great school

1) Where are you getting this 40% figure? EJW says that Harvard places 29% into "public service" and that Boalt places 28%.

2) Harvard's PI placement did not spike by 200% in two years.

3) These figures are clearly not only based on what is traditionally referred to as "public interest." For example, in one of their recent classes, Chicago sent exactly 1 student into "public interest." However, EJW claims that their "public service" placement is 16%. Typically, even the most PI-focused T14 schools (NYU, Berkeley, etc) advertise about their PI placement as about 9-12%.

4) Despite my last three bullet points, the percentage of a class opting for PI work tells us much more about the student body than it does about placement. A school like Cincinnati may have a high percentage going into "public interest," and that is commendable, but these are probably going to be the PI jobs that T14 students didn't want. A better measure is going to organizations like the ACLU's website and checking out the attorney bios.

5) Arguably, the two most important factors in choosing a school for PI are 1) LRAP and 2) institutional support (in terms of networking, interviews, counseling, summer funding, etc.). The EJW guide, as well-intentioned as it may be, does not include information in either of these areas.

[northwood]

good find. thanks posters

[worldtraveler]

The truth is that among the top 10 or so schools, it doesn't matter where you go for public interest. Just because more people from a school pursue it doesn't mean it's better. If anything, it could mean more competition for clinic opportunities or things like that. If you are fortunate enough to be choosing between these schools, pick the one that's the best fit for you and has the best classes and programs to your liking. "Such and such school is better for public interest" is really a bad reason to pick a school.

[chris0805]

The truth is that among the top 10 or so schools, it doesn't matter where you go for public interest. Just because more people from a school pursue it doesn't mean it's better. If anything, it could mean more competition for clinic opportunities or things like that. If you are fortunate enough to be choosing between these schools, pick the one that's the best fit for you and has the best classes and programs to your liking. "Such and such school is better for public interest" is really a bad reason to pick a school.

I would second all of this. After that, also look at LRAPs (though in the top ten, they're getting pretty comparable for the most part), and VISIT! Find out how you think you might like the place.

Finally, I think PI practice tends to be a little more regional focused than biglaw, even at the best schools. That's not to say you can't go to Harvard and end up at the SF PDs office, but it might be easier from Boalt, especially if you can get internships and connections there during the semester.

[bilbobaggins]

Truth, except for the fact no one ends up at the SF PD's Office straight out.

[bjsesq]

Truth, except for the fact no one ends up at the SF PD's Office straight out.

This has become increasingly difficult for Cook County as well.

[Swanky]

Thank you for starting this thread.

Question for all of you PI people out there -- how heavily are you weighing scholarship money in which law school you pick? Personally, I know that my career path is not going to be able to sustain a huge amount of debt so scholarship money is very important to me. What are your thoughts on scholarship money vs. rank/prestige?

Thanks.