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I'm from NJ and looking to practice in central jersey (Somerset, Hunterdon, Union, Mercer County area) after i graduate law school. Applying to RU- Newark, Seton Hall, Miami, American PT, RU- Camden.
I know Rutgers- Newark slipped in last years rankings but that seems mainly due to the inclusion of part- time rankings which really hurt them. I know I could get into Seton Hall but common sense tells me Rutgers Newark is better unless I get major $$ from Seton. How is the placement for Rutgers- Newark ?

Not too shabby... http://www.law.com/pdf/nlj/20080414empl ... trends.pdf

Keep in mind how old that chart is...

Take a look at the firm web sites for those counties. Where did the grads go to school? Partners generally like to hire people from the school they went to. That being said, I've worked for firms in Morris County and it was a mixture of Seton Hall and Rutgers-Newark with no discernible difference or preference... they seemed to be regarded as peer schools. Keep in mind, many hiring partners that went to Seton Hall did so before tuition jumped to Ivy League levels. I think you'd be fine at either Rutgers school, unless fiscal responsibility is unimportant to you... then go ahead and consider Seton Hall.

Also, keep in mind that those counties are all small and mid law, which means lower salaries. Good luck paying off Seton Hall with that.