Top Law Schools

I've been blessed to have several schools not only accept me but do so early in the year. URM or no, I didn't expect William and Mary or Washington and Lee to accept me that quickly, or even accept me considering my numbers.

But they did, which raises a question. There's not a glut of law schools in Texas (that's one of the reasons why that law school is opening up in downtown Dallas) but as a result, from what I've heard, those law schools that are here dominate the market. There's also a very proud tradition here of...shall we say, supporting what's made here in Texas. Tell someone you graduated from Baylor Law School in New York and they might shrug, but tell someone in Texas and you'll get some nice recognition.

Anyway, the point is that I'm a little concerned about my chances once I return to Texas if I go to these Virginia schools. This is further complicated by W&M's apparently very good LRAP. 10 years into my career as a public defender and I'd be done with debt. Heck, that sounds as good as Georgetown's. I haven't even received a decision from Tulane, SMU, or Baylor, which were the regional powerhouses I was aiming for here but my general question is this - do the rules about "regional power" outweigh the benefits of going to a school ranked in some instances twenty points higher? It's not like I want to come back to Texas and work at firm or anything - just public interest work.

billyez wrote:I've been blessed to have several schools not only accept me but do so early in the year. URM or no, I didn't expect William and Mary or Washington and Lee to accept me that quickly, or even accept me considering my numbers.

But they did, which raises a question. There's not a glut of law schools in Texas (that's one of the reasons why that law school is opening up in downtown Dallas) but as a result, from what I've heard, those law schools that are here dominate the market. There's also a very proud tradition here of...shall we say, supporting what's made here in Texas. Tell someone you graduated from Baylor Law School in New York and they might shrug, but tell someone in Texas and you'll get some nice recognition.

Anyway, the point is that I'm a little concerned about my chances once I return to Texas if I go to these Virginia schools. This is further complicated by W&M's apparently very good LRAP. 10 years into my career as a public defender and I'd be done with debt. Heck, that sounds as good as Georgetown's. I haven't even received a decision from Tulane, SMU, or Baylor, which were the regional powerhouses I was aiming for here but my general question is this - do the rules about "regional power" outweigh the benefits of going to a school ranked in some instances twenty points higher? It's not like I want to come back to Texas and work at firm or anything - just public interest work.

usnews rankings typically doesn't trump the potential connections a regional school can provide. and especially not in this case. picking w&M because of LRAP would be fine, that W&M is much higher ranked than SMU would be a bad reason to pick it.

Am I missing something with W&M's LRAP? The only LRAP plan of theirs that I can find provides a maximum of $5,000 a year for up to three years. Any other plan is going to be through the federal government, which will be applicable no matter what school you go to. Again, am I missing something? I am very much considering William and Mary, so if I am missing some critical part of their plan it would be good to know, haha.

Whoops. It was the CCRAA document from William and Mary that I was reading...I feel more than a little dumb now. Well, I still like W&M though.

Here's a big question - do you want to practice in Dallas?

If so, the only school you've listed that you need to be concerned with is SMU. It almost completely dominates the Dallas legal market.

If you got in quickly to Virginia schools, expect some $$ from SMU. And, if Dallas is your place to be, take Miller's advice....take the money and run.

kalvano wrote:Here's a big question - do you want to practice in Dallas?

If so, the only school you've listed that you need to be concerned with is SMU. It almost completely dominates the Dallas legal market.

If you got in quickly to Virginia schools, expect some $$ from SMU. And, if Dallas is your place to be, take Miller's advice....take the money and run.

who is ironically from Dallas

Not everything is terrible in Dallas.

bonnieblue wrote:

kalvano wrote:Here's a big question - do you want to practice in Dallas?

If so, the only school you've listed that you need to be concerned with is SMU. It almost completely dominates the Dallas legal market.

If you got in quickly to Virginia schools, expect some $$ from SMU. And, if Dallas is your place to be, take Miller's advice....take the money and run.

who is ironically from Dallas

irony or coincidence? That Alanis Morisette song has ruined the definition of irony. (By the way, that's ironic.) The song is too, a song about irony that does not include a single example of true irony. Classic. Maybe her intent was that the whole song would be ironic in that way. She may not be that smart though.

kalvano wrote:Nothing is terrible in Dallas.

ftfy

bonnieblue wrote:

kalvano wrote:Nothing is terrible in Dallas.

ftfy

NO NO NO!

NO NO!

NO!

NO NO!


I can't stand Dallas, or Texas.

Edit - That's my personal opinion. If the OP wishes to be in Dallas, more power to him. And SMU would be the best choice for someone wishing to practice in Dallas.

I was in line today at HEB with an attorney. Mentioned where I was applying/where I'd been accepted. His eyes glazed over until I said UH, SMU, and UT. Then we had a real conversation. He had personal connections to two out of the three. You're not getting that type of love here with W&L or W&M.

FunkyJD wrote:I was in line today at HEB with an attorney. Mentioned where I was applying/where I'd been accepted. His eyes glazed over until I said UH, SMU, and UT. Then we had a real conversation. He had personal connections to two out of the three. You're not getting that type of love here with W&L or W&M.

plus if you go to Virginia, you will no longer have HEB. I think the only other grocery chain that comes close is Publix in the southeast.

isaiah6v8 wrote:plus if you go to Virginia, you will no longer have HEB.

And you won't have Diet Sweet Leaf Sweet Tea with the grandma on the bottle. Or Blue Bell ice cream. And what will you do then? You will have degraded yourself as a human being.

isaiah6v8 wrote:

FunkyJD wrote:I was in line today at HEB with an attorney. Mentioned where I was applying/where I'd been accepted. His eyes glazed over until I said UH, SMU, and UT. Then we had a real conversation. He had personal connections to two out of the three. You're not getting that type of love here with W&L or W&M.

plus if you go to Virginia, you will no longer have HEB. I think the only other grocery chain that comes close is Publix in the southeast.

no HEB in Dallas...unless HAVE THEY PUT ONE IN??!?!

ahhh the closest is ennis or waxahachie

HEB owns Central Market.

central market, while not a traditional HEB, has most of the things you can get at HEB and also a lot of things you can't!