Top Law Schools

I can't decide. Suggestions and help appreciated.

I don't know what type of law I want to practice. I don't want to be in government per se, but I could be interested in lobbying. Still undecided.

michaellikesit wrote:I can't decide. Suggestions and help appreciated.

I don't know what type of law I want to practice. I don't want to be in government per se, but I could be interested in lobbying. Still undecided.

The massive class of GULC really is a huge negative from my perspective.

Both have sophisticated locations, but the students & job opportunities are better at Northwestern. Sometimes I think of Georgetown's law school as a bit of a lawyer factory whereas Northwestern interviews every applicant. Northwestern graduates about 254 JDs a year compared to Georgetown's 676. Northwestern was number (1) one in the most recent National Law Journal's annual placement survey, while Georgetown was number (13) thirteen.
Among the Top 14 law schools many believe that Georgetown is the most overrated & that Northwestern deserves a higher ranking.

Thank you very much.

Can't that also be viewed as a positive, especially when you're looking for jobs after graduating? Wouldn't a bigger class size, and hence, a larger alumni network work to your advantage?

Not according to the NLJ survey. Probably works for Harvard Law, but Yale, Stanford & Chicago are among the smallest law schools in terms of class size & they all do well with job placement.

michaellikesit wrote:Thank you very much.

Can't that also be viewed as a positive, especially when you're looking for jobs after graduating? Wouldn't a bigger class size, and hence, a larger alumni network work to your advantage?

Many use this argument for Harvard over Yale. GULC isn't Harvard. GULC is just graduating too many graduates (nearly 700 a year). While GULC is a fine institution, I would pick the higher ranked school with better Big Law placement and the smaller class.

Even if you like DC, I'd pick Northwestern. Much better job prospects.

I like Northwestern's position. They place really well in Chicago, which is the third largest legal market and not one where YHS Columbia-NYU grads go in any great numbers. So less competition and NU is at the top of the heap, along with Michigan and UofC. From Northwestern, you can also bid on good firms in DC, NYC and still have Chicago to fall back on. That's why they have such good employment stats (plus having people with work experience, which makes them stronger at OCI regardless of which T14 they would attend).

At Georgetown, if you do well you'll get a job in DC -- but a lot of people on here say it's the hardest market to crack. If you miss out on DC, what do you do then?

Have you visited both schools? I haven't been to Northwestern, but I've visited GULC and imagine they're quite different. Also, how old are you? I've heard Northwestern's student body tends to be an older, more professional crowd (due to the required WE), and GULC attracts a younger group of law students wanting to be in D.C. Finally, any preference on location? If you prefer Chicago to D.C. (or vice versa) that could help you decide.

I know there's not really a lot of advice in there, but just a few things to consider.

All great points.

I haven't visited NWU yet. I am currently in the Middle East, but I return next week and am planning on visiting Chicago soon there after. I only got into NWU a week before I left so I didn't have the opportunity to visit.

I saw GULC and I thought the campus was great.

I am 25.

Thanks a lot for everyone's suggestions.

Michael,

Good luck to you and congrats once again. In the end, I would go where you think you will be happier (town, campus, school, etc). Three years is a long time and the differences are not so stark as to justify going to the school that doesn't feel right to you. But if you feel pretty ambivalent between the two places, I would say Northwestern is the better choice for the reasons already stated (smaller class, better placement, etc). Best of luck to you.

Because I don't want to start my own thread with the exact same topic, I'm going to tag on to yours. Hope you don't mind! I'm trying to make the same decision.

Copy/pasted from the BP decides thread...


Northwestern or Georgetown. Assuming both at sticker.

I want PI, and ideally international stuff. Location after school is not super important, though I do want my degree to be portable. I feel like NY and DC are the two main markets for what I want to do, but I'm not dead-set on those cities by any means. At Northwestern, I'd be doing a 4-year JD/LLM program and get an LLM in International Human Rights.

One thing that makes wonder if GULC is a better fit is its location in DC. It also has great clinics, etc. for international and human rights stuff. And I absolutely love DC. However, I'm from Chicago, it's a great city, my friends/family are there, I know how to easily find an apartment there, and I have a legal job waiting for me there if I want/need it. Also, since I just got off of GULC's waitlist yesterday, I've been planning on depositing at Northwestern and have gotten pretty damn psyched about it. Also, one aspect of the NU program that I think is really cool is that I'd be required to do a semester-long externship with an international human rights organization.

Oh, and I wouldn't mind clerking if possible.

I can see pros and cons for both schools, especially with the field I want to pursue. Any insight would be appreciated.

I would look into the repayment program at NU- the Georgetown one is fantastic if you're positive you want PI- I don't know anything about NU though I would imagine they have a solid LRAP.

I'm a one L who goes to school in Washington DC.
In choosing a law school, be VERY mindful of the city where you are. Even though both these schools have a national reach, you want to make sure that you are living in a city that has a lot of opportunities, and especially a city where you see yourself staying after you graduate. If you want to be in DC, GTown will be better, because in the spring and fall you will be able to intern here and take advantage of all the city has to offer.
However, if you prefer the midwest, NW will be your best shot.
Networking is an important aspect of law school, especially in this economy. If there's one thing I have learned about law school during this year is that I made the right choice to go to school in a city where I plan to stay.

I don't know where I want to be when I graduate. Because I have never been to Chicago, I don't want to commit that that is the place i want to be. I think I would like to live in the NY/NJ area in the future, but I could see myself being in Chicago and DC easily enough.

Holly,

Tough choice. There's no clear answer for you. Point by point:

"I want PI, and ideally international stuff."
Edge: Georgetown, mainly because of its DC location.

"Location after school is not super important, though I do want my degree to be portable."
Edge: Tie. Both degrees are similarly portable. Georgetown has a bigger alumni network, which might give you more options in a few more markets.

" I feel like NY and DC are the two main markets for what I want to do"
Edge: Georgetown, particularly for DC.

"Oh, and I wouldn't mind clerking if possible."
Edge: Northwestern. NU places a higher percentage of its class into federal clerkships, and a significantly higher percentage into COA clerkships.

This sounds like a cliche, but you should go to the school that you would be happiest at. Be sure to visit both schools and talk to as many current students as you can. Good luck.

michaellikesit wrote:I can't decide. Suggestions and help appreciated.

I don't know what type of law I want to practice. I don't want to be in government per se, but I could be interested in lobbying. Still undecided.

Keyword.

GULC, if you are really interested.

Dignan wrote:Holly,

Tough choice. There's no clear answer for you. Point by point:

"I want PI, and ideally international stuff."
Edge: Georgetown, mainly because of its DC location.

"Location after school is not super important, though I do want my degree to be portable."
Edge: Tie. Both degrees are similarly portable. Georgetown has a bigger alumni network, which might give you more options in a few more markets.

" I feel like NY and DC are the two main markets for what I want to do"
Edge: Georgetown, particularly for DC.

"Oh, and I wouldn't mind clerking if possible."
Edge: Northwestern. NU places a higher percentage of its class into federal clerkships, and a significantly higher percentage into COA clerkships.

This sounds like a cliche, but you should go to the school that you would be happiest at. Be sure to visit both schools and talk to as many current students as you can. Good luck.

Thanks for the input, those are basically my exact sentiments. I'm trying to do more comparisons before I make my final decision, but it keeps ending up in a tie! Not a bad decision to have to make, but a tough one nonetheless.

violinst wrote:

michaellikesit wrote:I can't decide. Suggestions and help appreciated.

I don't know what type of law I want to practice. I don't want to be in government per se, but I could be interested in lobbying. Still undecided.

Keyword.

GULC, if you are really interested.

Is lobbying something that people actually do straight out of law school?

night06 wrote:

violinst wrote:

michaellikesit wrote:I can't decide. Suggestions and help appreciated.

I don't know what type of law I want to practice. I don't want to be in government per se, but I could be interested in lobbying. Still undecided.

Keyword.

GULC, if you are really interested.

Is lobbying something that people actually do straight out of law school?

From what I heard, yes (and she also joked that one has to be good-looking. But basically you need to very good at communication.)

CanadianWolf wrote:Both have sophisticated locations, but the students & job opportunities are better at Northwestern. Sometimes I think of Georgetown's law school as a bit of a lawyer factory whereas Northwestern interviews every applicant. Northwestern graduates about 254 JDs a year compared to Georgetown's 676. Northwestern was number (1) one in the most recent National Law Journal's annual placement survey, while Georgetown was number (13) thirteen.
Among the Top 14 law schools many believe that Georgetown is the most overrated & that Northwestern deserves a higher ranking.

Count yours truly in that group. NU is as good as any other top-10 outside of HYS CC.

wackadoodle wrote:I would look into the repayment program at NU- the Georgetown one is fantastic if you're positive you want PI- I don't know anything about NU though I would imagine they have a solid LRAP.

GULC's is better, but NU's is good.

PDaddy wrote:

CanadianWolf wrote:Both have sophisticated locations, but the students & job opportunities are better at Northwestern. Sometimes I think of Georgetown's law school as a bit of a lawyer factory whereas Northwestern interviews every applicant. Northwestern graduates about 254 JDs a year compared to Georgetown's 676. Northwestern was number (1) one in the most recent National Law Journal's annual placement survey, while Georgetown was number (13) thirteen.
Among the Top 14 law schools many believe that Georgetown is the most overrated & that Northwestern deserves a higher ranking.

Count yours truly in that group. NU is as good as any other top-10 outside of HYS CC.

NU's reputation in academia/government may not be as good as GULC's (or Duke's).

I am actually pondering this same question. FWIW, I was really impressed at the NU ASW. I have an interest in PI too and NU's Bluhm Clinic seems like a fantastic place to get your PI feet wet.

I am as uniformed about employment opportunities as any 0L, but I suspect a solid student at either school will do just fine.

alabamabound wrote:I am actually pondering this same question. FWIW, I was really impressed at the NU ASW. I have an interest in PI too and NU's Bluhm Clinic seems like a fantastic place to get your PI feet wet.

I am as uniformed about employment opportunities as any 0L, but I suspect a solid student at either school will do just fine.

Neither is a bad choice.

Money?

violinst wrote:

alabamabound wrote:I am actually pondering this same question. FWIW, I was really impressed at the NU ASW. I have an interest in PI too and NU's Bluhm Clinic seems like a fantastic place to get your PI feet wet.

I am as uniformed about employment opportunities as any 0L, but I suspect a solid student at either school will do just fine.

Neither is a bad choice.

Money?

Nothing from Gtown. Still waiting to hear from NU officially but looking unlikely. I also have friends/family in Chicago which will probably give it the edge.