Top Law Schools

Hello everyone, new here. I didn't really know about this website or most other LSAT prep stuff until after I had taken the LSAT (first timer on June 2010).

Long story short, I fell into Law while discussing my econ thesis proposal with a law professor. My thesis dealt with quantifying the strength of de facto patent law enforcement on industrial growth in select industries with high patent propensity in China. As a result, I came to the conclusion that even if it got published in QJE, AER or Econometrica, I would simply spend the rest of my career arguing with other academics over statistical methodology, looking for better data, and hoping someone read and cited my work.
While researching the legal side of the paper, it became obvious (cue Homer Simpson: D'oh!) that law was in fact the central variable, and changes in that variable made a key difference. Ergo, if I actually wanted to be able to make a difference without waiting 50 years to become a tenured professor, law was the way to go.

Thus, for one such as me with three central interests in law: international law (specifically Chinese legal studies), patent law, and public service/policy, which of the two would be a better fit? Having asked my professors and letter writers, the opinions broke down as follows:
Econ profs: "Don't go to law school, go for an Econ PhD"
Law profs: “Columbia, since NYU has stronger European law, and also a good focus on public service, but Columbia has both, and a stronger international/Asia-Pacific law focus".

Based on my own research, Columbia seems like a better choice for me, even if only for the Chinese legal studies vs European community law(my Chinese is far superior to my Spanish and German!). Plus, having been to both campuses, I love Columbia, and it seems like the people and environment are a great fit, basically my dream school, as it were. Nevertheless, enough people are screaming "NYU!!" at me that I thought I should get a second opinion (SO doesn't enter into it, as long as we're both in NY, we'll be fine ^^) What have you guys heard about both schools, especially as they relate to the above three topics?

I say yale.

babaghanouj wrote:I say yale.

To be honest, I'd probably take Columbia over Yale or Harvard. Then again, I'd probably need a 180 LSAT to get into either of those two, and I don't find out how I did until next week ><

I'd go to Columbia, brah. I'm just some TLS noob, but if you can specialize and have a real niche in international law, you have the potential to do well. I hear there just aren't a lot of those jobs. If you can speak mandarin, I hear that'll be a crucial factor.


Plus, just look at Columbia...

babaghanouj wrote:I say yale stanford.

Or Columbia. Good luck on your score, OP.

哥伦比亚

myq wrote:哥伦比亚

但愿能申到哥伦比亚。LSAT成绩还没出来呢。。。一考定终身。。。

总体来说，要和中国商人打交道的话，你的法学院的名声总比学上啥课程重要得多。 因此，如果有机会上哈佛或耶鲁，那建议你就去上把。 中国人醉心于威信。并且, 哥伦比亚没达到哈佛，耶鲁国际信誉水平，所以会对你在中国发展的前途有一定的影响。

solidsnake wrote:总体来说，要和中国商人打交道的话，你的法学院的名声总比学上啥课程重要得多。 因此，如果有机会上哈佛或耶鲁，那建议你就去上把。 中国人醉心于威信。并且, 哥伦比亚没达到哈佛，耶鲁国际信誉水平，所以会对你在中国发展的前途有一定的影响。

嗯，这点我的朋友们给我强调过很多遍了：在大陆只要你的母校是哈佛之类的“国际名校”，他们就会很认可你，甚至迷信你，因为他们喜欢面子胜过实质内容，这样你工作起来会更顺利。不过，我想学的是国际法律，我的未来方向更侧重于利用国际法律来维护发展中国家国家的利益，加速他们的发展。如果只是想要去跨国公司工作的话，选择哥伦比亚可能不如选择哈佛，但是，我的情况可能哥伦比亚更好一些。然而，我还是希望能更多的了解一下情况。对了，请问，您是哪里的学生？是学商法还是国际法？

其实，刚读完第一年级了， 所以还没机会上多少选修课。 但是，我走到的方向应该算商法，娱乐法，与知识产权/媒体法的总结。

我考lsat的时候，只考到了１７１分，忙得再考，所以申请不到名牌法学院。不过，在我法学院班里，本人排到前百分之一，现在在申请转学了。概率该算挺好的呗呵呵~~

哥们儿，实话实说，你最好别管什么＂国际法＂了。 因为这就是外行爱讲的东西而已。看你lsat考多少分，就去排最前面的那所学校上学吧。 要记住你上面写得这句：＂面子胜过实质内容＂。 实际上，真的是这么简单的。

solidsnake wrote:其实，刚读完第一年级了， 所以还没机会上多少选修课。 但是，我走到的方向应该算商法，娱乐法，与知识产权/媒体法的总结。

我考lsat的时候，只考到了１７１分，忙得再考，所以申请不到名牌法学院。不过，在我法学院班里，本人排到前百分之一，现在在申请转学了。概率该算挺好的呗呵呵~~

哥们儿，实话实说，你最好别管什么＂国际法＂了。 因为这就是外行爱讲的东西而已。看你lsat考多少分，就去排最前面的那所学校上学吧。 要记住你上面写得这句：＂面子胜过实质内容＂。 实际上，真的是这么简单的。

感谢前辈指导。在中国发展确实如你所说，但是在国外发展的话也许大家对于各个法学院实质的内容有一定的了解吧。
那就先看申到哪所学校，好好学习天天向上，把中美法律都背一遍再看看怎么能实现我的梦想呗。

Also, folks, feel free to contribute to the topic in any language, not just Chinese =^_^= If anyone has any thoughts on Stanford or Berkeley it would be appreciated as well, though I mostly did my homework with regards to the programs at CLS/NYU, so expect stupid questions in response until I have time to do some research.