Top Law Schools

First and foremost, I understand and acknowledge (as most everyone else on TLS) that the T14 is the ultimate goal for potential law students, and Tier 3 schools are tier 3 because of their limited appeal. However, as I have been researching and reading other threads, I have become curious about just how limiting (or not) a middle of the road, nonT14's rank is on your future if you attend?

T25, T50, Tier 2... if one is flexible regarding geographic location and does well, will the name on your diploma really make or break your career?

Maybe this topic is too situation-specific to debate, but I feel there is a generalization to made.

There are only a few general rules;

1) Choose which school to attend based on where you wish to practice law

2) The more scholly money you can get the better

3) It can be rational to trade off job placement and prospects for more scholly money, meaning less debt and less risk with employment uncertainty.

Once you get past T14, its mostly all about going to the best school in the area you want to practice. For instance, say you want to work in Nashville. Going to UT-Knoxville is probably going to be a better choice than say BU, even though BU is ranked nearly forty spots above Tennessee. And while Ole Miss is a TTT, it is still a decent choice if you want to stay in Mississippi because it is the best school in the state.


Disclaimer: This is not a recommendation of going to a T2 or TTT. I strongly believe that even if a school is its strongest in a certain region or state, it is not smart to go there unless you get substantial scholarship money. You're job prospects are going to be tough.

jwaters wrote:Once you get past T14, its mostly all about going to the best school in the area you want to practice. For instance, say you want to work in Nashville. Going to UT-Knoxville is probably going to be a better choice than say BU, even though BU is ranked nearly forty spots above Tennessee. And while Ole Miss is a TTT, it is still a decent choice if you want to stay in Mississippi because it is the best school in the state.


Disclaimer: This is not a recommendation of going to a T2 or TTT. I strongly believe that even if a school is its strongest in a certain region or state, it is not smart to go there unless you get substantial scholarship money. You're job prospects are going to be tough.

This is kind of true, but not entirely. If you grew up in Nashville and have strong ties there, going to BU might be a better choice because you can independently apply to firms and they will give you more grade leeway from the higher-ranked school. If you don't have any ties to the area where you want to work, then yeah, you'll need to go to school there.

IamAskier wrote:First and foremost, I understand and acknowledge (as most everyone else on TLS) that the T14 is the ultimate goal for potential law students, and Tier 3 schools are tier 3 because of their limited appeal. However, as I have been researching and reading other threads, I have become curious about just how limiting (or not) a middle of the road, nonT14's rank is on your future if you attend?

T25, T50, Tier 2... if one is flexible regarding geographic location and does well, will the name on your diploma really make or break your career?

Maybe this topic is too situation-specific to debate, but I feel there is a generalization to made.

After the 14 all schools are regional. Some regional schools are better than others. I'd be careful of a non-T14 school without significant money and ties and a realistic view on the legal market. Also, I'd be really weary of the lower T100 without a full ride and stay very far away from anything lower.

James Bond wrote:

IamAskier wrote:First and foremost, I understand and acknowledge (as most everyone else on TLS) that the T14 is the ultimate goal for potential law students, and Tier 3 schools are tier 3 because of their limited appeal. However, as I have been researching and reading other threads, I have become curious about just how limiting (or not) a middle of the road, nonT14's rank is on your future if you attend?

T25, T50, Tier 2... if one is flexible regarding geographic location and does well, will the name on your diploma really make or break your career?

Maybe this topic is too situation-specific to debate, but I feel there is a generalization to made.

After the 14 all schools are regional. Some regional schools are better than others. I'd be careful of a non-T14 school without significant money and ties and a realistic view on the legal market. Also, I'd be really weary of the lower T100 without a full ride and stay very far away from anything lower.

Even the T14 are regional. Though they have somewhat better brand recognition.

rad law wrote:

James Bond wrote:

IamAskier wrote:First and foremost, I understand and acknowledge (as most everyone else on TLS) that the T14 is the ultimate goal for potential law students, and Tier 3 schools are tier 3 because of their limited appeal. However, as I have been researching and reading other threads, I have become curious about just how limiting (or not) a middle of the road, nonT14's rank is on your future if you attend?

T25, T50, Tier 2... if one is flexible regarding geographic location and does well, will the name on your diploma really make or break your career?

Maybe this topic is too situation-specific to debate, but I feel there is a generalization to made.

After the 14 all schools are regional. Some regional schools are better than others. I'd be careful of a non-T14 school without significant money and ties and a realistic view on the legal market. Also, I'd be really weary of the lower T100 without a full ride and stay very far away from anything lower.

Even the T14 are regional. Though they have somewhat better brand recognition.

Hah, just larger regions I guess. Fair enough.

James Bond wrote:

rad law wrote:

James Bond wrote:

IamAskier wrote:First and foremost, I understand and acknowledge (as most everyone else on TLS) that the T14 is the ultimate goal for potential law students, and Tier 3 schools are tier 3 because of their limited appeal. However, as I have been researching and reading other threads, I have become curious about just how limiting (or not) a middle of the road, nonT14's rank is on your future if you attend?

T25, T50, Tier 2... if one is flexible regarding geographic location and does well, will the name on your diploma really make or break your career?

Maybe this topic is too situation-specific to debate, but I feel there is a generalization to made.

After the 14 all schools are regional. Some regional schools are better than others. I'd be careful of a non-T14 school without significant money and ties and a realistic view on the legal market. Also, I'd be really weary of the lower T100 without a full ride and stay very far away from anything lower.

Even the T14 are regional. Though they have somewhat better brand recognition.

Hah, just larger regions I guess. Fair enough.

Where do you go to law school at?

Spinozist21 wrote:Where do you go to law school at?

I am not in law school at

James Bond wrote:

Spinozist21 wrote:Where do you go to law school at?

I am not in law school at

What law school do you attend?

I bet you're badass enough not to have to "attend" either.

Alhthough I do generally agree that if you can't get into a top 15 or so school, you should go to the best school in the area that you want to practice in. However, a lot depends on your goals. Many people surprisingly don't go to law school in order to practice law! This statement probably will surprise a lot of folks on this forum.

Folks choose law school for many reasons besides practicing law. They might want it as part of a financial planning background. They might want to work with a large accounting firm's tax department, who normally wants legally trained folks. They might want to work for the parent's company and want the legal training for some related reason.

Bottom line: There are many reasons to go to law school besides wanting to practice law. However, if practicing law is your sole goal and you have no connections then what you said about attending the best school in the state has merit.