Top Law Schools

I've done a little bit of searching on this, but haven't drummed up satisfactory information. This is probably something I should have done prior to going through the application process, but better late than never I suppose.

Does anyone have information on schools in the T20 that excel at Alternative Dispute Resolution?

Thank you.

Boggs wrote:I've done a little bit of searching on this, but haven't drummed up satisfactory information. This is probably something I should have done prior to going through the application process, but better late than never I suppose.

Does anyone have information on schools in the T20 that excel at Alternative Dispute Resolution?

Thank you.

I assume you found the USNWR list, but just in case (FWIW):

4. Harvard
12. Northwestern
14. Columbia

Perish the thought.

You don't learn ADR in school. Nobody does that stuff right out of law school.

Preparing well for trial tends to lead to the best ADR.

Maybe I should rephrase the question.

If you were aiming for (eventually) doing ADR, where would you go out of the T20?

I don't find the USNWR list particularly compelling since it's not specifically talking about ADR, but rather the broader "dispute resolution."

Outside of the Top 20--which does not address your question--Pepperdine.

What do you mean by "doing ADR" ? Do you want to become a mediator ?

CanadianWolf wrote:Do you want to become a mediator ?

Among other things, yes.

CanadianWolf wrote:Outside of the Top 20--which does not address your question--Pepperdine.

Or Fordham - also with a Nationally-ranked ADR team.
But yes, OP - what are your plans?

nygrrrl wrote:But yes, OP - what are your plans?

Well, I was going to post in a few weeks when I have a better picture about my options, but essentially I'm interested in public policy and ADR. I'd like to go into mediation and eventually run for public office (probably in the Pacific Northwest). So name recognition comes into play as well as the connotation of that name as well as regional preferences.

go to the best law school you can - and consider the amount of debt you are willing to take on.

gwuorbust wrote:go to the best law school you can - and consider the amount of debt you are willing to take on.

Care to elaborate on why? Seems to me that if I'm interested in running for office in the PNW, University of Washington might be a good choice even though it's not the "best" school I could go to (depending on your definition of "best" I suppose).

Boggs wrote:

gwuorbust wrote:go to the best law school you can - and consider the amount of debt you are willing to take on.

Care to elaborate on why? Seems to me that if I'm interested in running for office in the PNW, University of Washington might be a good choice even though it's not the "best" school I could go to (depending on your definition of "best" I suppose).

I don't know that where you got your JD plays a huge part in political aspirations. Why don't you just check the bios of politicians in the sphere you are interested in and see what their education is? I'm from the East Coast, but here it seems politicians are a mix of local-school JDs, national-school JDs, and non-JDs (which are the majority.) It says in your profile you are accepted to Boalt. I have to think that among insiders, that carries more weight anywhere than UWash. And among outsiders, I don't know how many would care that much that you went to a local law school.

Boggs wrote:

gwuorbust wrote:go to the best law school you can - and consider the amount of debt you are willing to take on.

Care to elaborate on why? Seems to me that if I'm interested in running for office in the PNW, University of Washington might be a good choice even though it's not the "best" school I could go to (depending on your definition of "best" I suppose).

The best thing you can do to run for office, is make a name for your self locally where you want to run for office. So, if it's the a house rep position in Oregon, you need to become involved in that district in Oregon. This means, that it's likely, that going to the best state school in the state you want run in is your best option.

If I really want to do ADR, would it be worth it to go to Pepperdine over one of the T10s I've been accepted to (Berkeley, Michigan, UVA)?