Top Law Schools

I'll keep this brief.
I want to go to International Human Rights law, and have a pretty strong background in this field (both in education and work experience). I was admitted to NYU, which is the #1 program in Human Rights and have been pretty set on going there until I received a call from Stanford admitting me into their program. My wife and I are both California natives and would love to go back to the west coast at some point to be close to family. Do I choose the #1 program in International Law (NYU) or do I go with a #3 ranked school (SLS)? Help!!

skeetles wrote:I'll keep this brief.
I want to go to International Human Rights law, and have a pretty strong background in this field (both in education and work experience). I was admitted to NYU, which is the #1 program in Human Rights and have been pretty set on going there until I received a call from Stanford admitting me into their program. My wife and I are both California natives and would love to go back to the west coast at some point to be close to family. Do I choose the #1 program in International Law (NYU) or do I go with a #3 ranked school (SLS)? Help!!

If you are hell bent on taking on that kind of debt, Stanford is the appropriate choice.

Unless NYU is offering money (and you should mention this Stanford acceptance to see if they will). There is no question that you should pick Stanford. First of all no school is really going to help you practice International Human Rights Law (those jobs are like unicorns). Second, those specialty rankings are BS, the only rankings that matter are the main ones. Finally, the family thing is kind of the icing on the cake.

Stanford.

1. Specialty rankings matter far less than general rankings.
2. As it so happens, SLS has an excellent international law program (and an unparalleled international law clinic). So even if you were going by specialty rankings, there is little difference.
3. If your goal is to work in international law, SLS>NYU easily. Prestige matters a TON for those jobs.
4. How you do in law school will affect your future job prospects far more than anything else (top 10% at NYU > median at SLS), and you're likely to do better where you're happier. It sounds like you'll be happy at SLS.

International Human Rights Law?

When you visit SLS's ASW talk with Jenny Martinez -- she is a leading scholar in international human rights law. She argued Rumsfeld v. Padilla in front of SCOTUS a few years ago. She's definitely one of the best professors i've ever had and I think you can learn a lot from talking with her, regardless of what school you end up attending.

legends159 wrote:When you visit SLS's ASW talk with Jenny Martinez -- she is a leading scholar in international human rights law. She argued Rumsfeld v. Padilla in front of SCOTUS a few years ago. She's definitely one of the best professors i've ever had and I think you can learn a lot from talking with her, regardless of what school you end up attending.

This thread is relevant to my interests as well and I will definitely try to find Jenny Martinez at the ASW. OP, are you going to the NYU admitted student days this week?