Law School Ranking vs. Class Ranking, Los Angeles Forum

[spicymeatball111]

I am having difficulty choosing between law schools, options:
Loyola LA: COA 35,000/yr (top 1/3 stip on 87,000 scholly)
Pepperdine: COA 37,000/yr (top 1/3 stip on 87,000 scholly)
Hastings: COA 47,000/yr
Davis: COA 58,000/yr
Notre Dame: COA 57,000/yr

I am looking to practice in Los Angeles. My question is whether or not I should go to a lower ranked school, where I will be towards the top of the applicant pool (in terms of potential) or if I should go to a higher ranked school, and most likely be median/below median.
I am fortunate enough to have a guaranteed position waiting for me after passing the bar, and I am not concerned about paying off loans. I guess my question basically boils down to whether or not it is inherently better for a lawyer to carry a degree from a higher ranked school. Does your law school's reputation give you benefits in the courtroom? Do lawyers look down on those who went to lower ranked schools? Thanks for your help

[aliarrow]

I am having difficulty choosing between law schools, options:
Loyola LA: COA 35,000/yr
Pepperdine: COA 37,000/yr
Hastings: COA 47,000/yr
Davis: COA 58,000/yr
Notre Dame: COA 57,000/yr

I am looking to practice in Los Angeles. My question is whether or not I should go to a lower ranked school, where I will be towards the top of the applicant pool (in terms of potential) or if I should go to a higher ranked school, and most likely be median/below median.
I am fortunate enough to have a guaranteed position waiting for me after passing the bar, and I am not concerned about paying off loans. I guess my question basically boils down to whether or not it is inherently better for a lawyer to carry a degree from a higher ranked school. Does your law school's reputation give you benefits in the courtroom? Do lawyers look down on those who went to lower ranked schools? Thanks for your help

1) Faulty Assumption

2) Go where it's cheapest then (with reasonable rank stipulations on any scholarships)

3) Why not? Are you rich? If so, then just go to the highest ranked school or whichever is the best 'fit'.

4) Any benefits/Costs of going to a higher ranked school are marginal after you actually obtain a legal job

[Aberzombie1892]

If
1. You have a guaranteed job,
2. You somehow aren't worried about debt independent of (1), and
3. You want to work in LA,

I would probably still go to a school in LA, as things may not work out. However, I think of Notre Dame as being novel and unique. Given your needs (barring not worrying about debt), Notre Dame should not be in the picture.

[CanadianWolf]

Loyola-Marymount seems to meet your needs at the lowest COA.

[JOThompson]

Go to the best school possible. It's very dangerous to assume that you'll outperform students at a lower ranked school simply because your stats are above median there. There's just not much correlation between LSAT and actual law school performance. For instance, my LSAT is abysmally low for my school but I'm ranked around 15% this year. Conversely, I'm sure there are a few kids who entered with above median LSATs who are below middle of the pack.

[spicymeatball111]

thanks for the replies. yes the loyola and pepperdine COA is reduced by scholarships contingent on staying in the top 1/3 of the class, i edited my post above to reflect this. can any recent graduates speak to the importance of going to law school in your future region of practice? Do you make connections in law school that you will later use in practice, or is it really just mitigated by what you for your first job? Is there anything to be said for going to a higher school because you might be getting a better education/will become a better lawyer?

[Law Sauce]

sorry, misunderstood poll and voted ND, but i really think that one of the UCs would be great. great rep, plus with job lined up you can pay off the debt eventually anyway

[JOThompson]

thanks for the replies. yes the loyola and pepperdine COA is reduced by scholarships contingent on staying in the top 1/3 of the class, i edited my post above to reflect this. can any recent graduates speak to the importance of going to law school in your future region of practice? Do you make connections in law school that you will later use in practice, or is it really just mitigated by what you for your first job? Is there anything to be said for going to a higher school because you might be getting a better education/will become a better lawyer?

You should either go to a national school, or a strong regional one with a decent alum network. I made the mistake of matriculating to a good midwestern school and even with high grades, I wasn't able to find summer work in my homestate.

[spicymeatball111]

so is ND considered national enough?

[JOThompson]

so is ND considered national enough?

It's in that twilight zone between national and solid regional schools. You'll have more portability than graduates from schools like Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc., but you can't really bank on finding coastal work immediately. So you should be prepared to spend a couple years in the region, at which point youre degree will be more mobile. If you want to work immediately in California after graduation, I'd choose the safe route with Loyola Marymount. I know that Hastings is a different market, but I'd be tempted by that offer too. I might be wrong, but I get the impression that Hastings does better in NorCal than Loyola does in the LA area.

[danquayle]

Pepperdine, easy. You stay in your target market, get some scholarship money and go to a school that is beautiful with a reputation that exceeds its ranking. Hastings and Davis will help you get a better job out of law school, but that's the biggest extent of the difference. And it'll help you get a job, but not necessarily in your target market. If you've got a job lined up already, then just go to a school that you'll be most comfortable at.

Importance of prestige diminishes immensely after actually getting a job. In some cases, yeah prestige and alumni strength can continue yielding benefits your entire life. But we're not talking Harvard, and outside of the T-14 it's uneven... I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Pepperdine (and Loyola too) has an alum base as strong as Hastings or Davis. (Don't you want to say you're an alum of the same institute that produced such luminaries as Mike Leach?)

All five schools will give you the same education. I'd only consider Notre Dame if you simply want the biggest brand. It places to a degree in California, but it's not as sure a bet as even the lower ranked California schools you have as options.

[spicymeatball111]

a concern that my future employer has is that a degree from a lower ranked law school will look less impressive to clients and and may indicate that my lawyering skills are inferior. Thank you for your replies, it is just difficult for me to actually gauge the legal hierarchy, if there is such a thing.

[danquayle]

a concern that my future employer has is that a degree from a lower ranked law school will look less impressive to clients and and may indicate that my lawyering skills are inferior. Thank you for your replies, it is just difficult for me to actually gauge the legal hierarchy, if there is such a thing.

Then why don't you ask your future employer where he/she/it suggests you go? If you're going to bet on this employer upon graduation, you'd better try to keep them happy.

[bk1]

Go to Hastings or Loyola/Pepperdine

ND/Davis are too expensive compared to Hastings. Loyola/Pepperdine have shitty scholarship stipulations. So either pick the guaranteed scholly at Hastings or pick the risk of Loyola/Pepp.

[ndirish2010]

Notre Dame has a solid alumni presence in LA. I wouldn't discount it. We also have an OCI-like process in LA before OCI actually starts which takes place in LA and has LA firms that don't come to our regular OCI.

[bk1]

Notre Dame has a solid alumni presence in LA. I wouldn't discount it. We also have an OCI-like process in LA before OCI actually starts which takes place in LA and has LA firms that don't come to our regular OCI.

I would discount it considering OP already has a job lined up...

[spicymeatball111]

thanks for the help everyone! i guess my biggest concern is picking a lower ranked school like loyola and not ending up at the top of the class, it has me leaning towards hastings/davis/nd

[bk1]

thanks for the help everyone! i guess my biggest concern is picking a lower ranked school like loyola and not ending up at the top of the class, it has me leaning towards hastings/davis/nd

I assume you mean not ending up at the top due to the fact that would result in you losing your scholarship. If that's the case then yes I definitely think that is a very valid concern and why I would advocate Hastings.