Best Schools for Government Work Forum

[dgk5008]

Hey guys, I've used this board quite a bit over the past few months, and there seems to be a lot of knowledge here, so I thought I'd come to you with a question of my own.

I have a 3.4/163 and am looking moreso to get into governmental work (DOJ, etc) after school. I've done some research on my own for it, and have an okay list of schools, but what schools would you suggest, both within my range of my GPA/scores, and those that would be considered a reach (I might retake, because I'm pretty sure I can do much better)? Thanks!

[D-ROCCA]

just go to the best school you can get into.

[MC Southstar]

Yale.

[msuz]

For local govt. work go to the best local school you can get into, preferably one with a strong alumni base in the state/city and with scholly $. For Big govt like DOJ, probably retake the LSAT or go to best school you can.

[Grizz]

Yale.

Followed closely by Harvard and Stanford.

[JamMasterJ]

Yale.

Followed closely by Harvard and Stanford.

followed by...

[patrickd139]

What type of government job are you interested in?

Best schools for government work are going to be the best schools for everything else. As a general rule, available government jobs are similarly competitive to their private sector counterparts. In many cases, however, they are MORE competitive because there are fewer spots. Example: DOJ honors program and US-A are at least as hard to land as biglaw. Clerking is ridiculously competitive. DA's offices in places like NYC are flooded with top tier, highly qualified individuals.

On the other hand, if what you're looking for is access to your local DA office in the midwest, then go to the closest school, intern there at every chance you get (summer, semester, etc.), keep your grades high and keep debt to a minimum.

[Grizz]

Yale.

Followed closely by Harvard and Stanford.

followed by...

CCN

then

BMVPDNCG

[Nicholasnickynic]

What type of government job are you interested in?

Best schools for government work are going to be the best schools for everything else. As a general rule, available government jobs are similarly competitive to their private sector counterparts. In many cases, however, they are MORE competitive because there are fewer spots. Example: DOJ honors program and US-A are at least as hard to land as biglaw. Clerking is ridiculously competitive. DA's offices in places like NYC are flooded with top tier, highly qualified individuals.

On the other hand, if what you're looking for is access to your local DA office in the midwest, then go to the closest school, intern there at every chance you get (summer, semester, etc.), keep your grades high and keep debt to a minimum.

Fixed that for you. Smaller DA's offices do not give a shit about grades.
And this is coming from DAs I've talked to in: Ohio, NC, SC, Va, and Florida.

As long as you are not going for nyc/boston/la grades do not really matter.

This is assuming we are talking about DA's offices though. State DoJ or any type of fed= grades really matter.

Otherwise credited--> its all about interest/experience

[mi-chan17]

I echo the fact that this advice really depends on what kind of gig you're looking for. As someone whose experience is wholly Fed, and not local government*, I'll try and keep my advice to that:

All other things being equal, the candidate from the better school (or with the better grades from peer schools) will win out. Like others have said, "BigGov" jobs are extremely competitive; and as the economy gets worse and the government faces hiring freezes that competition will just get more and more fierce. So don't head off to TTT in the middle of nowhere expecting to land a USAO job. (Actually...don't head off to anywhere expecting that, really.) School and grades matter.

That said, the key phrase above was "all things being equal". Government employers really appreciate someone who knows what the hell they're doing, so having experience in government can be a big deal. There are certain laws, or sets of laws, that apply to the federal government as a whole and being conversant (not an expert or anything, but at least capable of using the right acronyms) in them can be a huge plus in an applicant. The government doesn't have the money to waste spoon-feeding you how to do law. So internships, if you don't have any other relevant experience, can be the deal-breaker. Why do I bring this up? Schools in areas that have a significant number of Fed offices (HQ, Field Office, whatever) will set you up better to do these internships during the year when they will be less competitive; that experience can be huge.

Finally, some schools specialize in certain types of government-heavy law. Specialties alone should not decide things for you, ever. But, again, this may be something to consider if it's between peer schools. Taking relevant classes is, generally, a good thing.

TL;DR (for Fed):
1) If you're choosing between Yale and Georgetown, go to Yale.
2) If you're choosing between GW and Notre Dame, go to GW.
3) Get bad-ass grades.
4) Make journal/moot court.
5) Cast a wide net and pray.
6) Profit?

*This advice is taken from personal experience and from asking various folks who do intern recruitment for DOJ, DHS, and DOD.

[Blindmelon]

TL;DR (for Fed):
1) If you're choosing between Yale and Georgetown, go to Yale.
2) If you're choosing between GW and Notre Dame, go to GW. Unless its under a Republican administration, then go to Liberty/Regent or any other barely accredited Christian Law School
3) Get bad-ass grades. Unless under a Republican administration, then do whatever you can to show that you believe Bible is the supreme law, not the Constitution
4) Make journal/moot court/Christian Faith socieyty.
5) Cast a wide net andpray.
6) Profit?

*This advice is taken from personal experience and from asking various folks who do intern recruitment for DOJ, DHS, and DOD.

FTFY

[tennisking88]

TL;DR (for Fed):
1) If you're choosing between Yale and Georgetown, go to Yale.
2) If you're choosing between GW and Notre Dame, go to GW. Unless its under a Republican administration, then go to Liberty/Regent or any other barely accredited Christian Law School
3) Get bad-ass grades. Unless under a Republican administration, then do whatever you can to show that you believe Bible is the supreme law, not the Constitution
4) Make journal/moot court/Christian Faith socieyty.
5) Cast a wide net andpray.
6) Profit?

*This advice is taken from personal experience and from asking various folks who do intern recruitment for DOJ, DHS, and DOD.

FTFY

Excellent

[dgk5008]

Thanks for the advice and help guy, I appreciate it. I'll keep all that in mind.

[NewYorker86]

No question that the basic rule is the better the law school, the better your shot of getting certain government jobs. One thing I'll throw in the mix is that you might want to consider the RTK Scholarship program at NYU. It's a full-tuition scholarship for people committed to public interest law, which certainly includes government work. The alumni network is very tight and there are lots of people doing big things throughout the government. I'm actually doing the program at the moment and may go out for government work myself, so I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have.

[dgk5008]

Thanks man, much appreciated. I'll definitely keep that in mind.

[JamMasterJ]

Yale.

Followed closely by Harvard and Stanford.

followed by...

CCN

then

BMVPDNCG

then, lemme guess.
T, V, G

[SchopenhauerFTW]

What are the best schools for ________?

YHS

[JamMasterJ]

What are the best schools for ________?

YHS

blatant anti-Chicago academia trolling

[patrickd139]

What are the best schools for ________?

YHS

blatant anti-Chicago academia trolling

Indeed. And don't even get me started on your anti-Cooley library square footage trolling.

[SchopenhauerFTW]

What are the best schools for ________?

YHS

blatant anti-Chicago academia trolling

Chicago is good for the Committee on Social Thought, but without Strauss... not so sure...