Top Law Schools

Overall, which is the better one to attend if one wants to go into private practice? The employment stats seem pretty similar between them, though there are fluctuations from year to year.

Can anyone weigh in on the pros an cons of each school? Is there anyone attending either school who can chime in?

Where do you want to work? COA at each?


If the South, then Duke. If NYC, then Cornell.

Duke. It provides more opportunities outside of NYC and has better weather. It's also a more respected school within the legal world.

The differences aren't huge though, so if you have any scholarship differences they probably outweigh the relatively minor considerations of prestige.

wot1990 wrote:Overall, which is the better one to attend if one wants to go into private practice? The employment stats seem pretty similar between them, though there are fluctuations from year to year.

Can anyone weigh in on the pros an cons of each school? Is there anyone attending either school who can chime in?

Depends on where you are from and want to work in the future.

bdubs wrote:Duke. It provides more opportunities outside of NYC and has better weather. It's also a more respected school within the legal world.

The differences aren't huge though, so if you have any scholarship differences they probably outweigh the relatively minor considerations of prestige.

lolok

bdubs wrote:Duke. It provides more opportunities outside of NYC and has better weather. It's also a more respected school within the legal world.

thats definitely debatable. no one really hates cornell that much. yeah there is that dude from the office but seriously some people really hate duke, like a lot. One of the attorneys I talked to when I was looking at schools told me that he just wouldn't hire anyone from there, straight up. I'm sure this bias isn't a huge deal but you should try to get a feel for the market you want and how they feel about the two schools.

It doesn't matter based on your disclosed goals.

It has not been my experience that Duke is more respected in the legal world. Go where you want to go. I liked Duke better (weather, architecture), but decided to go to Cornell because of $. I have been happy here. Maybe an edge to Cornell if you want Northeast, Duke if you want DC or anywhere South. Not really sure though.

Duke offers great placement in New York and the rest of the country. You won't be competing against a majority of the class gunning for one market. Columbia, NYU, and Penn overcome this weakness with their proximity to the city. Cornell is 4 hours away and there's no convenient way to shorten the trip. Also Ithaca is in the middle of nowhere. It's at least an hour's drive to anything. Durham is in the center of several cities with a total population approaching 3 million. Plus the weather in Ithaca has to be seen to be believed. It's 52 right now in Durham. It's 26 in Ithaca with snow tomorrow. The average low doesn't get out of the 30s until May. They get almost 6 feet of snow a year, we rarely get more than 7 or 8 inches.

quakeroats wrote:Duke offers great placement in New York and the rest of the country. You won't be competing against a majority of the class gunning for one market. Columbia, NYU, and Penn overcome this weakness with their proximity to the city. Cornell is 4 hours away and there's no convenient way to shorten the trip.

Why would this have any impact on their placement?!

bdubs wrote:Duke. It provides more opportunities outside of NYC and has better weather. It's also a more respected school within the legal world.

The differences aren't huge though, so if you have any scholarship differences they probably outweigh the relatively minor considerations of prestige.

Is there any data out there that would suggest this? I understand that Cornell places a lot in NYC, but this does not necessarily mean that a Cornell grad will fair worse than a corresponding Duke grad in markets outside of NYC.

wot1990 wrote:

bdubs wrote:Duke. It provides more opportunities outside of NYC and has better weather. It's also a more respected school within the legal world.

The differences aren't huge though, so if you have any scholarship differences they probably outweigh the relatively minor considerations of prestige.

Is there any data out there that would suggest this? I understand that Cornell places a lot in NYC, but this does not necessarily mean that a Cornell grad will fair worse than a corresponding Duke grad in markets outside of NYC.

No, there's no reason to believe or disbelieve it since no data controls for self-selection.

I chose Duke, but Cornell was a school I seriously considered. The decision came down to a) slightly more money from Duke/I think COA is slightly cheaper here, b) not aiming to work in NY after, c) location: Durham is easier to get to, closer to DC where my SO lives. (The weather of Ithaca didn't really scare me away since I grew up in a cold place. However, I have to admit the winters here in NC are kind of awesome, so that might be a factor for you) d) overall "fit"- I liked Duke after I went to ASW.
I'd say wait for money decisions if they haven't happened yet and visit both if you haven't already. Feel free to PM if you have any Duke questions.

This decision should be made exclusively upon relative cost and personal fit. Either school will get you to NYC; neither school will get you to a region in which you don't have ties. Visit both and decide from there; in terms of general placement power, you're pretty much looking at the same school.

quakeroats wrote: Durham is in the center of several cities with a total population approaching 3 million.

Just because there are a lot of people doesn't mean its better. Ithaca has its own currency and holds the record for the worlds largest human peace sign! I think stewie has it right, you should definitely wait until money comes out and visit each. BUT if you're into hippie shit, Ithaca has few rivals.

FlanAl wrote:

bdubs wrote:Duke. It provides more opportunities outside of NYC and has better weather. It's also a more respected school within the legal world.

thats definitely debatable. no one really hates cornell that much. yeah there is that dude from the office but seriously some people really hate duke, like a lot. One of the attorneys I talked to when I was looking at schools told me that he just wouldn't hire anyone from there, straight up. I'm sure this bias isn't a huge deal but you should try to get a feel for the market you want and how they feel about the two schools.

I'm not saying that USNews reputation scores and rankings are the be all, end all, but they support the contention that Duke has a slight edge over Cornell.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2&t=150457

Also, Duke placed 2x more students in Art. III clerkships last year than Cornell did.

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandr ... s-rankings

I would go with Duke. It wins on quality of life as well as on academic reputation. Plus, let's face it: you don't want to live in Ithica.

I'm actually in a similar situation here, except for the fact that I prefer a job in public interest. So I'm basically going to whichever that gives me more money. my 2 cents.

econenthusiast09 wrote:I would go with Duke. It wins on quality of life as well as on academic reputation. Plus, let's face it: you don't want to live in Ithica.

personal preference but i'd take ithaca any day. i spent about a month at duke. durham's cool but Ithaca is more liberal, has better restaurants AND is walkable.

Guillaume9 wrote:I'm actually in a similar situation here, except for the fact that I prefer a job in public interest. So I'm basically going to whichever that gives me more money. my 2 cents.

I think the LRAP plans are far more important than "more money," which should actually be OP's focus.

FlanAl wrote:

econenthusiast09 wrote:I would go with Duke. It wins on quality of life as well as on academic reputation. Plus, let's face it: you don't want to live in Ithica.

personal preference but i'd take ithaca any day. i spent about a month at duke. durham's cool but Ithaca is more liberal, has better restaurants AND is walkable.

In fairness, it also has soul-crushing weather.

Not this winter.

KMaine wrote:Not this winter.

Sure, this winter's been pretty mild everywhere. But in general, Ithaca ain't exactly Key West.

.

beachbum wrote:

KMaine wrote:Not this winter.

Sure, this winter's been pretty mild everywhere. But in general, Ithaca ain't exactly Key West.

No, it isn't. Honestly, weather was one of the reasons that I considered choosing Duke over Cornell. In the end, it was a minor consideration. The neighborhood I live in here in Ithaca is pretty nice, and the weather is not a big deal.