Top Law Schools

I want to do IP law, mechanical engineering background.

My gut says Illinois is the best choice, but I'm afraid Illinois will just be another version of Midwest State where I did my undergrad and I will hate it. Plus I'm not a fan of small towns.

What I want to be true is that since the ranking between them aren't hugely different, and since I have a technical background, that picking between these won't really matter to my career, and I can just choose based on location and money.

You answered your own question, take school based on Money + where you want to practice, none of these schools are national.

However, if you dont care much, or dont care starting out somewhere else, Illinois has better big law placement than the others by A LOT.

I know IP people did very well here, going to boutiques (really hard to get) and big law at way higher rates than the rest of the class.

Illinois bro.

Thanks for the responses, Big Law is one of the reasons I thought Illinois would be best.

If you don't want to live in the mid-west why would you go to Illinois? Go to where you want to live. Illinois has better "big law" placement because is lots of NLJ firms are in Chicago... Chicago is in the mid-west...

Do you want to work in a firm in Chicago, Denver, or L.A.?

We're done here.

I too picked my school based on throwing darts at a map while blindfolded.

Lord Randolph McDuff wrote:If you don't want to live in the mid-west why would you go to Illinois? Go to where you want to live. Illinois has better "big law" placement because is lots of NLJ firms are in Chicago... Chicago is in the mid-west...

Because almost all the research I've done says "Go to the best ranked law school you can get into." That is why I'm seeking dissenting opinions from various sources, and what you say about NLJ firms being concentrated in Chicago makes sense, so thanks. It's not necessarily big law that I care about so much as quality of life, but if salary would be way higher by being in Chicago than that is important to me.

tfleming09 wrote:I too picked my school based on throwing darts at a map while blindfolded.

Well I am asking for advice on TLS so our strategies aren't much different.

My IP friends at Illinois (who were in the top 50%) all had multiple offers. Ranging from biglaw Chicago (like Kirkland) to IP shops in California (Like Knobbe) and everything in between. They certainly did well for themselves!

My IP friend at Seton Hall did really well. He was IP.

villainousv wrote:

Lord Randolph McDuff wrote:If you don't want to live in the mid-west why would you go to Illinois? Go to where you want to live. Illinois has better "big law" placement because is lots of NLJ firms are in Chicago... Chicago is in the mid-west...

Because almost all the research I've done says "Go to the best ranked law school you can get into." That is why I'm seeking dissenting opinions from various sources, and what you say about NLJ firms being concentrated in Chicago makes sense, so thanks. It's not necessarily big law that I care about so much as quality of life, but if salary would be way higher by being in Chicago than that is important to me.

tfleming09 wrote:I too picked my school based on throwing darts at a map while blindfolded.

Well I am asking for advice on TLS so our strategies aren't much different.

If your research has told you that, you have either looked at very old sources or your are misinterpreting the data. What that really means is "within the region, go to the best law school you can get into." This is still a popular theory. However, no one is rationally advocating that you should go to the best school you get into in accordance with the USNEWS magazine, unless that school is in the T14 and you have ambitions for biglaw. Read TLS more and you will see that theory thrown out the window with great force.

Go to the best school that you can get into in the region you want to work in so long as you don't go into soul crushing debt to do so, is a way more workable theory. Illinois isn't a better school than CU just because they are ten spots ahead of CU in the "rankings," Illinois is a decent school for that market. On the other hand, people like to go to schools like CU because it is not only a decent school, it is the best school in the region.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating CU over other schools to the extent that you should go to CU and not Illinois if you wanted to live in the state of Illinois. First figure out where you want to live, then think about schools.

As far as your salary concern, all of these schools are going to come out as a wash (or close enough to a wash to be statistically insignificant) because of differences in cost of living. Living in Colorado is going to be cheaper than LA or Chicago, but you are also going to be paid less accordingly. I wouldn't sweat it.

Finally, beware of polls on TLS. There are only a couple CU Law peps on TLS, and sadly this will effect your poll. People irrationally vote for their own school-- see Vandy/UT thread for employment in Texas.

Lord Randolph McDuff wrote:If you don't want to live in the mid-west why would you go to Illinois? Go to where you want to live. Illinois has better "big law" placement because is lots of NLJ firms are in Chicago... Chicago is in the mid-west...

Chicago is in the Midwest, certainly. But it doesn't have the same feel as the rest of the region, if that makes any sense.

OP, because of your IP background, I think UIUC is the best choice for you.

romothesavior wrote:

Lord Randolph McDuff wrote:If you don't want to live in the mid-west why would you go to Illinois? Go to where you want to live. Illinois has better "big law" placement because is lots of NLJ firms are in Chicago... Chicago is in the mid-west...

Chicago is in the Midwest, certainly. But it doesn't have the same feel as the rest of the region, if that makes any sense.

OP, because of your IP background, I think UIUC is the best choice for you.

This is true. How many UIUC grads get Chicago though? I really wanted to live in Nashville and considered a full at U of Tenn before I realized that only 25% of the class got Nashville.

As far as the IP background, I'll defer to you all because I don't know much about it. I had though that IP sort of made the school irrelevant, at least to some event. Funny I know a 1L here that went to Northwestern for engineering and now is at CU Law with IP hopes. Maybe that guy is a rube though. He seems to think he can go back to Chicago because he is IP.

I wish I was IP.

FWIW its worth I think Chi town is the prefect city minus the weather. Great culture.

Lord Randolph McDuff wrote:

romothesavior wrote:

Lord Randolph McDuff wrote:If you don't want to live in the mid-west why would you go to Illinois? Go to where you want to live. Illinois has better "big law" placement because is lots of NLJ firms are in Chicago... Chicago is in the mid-west...

Chicago is in the Midwest, certainly. But it doesn't have the same feel as the rest of the region, if that makes any sense.

OP, because of your IP background, I think UIUC is the best choice for you.

This is true. How many UIUC grads get Chicago though? I really wanted to live in Nashville and considered a full at U of Tenn before I realized that only 25% of the class got Nashville.

As far as the IP background, I'll defer to you all because I don't know much about it. I had though that IP sort of made the school irrelevant, at least to some event. Funny I know a 1L here that went to Northwestern for engineering and now is at CU Law with IP hopes. Maybe that guy is a rube though. He seems to think he can go back to Chicago because he is IP.

I wish I was IP.

FWIW its worth I think Chi town is the prefect city minus the weather. Great culture.

Depends on what you mean by "get chicago." Most people here will end up in the Chicago market, most by choice.

I think because you have ME, and not a bio or electrical/CS, IL might be best. It seems like the best chance of getting a job in IP with MechE is in the midwest because there are a lot of firms that still do a decent amount of Mech IP there. Not real sure about the mechanical IP world in Denver or LA, you would have to look into firms and see how big their mechanical depts are.