How important is your law school after your first job? Forum

[pcjudge]

I have asked questions on this forum previously that have touched on this. It's something I'd like to get a more direct answer on, however, and so I'm phrasing it more directly.

after law school I'll be entering the Army Judge Advocate General Corps for a minimum of eight years. It's not technically a guarantee, but it is extremely likely, given my profile.

The JAG Corps doesn't particularly care about school rankings. They also offer a substantial amount of debt repayment, $60k over three years.

This leads me to my question: How much is my law school going to matter? After almost a decade (minimum, might do 12-20 years but probably not) in military law, will where I went to school limit me?

I ask this because I've gotten into Washington and Lee and William and Mary with no merit aid, but Wake Forest gave me what is essentially a full ride. Money isn't a huge concern, given debt repayment, but the amount of money Wake Forest gave me is significant.

Problem is, I'm afraid that going to Wake Forest would limit me to North Carolina, which would suck, because I sort of live there now and do not want to live here in the future.

TL;DR: How much will my law school connections close/open doors for me after 8 years in Army JAG?h

[Elston Gunn]

The short answer is that very few people here have been lawyers long enough to answer this question.

That said, I think in this case, it probably won't matter. If it was Harvard vs. Wake Forest, then yeah it would probably matter, but I don't think the difference between WF and the other two is sufficiently big to matter 10 years down the line. Also, on the small chance you don't get the JAG, it'd be nice to not have sticker debt at a school that doesn't place all that well.

[Circlewave]

i'm not sure about the main thrust of your question, but W&L hasn't made anybody scholarship offers yet.

the first round is supposed to be tuesday, i heard.

[grassynome]

According to my family and numerous lawyers that I have talked to, it does not matter in many different situations. If a private firm hires predominantly only USC grads, good luck getting hired on as a graduate from duke or even better. Go to law school where you plan to practice (which is a problem I'm running into). The contacts you make and the alumni do matter, because lawyers like to hire other lawyers from schools they know (their own alma matre) because they know what they are getting.

[anattorney]

I think practicing lawyers are not particularly attuned to the rankings beyond a certain point, and the general criteria is 1) do they recognize the name of your school and 2) does it have a generally good reputation. As someone who knows nothing about the south and can't remember law school rankings anymore, I recognize Wake Forest as much as your other two schools which is probably all that matters in terms of someone glancing at your resume.

Alumni network is always relevant.

[NoJob]

I have asked questions on this forum previously that have touched on this. It's something I'd like to get a more direct answer on, however, and so I'm phrasing it more directly.

After law school I'll be entering the Army Judge Advocate General Corps for a minimum of eight years. It's not technically a guarantee, but it is extremely likely, given my profile.

The JAG Corps doesn't particularly care about school rankings. They also offer a substantial amount of debt repayment, $60k over three years.

This leads me to my question: How much is my law school going to matter? After almost a decade (minimum, might do 12-20 years but probably not) in military law, will where I went to school limit me?

I ask this because I've gotten into Washington and Lee and William and Mary with no merit aid, but Wake Forest gave me what is essentially a full ride. Money isn't a huge concern, given debt repayment, but the amount of money Wake Forest gave me is significant.

Problem is, I'm afraid that going to Wake Forest would limit me to North Carolina, which would suck, because I sort of live there now and do not want to live here in the future.

TL;DR: How much will my law school connections close/open doors for me after 8 years in Army JAG?h

JAG is really hard to get into. Like insanely hard.

[njhancock]

I have asked questions on this forum previously that have touched on this. It's something I'd like to get a more direct answer on, however, and so I'm phrasing it more directly.

After law school I'll be entering the Army Judge Advocate General Corps for a minimum of eight years. It's not technically a guarantee, but it is extremely likely, given my profile.

The JAG Corps doesn't particularly care about school rankings. They also offer a substantial amount of debt repayment, $60k over three years.

This leads me to my question: How much is my law school going to matter? After almost a decade (minimum, might do 12-20 years but probably not) in military law, will where I went to school limit me?

I ask this because I've gotten into Washington and Lee and William and Mary with no merit aid, but Wake Forest gave me what is essentially a full ride. Money isn't a huge concern, given debt repayment, but the amount of money Wake Forest gave me is significant.

Problem is, I'm afraid that going to Wake Forest would limit me to North Carolina, which would suck, because I sort of live there now and do not want to live here in the future.

TL;DR: How much will my law school connections close/open doors for me after 8 years in Army JAG?h

Given your profile?

JAG does care about how you do in law school. Even with an extensive military background, your chances are extremely low. If you do commission JAG (active duty), then the experience that you gain will overide any law school you attended, save the T-14 I suppose. Good luck!

[pcjudge]

I know JAG is competitive. I have an educational delay from ROTC (there are about 20 nationwide every year), and the odds of getting it from that is about 50%. I have great stats vs. other ed delay candidates. Basically, I'm not a civilian shooting for JAG.

Thanks for the advice!

[BeautifulSW]

In the small world of New Mexico state employment, I can tell you that in general the school rank matters much less than your class rank and that your class rank will follow you throughout your legal career. Take this for what it's worth of course. Your mileage, as they say, may vary. But strive to graduate in the top third.

[Lord Randolph McDuff]

I think practicing lawyers are not particularly attuned to the rankings beyond a certain point, and the general criteria is 1) do they recognize the name of your school and 2) does it have a generally good reputation. As someone who knows nothing about the south and can't remember law school rankings anymore, I recognize Wake Forest as much as your other two schools which is probably all that matters in terms of someone glancing at your resume.

Alumni network is always relevant.