Best Law School(s) for gov't work Forum

[whereskyle]

State Department
Department of Justice
National Security
Politics
Public Policy
Regulation

Do any schools besides H control a noticeable share of the market?

[guano]

Yale, followed by Harvard and Stanford

[Dr. Dre]

Yale, followed by Harvard and Stanford

[Blumpbeef]

There ya go

[LaurenAyn]

What about GW or Gtown? Both in DC and very involved in gov't/public policy.

[Gunnar Stahl]

Yale, followed by Harvard and Stanford

[smaug_]

What about GW or Gtown? Both in DC and very involved in gov't/public policy.
Too many people on here push unrealistically hard/expensive schools like Yale and Harvard. I like to be more realistic

"Expensive" seems like an odd label to apply. More importantly, it would be very unrealistic to expect government work from GW or GT.

[guano]

What about GW or Gtown? Both in DC and very involved in gov't/public policy.
Too many people on here push unrealistically hard/expensive schools like Yale and Harvard. I like to be more realistic

saying that Yale, followed by Harvard and Stanford are best for govt work is being realistic.
Honest answer for an honest question. If the question was "which schools place predominantly into DC", GW and GT would win.

[letsjustsee]

.

[Ti Malice]

Yale, followed by Harvard and Stanford

[Homelandsagreatshow]

Yale, followed by Harvard and Stanford

[whereskyle]

Here's a good way to check employment by type:

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school= ... =employers

I start at UVA because about 14% (a rather high percentage compared to their peers) of their 2011 class placed in full-time, long-term government jobs. You can switch between law schools using the drop down at the top of the page.

However, these numbers only scratch the surface. They do not demonstrate how good the government job is, and are only based within nine months of graduation. For example, nine months from graduation, Yale places about 5.5% in government work, compared to George Washington's 16.8%. But only 4.6% of GW grads get prestigious federal clerkships, when Yale sends 33% of their grads to federal clerkships. We should not be fooled by a law school's initial government placement, because the federal clerkships that HYS graduates enjoy are going to make them much more competitive for the best government jobs. If HYS is not going to be an option (as it is not for most law school applicants) then a person cannot be completely faulted for considering a law school's initial government placement, but we need to consider that these are likely to be the lowest level of government legal jobs.

Furthermore, although government legal work is a noble, fulfilling goal, it should not be what one bases their law school decision on. Personally, government legal work would be one of my goals, but I understand that they are some of the rarest, most competitive legal positions available. And with numerous hiring freezes, are likely to remain just as rare -- if not become even rarer. In short, although government legal work might be one of my top goals, I'm still going to base my law school choice on a combination of scholarship offers and private practice placement. Realistically, these are the two considerations that are going to have the greatest impact on my life and career after getting my JD.

You planning to attend uva, letsjustsee? I do like the program descriptions for public policy/regulation and international/national security law in my admit packet.

[dood]

Here's a good way to check employment by type:

http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school= ... =employers

I start at UVA because about 14% (a rather high percentage compared to their peers) of their 2011 class placed in full-time, long-term government jobs. You can switch between law schools using the drop down at the top of the page.

However, these numbers only scratch the surface. They do not demonstrate how good the government job is, and are only based within nine months of graduation. For example, nine months from graduation, Yale places about 5.5% in government work, compared to George Washington's 16.8%. But only 4.6% of GW grads get prestigious federal clerkships, when Yale sends 33% of their grads to federal clerkships. We should not be fooled by a law school's initial government placement, because the federal clerkships that HYS graduates enjoy are going to make them much more competitive for the best government jobs. If HYS is not going to be an option (as it is not for most law school applicants) then a person cannot be completely faulted for considering a law school's initial government placement, but we need to consider that these are likely to be the lowest level of government legal jobs.

Furthermore, although government legal work is a noble, fulfilling goal, it should not be what one bases their law school decision on. Personally, government legal work would be one of my goals, but I understand that they are some of the rarest, most competitive legal positions available. And with numerous hiring freezes, are likely to remain just as rare -- if not become even rarer. In short, although government legal work might be one of my top goals, I'm still going to base my law school choice on a combination of scholarship offers and private practice placement. Realistically, these are the two considerations that are going to have the greatest impact on my life and career after getting my JD.

wat a long convoluted and ridiculous answer to a simple question. someday you'll write terrible briefs.

depends on what type of gov work. gtown and gw place a lot bc in DC there are a lot of lawyers who graduated from gtown and gw. the same lawyers that interview u. but more "prestigious" shit like DOJ honors, same pecking order as DC big law (HYS, followed by T14, GW, etc.)

[letsjustsee]

.

[dood]

To whereskyle: I have not narrowed my list down enough, but UVA is definitely one of the law schools I’m still considering.

To dood: I was responding to someone’s post on a forum, and not writing a brief. By your own line of reasoning, the writing in your post is not suited for any form of professional writing, let alone legal writing.

sorry.