top 14 law schools or field specialized law schools Forum

[asukajjang]

I'm interested in IP law and would like to go to any law schools that specialized in the field.

Then should I just go any specialized law schools in IP that are even in lower rank (ex: UNH) or apply for top 14 schools for good?

Let me know your comments

[Void]

I'm interested in IP law and would like to go to any law schools that specialized in the field.

Then should I just go any specialized law schools in IP that are even in lower rank (ex: UNH) or apply for top 14 schools for good?

Let me know your comments

Do you have a STEM background?

[delusional]

I'm interested in IP law and would like to go to any law schools that specialized in the field.

Then should I just go any specialized law schools in IP that are even in lower rank (ex: UNH) or apply for top 14 schools for good?

Let me know your comments

You should go to the highest ranked law school you can get into regardless of specialty. The only possible exception is if two schools in the T-14 are ranked very similarly, and the one several slots below has a distinct, identifiable advantage in a particular area, like a professor who is connected to your dream firm that specializes in X or Y. Even if there is a supposed advantage or specialty at the lower ranked school, if it is not concrete and readily identifiable you should go to the higher ranked school.

[Nova]

Ignore specialty rankings

[timbs4339]

1) Specialty rankings are bullshit.

2) If you have no STEM background, going to law school for IP law isn't going to help you. You'll have the same shot at a job as everybody else, so if you want to represent Facebook or Apple you need to go to a T14 because you sure as hell aren't doing it from any of the "top ranked IP schools."

[blsingindisguise]

Ignore specialty rankings

[hephaestus]

Ignore specialty rankings

Certainly this. Going to a T14 for IP is a far better idea than going to GW or other schools that have good specialty rankings.

[SteelPenguin]

I'm interested in IP law and would like to go to any law schools that specialized in the field.

Then should I just go any specialized law schools in IP that are even in lower rank (ex: UNH) or apply for top 14 schools for good?

Let me know your comments

You should go to the highest ranked law school you can get into regardless of specialty. The only possible exception is if two schools in the T-14 are ranked very similarly, and the one several slots below has a distinct, identifiable advantage in a particular area, like a professor who is connected to your dream firm that specializes in X or Y. Even if there is a supposed advantage or specialty at the lower ranked school, if it is not concrete and readily identifiable you should go to the higher ranked school.

Unless you are going to a T14, you should be looking at law schools in regions you'd be willing to practice. Don't go to Fordham because it is ranked higher than Florida if you want to practice in Florida. Even then, you'll want to compare cost of attendance and scholarship offers. The rankings should only be a very loose guideline when choosing a law school.

[PRgradBYU]

Ignore specialty rankings

Certainly this. Going to a T14 for IP is a far better idea than going to GW or other schools that have good specialty rankings.

+1. Specialty rankings are TTT.

[ericsmith249]

Ignore specialty rankings

Certainly this. Going to a T14 for IP is a far better idea than going to GW or other schools that have good specialty rankings.

+1. Specialty rankings are TTT.

Besides environmental law at Vermont of course.

[romothesavior]

Ignore specialty rankings

Certainly this. Going to a T14 for IP is a far better idea than going to GW or other schools that have good specialty rankings.

+1. Specialty rankings are TTT.

Besides environmental law at Vermont of course.[/quote]
No.

[Void]

Besides environmental law at Vermont of course.

I assumed this was a joke. If not, No.

[blsingindisguise]

Of course Florida A&M is the place to go for Space Law, since it's near the Kennedy Space Center.

[MormonChristian]

I'm interested in IP law and would like to go to any law schools that specialized in the field.

Then should I just go any specialized law schools in IP that are even in lower rank (ex: UNH) or apply for top 14 schools for good?

Let me know your comments

Top 14. There are a few recent articles that agree.

[Cicero76]

Of course Florida A&M is the place to go for Space Law, since it's near the Kennedy Space Center.

Nope:

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/01/florida- ... -headline/

[GreatNorth87]

Besides environmental law at Vermont of course.

I assumed this was a joke. If not, No.

This.

[blsingindisguise]

Of course Florida A&M is the place to go for Space Law, since it's near the Kennedy Space Center.

Nope:

http://abovethelaw.com/2013/01/florida- ... -headline/

Florida Space Ghost Coast to Coast School of Law?

[ericsmith249]

I stand by Vermont's Environmental Law Program.

[Void]

I stand by Vermont's Environmental Law Program.

You and zero employers. http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=vermont

[GreatNorth87]

I stand by Vermont's Environmental Law Program.

You and zero employers. http://www.lstscorereports.com/?school=vermont

How can you stand by the program? It's about to fail. One magazine called Vermont Law a school that you could get your poodle in to. They have an acceptance rate just shy of 90% and crushing debt. No employer wants to hire anyone from the program. It's about inputs. Do you think an employer looks at a Vermont Law student and says "Wow, they must be a great environmental lawyer because they went to the school that US News arbitrarily ranked #1 on its survey." More likely, they say "Hey, some kid who got a 149 on his LSAT found a school with faux-prestige that he could use to hide the fact that he went to a TTT. You know what, I'll hire someone from Columbia who clearly has a better track record and took a similar course load." Seriously, get a clue.

[lukertin]

I'm going to go against conventional wisdom here. If OP wants to do patent prosecution and gets his ride to Franklin Pierce subsidized, he should take it.

[Nova]

I stand by Vermont's Environmental Law Program.

I really thought you were joking.

[GreatNorth87]

I'm going to go against conventional wisdom here. If OP wants to do patent prosecution and gets his ride to Franklin Pierce subsidized, he should take it.

This is terrible, terrible advice.

Franklin Pierce is now UNH Law. OP would need a STEM background to even do patent prosecution. Even if OP wanted to do patent lit, he/she would need a STEM degree to attract any employer to look at him or her. OP would be best served studying for the LSAT and even retaking to get money from a T14.

Specialty rankings only matter to three groups. 1) TTT schools trying to sell themseles, 2) 0Ls trying to justify attending a TTT, and 3) TTT students and alumni trying to justify the value of their education. In most instances, these groups will celebrate their USNWR speciality ranking, but dismiss the overall ranking system as fraudulent, flawed, and biased.

[romothesavior]

Specialty rankings do NOT matter.

[jbagelboy]

Specialty rankings do NOT matter.

This - they are more USNWR's way of exploring and recognizing different programs and clinics law schools are trying to stand out, or maybe a professor at the LS who wrote an impressive article read by 120 ppl that year. Unfortunately, they do not reflect actual hiring in that field. Look at the metrics. I wish we could measure hiring specific to something like IP, environmental or international law, but I would go ahead and guess that the hiring lists would resemble the T14 in some variant anyway.