Top Law Schools

I'm guessing Michigan is the most friendly and Virginia is the least friendly.

What does the forum think?

(has never heard of Boalt)

From my time there this weekend, Michigan was super gay. They also ask if you identify as LGBT on the application, and if my memory is correct Cornell did as well.

I'm not LGBT but I can't imagine that this really an issue at any school these days.. maybe the surrounding community but not the actual school.

scotth724 wrote:From my time there this weekend, Michigan was super gay. They also ask if you identify as LGBT on the application, and if my memory is correct Cornell did as well.

Yes, that is the impression I get too.

I realize all the schools are accepting, but I am especially curious which really go out of their way to be and which do not. The former is easier to tell from the outside-looking-in perspective of an 0L (read: my Virginia guess really doesn't have much basis other than it is commonly believed to be the most conservative of the group). Berkeley is certainly a contender for most friendly but I gave the nod to Michigan for a couple of reasons.

Any ideas on least friendly?

NYU is pretty great. OUTLaw is one of the most active student groups, there are a lot of openly gay faculty who are involved in the student community, regularly have LGBT speakers, and there's a lot of cross-collaboration with other on-campus groups. The school generally leans pretty liberal and it's in the middle of the village (bonus points!).

I thought Penn was known as the gayest? And I know that UVA goes out of its way to let applicants know they're lgbt friendly. I can't imagine that any of them would be unfriendly, but I can imagine the scene in the surrounding communities varies quite drastically.

.

Regulus wrote:Just don't apply to Regent University or BYU and you'll be fine.

Or Liberty

Honestly any of the T14 are pretty LGBT friendly. I only have experience at Berkeley, which has a large population of LGBT students not just in the law school but in the school itself and the environment is pretty tolerant. If you are interested in LGBT rights issues, the bay area is the place to be as well because pretty much all the non-profits working on those issues are located there.

worldtraveler wrote:Honestly any of the T14 are pretty LGBT friendly. I only have experience at Berkeley, which has a large population of LGBT students not just in the law school but in the school itself and the environment is pretty tolerant. If you are interested in LGBT rights issues, the bay area is the place to be as well because pretty much all the non-profits working on those issues are located there.

I would put the Bay Area 2nd to DC. Obviously DC because it's DC, but also HRC headquarters is DC and that's the biggest/most influential non-profit.

If you're willing to consider a T15, UT is super LGBT friendly & Austin too. Just sayin.

lateralis wrote:I'm guessing Michigan is the most friendly and Virginia is the least friendly.

What does the forum think?

I can't speak for the other schools, but I think that UVa is very friendly with our LGBT classmates, I can't speak personally as to what it's like, but my impression is that our LGBT classmates fit in as well as anybody else...... overall, I've found U.Va to be very well-balanced in terms of diversity of thought

It seems insane to pick one school over another based on this criteria.

HYSenberg wrote:It seems insane to pick one school over another based on this criteria.

Seriously this. All major universities are pretty liberal places, and generally speaking conservatives under 40 don't have an issue with gay with people either.

SBL wrote:

HYSenberg wrote:It seems insane to pick one school over another based on this criteria.

Seriously this. All major universities are pretty liberal places, and generally speaking conservatives under 40 don't have an issue with gay with people either.

Granted, it is silly to choose, for instance, NYU over Columbia simply because it's located in the Village. But I wouldn't say it's crazy to lean toward a school in, say, New England over a comparable school in the South if you're LGBT. As an LGBT, I also make these kind of calculations and you really can't discount the importance of being in a welcoming environment where you have access to other LGBT and where you don't have to hide your identity because you fear people may think of you differently, however real or imagined that perception may be.

altoid99 wrote:

SBL wrote:

HYSenberg wrote:It seems insane to pick one school over another based on this criteria.

Seriously this. All major universities are pretty liberal places, and generally speaking conservatives under 40 don't have an issue with gay with people either.

Granted, it is silly to choose, for instance, NYU over Columbia simply because it's located in the Village. But I wouldn't say it's crazy to lean toward a school in, say, New England over a comparable school in the South if you're LGBT. As an LGBT, I also make these kind of calculations and you really can't discount the importance of being in a welcoming environment where you have access to other LGBT and where you don't have to hide your identity because you fear people may think of you differently, however real or imagined that perception may be.

FWIW Columbia has an active Outlaws (LGBT) community, with lots of lgbt-specific firm events and such that seem to dispell serious concerns related to discriminatory behavior. There havent been any major controversial or homophobic events to date (as far as I know), which is a notable positive departure from my undergrad, which was known as an edcessively liberal college.

I cant speak to the experience socially. From where I stand, I cant imagine NYU to be substantially more accepting, though.

altoid99 wrote:

SBL wrote:

HYSenberg wrote:It seems insane to pick one school over another based on this criteria.

Seriously this. All major universities are pretty liberal places, and generally speaking conservatives under 40 don't have an issue with gay with people either.

Granted, it is silly to choose, for instance, NYU over Columbia simply because it's located in the Village. But I wouldn't say it's crazy to lean toward a school in, say, New England over a comparable school in the South if you're LGBT. As an LGBT, I also make these kind of calculations and you really can't discount the importance of being in a welcoming environment where you have access to other LGBT and where you don't have to hide your identity because you fear people may think of you differently, however real or imagined that perception may be.

As an LGBT as well, I completely agree. Even if the law school or the university is accepting, the general area however may not be. And also there's a big difference between an ACCEPTING and a WELCOMING environment. While a lot of areas in the country may be accepting, a lot of those same areas may not be as welcoming, and it's something I also consider with where I'd want to go to school/live.

scotth724 wrote:As an LGBT as well, I completely agree. Even if the law school or the university is accepting, the general area however may not be. And also there's a big difference between an ACCEPTING and a WELCOMING environment. While a lot of areas in the country may be accepting, a lot of those same areas may not be as welcoming, and it's something I also consider with where I'd want to go to school/live.

This.

I think there's a significant difference between schools that are 'ok' with the fact that LGBT people go there and don't make a point of bothering them about their sexuality and schools that are actively involved in promoting a cohesive on-campus LGBT community and LGBT causes more generally. It's great that we've come to the point where 'accepting' is sort of a low bar to clear for most schools but it shouldn't lead people to ignore substantial differences beyond that baseline if it's something they care about.

Honestly, if this is something that's really important to you, I would say that the location of the school is more important than the actual school itself. I imagine that all the schools in the T14 would be welcoming to students, and there's only so much a school can do to create this environment (I imagine they all have Outlaw/LGBT organizations and the student bodies are all very welcoming of LGBT students). But if you want to meet gay people outside of law school/go to gay bars and the like, Charlottesville and Ithaca are probably gonna suck compared to large cities.

moonman157 wrote:Honestly, if this is something that's really important to you, I would say that the location of the school is more important than the actual school itself. I imagine that all the schools in the T14 would be welcoming to students, and there's only so much a school can do to create this environment (I imagine they all have Outlaw/LGBT organizations and the student bodies are all very welcoming of LGBT students). But if you want to meet gay people outside of law school/go to gay bars and the like, Charlottesville and Ithaca are probably gonna suck compared to large cities.

+1

.

I mean it's only 3 years of your time and at the very worst the school is only going to fawn over your sexuality slightly. It makes more sense to pick a school that places best in the region you wish to practice and has the best employment statistics. This isn't UG where picking a school based on tertiary concerns is super applicable. Like others have mentioned, any decent school is absurdly liberal already.

HYSenberg wrote:I mean it's only 3 years of your time and at the very worst the school is only going to fawn over your sexuality slightly. It makes more sense to pick a school that places best in the region you wish to practice and has the best employment statistics. This isn't UG where picking a school based on tertiary concerns is super applicable. Like others have mentioned, any decent school is absurdly liberal already.

Again, not so much about the school, but the area it's in. It's not really as simple as you're making it out to be, but it's hard to understand.

Shrug it still seems stupid to risk employment prospects in your favored region ITE. I understand the argument -- it's not complex lol -- and it seems fatuous.