Top Law Schools

Hello,

I have been out of school for two years working in legal services and I plan to go to law school in the fall to pursue a career in public interest law. I am from California and I hope to live and work there after I graduate. The best law school I have gotten into on the west coast is UW in Seattle, with a decent scholarship. Does anyone have any knowledge or advice regarding the employment outlook in PI law in CA for UW graduates? I know the UW is strong in the Pacific Northwest, but California obviously has several top schools and I will be competing with their graduates for jobs. My other options are to go to a lesser-ranked school in CA, such as Santa Clara (almost full ride) or UC Davis, or to stay on the east coast (where I live now) and go to a school like Boston College, Notre Dame, Fordham, or Boston University, also with a good scholarship (Even though UW is ranked higher that these schools, I feel like they might have more of a national reputation/alumni network).

Any comments appreciated!

Gotta do this first: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=206299

Based on what you have said so far, I might choose Santa Clara depending on the cost. Are you aiming to work in Northern or Southern CA?

Also, retake to try and get into Stanford or Berkeley

Do you have a scholarship to Davis? That is likely best.

take a California school and network in the local PI field like crazy. (Just too hard to do from Boston.)

You care about two things -- the scholarship money (and stipulations) and your geographic proximity to your targeted PI field. School funded fellowships would be a great addition, but is definitely a third consideration behind the other two.

Do not go to a regional school with the goal of working outside of the region. Yes, it's possible--I'm sure UW can put you in touch with alumni who landed PI gigs in California--but it's extraordinarily difficult.