Top Law Schools

So, to preface this: I have some ideas on this one already formulated, but any insight that posters have on the schools themselves and how well they line up with their perceived reputation is helpful.

I've got four acceptances to schools that I'm realistically looking at attending:

U. of Iowa - Full Ride, with assistantships
U. of Wis - Little more than 2/3 (in-stater)
Notre Dame - Half-tuition
Minnesota - 58 percent tuition (reciprocity)

While I will likely aim for BigLaw simply out of drive and a desire to help secure us financially, I'm in a position where I would be happy just coming out in three years with a decent paying job in government. (For background -- I'm currently a journalist, so "decent pay" essentially means making enough that I can afford to buy myself some decent clothes and take a vacation once in awhile without saying, "Now how much further in debt did that put me?")

My situation: I'm married, and my wife would prefer to stay in Wisconsin but she, a lawyer as well (government, so not a princely salary either), is also licensed in Illinois and can move AFTER law school, should the need arise.

We've talked about this, and the full-ride from Iowa would seem to be a bit of a no-brainer -- yeah, I'd have to gin up enough extra cash to cover living expenses and books, but avoiding a raft of debt seems like the smart move.

My only conflicts are as such:
-UW, while far down the list when it comes to employment prospects, is still viewed as reputable in the state and would make it significantly easier on my living situation. (I still live two hours away from Madison, but considering that used to be my morning commute, this isn't too big of a deal) It'd involve some measure of debt, but only about a car loan's worth, not the six-figure most people dread.
-If I DO want to go after BigLaw, ND would SEEM -- based on the employment stats -- to be the best bet. Obviously, that would mean incurring significant debt to do it, but if the chances are better there, is it worth it?
-Minnesota doesn't seem like a top choice just because it seems to have employment numbers in between Iowa and ND and the cost is only marginally better than ND (at least tuition side, cost of living might make it equal or more expensive). But if someone knows something about them that I don't, I'd appreciate the insight.

I have an idea as to what the responses would be here, but I thought I'd throw this scenario out there. Again, I'm not agonizing over this decision, but any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.

All I can implore you to do is not commute two hours to and from Wisconsin every weekday

You should eliminate ND and UMinn right away, imo. Minnesota isn't portable and isn't worth the extra money. ND is a little more marketable, but it's still the case that 2/3s of people don't end up with biglaw there.

If you're okay with no biglaw, and if the total debt from Wisconsin isn't more than a car loan, and if your partner prefers it, I'd roll with Wisconsin.

Be clear about your debt total, though. People always underestimate it on TLS.

If you could see yourself settling in Iowa, you'd be right, this would be Iowa hands down. I don't know enough about Iowa's placement power into Wisconsin or Illinois (I bet if you were okay living in the Quad Cities area, they probably do pretty well), so I would investigate that thoroughly. I can easily see ND being useful with getting you into BigLaw, but it would be Chicago absolutely and would be something you'd need pretty high grades to attain. Usually when folks say Illinois and don't mention Chicago, that means they aren't too keen on Chicago.

Honestly, though, since you are already set up in Wisconsin, I'd just plan to live there and go to UW. Maybe you can leverage the Iowa offer to get a full scholarship out of them?

And see, this becomes the problem: I can't see myself settling in Iowa. My wife has explicitly said, "I'm not moving to Iowa." So that seems to make going there, even for next to nothing, a problem.

Wisconsin, on the other hand, seems doable, but also seems to limit job prospects to Wisconsin and Wisconsin alone.

ND, while expensive, seems to have more reach and better BigLaw prospects.

And to answer the last posters question: I did negotiate with UW using the Iowa figures -- it got me 2k more each year. Which is GOOD, but still results in some amount of debt (though an amount I'm willing to accept if it ends in a job).

If you want big law you need to aim higher than these schools

You keep saying big law but these schools don't place very well into those types of jobs. Put big law out of your mind. Now, what kind of job would you like to do? If it's local government then you should go to school in the state you want to end up in long term.

Very honestly as someone who's lived in WI and very close to South Bend, you should go to Wisconsin hands down.

Wisconsin has a stellar reputation in the state. Madison is hands down 100x better than South Bend especially for a graduate student looking to socialize. Although ND will place better into big law (in Chicago), IMHO it's not worth the substantial burden of moving to South Bend especially w.o ties to the area. Personally, South Bend would be a fine place for me to live (because I grew up near it), but for others it's hard to describe what it's like. I could almost guarantee your wife would like Iowa better than South Bend.

If you want to live in WI go to WI or T14 (preferably by WI). Don't go to Minnesota to practice in WI. ND IMHO also wouldn't be regarded much better in a biglaw market of WI like Milwaukee than UW. Try to negotiate for some cash.

*EDIT Please don't commute 2 hours to Madison every day. For 1L that could be brutal. You'd essentially be wasting 4 hours of study time a day and will be fatigued from driving. If your wife works in govt, there's got to be something for her in Madison or in the surrounding area.

EDIT 2: If you want to go to ND and your wife can find a job in Chicago, there is a commuter train (I believe) from South Bend Airport to Chicago. Forgot how long this takes, but it's easy (esp. compared to driving. South Bend gets a lot more snow than most places in WI)