Top Law Schools

Hello all,

I need help in deciding between the schools mentioned in the title above. My details are as follows:

Highest lSAT score of 167 (have taken three attempts with an upward trend and hence won't retake); international with a 'superior' LSAC evaluation; engineer and MBA from Indian schools; 6 years of work experience with large corporates and have also co-founded a project management company which is doing well now. I would be 30 by the time of matriculation; am married with no kids. My wife is a doctor and she is looking to do a PHD in the same city as mine. She hasn't applied yet and will apply only for fall 2018. Apart from the above options, the only realistic options I am waiting to hear back from are USC, BU and Fordham. I don't have any geographical preferences. I would want to work in the energy sector in regulatory/policy advocacy or project finance in the energy sector. Would prefer biglaw or if possible, >100K paying roles in business or as in-house counsel. I wish to keep IP law as a back up as I am an engineer and have this option open (would prefer patent lit)

My parameters for making the decision are essentially: 1. debt - I don't have high savings in USD terms and have to bridge the funding gap through expensive private loans. Can't afford to go back to my country and pay back large USD loans in case I don't get a work visa. 2. Biglaw placements - have gone through LST reports. 3. study options for wife - all cities but Austin seem to have some options at least. (we are doing further due diligence on Austin)

My pre-interest debt amounts are as follows. Pl note that I have increased the tuition rates (for the next 2 years) of all schools at the rate of growth for that particular school in the last 5 years. I have also added a sum of 20K for three years to cover my wife's expense, just in case. I am negotiating with schools. These figures are pre-negotiation debt figures.

UIUC - 100K
GW Law - 120K
Emory - 115K
UT - 145K
Vandy - 190K

At present, am leaning toward GW due to its strength of IP Law program and international friendly location of DC.

Also toying with the idea of taking GRE before having to decide and in case of a high score, applying for HLS the next cycle without joining anything this time.

Thanks for your time.

I'd say that your 2 concerns should be getting a job that gives H1B visas and minimizing debt so I think your choices have to be GWU and UT.

GWU actually is very good for IP in terms of getting you a job so you need to strongly consider them. Ignore that DC is internationally friendly, that's very low on the list of concerns.

UT is also a good choice, they have good employment numbers and they are industry friendly. It is the best place for an oil and gas lawyer. Someone with industry experience who wants energy will get a job out of UT. They're better than Vandy for that and Vandy is more expensive for you so remove them from your list. UIUC doesn't have strong enough employment numbers for you, remove them from your list. GW for IP is better than Emory, remove Emory from your list.

Then negotiate, get your best offers from UT and GW, your wife will find very good PhD programs in Austin and in DC, both of which are fantastic places to live.

BEng,MBA,FRM,JD(?) wrote: Also toying with the idea of taking GRE before having to decide and in case of a high score, applying for HLS the next cycle without joining anything this time.

It won't matter because if you have a reportable LSAT score they'll evaluate that. You'll be judged as a 167 international applicant (and unfortunately probably not get into HLS).

Now if you're considering an alternate career path that a masters would be helpful in, by all means take the GRE.

BEng,MBA,FRM,JD(?) wrote:I would want to work in the energy sector in regulatory/policy advocacy or project finance in the energy sector.
...
At present, am leaning toward GW due to its strength of IP Law program

How do you reconcile these two statements?

None of these options are objectively terrible, but given your circumstances and goals, I don't LIKE any of them. When talking about energy policy/regulatory work, you're talking about FedGov (which you won't be eligible for) and DC firms (mostly), and none of these options give you a great chance of that. If you play up your background, W/E, etc. you MIGHT be able to parlay that into DC regulatory work, but that's a six figure bet on a significantly disadvantaged outcome. You're right that GW is probably your best option for that outcome, but it would make me nervous, and it should make you nervous too.

If your goal was just patent work, I'd say the cheapest option is your best bet (patent pros. and patent lit. are notoriously more focused on your previous experience and technical background). But if that's not your primary goal, and you wouldn't be happy with that outcome, then none of these schools are right for what you want to do ultimately.

Edit: caveat that I don't like these options subjectively

Thanks everyone for your useful inputs!! Appreciate it.

Rigo wrote:

BEng,MBA,FRM,JD(?) wrote:I would want to work in the energy sector in regulatory/policy advocacy or project finance in the energy sector.
...
At present, am leaning toward GW due to its strength of IP Law program

How do you reconcile these two statements?

Yeah, sorry about not being clear. It was going on in my mind but didn't express it. Basically, I feel GW is reasonably good in terms of energy and environmental law (I was thinking UT and Vandy might be better thanks to the location but I realized DC is a good place to be for energy work especially in regulatory or even Project Finance). Therefore, if we consider GW to be on par with others, if not better, in terms of energy, it is slightly ahead of my other options in terms of IP and hence leaning towards it.

So far as purely IP opportunities are concerned, do I forget the school completely and only focus on the COA? Or does GW Law open substantially more doors?

Thanks again