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I want to do Constitutional Law or federal government in DC... Soooooo William and Mary at a full ride plus a fellowship or Boston College with $28,000 a year in scholarship?

Please explain further what you mean by con law. If you're talking high level appellate work, neither of these options will likely get you to that unicorn on the other side of the rainbow.

Dr. Nefario wrote:Please explain further what you mean by con law. If you're talking high level appellate work, neither of these options will likely get you to that unicorn on the other side of the rainbow.

High-level con law? Where is that work even done, aside from SCOTUS?

vcap180 wrote:

Dr. Nefario wrote:Please explain further what you mean by con law. If you're talking high level appellate work, neither of these options will likely get you to that unicorn on the other side of the rainbow.

High-level con law? Where is that work even done, aside from SCOTUS?

Exactly why I asked for more info. OP's goal there doesn't really make sense. The odds of ever actually arguing a con issue are so small you might as well be buying lottery tickets.

Dr. Nefario wrote:

vcap180 wrote:

Dr. Nefario wrote:Please explain further what you mean by con law. If you're talking high level appellate work, neither of these options will likely get you to that unicorn on the other side of the rainbow.

High-level con law? Where is that work even done, aside from SCOTUS?

Exactly why I asked for more info. OP's goal there doesn't really make sense. The odds of ever actually arguing a con issue are so small you might as well be buying lottery tickets.

Yeah, of all the unicorns in the legal field (sports agent, sweet boutique gigs, high level PI, etc) I would imagine that this is the single rarest breed.

vcap180 wrote:

Dr. Nefario wrote:

vcap180 wrote:

Dr. Nefario wrote:Please explain further what you mean by con law. If you're talking high level appellate work, neither of these options will likely get you to that unicorn on the other side of the rainbow.

High-level con law? Where is that work even done, aside from SCOTUS?

Exactly why I asked for more info. OP's goal there doesn't really make sense. The odds of ever actually arguing a con issue are so small you might as well be buying lottery tickets.

Yeah, of all the unicorns in the legal field (sports agent, sweet boutique gigs, high level PI, etc) I would imagine that this is the single rarest breed.

The Supreme Court bar is insanely tiny and very incestuous. It is typically made up of former SCOTUS clerks or the same 5 people from the same biglaw firms who brief all the appeals. There's always a bunch of amici filed along with every major case by biglaw firms partnering with random advocacy organizations.

There are also organizations like the ALCU and a few others that do impact litigation, a handful of elite civil rights firms, and the DOJ. Obviously, all require amazing credentials and it's very hard to work there.

There are many many lawyers, however, who do constitutional law for a living. They are called public defenders and District Attorneys. They don't get paid a lot out of law school (think 40-60K depending on city), they have a ton of cases most of which are not glamorous or particularly interesting, and their clients aren't sophisticated. But they argue constitutional law every single day.

When most people talk about conlaw, they talk about the former not the last one.