Top Law Schools

Hey everyone. First time poster. I have been researching stats and schools and have narrowed down my options to BC and GW. I toured both earlier this week. I really liked both cities and both campuses, but I think I could see myself at GW/DC area more.

That said, I’m worried about employment stats at gw. BC seems like a safer option in terms of employment and making money after school to pay off debt.

Scholarship wise I received 50% from GW and am still waiting on BC but expecting around 1/3. I would be taking out loans to fund both.

Career-wise, I’m not trying to limit myself too much and am looking forward to figuring out what I want to really do while In school. I worked in journalism/politics previously and really enjoyed it. media law seems like something I connect to most but again, don’t want to limit my options or rule out anything.

I know this is a bit all over the place and I apologize for that. I think I overwhelmed myself a bit after touring both schools, and have been looking at data/info nonstop since then, freaking myself out that if I choose GW I’ll end up in debt without a job. Any help/advice is welcome. Thanks in advance.

My opinion is that Bc is somewhat safer, all things being equal. It happens, though, that things aren’t super equal for you, as you want to practice in Dc and will be getting more money from Gw.

The thing is that GW and Fordham become trap schools in a weak economy. And the million-dollar question, of course, is whether the economy is going to still be this strong in a few years.

Ultimately, i think bc is a sufficiently safer school employment prospects-wise (and bc alums are literally everywhere in boston) such that slightly more money from Gw and a marginally greater desire to practice in DC shouldn’t tip the scales in favor of Gw.

Overall though it’s a tough call and reasonable minds could certain differ.

objctnyrhnr wrote:My opinion is that Bc is somewhat safer, all things being equal. It happens, though, that things aren’t super equal for you, as you want to practice in Dc and will be getting more money from Gw.

The thing is that GW and Fordham become trap schools in a weak economy. And the million-dollar question, of course, is whether the economy is going to still be this strong in a few years.

Ultimately, i think bc is a sufficiently safer school employment prospects-wise (and bc alums are literally everywhere in boston) such that slightly more money from Gw and a marginally greater desire to practice in DC shouldn’t tip the scales in favor of Gw.

Overall though it’s a tough call and reasonable minds could certain differ.

Thank you for your help. It’s very comforting knowing my worry and back-and-forth about this is reasonable haha. Do you think media law in Boston is something I can pursue, or is DC overwhelming better for this?

What do you envision "media law" practice being? How much do you think you'll be earning?

cavalier1138 wrote:What do you envision "media law" practice being? How much do you think you'll be earning?

I would want to base it more on representing media companies/defending first amendment type work. I’m basing this really only off the facts that
1)I enjoyed reporting/working for newspapers
2)I’m comfortable and interested with law/ethics regarding news media and the right to report.

Again, I know this will probably change and I shouldn’t base my decision on an area I’m interested in.

Scarlett88 wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:What do you envision "media law" practice being? How much do you think you'll be earning?

I would want to base it more on representing media companies/defending first amendment type work. I’m basing this really only off the facts that
1)I enjoyed reporting/working for newspapers
2)I’m comfortable and interested with law/ethics regarding news media and the right to report.

Again, I know this will probably change and I shouldn’t base my decision on an area I’m interested in.

There are some top firms with boston offices that have first amendment practices (Jones Day comes to mind but it’s possible I am mistaken). I also think there are a couple boutiques with this practice (check our prince Lobel). All of that being said, if this is actually the goal, I intuitively feel like you would be better off in DC.

On the flip side, DC is also a significantly tougher market to break into (might be the toughest) than boston is. My suggestion is you try to hit biglaw/clerk and then try to specialize from there within a couple years. Much easier said than done, though, of course...particularly from those schools.

objctnyrhnr wrote:

Scarlett88 wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:What do you envision "media law" practice being? How much do you think you'll be earning?

I would want to base it more on representing media companies/defending first amendment type work. I’m basing this really only off the facts that
1)I enjoyed reporting/working for newspapers
2)I’m comfortable and interested with law/ethics regarding news media and the right to report.

Again, I know this will probably change and I shouldn’t base my decision on an area I’m interested in.

There are some top firms with boston offices that have first amendment practices (Jones Day comes to mind but it’s possible I am mistaken). I also think there are a couple boutiques with this practice (check our prince Lobel). All of that being said, if this is actually the goal, I intuitively feel like you would be better off in DC.

On the flip side, DC is also a significantly tougher market to break into (might be the toughest) than boston is. My suggestion is you try to hit biglaw/clerk and then try to specialize from there within a couple years. Much easier said than done, though, of course...particularly from those schools.

"Defending first amendment type work" - like other constitutional law-related advocacy - is "unicorn" legal work: Sexy and rare work that everyone and their brother wants. It is realistically attainable only from the T6 (particularly Yale), and even from Yale is far from guaranteed.

QContinuum wrote:

objctnyrhnr wrote:

Scarlett88 wrote:

cavalier1138 wrote:What do you envision "media law" practice being? How much do you think you'll be earning?

I would want to base it more on representing media companies/defending first amendment type work. I’m basing this really only off the facts that
1)I enjoyed reporting/working for newspapers
2)I’m comfortable and interested with law/ethics regarding news media and the right to report.

Again, I know this will probably change and I shouldn’t base my decision on an area I’m interested in.

There are some top firms with boston offices that have first amendment practices (Jones Day comes to mind but it’s possible I am mistaken). I also think there are a couple boutiques with this practice (check our prince Lobel). All of that being said, if this is actually the goal, I intuitively feel like you would be better off in DC.

On the flip side, DC is also a significantly tougher market to break into (might be the toughest) than boston is. My suggestion is you try to hit biglaw/clerk and then try to specialize from there within a couple years. Much easier said than done, though, of course...particularly from those schools.

"Defending first amendment type work" - like other constitutional law-related advocacy - is "unicorn" legal work: Sexy and rare work that everyone and their brother wants. It is realistically attainable only from the T6 (particularly Yale), and even from Yale is far from guaranteed.

Yes, this too.