Top Law Schools

Hey y'all,

If I am considering JAG, does it matter which school I choose? I am currently in between GW and Emory law. I want to work a federal job, so I am leaning towards GW for the networking opportunities. However, it would be cheaper to go to Emory. Any advice?

If you're dead set on going JAG, take the cheaper price tag. You can always have the military pay for your LLM at GW (big program there) and get your fed employment networking done then. If you're on the fence about JAG, GW could outweigh a small price difference in terms of externship opportunities. If you can spend a semester or 2 in DC through Emory either getting credit for externships up here and/or taking classes at GW, you could have the best of both worlds. Best of luck with your decision.

May I provide an alternative perspective? Your school name follows you for the rest of your life and It's unlikely you will spend your entire career in the military. I suggest going with the best ranked school.

Voyager wrote:May I provide an alternative perspective? Your school name follows you for the rest of your life and It's unlikely you will spend your entire career in the military. I suggest going with the best ranked school.

Here, the two schools are ranked about the same, so this is bad advice if the price tag is substantially cheaper.

Voyager wrote:May I provide an alternative perspective? Your school name follows you for the rest of your life and It's unlikely you will spend your entire career in the military. I suggest going with the best ranked school.

This is terrible advice, you can PM me, but I can tell you first hand I had a Jag who went to NCCU, Harvard, Michigan, SU. The military isn't like Big Law, I know people from these top schools who were essentially rejected. JAG CORPS isn't like most typical law routes and anyone who says you need to be T13 to be a jag has no damn clue about the military, least of all the Jag Corps

Take the lower cost, similarly-ranked school. Spend your non-JAG summer working in DC (or both summers if you don't do a JAG internship).

What is JAG? Is that a special military program?

smadha01 wrote:What is JAG? Is that a special military program?

JAG = Judge Advocate General = military lawyer

If you're interested in going the JAG route, do yourself a favor and read through this thread: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 68&t=31543

It's the best source of JAG information I have found online. I did 6 years as an active duty JAG (National Guard now). My last couple of years, I did some recruiting for JAGs at law schools, and I always pointed students to the thread above for the best info online.

Which school you go to will not matter in nearly every instance. Most JAG Corps (and certainly the Air Force's, which I was a part of and did selection interviews for) hire from every law school - Cooley through Yale. We look for different things than other employers. If there is not something preventing your service (e.g., medical issue, cocaine problem, etc.), you can start increasing your chances of getting selected from day one in law school (and before, actually) and give yourself a very good chance of getting picked up.

For those who are interested in going this route, I would strongly suggest figuring out a backup plan in case something goes sideways. "Federal job" is an excellent alternative with a lot of carryover between the two.

For JAG selection, GW vs. Emory will not matter at all from a quality of school perspective. GW will get you a lot closer to internships and externships, which can have significant impact on getting selected. That would be GW's main advantage here.

Considering your goals, I'd recommend looking at scholarships at schools in the DC area. That will give you the most flexibility in case JAG doesn't work out. Also do as much research as you can on federal jobs that might be of interest and pathways to them (e.g., honors programs, PMF, etc.). If I had known what the non-GS pay scales were at certain agencies while I was in law school, I would have likely targeted those agencies, but such is life.

Each of the JAG Corps also use their JAGs differently, so it's worth learning the differences. For example, I think the Air Force does the best job at making sure all of its attorneys build the skills that would let them get federal civilian attorney jobs at nearly any agency.

One other consideration is that there is no better job for PSLF than the military, but that requires 10 years and trusting the program. Several JAG friends came in with $200k+ in debt knowing they were going to do 10 years. It's a roll of the dice though - that you'll get picked up and that the program will do what it says it will in 10 years.