Top Law Schools

Hi everyone. I am geared up to take the lsat in October and I was wondering what score i will need to get info a top 5 law school. I have a 3.6 gpa from an ivy league school. With the way legal hiring has been lately, I've made up my mind that I will not be attending law school unless it is top 5- the risks are too great. My ultimate goal is to be a partner at a top litigation big law firm (or boutique as long as it pays market rate). Assuming I land a biglaw job out of law school, what steps will I need to take to put myself on the path for partnership?

Step 1: take the LSAT

Step 2: get into law school

Step 3: get a big law job (yes, this comes before graduating)

Step 4: graduate

Step 5: ??????

Step 6: become big law partner

Thanks for the response, I would also like to add that I am 1/8 African American and don't know if I should put down URM African American in my applicatios to get a boost. Does anyone know adcomms policy on this ?

if you have to ask

Honestly the first thing you should do is the level of individual research (very little) to understand that there is not really a T5 in law schools. NYU is almost indistinguishable from Columbia and Chicago. And if you are aiming for biglaw you can throw Penn in there at least as well.

T5 isn't a thing, it's T6.

ETA: scooped by Auxilio.

Focus on the LSAT first. Your cart is way ahead of the horse.

While the statistics show that there may not be much of a difference between t5 and t7 (Penn), everyone at my school who is applying to law school tell me that the 'top tier' firms like to recruit from the top 5 schools

Aspie Striver wrote:Thanks for the response, I would also like to add that I am 1/8 African American and don't know if I should put down URM African American in my applicatios to get a boost. Does anyone know adcomms policy on this ?

Personally I think 1/8 is pushing it but no one can tell you that you can't. Do you identify at all as African American or are you thinking of doing it simply for the URM boost? Could you write a meaningful diversity statement? If someone asked you what you were (hypothetically this wouldn't happen if you look white) would you say mixed/biracial? I don't know any official policies but you'll get a lot of info about BLSA and what not and I think once admitted things could get weird if you really don't identify at all. Like I said, no one can say you can't because you indeed are 1/8th but personally I think it's a little shady.

Aspie Striver wrote:everyone at my school who is applying to law school tell me that the 'top tier' firms like to recruit from the top 5 schools

What do applicants know about job outcomes and why is it somehow more than those who have gone through the OCI process?

Aspie Striver wrote:While the statistics show that there may not be much of a difference between t5 and t7 (Penn), everyone at my school who is applying to law school tell me that the 'top tier' firms like to recruit from the top 5 schools

It is just not a thing to be a T5 school, and the value of advice from fellow people applying (i.e., not graduated or working or anything) with that basic misunderstanding is non existent. At the top biglaw is not the goal, it is the consolation prize for a lot of people.

Don't feed the alting troll.