Top Law Schools

Hello,

I am in the midst of deciding from transferring from USNWR school rank 126 to 25. The school I would be transferring from has a solid employment rate and is highly respected in the area. I do have a possible track to gain employment with big law or with a medium size firm. I am ranked top 15% of my class and hope to pry into the top 10% if I stayed. This school has also offered to increase my scholarship to cover about 60% of tuition and is located in a large city.

If I transferred, the school I would transfer too has an excellent employment rate and even more opportunities for Big law or medium firm employment. However, I am unsure that starting over may hurt my chances. Additionally, I would receive no scholarships to cover tuition and the school is located in a large city.

I am stuck between choosing between these two and would appreciate any genuine advice and counsel. Thank you.

The 126th ranked school is either Santa Clara, Seattle, or University of St. Thomas, and the 25th ranked school is either Arizona or Alabama. I don't see how any of those 126th place schools offer you much employment potential in the Top 15% of the class. So, you probably should transfer, because any of those schools are hugely risky, but...where do you want to end up? There's really no overlap geographically between those schools, except maybe some "Southwestern" overlap between Arizona Santa Clara, but I'm really stretching it. If you go to Arizona, you're getting a job in Arizona (maybe New Mexico or California, but probably Arizona), and if you go to Alabama, you're getting a job in Alabama (maybe Mississippi, but probably Alabama). So think that through.