Top Law Schools

is it better to take the Common Law route of study or the Civil Law route...or is there a way that you can study both?

I want to add to this question. When studying Law in Louisiana how difficult is it for civil law students to pass the bar in other states? I know you will have some basic knowledge of common law at school like Tulane and Loyola but, for example, Contracts II is not mandatory for their curriculum. Also, I know Tulane and Loyola market civil law study as an excellent segway to International law work but I'm skeptical of this. Aren't most law firms doing international legal work based in New York (there fore New York bar exam). If this is true taking three year of civil law seems unhelpful.

I guess it would help if you knew weather you wanted to practice in Louisiana or not. Anybody's opinion about what to do if your not sure about where to practice when going to law school in Louisiana.

I asked a friend of mine who went to LSU and now practices in North Carolina..this is what she replied:

"I attended LSU for Law and was able to take an extra semester (15 more hours) of common law classes, because I knew we were eventually moving back to NC. Civilian law is so unique, i.e property law/family law areas. I hesitate to think you can learn these complex areas without taking a full semester of the class. If you plan to stay and work a few years (like I did), I would think you need to take the civilian class route. I found it easier to teach myself common law after learning civilian law. But, I would highly suggest taking some of the common law equivalent courses maybe in the summer if Loyola allows this?? I was lucky LSU really gave me a bifurcated (both common/civilian) education. When moving home, I took the Barbri and studied for NC - I did not have any troubles passing both LA and NC."

Does anyone know what the curve is for this law school? I have a scholarship there and am wondering how difficult it is going to be to keep it.

Can someone please answer the previous question.

the median gpa for 2010 fall for 1Ls was 2.7

cooper17 wrote:Does anyone know what the curve is for this law school? I have a scholarship there and am wondering how difficult it is going to be to keep it.

Someone please answer? Also wondering about the intern opportunities in the NALO area.

cooper17 wrote:Does anyone know what the curve is for this law school? I have a scholarship there and am wondering how difficult it is going to be to keep it.

Back in 2009 the curve was this:

Top 10%: 3.488
Top 25%: 3.250
Top 33%: 3.178
Top 50%: 3.017
Top 75%: 2.750

Spookyghost wrote:

cooper17 wrote:Does anyone know what the curve is for this law school? I have a scholarship there and am wondering how difficult it is going to be to keep it.

Back in 2009 the curve was this:

Top 10%: 3.488
Top 25%: 3.250
Top 33%: 3.178
Top 50%: 3.017
Top 75%: 2.750

What if you have a lot of individuals that receive grades in the top 33% does the curve change.

privatemf wrote:

Spookyghost wrote:

cooper17 wrote:Does anyone know what the curve is for this law school? I have a scholarship there and am wondering how difficult it is going to be to keep it.

Back in 2009 the curve was this:

Top 10%: 3.488
Top 25%: 3.250
Top 33%: 3.178
Top 50%: 3.017
Top 75%: 2.750

What if you have a lot of individuals that receive grades in the top 33% does the curve change.

Only 33% of people can have grades in the top 33%.

Where was this curve data taken from? If it was taken from the NALP directory of law schools, it gives data for the graduating class. I have the actual data in front of me and the first semester common law division curved to a 2.7 (Fall 2010). As everyone already knows, the curves relax after the first year because there are other options than curved classes (seminars/uncurved classes/P-F classes that wouldn't affect your gpa/etc) that would drive up the graduating gpa numbers.

@Aberzombie (the quote chain is getting to be rather obnoxious at this point)

Yes, the curve data I pulled from NALP, which as you said, is the graduating class (and in this case, the graduating class from 2009).

Your number of 2.7 seems more in-line with what my many friends at LoNo have told me. Sorry for any confusion.

I just talked to somone at this school and they are not the nicest people and will tell you that NOLA is the hardest place to find a job in. I asked about what she thought about the tier's and what did it mean for me as a student and employment opportunities, she proceeded to belittle my current school.