Top Law Schools

cpboy77 wrote:I have applied to law schools because I have an interest in international law and policy, which I realize is about as vague a field as one can describe. I've always been interested in politics (I was a poli/sci major) and thought about going to law school after taking international law courses during senior year of undergrad. However, I'm wondering whether a JD is what I really need to do to break into the field (again, "field" in the broadest sense).

Does anyone have any sources/readings that you can point me toward where I can educate myself on whether law school would be, to put it bluntly, a wise $100k + investment in light of my interests?

cpboy77 wrote:Can I have a little elaboration? I've already taken the LSAT, applied to schools, and been accepted. So at this point it's gonna take a little more than "no" to dissuade me. But I do appreciate the input.

Kiersten1985 wrote:

cpboy77 wrote:Can I have a little elaboration? I've already taken the LSAT, applied to schools, and been accepted. So at this point it's gonna take a little more than "no" to dissuade me. But I do appreciate the input.

Lastly - and I'm going to play Ms. Obvious here - you probably should have been asking these questions prior to doing all of that.

worldtraveler wrote:What exactly do you want to do? The answers will be different if you want to work for an international NGO vs. a firm.

BenJ wrote:No. Start over, take the GRE, go to IR grad school. Start readying your apps to SAIS/Fletcher/Walsh/Kennedy/etc. There is no such thing as an international law, politics or policy job involving a JD; they'll all require an IR graduate degree.

The only exception would be working for a foreign corporation advising them on US law (usually tax law), which doesn't sound like what you're interested in at all.

cpboy77 wrote:

BenJ wrote:No. Start over, take the GRE, go to IR grad school. Start readying your apps to SAIS/Fletcher/Walsh/Kennedy/etc. There is no such thing as an international law, politics or policy job involving a JD; they'll all require an IR graduate degree.

The only exception would be working for a foreign corporation advising them on US law (usually tax law), which doesn't sound like what you're interested in at all.

Thanks. As tought as it is to do, I will have to take that advice seriously and reassess some stuff at the least.

englawyer wrote:int'l law is a myth, and it becomes even more of a myth as you slide down in the rankings.

reasonable_man wrote:To put it bluntly; no.

kittenmittons wrote:

reasonable_man wrote:To put it bluntly; no.

Desert Fox wrote:Wait a Myth? I'm planning on being a war crimes prosecutor. That is obtainable from American at median right? right?

LurkerNoMore wrote:It sounds like you need to take a couple of years off to see what you want to do. From your post, it sounds like you are more interested in international policy than international law.

There is a big difference between legal work that is international in flavor and "international law." The former is relatively common and can come in the form of international transaction work, international tax, regulatory work (anti-dumping, tariff work, etc.), litigation with international components (foreign corrupt practices act, alien tort claims act), etc.

"International Law" is really governed by treaties, either bilateral or multilateral, so you might look at WTO, WHO, NAFTA, ICJ, etc. However, in this field, you really want to know whether you want to do policy or legal work.

Cracking into the former category is really about gaining access to Big Law -- it is generally the big firms (or selective boutiques) that handle this sort of work. If you are interested in the regulatory or prosecutorial opportunities in this field, then you could look at the Honors Programs of various agencies as well. Both of these opportunities are most easily accessible if you are going to a top school.

If you are interested in the latter, then there are two "easier" routes to go. First, go to a top school that will open doors at these institutions. The second route would be to start "at the bottom" with one of them, then go back to law school. The connections you would make might make going to a top school less important (depending on whether your connections have any clout), and the experience would give your application a lot of credibility.

Really, law school would be my avenue of last resort if you want to pursue this. It is a lot of money and time for a goal you haven't quite defined and isn't easy to break into. Taking some time off and figuring out if you want the graduate degree or law degree is probably the best allocation of your resources.

Good luck.

vlsorbust wrote:I agree with the folks here who told you to wait a year, or however long it takes for you to think about things a bit more.

I'm guessing you're pretty young and right out of undergrad, probably 22-ish (my apologies if that's a false assumption). Believe it or not, I was in the exact same boat about 10 years ago - same age, same interest in International Relations. Back then, I didn't have a very clear vision of the career I wanted, so I decided to join the workforce instead of applying to grad school. Law school hadn't even crossed my mind. But my work experiences (first as an au pair in Switzerland and then as an immigration specialist at a big 4 consulting firm) really helped me figure out what my strenghts and interests were, and helped me form that clear picture.

I'm not saying what worked for me must necessarily work for you, but taking time to go out and experience life for a while could help, and certainly can't hurt. Law school and grad school will always be there. But you can't get 3 years and $120,000K back if you realize you made a mistake only AFTER you get your JD.

By the way, since you mention you already got accepted, what did you write in your personal statements/essays if you didn't know why you wanted to go to law school? Not accusing, just curious.