Top Law Schools

Attending law school has always been in the back of my mind, and in this past year I have really started to consider the possibility of going to law school. I took two undergrad law classes last year (business and real estate/construction), and they have both been some of the best classes I have taken thus far in college. I really enjoyed both classes and found them even more interesting than the courses for my major (business). Since the idea of law school is still fairly new, I have some general questions.

Some background: I am going to be a Senior at USC (Southern California), majoring in business and focusing on real estate. I will probably graduate with a 3.45-3.5 gpa, but I am an urm, so I think that might help a little with my slightly low gpa. My plan is to take a year off after I graduate before I start applying to law school, and study for the LSAT in the meantime.

Two of my biggest hesitations in applying to law school are that I’m not sure if I have the stats to get into a decent law school (pref in CA) and whether I want to actually practice law as an attorney.

So my questions:

1) Does my gpa put me at a disadvantage for schools like Boalt , UCLA/USC, or Stanford? I know a lot depends on LSAT scores, but I’m afraid that since I didn’t focus on my gpa as if I had known I wanted to attend law school since my 1st year of college, and didn’t major in something like political science which might have been easier to get a higher gpa in, I might have to get a extremely high LSAT to compensate.

2) Is it pointless to go to law school, since I’m not sure whether I actually want to be a practicing attorney? I think I would prefer a career in real estate law, where I work for a real estate firm in some legal capacity, but not necessarily being in court fighting cases.

3) Any suggestion/feedback on going to law school after taking some time off after undergrad or on going to law school to pursue related careers, but not necessarily being an attorney would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for reading this lengthy post!

Not all lawyers are litigators (aka fighting in court). But if you are truly interested in the law and using it for one purpose or another then consider law school. If not, don't waste your time. And your GPA coupled with URM status and and a 167 - 170+ LSAT should take you pretty much anywhere you want to go. Good luck.

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i wish i found this place when i started thinking about law school, the wealth of knowledge in here is invaluable.

RickyMack wrote:i wish i found this place when i started thinking about law school, the wealth of knowledge in here is invaluable.

+1

Your chances are hard to predict without knowing what type of URM you are, but I think your GPA is going to be too low at Stanford and Berkeley no matter what you score on the LSAT. USC and UCLA are definitely still options. I think you would need to at least break 167 for USC and 170 for UCLA. You could also go to higher ranked schools that aren't as GPA focused as CA schools and return after you graduate. I think a 170+ would get you into Virginia pretty easily (especially with ED) and 172+ puts you in the ballpark of CCN.

Didn't the founder of this website (TLS) go into real estate after graduating law school ?
When I attended law school the managing editor of the law review turned down many law firm offers to run a political campaign after which he went into real estate.
If you are not sure about wanting to practice law, then go into real estate for a few years after which your GPA will be of less importance when applying to law school.

Yea. Mr. Ken. Really successful guy too. Look him up. Ken DeLeon.

Also, if you havent read his story I suggest you do it. Its on here, just search for "Kens story".

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Jacktone- I'm Mexican (born here, but of Mexican descent).

CanadianWolf- That is pretty much my plan. I really think that I would like going to law school, but what I was trying to say is that I'm not sure if I would like to, for example, have my own practice and mostly represent clients in court. That is pretty much my biggest question. If I have really enjoyed my undergrad law classes and would like to be a lawyer for a real estate firm, for example, but not necessarily be a litigator in court, is law school a good idea (from what i have read in other forums on TLS it seems to go both ways)?

Maybe the type of career that I am thinking of is something like a legal consultant?

530Trojan wrote: Jacktone- I'm Mexican (born here, but of Mexican descent).

It doesn't matter where you were born. Since you're Mexican, I will stand by my original guesstimations in regard to your chances. If you decide to apply, make sure to write a diversity statement.