Top Law Schools

So I'm about to get my LSAT scores on Monday. Since I've taken the test, all I've read about is how bad the economy has hit the field of law -- more and more people graduating law schools every year, and less and less jobs for them.

Even if the economy starts to turn around by the time I would graduate in four years, is there any reason to think that things are going to be much better?

Better yet, can anyone tell me that it is even a good idea to go to law school and incur $150k of debt when a job capable of easing that sort of a burden is an extreme long shot?

I thought it would be a great career track to go to law school, go into Army or AF JAG, and prosecute at the state and then federal level. But competition for this track appears to be even more keen than private sector hiring.

*As an aside, are there any states where the legal market is more promising than others?

kdsunday wrote:So I'm about to get my LSAT scores on Monday. Since I've taken the test, all I've read about is how bad the economy has hit the field of law -- more and more people graduating law schools every year, and less and less jobs for them.

Even if the economy starts to turn around by the time I would graduate in four years, is there any reason to think that things are going to be much better?

Better yet, can anyone tell me that it is even a good idea to go to law school and incur $150k of debt when a job capable of easing that sort of a burden is an extreme long shot?

I thought it would be a great career track to go to law school, go into Army or AF JAG, and prosecute at the state and then federal level. But competition for this track appears to be even more keen than private sector hiring.

*As an aside, are there any states where the legal market is more promising than others?

The Economy is bad pretty much everywhere in the U.S.


Here's a few tips for your Law School journey:

1) If you cannot make it into a Top 14(+a few others), your chances in this stiff market are very small, i'm not trying to discourage you, i'm showing you reality, people may tell you "Oh, go anywhere as long as you study law", real world is different, so no Top-14 ? Stay out of Law and save yourself from tons of problems.If you have a way to avoid debts then it's a good deal.


2)If you get accepted to a Top-14, do everything in your power to get a Scholarship, i know it may sound dumb and ignorant to say this, but a scholarship means less to no debts, you will find the experience working as a Lawyer so much better and satisfying when you will get your paycheck knowing you owe nothing to society...

3)Try to network as much as you can in and after Law School. Contacts may be the key to your survival in this market so play your cards right, do cold-calling/emailing, try to meet partners, do everything.

4) If you find times hard, tell yourself that there are people in far worse situations ( Ex:Graduating from Suffolk Law School(Boston), competing against Harvard grads for Boston jobs. )

5) Biglaw is not everything, you may use it to pay off debts or as a stepping stone to other careers, but tell yourself one thing, if you followed the 4 first rules, you won't need BigLaw for Loan repayment, so find a job that suits you best, not the one that pays the biggest amount of money.

6) Try to go to Top School's career days even if you are a Yale student, try to make a trip to Harvard Law School for a career day and network as much as you can there.

7) Bonus track: In Law school, please, for fuck's sake, do NOT wear a suit in class, no it's not good looking in University, you look like the biggest Douchebag on earth and people do make fun of you.

Thank you for the insight. I have the numbers that should get me into a T14 (169, 3., though most likely at the lower end of the spectrum...

Regarding scholarships, I'm probably not going to be offered a full or half ride on these numbers at a T14 school, but I might at a school further down the list. Would that be a better option, or are career prospects at any school outside this rankings range simply too dreadful?

3.8 I don't know why it came through as three point smiley faced sunglasses

kdsunday wrote:Thank you for the insight. I have the numbers that should get me into a T14 (169, 3., though most likely at the lower end of the spectrum...

Regarding scholarships, I'm probably not going to be offered a full or half ride on these numbers at a T14 school, but I might at a school further down the list. Would that be a better option, or are career prospects at any school outside this rankings range simply too dreadful?

T-14 Graduates get priority for most Law jobs out there, so going there will eventually increase your chances to land a good job, which will help you pay off debts.

Going to lower ranked schools just for a scholarship is not a good thing *unless* that school has a strong local market placement rate and that the scholarship given to you is a free ride.Otherwise, don't screw up your opportunity to hit a T-14.
Forget about 50% of tuition scholarships from low ranked schools, debts are still debts.

Anything outside the T-14 = Just more risks that shouldn't be taken unless it's your only way out.

kdsunday wrote:3.8 I don't know why it came through as three point smiley faced sunglasses

I thought you were being cute and that you really liked your GPA.