Top Law Schools

0L here considering law school. I've been lurking around on TLS and more and more my percentage of wanting to attend has been creeping higher and higher. So before you guys post *Don't do it* (I know who you are...)

Was wondering what the equivalent school in California would be to Fordham. Have no idea what my LSAT will be or my end g.pa. but was just wondering. Would it be UC Davis or Hastings? Or maybe a school lower on the list

Just a hypothetical. I could post a poll but I don't know what schools to include.

I don't know if California has a Fordham equivalent. Fordham is actually unique, in that it is a moderately prestigious school right in the middle of a city which has about half of the country's Biglaw jobs. Because of this a lot of Fordham grads get market-paying Biglaw jobs.

On Vault I read that one partner called UCLA "The Fordham of the West Coast." I don't think that's accurate. Similarly, I wouldn't say UTexas isn't "the Fordham of the southwest" or Vandy is "the Fordham of the southeast." The comparison doesn't seem to adequately capture the role these schools play in their respective markets.

Well, UCD/UCH have closer admissions profiles/rank to Fordham.

Arguably USC/UCLA have closer placement power to Fordham.

I would definitely say its UCLA/USC. Simply because they are schools in primary markets, not considered T14, that place decently well into biglaw.

ColtsFan88 wrote:I would definitely say its UCLA/USC. Simply because they are schools in primary markets, not considered T14, that place decently well into biglaw.

Yeah this is how I see it too. They're the closest thing to Fordham on the west coast.

iamrobk wrote:

ColtsFan88 wrote:I would definitely say its UCLA/USC. Simply because they are schools in primary markets, not considered T14, that place decently well into biglaw.

Yeah this is how I see it too. They're the closest thing to Fordham on the west coast.

Eh, the LA and NY market are so different though, that I would hesitate to compare. IMHO UCLA and USC (esp. UCLA) are generally gonna be better choices for people. I mean, they're the two best law schools in the 2nd-biggest city in the country. Fordham has a much bigger market to operate in, but it's under the shadow of NYU/Columbia and even to an extent Penn/Cornell/rest of T-14.

ahnhub wrote:

iamrobk wrote:

ColtsFan88 wrote:I would definitely say its UCLA/USC. Simply because they are schools in primary markets, not considered T14, that place decently well into biglaw.

Yeah this is how I see it too. They're the closest thing to Fordham on the west coast.

Eh, the LA and NY market are so different though, that I would hesitate to compare. IMHO UCLA and USC (esp. UCLA) are generally gonna be better choices for people. I mean, they're the two best law schools in the 2nd-biggest city in the country. Fordham has a much bigger market to operate in, but it's under the shadow of NYU/Columbia and even to an extent Penn/Cornell/rest of T-14.

Ya but it isn't that much different.

Stanford->UCB->UCLA/USC

Columbia-> NYU -> Cornell->Fordham

Plus isn't the NY market quite a bit larger than the LA/SF markets? The comparison might not be perfect, but its pretty close. Although I would agree that someone set on working in LA, going to UCLA/USC, is going to be (slightly) better off than someone looking for work in NYC from Fordham.

cool. Thanx for the replies

Biglaw opportunities? Berkeley

Pecking order of law schools? UCLA/USC.

Well, as other posters have stated, Fordham is the "Fordham" of NYC and not NY as a whole. The strongest schools for CA as a whole are Stanford and Berkeley.

But, if what you meant was, "What is the strongest school located in Los Angeles for placement in Los Angeles?" the answer would be UCLA/USC. However, I'm not sure if that is what you meant.

TaipeiMort wrote:Biglaw opportunities? Berkeley

Pecking order of law schools? UCLA/USC.

The most recent NLJ 250 data shows Berkeley at 45.61% (#7 nationally) and Fordham at 25.68% (#21 nationally). How are these equivalent?

USC is the closest to Fordham in terms of biglaw placement (28.71%).

Biglaw opportunities? Berkeley

Lol this board is ridiculous sometimes.

TaipeiMort wrote:Biglaw opportunities? Berkeley

Pecking order of law schools? UCLA/USC.

Yeah, this is dumb.