Top Law Schools

I know there are quite a few of us who are out of the country or have other commitments and who will therefore be unable to attend ASD's this year. I was hoping that those of you who are able to go could share impressions/thoughts/reviews/pictures of any and all the T14 ASD's that you attend, or just general visits that you made.

Thanks!

Willing to help!

Tell me which ones and what you want to know.

any and all! everything! ... to be specific.

I am willing to do some write ups and show pics.

Cool idea! Here's one for Duke:

The Campus: It's really beautiful. The buildings have a really gothic feel to them, and the cathedral in the middle is GORGEOUS!!! The law school building is really new and modern. Most of it has floor to ceiling windows, so it's all natural lighting. The library is also very new and modern - and has free printing!!! Everything is confined to that one building, and it's very easy to navigate/find your way around. Everything is pretty much divided, so there's a hall for administration, offices, clinics, classrooms, etc. But since it's all in one building everything is really close by. There's a parking lot right by the school, but mostly professors and I think maybe 3Ls are allowed to park there. The 1L parking lot is kind of far, but they do have a shuttle. And just FYI you will almost definitely need a car. The law building is really close to the center of campus, so a lot of the services are accessible. But it's separated enough that it doesn't feel all undergraddy.

The Atmosphere: It's definitely very community-like there. Part of this probably has to do with the small class size. Also since there's less to do in Durham than in other bigger cities, the school seems to have a lot of programming to keep it's students entertained - both academically and socially. Also, since there's no real "home market" there, the class is pretty divided on where they want to go post-graduation, so it helps bring down the competitiveness.

The Weather: Pretty mild (unless you're from Cali or Florida). It's definitely not as cold as it would be in the northeast. I was there at the end of October and got by with a light jacket.

Other Academic Tidbits: They have an abundance of journals, so it seems like even if you don't make the main Law Review you can probably find another one to fit your interests. Also, their writing class is graded. But the class ends before the other classes so the final brief project doesn't conflict with other finals.

Food: It's in the south. Hello amazing BBQ!

Clinics and Programs: They definitely seemed to have enough to fit many various interests. I'm interested in PI, so that was all I really asked about (sorry!). I was actually surprised there since they definitely don't have much of a reputation for being solid in that area, but they had a ton of different PI programs with many different focuses and have a lot of resources for students who are actually interested in that. They also have a really cool Duke in DC semester program, so anyone who wants to start building connections in DC would definitely have that option.

I honestly only applied to Duke because of the priority track, and I only visited because of the travel subsidy so I was like why the heck not? I ended up being unexpectedly impressed, and it now remains one of my top choices. I will say that Duke would definitely not be the right school if you have to be in a huge city. It's also not right for someone who wants to be a part of the crowd because with such a small class and the fact that a lot of the entertainment stems from the school, everyone knows everyone. Not necessarily cons, but those two factors wouldn't fit every personality.

gbpackerbacker has been tagged.

Thanks, monkey! That was really helpful. Duke is definitely one of my top choices also! I really want to to visit and see the campus.

Any info on UVA?

I'd be interested in Chicago, especially RE: cutthroat competition.

Shooter wrote:Thanks, monkey! That was really helpful. Duke is definitely one of my top choices also! I really want to to visit and see the campus.

+1. Great review.

tagged

Tagging as well.

I read this as "T14 Law Reviews 2011" and was confused by the content for a second.

bk187 wrote:I read this as "T14 Law Reviews 2011" and was confused by the content for a second.

Advanced gunnerism

beachbum wrote:

Shooter wrote:Thanks, monkey! That was really helpful. Duke is definitely one of my top choices also! I really want to to visit and see the campus.

+1. Great review.

+2.

Duke is a contender for me because it's relatively close to home and I'm likely to get more money from them than other schools that I've been accepted to. Good to hear about their PI stuff, as that is my focus as well. Having NYU/Berkeley (likely sticker) on the table and then reading this makes things tough.