Matthew Diller Interview: Law School Admissions, Legal Education, and Career Success

^{Last Updated: September 2026}

 

Matthew Diller has spent decades in legal education, teaching law, helping lead law schools, and advancing public-service initiatives. At the time of this Top-Law-Schools.com interview, he was dean and professor of law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. He later returned to Fordham Law School, where he served as dean and continued his work in legal education and public service.

Although the original conversation took place in 2009, many of Diller's observations remain relevant to prospective and current law students. His comments address questions applicants still ask today: What makes someone a strong law school candidate? How much should rankings matter? How can students obtain practical experience? What role does networking play? And how should students use their three years of law school to prepare for meaningful careers?

Some Cardozo-specific programs, admissions policies, costs, rankings, and employment statistics discussed in the original interview have changed over time. Readers researching the school today should therefore consult current information, including the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law profile, rather than relying on historical figures from the original interview.

 

What Makes a Strong Law School Applicant?

 

TLS: What qualities should law schools look for in applicants?

Diller emphasized that admissions decisions should consider a student's potential not merely to succeed academically in law school, but also to develop into a successful legal professional.

Academic performance matters, but Diller's perspective went beyond simply asking where an applicant attended college or what undergraduate major the applicant selected. He placed considerable importance on what students actually did with their educational opportunities. Choosing challenging courses, performing well in demanding academic environments, and demonstrating intellectual curiosity can reveal more about an applicant than the name of a particular undergraduate institution.

Leadership and meaningful involvement outside the classroom can also strengthen an application. Students who contribute to organizations, their campuses, workplaces, or communities can demonstrate initiative and the ability to work productively with others.

Applicants should therefore think about the complete story their applications tell. Grades and standardized test results provide important information, but experiences, achievements, writing ability, recommendations, and leadership can help admissions committees understand the person behind the numbers.

Applicants looking for additional guidance on presenting that story can review the TLS guide to law school personal statements.

 

How Important Are Letters of Recommendation?

 

TLS: What should applicants consider when choosing people to write their recommendations?

Diller stressed the value of recommendations from people who genuinely know an applicant's abilities. For students who are still in college or who graduated recently, professors can be particularly useful because they can discuss the student's academic performance, intellectual curiosity, writing, classroom participation, and potential for graduate-level study.

That means students considering law school should not wait until application season to begin developing relationships with professors. Smaller classes, seminars, research projects, office-hour conversations, and other substantive academic interactions can give professors a much deeper understanding of a student's abilities.

Applicants who have been out of school for several years may have a different profile. In those cases, recent work experience, graduate study, leadership, writing, and professional accomplishments may assume greater importance.

The essential principle is the same: a recommendation is strongest when the recommender can provide specific observations instead of generic praise. TLS provides further guidance in its Law School Letters of Recommendation Advice.

 

How Can Applicants Distinguish Themselves?

 

TLS: With so many qualified candidates, how can an applicant stand out?

A successful application should give the admissions committee a coherent understanding of what the candidate has accomplished and what he or she may contribute to a law school community.

For one student, the distinguishing factor may be academic achievement. For another, it may be professional experience, public service, leadership, research, entrepreneurship, international experience, overcoming significant obstacles, or an unusual career path.

Diller's broader advice suggests that applicants should not manufacture a persona they believe an admissions committee wants to see. Instead, they should determine which experiences best demonstrate their abilities, character, motivations, and potential.

The law school personal statement becomes especially important here because it gives applicants an opportunity to provide context that transcripts and numerical credentials cannot convey.

 

How Should Students Choose a Law School?

 

TLS: What should applicants consider when comparing law schools?

One of the enduring lessons from Diller's comments is that applicants should research schools comprehensively instead of making their decision from a ranking alone.

Location, faculty, academic programs, clinics, student culture, alumni involvement, career services, employment outcomes, debt, scholarships, and access to the legal market in which a student intends to practice can all influence whether a school is a good fit.

Campus visits can also be valuable. Sitting in on classes, speaking with current students, exploring the surrounding area, and observing the atmosphere may reveal things that cannot be captured by a ranking table or admissions brochure.

TLS's Law School Rankings resource similarly cautions prospective students against treating rankings as the sole measure of a school's value. Rankings can provide one point of comparison, but the right law school depends on a student's goals, finances, desired market, and personal circumstances.

Students deciding between offers can also explore the TLS Choosing a Law School Forum, where applicants and graduates discuss costs, outcomes, scholarships, geographic considerations, and competing school options.

 

How Much Should Law School Rankings Matter?

 

TLS: What role should rankings play in an applicant's decision?

Diller urged applicants to understand the limitations of rankings rather than assuming that a single numerical position captures the entire quality or value of a law school.

That advice remains useful because applicants often need to evaluate factors that rankings cannot completely measure. The best choice for an individual student may depend on where that student wants to practice, the scholarship package offered, expected debt, career goals, specialized programs, alumni presence, and the school's employment record in the student's target market.

Rankings can therefore be one research tool rather than the entire decision-making framework.

Students interested in understanding how rankings work and why methodologies can produce different results can read TLS's Dissecting the Rankings: The U.S. News and World Report.

 

Why Does Location Matter When Choosing a Law School?

 

TLS: How important is a school's geographic location?

The original conversation focused heavily on Cardozo's position in New York City. Although the particular hiring environment has changed since 2009, the underlying point remains relevant: law school location can affect a student's access to employers, internships, courts, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, alumni, and professional events.

Students attending school in a major legal market may have opportunities to interact with practicing attorneys during the academic year rather than limiting professional experience to summer employment.

At the same time, applicants should consider where graduates actually work. A school with a strong regional network may be an excellent choice for someone who wants to build a career in that market, while a student hoping to practice elsewhere should investigate how portable the degree and alumni network are.

Geography should therefore be evaluated alongside cost, career outcomes, and personal preferences rather than in isolation.

 

Why Does Practical Legal Training Matter?

 

TLS: What role should clinics and hands-on experience play in legal education?

Diller placed significant value on combining intellectual study with practical legal experience. Law students need to understand doctrine and legal reasoning, but they also benefit from opportunities to see how lawyers solve actual problems for clients.

Clinics, externships, pro bono projects, trial advocacy programs, judicial internships, research positions, and other experiential opportunities can help students develop practical judgment as well as research, writing, advocacy, interviewing, negotiation, and client-service skills.

Practical experience can also help students determine what they actually enjoy. A student interested in litigation may discover a strong preference for transactional work after an internship—or the reverse. Someone considering public interest work, government practice, intellectual property, criminal law, immigration, or another field can use practical experiences to test those interests before making longer-term career decisions.

LawCrossing's guide on How Law Students Can Use Campus Resources to Accelerate Their Careers explains how students can use clinics, career centers, faculty relationships, student organizations, and other resources to build professional experience while still in school.

 

What Role Does Public Service Play in Legal Education?

 

TLS: Why should students consider pro bono and public-service opportunities?

The original interview highlighted Cardozo's public-service programs and student involvement in projects serving people who needed legal assistance. While individual programs have evolved since the interview, the broader educational value of public service remains relevant.

Pro bono work can expose students to client interaction and real legal problems while reinforcing the professional responsibility lawyers have to the communities they serve.

Students can also develop skills that transfer across practice settings. Interviewing clients, investigating facts, writing legal documents, appearing in court, working with supervising lawyers, and communicating with people facing difficult circumstances can provide lessons that are difficult to reproduce entirely in a classroom.

Public-service experience does not require students to commit permanently to a public-interest career. It can be a valuable part of legal education for students who eventually work in private practice, government, business, or other settings.

 

How Important Are Alumni and Professional Networks?

 

TLS: How can networking help law students prepare for their careers?

Diller described alumni relationships as an important bridge between law school and professional life. Alumni can provide mentorship, career information, interview preparation, introductions to practice areas, and insight into employers.

But students should think about networking more broadly than asking someone for a job. Strong professional relationships develop over time.

Students can begin by speaking with professors, alumni, visiting speakers, attorneys they meet through internships, bar association members, classmates, and supervisors. Informational interviews can help students learn about different practice areas without immediately requesting employment.

Professional relationships also become increasingly valuable as a legal career develops. Today's classmates may later become colleagues, clients, opposing counsel, referral sources, government attorneys, judges, or business leaders.

For practical strategies, see LawCrossing's How to Network in Law School Without Feeling Fake or Desperate.

 

How Should Law Students Spend Their Summers?

 

TLS: What should students try to accomplish during law school summers?

Diller encouraged students to pursue summer experiences that contribute to their long-term professional goals.

There is no single correct summer path for every law student. Opportunities may include law firms, government agencies, judicial chambers, public-interest organizations, corporate legal departments, research positions, nonprofit organizations, and international placements.

The most valuable position is not necessarily the one with the most impressive title. Students should consider what they will actually do, who will supervise them, what skills they can develop, which attorneys they will meet, and how the experience connects with their developing career interests.

Students without established legal-industry relationships should not assume that meaningful experience is unavailable to them. LawCrossing's How to Get a Legal Internship Without Connections provides strategies for finding internships through direct outreach, career offices, alumni, networking, and targeted job searches.

 

What Is the Value of Judicial Clerkships?

 

TLS: Why might students consider judicial clerkships?

Judicial clerkships can provide intensive exposure to legal research, writing, litigation, judicial decision-making, and court procedure. Students considering clerkships should learn about the application process early because recommendations, academic performance, writing samples, faculty relationships, and timing can all play significant roles.

Law schools can assist students by connecting them with faculty advisers, former clerks, alumni, career professionals, and judges. Even students who ultimately choose another route can benefit from learning what clerks do and considering whether the experience aligns with their career goals.

More broadly, Diller's observations reinforce an important principle: students should use law school to investigate multiple career paths rather than waiting until graduation to begin thinking seriously about employment.

 

How Can Law Students Prepare for the Legal Job Market?

 

TLS: What can students do during law school to become stronger job candidates?

Academic performance remains important, but employers also evaluate whether candidates can communicate effectively, write clearly, exercise sound judgment, work with others, and demonstrate genuine interest in the work they hope to perform.

Students can build those qualities through a combination of coursework and experience. Clinics, journals, moot court, internships, research, student organizations, pro bono assignments, leadership positions, and networking can all contribute to professional development.

The goal should not be to accumulate activities simply to fill a résumé. Students should choose experiences that build useful skills and create a coherent professional direction.

LawCrossing's Law Student Career Development: Building Confidence and Direction discusses practical experience, networking, transferable skills, and career planning for students preparing to enter the legal profession.

Students who are trying to manage competing priorities may also find How Law Students Can Balance Grades, Networking, and Experience useful.

 

What Is Matthew Diller's Advice for Succeeding in Law School?

 

TLS: What general advice would you give students who want to get the most out of law school?

The central idea in Diller's advice is that students should take ownership of their legal education.

Going to class and preparing for examinations are only part of the law school experience. Students also have access to professors, clinics, journals, moot court, pro bono programs, student organizations, guest speakers, conferences, career services, alumni networks, research opportunities, internships, and other resources.

Students who actively explore those opportunities can shape their education around their developing interests.

The lesson is especially important because three years can pass quickly. Students who postpone networking, practical experience, or career exploration until their final year may discover that they have missed opportunities that were available much earlier.

The strongest law school experience is therefore an intentional one: learn the law, build relationships, develop practical skills, explore different forms of practice, and use the institution's resources to prepare for the career you hope to build.

 

Key Takeaways for Today's Law School Applicants and Students

 

• Challenge yourself academically. Law schools evaluate performance, but the rigor and substance of an applicant's academic choices can also help demonstrate readiness for legal study.

 

• Build genuine relationships with professors and mentors. These relationships can lead to stronger recommendations, advice, research opportunities, and professional guidance.

 

• Present a coherent application. Applicants should help admissions committees understand their strengths, experiences, motivations, and potential contributions.

 

• Do not choose a law school by rankings alone. Consider cost, debt, employment outcomes, geography, academic offerings, student culture, alumni networks, and career goals.

 

• Gain practical experience. Clinics, internships, externships, pro bono work, clerkships, and other hands-on opportunities can develop professional skills and clarify career interests.

 

• Start networking before you need a job. Relationships with professors, alumni, attorneys, classmates, and employers become increasingly valuable throughout a legal career.

 

• Use summers strategically. Seek experiences that teach useful skills, expose you to different types of legal work, and move you closer to your professional goals.

 

• Take ownership of law school. The students who benefit most from legal education often go beyond the minimum academic requirements and actively use the opportunities available to them.

Matthew Diller's original interview reflected a particular law school and legal market at a particular moment. Yet its strongest message remains broadly applicable: law students should approach their education as something they actively build rather than something that simply happens to them.

 

Related Top-Law-Schools.com Resources

 

• Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law Profile

 

• Law School Rankings

 

• Law School Personal Statements Advice

 

• Law School Letters of Recommendation Advice

 

• Dissecting the Rankings: The U.S. News and World Report

Related LawCrossing Resources

 

• How Law Students Can Use Campus Resources to Accelerate Their Careers

 

• Law Student Career Development: Building Confidence and Direction

 

• How Law Students Can Balance Grades, Networking, and Experience

 

• How to Network in Law School Without Feeling Fake or Desperate

 

• How to Get a Legal Internship Without Connections

Relevant Top-Law-Schools.com Forum Discussions

 

Continue the conversation and explore perspectives from applicants, current law students, and graduates:

• Law School Admissions Forum — Discussions about applications, admissions strategy, recommendations, and related issues.

 

• Choosing a Law School Forum — Compare schools, scholarships, costs, locations, rankings, and career opportunities.

 

• Ask a Law Student Forum — Ask current students and graduates about classes, employment, law school life, and career preparation.

 

• Forum for Law School Students — Discussions about academics, internships, careers, financial aid, and succeeding during law school.