Choosing a Law School

Every year, the U.S. News and World Report comes out with an issue that ranks the nation's law schools. People put a whole lot of stock in these rankings, and the rankings from the Princeton Review; and many (and I do mean many) use the rankings alone as their choice for selecting a school. That's fine and dandy, I guess, if your concern above all else is prestige. But, quite frankly, that's not the only thing to consider when choosing a law school.

The first thing you should ask yourself is "what kind of law do I want to practice?" If you want to be a trial lawyer, an advocate, then you're probably not going to want to Columbia. Instead, look at NYU. South Texas College of Law has an outstanding advocacy program; one of only three in the nation (the others being Stetson and Temple) to rank on the top 10 list for trial advocacy every year of the rankings. A person with an interest more in intellectual property, however, would probably be better served to forgo South Texas, or even the University of Texas in favor of the University of Houston.

Another thing to consider is where do you want to live? Boston has a lot of history and tradition, but someone who has never lived north of the Mason-Dixon or east of the Mississippi might not be comfortable spending three years in an environment such as that. In that case, University of Oklahoma, or SMU, or something along those lines could be a good choice.

Cost is a factor, for many people considering law school, at least. I knew a girl who was admitted to Fordham University school of law, but had to choose another school (which gives you the same degree and lets you practice in the same courts) because of the lack of available financial aid after her loans capped out. She was disappointed at first, but now is enjoying her time at St. John's.

Other things to consider, perhaps more importantly than the number at the left of the school's name, are a couple other numbers: Bar passage rate, Employment rate, and average starting salary. These are the issues that are perhaps more important, and go more towards what people are looking to get out of their legal education. Choose a school with a high bar passage rate, like Texas Tech, Baylor, or Akron over a school with a high ranking but a lower pass rate. Find a school that has a stronger career services center, that does a good job helping students find their best placement. Look at potential salary, if that's why you went to law school. DePaul University and Loyola of Chicago are nearly identical in starting salary (Loyola is slightly higher) and bar placement, but DePaul is ranked 42 while Loyola is 82.

Finally, one has to consider the source. The U.S. News gleans its rankings from several different sources, but ultimately, these sources are not completely knowledgeable about every section of America. South Texas College of Law has a great reputation in and around Houston, and has trained some outstanding individuals (the CEO of Delta Airlines, and Chris Bell, 2006 candidate for Texas Governor, Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina, and Dan Rather, who attended but did not graduate). But they are a local school, and aren't going to resonate with the bigwigs in New York or D.C. The same could be said, I'm sure, about schools like Ohio Northern University, Memphis, Cooley, or other schools that don't have the name recognition of a Michigan or a Georgetown or a Stanford.

The bottom line is, you can go to school anywhere and be a good lawyer. You can go to school anywhere and be a crap lawyer. What matters, more than anything else, is finding the school that fits what you want to do.