Best Law School?

<p>Which law School is the best Law School out there? This is all sujective, of course (unless someone posts some kind of rankings). Also, which law schools are more known for certain types of law? For example, is there a law school that people try to go to if they know that they want to study international law, etc.? Thanks! ;)</p>

<p>Wyoming State Community Junior College School of Applied Law. That's where all the big time lawyers come from.</p>

<p>Umm... funny. Really. You must be the embodiment of hilarity.</p>

<p>BTW, congrats on Northwestern!</p>

<p>I really like the University of Chicago. If I had to go with the perfect Law Schools, it would have to be Chicago. But there are so many awesome Law Schools. There are three top tiers...all of them excellent:</p>

<p>TIER I
Columbia University
Harvard University
New York University
Stanford University
University of Chicago
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Yale University</p>

<p>TIER II
Cornell University
Duke University
Georgetown University
Northwestern University
University of California-Berkeley
University of Pennsylvania
University of Virginia</p>

<p>TIER III:
Boston College
Boston University
Emory University
George Washington University
University of California-Los Angeles
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
University of Notre Dame
University of Southern California
University of Texas-Austin
Vanderbilt University
Washington University-St. Louis</p>

<p>Yale is the best, IMO. At the very least it's the hardest to get into...</p>

<ol>
<li>Yale</li>
<li>Harvard</li>
<li>Stanford</li>
</ol>

<p>I agree with alicantekid.</p>

<p>Its definitely all about the Yale. Alexandre, you never give any love to schools from Ohio! We beat you guys this year, get over it. LOL</p>

<p>JOEV, Ohio does not have great universities. It has good universities, like Oberlin, Miami, OSU, Case Western and a couple others I cannot think of, but I cannot think of a single Law school in Ohio that cracks the top 25.</p>

<p>I think by most measures, most people would agree that Yale is the best law school out there, since you'll have your best shot at getting pretty much any kind of job from there. It's just incredily prestigious, and also has a small class size, without formal grading, so pretty much everyone there can get excellent jobs. </p>

<p>Stanford is also close because it has such nice weather, while being similar to Yale in the above elements. </p>

<p>Aside from that, I generally like Alexandre's listing.</p>

<p>exactly why is the unniversity of michigan so good- does it really carry the prestigue of the schools you grouped it with?</p>

<p>Yanks, Michigan law school today is extremely prestigious (not quite on par with Harvard and Yale, but as prestigious as Columbia or NYU). In the 1950s and 1960s, it was considered one of the top 2 or 3 Law Schools in the nation. Only in recent years have NYU and Stanford joined the ranks of great Law schools. </p>

<p>Still, one must keep in mind that there is very little difference between each tier.</p>

<p>After many years of practicing law, I can tell you that there is no "best" law school. I graduated from Chicago, and it STILL opens doors for me. However, living here in Texas, UT is really the "better" law school. The network that the grads have formed and the respect for the degree eclipses the more prestigious schools. That is something to consider. Where do you want to live and practice? In Philadelphia, you can't beat Penn! In Michigan, go for Michigan!</p>

<p>Group 1: Yale, Harvard, Stanford
Group 2: Columbia, UChicago, New York University
Group 3: UMichigan, UPenn, UVa, Boalt (Berkeley), Duke, Northwestern, Cornell, Georgetown
Group 4: UCLA and UTexas</p>

<p>Yale Law School</p>

<p>I'm interested in NYU and Chicago for now.</p>

<p>The schools w/ the best placement among the top law firms in the country are (in descending order):</p>

<p>Harvard
Chicago
Yale
Virginia
Michigan
Stanford
Columbia
Georgetown
Duke
Penn
NYU
Texas
Northwestern
Vanderbilt
Cornell
Berkeley</p>

<p><a href="http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/bleiter/rankings/03_most_national.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/bleiter/rankings/03_most_national.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I think that if you go to a top 20 or so law school, there really is no huge difference. It also depends what kind of law as well. That list of "elite" firms doesnt mean a whole lot since a lot of law schools are strong in different subjects/departments.</p>

<p>As ranked by Lawyers and Judges:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Harvard, Stanford. </p></li>
<li><p>Yale, Chicago.</p></li>
<li><p>Columbia, Michigan, Virginia. </p></li>
<li><p>NYU, Berkeley </p></li>
<li><p>Penn, Duke. </p></li>
<li><p>NW, Cornell, Gtown.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>As ranked by Academics:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Harvard, Yale, Stanford.</p></li>
<li><p>Chicago, Columbia</p></li>
<li><p>Michigan, NYU</p></li>
<li><p>Berkeley</p></li>
<li><p>UVa</p></li>
<li><p>Penn</p></li>
<li><p>Duke, NW, Cornell</p></li>
<li><p>Gtown, Texas. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Academic Placement (as Law Professors):</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Yale.</p></li>
<li><p>Harvard, Stanford. </p></li>
<li><p>Chicago, Michigan. </p></li>
<li><p>Columbia, Berkeley, Virginia</p></li>
<li><p>NYU</p></li>
<li><p>Cornell, Duke, NU, Georgetown, Texas</p></li>
</ol>

<p>(<a href="http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/bleiter/rankings02/tenure.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/bleiter/rankings02/tenure.html&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p>

<p>Supreme Court Clerkship Placement:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Harvard</p></li>
<li><p>Yale</p></li>
<li><p>Chicago</p></li>
<li><p>Stanford</p></li>
<li><p>Columbia</p></li>
<li><p>Michigan</p></li>
<li><p>Virginia</p></li>
<li><p>NYU, Texas</p></li>
<li><p>Berkeley, Duke, Northwestern</p></li>
<li><p>Penn, Georgetown. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>(<a href="http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/bleiter/rankings02/clerkships.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.utexas.edu/law/faculty/bleiter/rankings02/clerkships.html&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p>

<p>I would agree with Alexandre's breakdown.</p>

<p>I would say that Alexander's list is probably the most accurate. He tends to overemphasize U. of Michigan, but in this case Michigan's law school is excellent. His most important comment is: "one must keep in mind that there is very little difference between each tier."</p>