<p>I think that you've hit on a very important law school atmosphere issue that prospective law students should pay attention to as they determine where to apply to law school. Some law schools are absolutely more competitive versus collegial, and the ranking of a law school is not necessarily the key to which law school is which (in other words, just because a law school is a top ranked school with many employers coming on campus to recruit does not automatically mean that a law school will not be "cutthroat".</p>
<p>I believe that there are several factors that make a law school more or less competitive within the student body. First, let's just assume that law students are typically Type A personalities, who have done well first, in high school and then, in college, and probably in their jobs following college. Let's assume, too, that these Type A students are going to do the work that is required to do well in law school -- reading, studying, participating, etc. Therefore, not everyone in law school is going to be at the top of their class even though every member of that class is probably accustomed to being a top student. So, what happens? That's where the competition comes in.</p>
<p>Right away, at some law schools, you will find law students who try to seek out the smartest of the smart law students to join their study groups and to work on class outlines as a group. Now, at other law schools, the Law Review and other journals keep file cabinets overflowing with outlines from previous semesters and they hand these out to anyone who asks/anyone who they become friendly with. For example, when I first went to law school, I had several friends and former college classmates who already went to school there, and who made sure that I had all of the outlines that I could ever want or need for my first year. </p>
<p>Recruiting can also be a very competitive area. At some law schools, though there are many law firms and other employers who come on campus to interview students, there are sometimes many students in a class (over 500 at some law schools) and/or interviewers who focus only on those students who made law review or moot court or some other distinction, and the result is some overt and subtle competition between classmates. At some law schools, making law review is purely based upon grades (an implicit nod to the top X%), while at other law schools making law reivew is partially based on grades and partially on some other factors, like a writing competition. At other law schools, potential employers are not even able to pre-screen resumes, so that any student my interview with any potential employer. Often that leads to less competition.</p>
<p>Finally, some law schools rank students every semester and keep running tallies on where students fall in the class. Other law schools don't rank at all during the three years of law school, if ever. I think that this definitely brings the Type A out in a lot of law students, and can make some friendly competition into some fierce competition.</p>
<p>I definitely chose my law school in part due to its reputation for collegiality and cooperation. I found that the reputation was absolutely true. One distinct memory that I have is that when we were all dressed in caps and gowns, ready to march into the auditorium to graduate, we were handed an addemdum to the Commencement Program that had been handed out to all of our guests. That addendum contained a list of who among our classmates would be graduating summa cum laude, magna cum laude, cum laude and as members of Order of the Coif. This was the very first time that any of us knew where anyone else in the class stood from a grades perspective. In fact, it turned out that many of the students that had been particularly successful in other aspects of their law school careers, such as becoming editors of the law review and winners of moot court competitions, were not so honored that day. My classmates and I discussed that a lot in the days after graduation, and thought that that was fantastic. We had all found our successes somewhere in the process of attending law school. </p>
<p>In any event, these are but some of the factors that may lead to a law school being cooperative versus cutthroat. I would recommend that any prospective law students be aware of these factors, and choose a law school based at least in part on the kind of competitive environment at that law school.</p>