<p>My son is starting on the "where should I go to law school" trail. As something of an analytical junkie, I have been looking around for any objective measures of how law schools fare in placing their graduates and then passing the information along to my son as fyi. The NALP directory is useful as is martindale. However, I encountered a study that appears to do a more comprehensive analysis comparing law schools and their placement success nationwide and regionally for the top tier law firms. It's called "The Legal Employment Market: Determinants of Elite Firm Placement, and How Law Schools Stack Up" and is available on *********.com Despite the dry title, the study contains very useful information in its tables regarding such factors as how deep into a class law firms are likely to go when hiring first year associates. For instance, one of the tables showing the "regional per capita placement rankings" (i.e., how deep into a class a top tier law firm will go) for the South Central region (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana) shows firms going to the top 38 percent for the University of Texas, 23 percent for SMU and Houston, and 14% for Baylor. As confirming anecdotal evidence that I was previously aware of that says these figures could be quite useful in initialing honing down a list of law schools, the Baylor Law School website shows its students placed in firms above 250 lawyers in the 12-15 percent while I have read where law firms will "go as deep" as the top 20-25 percent at SMU and University of Houston and up to the top 40 percent at UT. So the study's results are very much in line with the unscientific anecdotal evidence I had previously read. I think the study is particularly helpful in identifying law schools that might be considered somewhat "hidden gems". One example to me in the study is Case Western and its comparatively successful placement record against some higher ranked U.S. News law schools. Anyway, I thought I'd pass it on.</p>
<p>There are a lot of quirks and issues of statistical significance in that study. (ex. U Minnesota ranked the same as Tulsa in the upper midwest; let me make a modest suggestion, if you want to work in the upper midwest, don't be taking Tulsa over Minnesota). In any event, it is mostly accurate. I can summarize it in a few sentences and spare students the chore of reading it. If you go to a school in about the top ten, you will have strong placement possibilities everywhere. If you go to a school in the next 10, you will have fairly strong national possibilities, and dominant regional possibilities. If you go to a school between about 20 and 40, you will have good regional possibilites. If you don't go to a school in the top 40, you will have good possibilities in the immediate vicinity of your school, a limited amount of regional possibilities, and very little national potential.</p>
<p>Hey willow55, what a way to belittle an interesting report!</p>
<p>It's interesting, yes. I just think its one of those elaborate studies of something that can be evaluated just as well through antecdotal observations. As I said, I think it is pretty accurate for the most part.</p>
<p>As willow55 noted, there are indeed some flaws in the report and one can summarize its contents in general as he has, but with a huge "however" which is the entire reason I posted this. The "however" is that one can find differences in legal placement success among individual law schools beyond the top 20 or so that makes its findings quite useful as one (among a number) of sources to put together a list of prospective law schools. Moreover, this study is the ONLY source on the internet I have found that does a credible job of identifying these legal school placement distinctions among all law schools which makes it all the more valuable.</p>
<p>Let's take the example I used (the part of the U.S. with which I am most familiar) regarding University of Texas, Baylor, SMU, University of Houston, and add two more - Texas Tech Law School and South Texas College of Law (located in Houston). Specifically, in the study the breakout of how deep into a class top tier law firms will recruit in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma is UT (38 percent), SMU (23 percent), U of H (23 percent), Baylor (14 percent), Texas Tech (9 percent) and South Texas (5 percent). First, this correlates with objective numbers of how "Biglaw" jobs are dispensed which my anecdotal evidence could no way come close to verifying. A laggard, University of Oklahoma Law School at only 4 percent which belies its Tier 2 U.S. News ranking against - say - Texas Tech, a tier 3 school with more success with "Biglaw"placing its graduates. Again, confirming information also helps. With some big caveats, OU's average private firm law salary at $58 K is about $12 K lower than Texas Tech's at $70 K. Conclusion, I am advising my son not to apply to OU (despite its higher US News ranking) unless he specifically wants to work in Oklahoma (which he doesn't). That's useful information to me.</p>
<p>Here's another gem that shines brighter than its U.S. News ranking, Vanderbilt, at least in its relative legal placement success. Vanderbilt with an upper teens ranking in U.S. News scores an overall number 12 nationally in this legal placement study. In my quiet anecdotal review on the NALP directory, I have noted where Vanderbilt Law School has approximately 430 employers (including offices from the same firm) who interview on its campus whereas UT with a much larger class and almost identical U.S. News ranking has around 400 employers. Nod to Vandy. Conclusion: advice to son for a reach school beyond the T14 for excellent legal placement when one is not sure of where one wants to practice, Vandy.</p>
<p>Here's more anecdotal but useful evidence that Vandy and Case Western are relative gems (among others) in their successful legal placement which this study has highlighted to the benefit of prospective law students. Vault in 2007 did a survey of legal recruiters (who better than the people who hire as a source) regarding the top 25 most underrated law schools. Vandy is # 7 on the list, Case Western # 17, and University of Houston # 18. Guess which schools I'm going to advise Junior (and why) might be good candidates for an application when the U.S. News numbers show a lower ranking than the relative success these schools have in placing their students. Thus this legal placement study noted in my prior post is indeed danged useful when one is sifting through 180 suspects beyond the initial 20.</p>
<p>For you West Coasters, Pepperdine Law School is another hidden gem relative to its U.S. News rank versus its legal placement success which both the legal placement study and the Vault underrated schools identify. "Nuff said. </p>
<p>Now go to the legal placement study's tables and find yourself a couple gems among the 180 or so law schools below the top 20.</p>