<p>I am about to begin my freshmen year of college and was wondering is it really important for ones career to attend a top law school such as HLS, Stanford, Yale, Penn, or any of the like. The school that I will be going to has offered me a spot in thier law school as long as a maintain a 3.5 gpa, though the law school is nowhere near the top of the rankings. I don't really want to be a big wig elite law firm attorney, though I am interested in clerking on the federal level and being a assistant U.S. attorney. Would I be able to do these things without a ivy league law degree?</p>
<p>By the way, I want to practice in Chicago and the school that I was talking about was the University of Missouri-Columbia.</p>
<p>From what I've been able to glean from the boards, The top law schools (not just HYS but also places like Columbia and Chicago) open up a lot more career options than just a practice in law. Also, for the very top positions, like clerking for supreme court justices, these schools have a leg up on other law schools because of their reputation and the networking opportunties they offer.</p>
<p>Going to a top 14 school also seems to be a sufficient condition for making big bucks but by no means a necessary one (being at the top of your class from a 1st or 2nd tier law school will still give you options to make big bucks). The interquartile range of incomes from these top schools is 6 figures but as you climb down the rankings, the interquartile rang has more of a spread and is also lower in general.</p>
<p>You might want to check about the ranking of your school in specific areas of law, which can vary greatly from the aggregate ranking, and what you are interested in. Try not to be clouded too much by USNews rankings, it is a very biased and poorly organized ranking. For example the University of Houston has a top international law program but is ranked pretty low overall. There are many good law schools that will give you plenty of opportunites to the motivated, smart law student.</p>
<p>For what it is you want to do, the ranking of your law school will likely not matter much as the public justice system is filled with people from mid-tier schools. For example, many of the conservative justices on the short-list for the supreme court attended mostly regional law outside of the top 14 and they are sitting on the very respected benches. </p>
<p>clerking seems to be one of those areas in which the reputation of the school seems to matter quite a bit--especially with higher-level clerkships. there are also many firms that only recruit at specific schools--some of these are major national firms that only recruit at major national (top 14, or top 10, or top 5 in US News) law schools, and others are smaller regional firms that mostly want people who went to the smaller regional law school in their area (this is especially true outside of the big cities--if I had been positive that I wanted to work in Montana after law school, it would have made good sense to go to law school there, for example).</p>
<p>long story short, knowing what you want to do with your degree will help you decide where the best place is for you. If the program is non-binding, I say go for it--at the worst, you'll have a decent safety school...at best, you can skip the hassle and expense of LSATs and applications and be in at a place you'll be happy.</p>
<p>Don't do it. It doesn't take much to get into their law school anyway, and there's no reason to limit yourself to such a low-ranked school at this point.</p>
<p>I went to Harvard Law School and worked at both a big firm and the US Attorney's Office. The latter is a great job...the best I ever had. It helps going to a great school. Period. Go to the best one you get into because you'll always get a job...However, the best lawyers I know went to very mediocre law schools...being a lawyer is a trade...and Harvard, Yale, etc are not trade schools. You can learn to be a good lawyer at any law school. Then talent takes over.</p>
<p>Also, for the lawyers... does a degree from a top school give any significant advantage farther down the road (as far as promotions, respect, etc). Specifically in a large city but not your New York, LA cities.</p>
<p>I feel the advantages need to be great since IF I was accepted to a top school I would probably receive scholarships that would be very tempting from respected, but not top, state schools.</p>
<p>devo...down the line it will be the quality of your work that will determine promotions and respect. Lawyers are very clubby with those who wear their school ties...so it is not necessary to go to a big name law school if you plan to practice within a 50 mile radius (because many law school grads get jobs near their law school). Having said that...I took out so many loans to go to Harvard, I didn't pay them all back until I was almost 40. I still feel it opens doors to great opportunities...so, if you are offered admissions to one of the top five, you should consider them carefully! It is not, however, necessary to go to such schools in order to have respect or make partner. In fact, I had several male bosses who really resented the fact that I went to Yale and Harvard:) So, I do think that going to such schools offers advantages, but most of them are for your first few jobs and it lessens in significance the further down the road you travel. If my kids wanted to go to law school...I would still encourage them to take on the loans and go to the best one they get into.</p>
<p>You are welcome... I wish you luck...the US Attorneys' Office is a great job! You might look into the one's you are interested in (since you seem to think way ahead). Some only take lawyers after a couple of years at a big firm. It's easier to get into a big firm from a great school. I know two guys who worked in Chicago and both went to Harvard. You might look into clerking for the Office...one lawyer I knew went to a third tier school and got hired before I did because she clerked there and they loved her.</p>
<p>It really doesn't matter. Undergrad really doesn't prepare you for corporate law..in fact, law school doesn't really doesn't prepare you for corporate law either...it's on the job training. Choose a major that really interests you. Econ., poli sci, business and history are all traditional majors, but lots of people do math and sciences. It just doesn't matter for getting into law school or for corporate law. It does help to know how businesses are run...so take those classes if they are offered.</p>
<p>For these jobs, law school reputation matters tremendously. There's no way around that.</p>
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<p>does a degree from a top school give any significant advantage farther down the road (as far as promotions, respect, etc). Specifically in a large city but not your New York, LA cities.</p>
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<p>It can, especially if you are (1) moving to a new city and (2) you did not go to law school in that new city. In other words, say you go to Mizzou and you want to move from one St. Louis firm to another when you're 6 years out. Odds are, you'll be fine, and the reputation of the first firm and your performance there will be the most important factors. But say that 6 years out you want to move from St. Louis to Miami or Portland. You'll be at a major disadvantage relative to a lateral associate who went to a school with a great national reputation.</p>
<p>To give you some idea, when I was clerking for a federal district judge in Chicago, we regularly considered clerk candidates who were superstars at local second and third tier law schools (Kent, Loyola, etc.) alongside good students from Harvard and Yale. But when we got an application from Pepperdine -- no one in the office had ever worked with a Pepperdine grad, we had no idea how to view her grades, etc.</p>
<p>So, you don't really have to worry about it yet, but don't just plan on going to Mizzou law because you can avoid the LSAT that way. It matters.</p>
<p>LSAT is more important since LSAT is worth .1 gpa at most schools.</p>
<p>Doing extremely well on the LSAT is rarer than getting a 4.0. ANd a 3.6 can beat a 4.0 easily if that person scores 5 points better on the LSAT.</p>