<p>1 University of Pennsylvania Law School<br>
2 Northwestern University School of Law<br>
3 Columbia Law School
4 Harvard Law School<br>
5 Stanford Law School
6 University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall)
7 University of Chicago Law School
8 Duke Law School
9 New York University School of Law
10 University of Virginia School of Law<br>
11 Cornell Law School
12 University of Southern California Gould School of Law
13 University of Michigan Law School
14 Georgetown University Law Center</p>
<p>Kind of bogus. They looked at the percentage of each school’s 2011 graduating class who ended up at the 250 largest law firms in 2011. No matter that not every graduating lawyer finds BigLaw the most attractive career option. And it completely ignores the fact that many of the top students at the top schools clerk for federal judges straight out of law school; those jobs, while less remunerative, are often more competitive and more prestigious than going straight to a law firm. That, I’m sure, is one of principal reasons Yale Law School doesn’t even crack the top 15.</p>
<p>this list does not compensate for prestigious clerkships, government jobs, and public interests jobs. plus, not all biglaw jobs are equal. for example, the students at northwestern are working at lower ranked law firms than chicago students. if we include the omitted employment data, it would end up probably roughly the same way as the US news rankings.</p>
<p>The list is useful despite the shortcomings of its methodology. Sure, there are one or two law schools that may not have made the list because a disproportionate percentage of their graduates go on to seek alternative, but still quite prestigious, employment. Some students also purposefully seek out smaller law firms or non-law firm employers.</p>
<p>However, if you discount the ordering of the list and view it instead as a list, in no particular order, of the law schools that have the most success placing graduates in the 250 largest law firms in the country, than it is a useful tool. Please remember that far from all of the these 250 largest law firms pay the top salaries available. </p>
<p>Notably, flawed as the methodology of this list may be, the list notes that only three law schools placed more than 50% of their 2011 graduates directly into these top 250 law firms.</p>
<p>Prior posters are correct in that the list doesn’t incorporate graduates who choose clerkships, specialty law, etc. etc. I do not understand why this is a criticism of this list, however. The topic and the list state, rather clearly, “Law.com List of Go-To Law Schools for Top Firms.” TOP FIRMS. This list didn’t say “Top Law Schools.” It is a list reflective of a specific segment of recruiting. People who argue with the list and point out various shortcoming or exceptions are defining a list that this list isn’t. As such, such posters would make poor lawyers, as lawyers spend a lot of legal brain cells working on “defined terms” in agreements. This list was narrowly defined. Got it?</p>
<p>woah, calm down kid. i am sure you would know what makes a lawyer effective since clearly you attend a top law school (let me remind you that you don’t). no need to be condescending especially since you clearly do not know what makes this list misleading.</p>
<p>schools like UT and UCLA are probably disadvantaged in this list because they are regional schools and many of their graduates take jobs that still play the same salary but merely work in smaller firms. also, the list does not account for the quality of the firm within the data. not all firms in the 250 are equal and some are even less prestigious than ones outside of the 250. students at northwestern are not placing in high ranking firms compared to nyu students. more important, the list does not account for the health of the market in which some schools are located in since these market situations change every year (this is important since this data is from the past and does not reflect current market conditions).</p>
<p>this is just a bit of what makes the list misleading. the list is akin to a list trying to figure out the percentage of high school students from a school attending a top university and then listing 250 schools. 250 is certainly not a great cut off to determine if something is at the top of anything. </p>
<p>next time you decide to spew stuff like “this list is reflective of a specific segment of recruiting” and insult board members, remember to ask yourself if you are anymore qualified to speak on the subject. many applicants would look at lists like these at get the idea that places like upenn and northwestern outplace everyone and make ignorant decisions.</p>
<p>Come on, guys. If you want to get a job at a competitive firm, go to the best law school you can. The US News list is a good place to start. It’s not like there is an “alternative” list for people who want to go to firms. Where do you think nearly all law school grads go, after all?</p>
<p>If you are looking at the list to learn whether one law school sends a higher percentage of new graduates to big law firms then fine. If you are looking at it to determine which law school sends the most new graduates to the most prestigious positions, then you are reading the wrong list. Law clerk positions with judges are the cream of the crop for new lawyers coming out of law school. The position lasts only a year (or two) and does not pay what the big law starting salary is but they are the stepping stone to almost anything including getting your choice of big law firms afterwards if that is what you desire. Yale actually sends the highest percentage of its graduates to law clerk positions, usually 35% of its graduates which is double to four times the percentage of all those listed in that big law list except Stanford and Harvard which usually send about 25%.</p>
<p>I have to disagree to the extent that a law school tends to send a lot of graduates into corporate/transactional practice. Knowing that I wanted to practice corporate law (M&A, securities, and private equity, in particular), I never even considered applying for clerkships. Many similarly situated, but still very qualified, law school graduates feel similarly.</p>
<p>A prestigious clerkship may be the right choice for certain practice areas, but not for all. If you want to boost your chances for elite litigation practices, then a federal clerkship will do that. If you want to go into corporate law, as Sallyawp mentions, then skip the clerkship and go straight to a top firm.</p>