<p>Hi guys,</p>
<p>Do any of you know where I can find a list of law schools in the U.S. and the programs they are known for? If not, can we start one here? :p</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>First, if you are not a US citizen or green-card holder, I’d respectfully suggest that you think twice before going to an American law school for a J.D. If you want to practice abroad, get a law degree in your own nation and then come to the US for a LLM, unless you are in a truly unique situation.</p>
<p>Second, you can find a list of ABA accredited law schools here:
[url=<a href=“Search for Law Schools – LSAC Official Guide | The Law School Admission Council”>Search for Law Schools – LSAC Official Guide | The Law School Admission Council]ShowAllSchools[/url</a>]</p>
<p>There are other, non-ABA accredited law schools, which I again would not recommend you attend unless you are in unique circumstances.</p>
<p>Third, as a general rule, it’s best to attend a top 14 law school: group 1 Yale, Harvard, Stanford; Group 2 Chicago, NYU, Columbia, Group 3 Berkeley a/k/a Boalt, UMichigan, UPenn, UVirginia, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Northwestern. The overall ranking of a law school is generally more important than it’s ranking for specific programs. USNews does have a ranking of some programs, but few attorneys pay much attention to it.</p>
<p>First, I am a US citizen and I mentioned the U.S. so that posters specifically exclude international schools.</p>
<p>Second, you were so quick to make assumptions that you didn’t even bother to answer my question. I wasn’t asking for a list of ABA accredited law schools; I was asking for a list of schools and their respective programs. In the future, please answer what is being asked as opposed to wasting your time restating things that has been repeatedly posted here and every other law school forum.</p>
<p>Third, again, that is not what I asked. I did not ask which aspect of a school ranks higher than the other. What I am looking for is a document of some sort that tells me which school excels in which program, the program they are known for or which school offers this or that specific concentration(s). </p>
<p>If anyone can point me to the right direction that would be great. Or if we can start one here I think that would be pretty cool too if people could contribute. Thanks!</p>
<p>Now I’m completely lost. What on earth are you asking for? Do you want a list of non-ABA schools with … uh, specialized “programs” designated?</p>
<p>I am asking for ABA schools (nowhere did I mention that I was asking for non-ABA schools) and what programs they are known for or what specializations they offer. For example:</p>
<p>Law Schools // Programs & Specializations:
X School of Law // Tax Law, Business Law
Y School of Law // Entertainment Law, Public Interest Law
Z School of Law // International Law</p>
<p>ucla has one of the best entertainment law programs</p>
<p>If you click on [Law</a> - Best Graduate Schools - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/law/index.html#]Law”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/law/index.html#) and scroll down a bit, there’s a ranking of a few common law specialties. It’s by no means extensive, but a start.</p>
<p>Also, public interest law isn’t a field of law…just a kind of grouping of subjects that would be integral for nonprofit or governmental work (as opposed to important for corporate work). The first-tier of law schools, the “national” law schools – top 15 or top 20, or wherever you choose your cutoff to be – will tend to give you the best education in things like administrative law, constitutional law, jurisprudence and legal history, etc. I think this is what you mean by public interest law.</p>
<p>But most good schools will offer a wide selection of courses…Keep in mind law school isn’t like undergrad. While you should focus on a few areas of interest, you don’t “major” in transactions and securities or “minor” in intellectual property.</p>
<p>Thanks, yougotjohn. That was very helpful information.</p>
<p>You are a very rude person. I shall not waste my time answering any questions from you again.</p>
<p>jonri:
She might have been a bit brusque in her response, but she did have some valid points. You did make a number of unfounded assumptions about what she was looking for. I don’t think your response is particularly called for.</p>
<p>That said lawgirl, unless you want some more specific info on a particular university, the US News and World Report rankings are going to be your best bet for the general info you seem to be looking for. Any idea on what fields you might be interested in?</p>
<p>Well, one thing jonri certainly got right is that these specialty rankings really don’t mean a thing. It’s not as though you choose a major in law school, though you can certainly concentrate in a particular area (at least, after 1L year, when your schedule is set for you). For the most part, the curricula at most schools are the same and the job opportunities you’ll have will depend largely on the school’s reputation overall, not a specialty ranking that few people even look at.</p>
<p>Bosque, I am mostly interested in Business, International, Immigration and Family Law. </p>
<p>I will go ahead and look at US News and World Report to start with. I wanted a list of schools and their programs for myself and others I know who are interested in law school. Call us naive, but to narrow down our school search, we’re really more interested in what programs/specialties the schools have to offer than where that school or that program ranks (to a certain extent, of course 
)</p>
<p>Law schools don’t really offer special programs. These rankings don’t have any bearing on your job opportunities or even (for the most part) the classes you can take. It would be a major mistake to choose a school based on specialty rankings.</p>
<p>That said, if you are trying to decide between two school who are within 3 or so ranks of each other and one is ranked top in the specialty you are interested in while the other ain’t even on the list, I say go with the specialty ranked. Those 3 ranks are not going to make much of a difference in over all job placement (and they change every year anyway) and chances are that even though the other school won’t help your placement necessarily, you might be able to learn more about the specialty you are interested in there.</p>
<p>But again, if the choice is between a T14 and a T50, pick the T14.</p>
<p>“In the future, please answer what is being asked as opposed to wasting your time restating things that has been repeatedly posted here and every other law school forum.”</p>
<p>I’m with Jonri - that was rude. This was your first post ever on CC. Your question was vague, specified nothing about your background, and you jumped all over a long-time poster who was trying to offer you some information because you think he was “quick to make assumptions.”</p>
<p>^Ditto. </p>
<p>OP: We can all understand that you are young (and by extension not fully mature); we can also understand how eager you are “to prove” your argumentative skills and consequently worth/potential as a lawyer, but this is the wrong place to do it. That was the wrong way to do it. What’s the right place? Well, I am thinking marriage or the court room–or if you are really brave, your 1L classes. What’s the right way? You’ll figure that one out once you find yourself in either of those settings. (But, word to the wise: respect is a virtue that is [almost] always good.)</p>
<p>Sure, Jonri made a few assumptions. But after being on this forum for a while, it is hard not to see patterns in posts and respond accordingly. He did not deserve such rudeness. Your post was also very vague and to an extent “nonsensical” to those more familiar with the legal world. In any case, he is by far one of the most helpful contributors of this forum. I do think he deserves an apology. You were very rude. </p>
<p>All that said, I am concerned by seeing your posts range from overly obsequious to overly offensive for almost no reason. While I want to dismiss it as youthful foolishness, it raises a few red-flags. If you operate in the same manner in he non-virtual world (with unjustified emotional outbursts all over the spectrum), have you thought about seeking counseling? The legal profession (and even 1L for that matter) would be the wrong place for someone who is such an emotional roller-coaster. Again, I do not know you; but from the evidence you present, it’s not a promising picture.</p>
<p>^jonri was only trying to be helpful, and did not deserve such a harsh response</p>
<p>IMHO, the choice of law school is often made for you, by your GPA and LSAT scores. You may LOVE the program at UCLA, but if your scores don’t meet the admission criteria, you need to look elsewhere.</p>
<p>Law schools have a pecking order. The top schools take the top undergrad students, and the top (read: better paying) law firms recruit from the top schools. </p>
<p>For all the criticism that US News and World Report receives about its law school rankings, the law schools do pander to their selection criteria. GPA and LSAT scores are almost everything.</p>
<p>If you want to work for a big firm, and make the big bucks, you need to have big scores as an undergrad. Signing up for an LSAT prep course is a wise investment in my opinion.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if you want to work on divorces, wills, and traffic tickets in a small practice hardly anybody will care which law school you went to. The challenge will simply be passing your state bar exam.</p>
<p>This is in sharp contrast to medical school for instance. If you graduate from a US medical school, you can work virtually anywhere. Your professional credentials will depend on which residency program you match to, rather than your medical school. Of course some medical schools have a better time matching their graduates to the more prestigious residencies, but you will see residents from lower ranked medical schools at even the highest ranked residencies.</p>
<p>One other comment about choosing the field of legal specialization at this point in your training. It is foolhardy. You haven’t been exposed to the full spectrum of opportunities yet. You need to go and experience law school first, and then after seeing firsthand what job opportunities are there for you, you decide.</p>
<p>Your interpersonal skills, at least over the Internet, appear to need work. I’ve worked with dozens of lawyers over the years, and I’ve seen multiple lawyers torpedo a favorable settlement just because they had to prove that they were a jackass.</p>
<p>The good news is that most law schools place strong emphasis on interpersonal skills and negotiation.</p>
<p>In short, do your best as an undergrad, take a prep course for the LSAT, and this will provide you with the broadest number of options for law school. If you do quite well, you can pick and choose. In general, picking the highest-ranked law school serves you better than picking a lower ranked school, as almost all the better schools have programs that will be suited to your needs.</p>