<p>I was commenting more on the fact that you automatically assumed he wanted to work in corporate law.</p>
<p>AcceptedAlready, initially I was going to respond somewhat harshly to your perspective. But after a moment of cool reflection, I decided that I agree with you in part. Yes, corporate or "financial law" is quite regional. In fact, it's more or less limited to New York (a.k.a. Wall Street) firms which TEND to recruit from a very small list of schools. By the way, I wouldn't include Georgetown on that list. The recruiting list for wall street firms is essentially limited to about a half dozen law schools.</p>
<p>A law school applicant should realize that beyond the Hudson River, these days a JD from an Ivy League Law School may not provide an advantage. Sure, the elite school grad at the top of the class can probably write his/her own ticket, but law firms still suffer from clubbiness, and in the regions recruiters view the local "flagship" law schools, like Washington (Seattle), Texas (Austin) and California (Berkeley, Hastings and Los Angeles) as their primary source of talent. Boston College Law graduates do quite well. St. John's U and Brooklyn Law school have the highest rate of bar admission (first time passing grade on the exam) than Columbia, Cornell or New York University, and some folks complain that it is extremely hard to get a job at a Philadelphia "main line law firm" if you're your pedigree doesn't include a connection to Philly as well as a degree from an elite school.</p>
<p>So ultimately, a law school applicant has to decide prior to enrolling what type of career he or she desires. Every law school teaches constitutional law. Contracts and Torts is basic for every law student, so if one wants to set up shop in the home region, then make your decisions accordingly. If you want to do deals for Morgan Stanley, you'd better go to Columbia Law and do well. If you think Atlanta is for you, then realize that the old "white shoe" firms don't look far beyond places like Washington and Lee, Vanderbilt, U of Georgia, Emory University, Southern Methodist University etc.</p>