National vs. Regional Schools

[Anne Chaconas]

A T14 is going to be your best bet anywhere in the country. However, if you can't get into one, then a NYC-based school, even a lower-ranked one like Cardozo, will likely give you better prospects, given alumni and school networking opportunities.

[moshei24]

So T-14 is scores better than 15-25?

[Nikki Siclunov]

Let me add a few comments to Anne's excellent advice.

T14 are considered "national" law schools, so they do give you the best prospects for finding a job regardless of location, while also allowing you to compete with relatively fewer classmates for each city. Although even national schools have certain regional biases (e.g. Columbia students tend to stay in NYC after graduation), a greater proportion of such graduates will go elsewhere, compared to, say, the graduates of Fordham Law.

Schools in the 15 - 25 range will give you some of the best regional opportunities outside of the T14. For instance, virtually the same DC law firms that recruit at GULC also recruit at GW, and the expected class rank (e.g. top third) is more or less the same for both schools. The difference, then, comes from how many other students you're competing with for the same jobs: the vast majority of GW students will stay in DC, so the competition will be quite intense; by contrast, GULC has a more national reach, so many GULC graduates won't be looking for a job in DC, lessening the competition for regional jobs.

Basically, the more regional the school becomes, the greater the competition for the top jobs in that region. This downside is often "balanced" out by the strong alumni network of regional schools, allowing you to find a job outside the OCS lottery system. That said, given the abysmal job market today, you can expect that competition for jobs will be intense everywhere regardless of school or class rank, making networking key. This is obviously not an exact science. But once you know which schools you're in, you'll be able to better compare your options.

[Anne Chaconas]

Couldn't have said it better myself, Nikki!

Moshe, at this point I would focus on simply getting your applications in and seeing where you are accepted. At that point, you'll be able to make a decision that's based on facts rather than hypotheticals.

Best of luck!

[moshei24]

I hear what you're saying. Sorry about the late reply. I'm finally done with the LSAT, for good. And I think I went out strong. I hope so.

Would a school like GW have a good reach in NYC because it's not too far?

[Anne Chaconas]

Hey Moshe,

GW has good brand-name recognition in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, and New York is one of the three biggest markets for GW grads, along with Maryland and Virginia (you can see more on GW alumni employment in the 2012-2013 GW JD Admissions Brochure, available here: http://www.law.gwu.edu/Admissions/JD/Pages/default.aspx -- side note: you'll be able to find similar information in the admissions brochures of other schools, if you're looking to figure out reach and alumni network for other institutions).

In short: Yes, GW will have good reach in NYC.

Best of luck with your apps!