Posted by Orin Kerr:
Picking A Law School:
[1]David's recent pitch to prospective law students encouraging them
to turn down invitations to enroll [2]where I teach and accept
invitations to enroll [3]where he teaches reminds me of [4]this pretty
good essay on the complex relationship between law school rank and
career success. VC readers who are in the happy position of choosing
among various acceptances to law school should take a look.
My own take is that going to a higher-ranked, more established, and
more prestigious school tends to open some types of career doors more
easily; the higher up the ladder your school, the less a student has
to achieve once enrolled to benefit from those open doors. This does
not mean that students necessarily should go to the "best" school that
admits them. Law school is a three-year commitment, and considations
such as location, cost, "feel", and specific career interests and
priorities need to factor into the decision. Any or all of these can
outweigh prestige and rank. Also, some perceived distinctions in
prestige are too small to make any real difference; students should
not get hung up on the details of the latest US News ranking. At the
same time, I think most lawyers would say that the presumption should
be in favor of going to the "best" school that admits them assuming
that there are substantial differences in the rank/prestige of schools
they are considering. Of course, as David notes, actual mileage may
vary.
References
1. http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2005_02_20-2005_02_26.shtml#1109360118
2. http://www.law.gwu.edu/
3. http://www.law.gmu.edu/
4. http://www.lawcrossing.com/article/index.php?id=693
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