Need help from any lawyers, law professors, or law students out there..

Calling MadMax.....

 

Go for the best school (overall) you can get into. It will never hurt you and you will have a better network to fall back on later.

 

It seems to me that Law weighs so heavily on the aquisition of information, as opposed to the techincal application of it, that the highest ranked schools would be better than picking a school that specializes in your skill.

If I were an engineer I would go to a school that specialized in what I wanted to do even if it was ranked 100. Because I know I'd get some practical experience. But as a law student, it's just information, and no practical experience, so what's the point. just my thought.

 

Agreed with SJC. Employers look at the school's general reputation much more than their excellence in a particular specialty. Also, consider where you want to work after you've graduated. UH's a fine school, for example, if you're looking for a job in Houston and OK if you want a job elsewhere in the state, but doesn't carry much value if you're looking for a job in, say, California. More prestigious institutions will give you a degree that will "travel" better to other locations - a Harvard degree will get you a (high paying) job anywhere in the country.

 

Philly,

I don't post nearly as much as MadMax or Refman, but I saw this thread and thought I'd offer my 2 cents......

I went to South Texas College of Law in Houston. I was looking strictly at the advocacy program when I made my choice. U of H is really good and the tuition is so much cheaper that it would be hard to pass that up if you were looking for something in Houston.

I was heavily involved in mock trial, and South Texas has one of the premier advocacy programs in the nation. Hence, my choice.

In terms of 'real life' applicability, it has served me well thus far. I took the bar in July and took a position as an Assistant District Attorney, which I absolutely love. Of course, I enjoy being in court and trying cases. Many of my friends do not. They prefer transactional law of some sort. I don't know which camp you fall under, but if you really want to be a litigator, make sure you try to get involved with the advocacy program at your school. It's not a requirement, per se, but it has sure served me well.

Good luck.

 

i have a question:

is it better to get into a so so school right out of college (end of first tier-early second tier)?

or

wait a year doing community service and try for it again with a chance of getting into something better?

 

I was kind of surprised where I was finding info when I was lookin ginto law schools, so I'll share a bit with you.

First off, if you haven't seen the logic problems for the LSAT, they can be tricky. the best resource I have found short of spending thousands on a course was the Logic Games Bible from powerScore. Best 45 bucks I ever spent.

Secondly here are some links you maiy find useful.

The Harvard OneL Dictionary, to get you up to speed on legal terms...

Law School Admission Council, the clearing house for all your application materials...

A good article on Choosing a program from Kaplan

Princeton Reviews Law School Search, very helpful in the beginning stages

Vault Law School Message Board, good info mixed with a bit of bad, but it's a BBS, you know what to expect...

Boston College Law School Martix, use your GPA and LSAT to find what you chances are of getting in... or use your GPA to see what LSAT score you need to get into the schools you want.

I find out in about 2 weeks if I got accepted to UH Law. Best of luck to you.

 

Philly,

Good questions. I think the experience in the program itself is what helped the most. Many times it comes down to several different factors -- a 'totality of the circumstances', if you will.

What I mean by that is I think I would be in the same position if I had, let's say, gone to U of H or Texas Tech and still participated heavily in their advocacy programs. I chose South Texas strictly for the program, though. I feel I'm better prepared than most in a courtroom because of it. That being said, I think so much of it is also left up to the individual. Of course, if you go to UT, you will have a leg up based on that school's stellar rep. Then again, I had to beat out several UT grads to get this job.

Ultimately, if you choose a good school and dilligently apply yourself academically, you will be in good shape. Then, it's just a matter of deciding which type of law you want to practice and throwing yourself into the mix. If trial work interests you, do as much advocacy stuff as you can. After a while you will develop 'trial comfort' because of it. This is when your natural advocacy skills come out and you have the procedural aspect down so well that you're not always stressing about screwing up in front of everybody. The only way to get that is to just do it, and keep doing it. I'm sure you will do well wherever you decide to go.

Good luck.

 

Having gone to law school and currently practicing, I can offer up a few words.

I honestly do not think it matters where you go to law school (as long as it is not a bottom of the ladder type place). As a caveat, it does matter if you want to practice in a specific area (IP, health law, etc).

If you are in the majority of students who just want to be a lawyer and don't know exactly what you want to practice, visit several schools and decide which school has the culture you like best. Conservative or liberal? Friendly classes or ones full of cutthroats where it is all competition? etc etc. That should be your guide.

If you go to a decent school, get decent grades and pass the Bar, you will find that you are employable. You do NOT have to go to a first tier school to get a job. That is bunk. I would strongly recommend that you attend law school in the state in which you want to practice.

Good luck.

 

Strongly disagree:

1) As much as it might make it more fun to be in a school where everyone is friendly - if you never have to deal with those cutthroat people while you are in school, you might be in for a surprise when you enter the "real world". After all, this is law we are talking about here - the world of scumbags .

2) You might be "employable" if you go to a decent school, get decent grades, and pass the bar, but your chances to get a better job, higher salary and to more easily find employment are simply better if you go to a better school. What good is it for you to be passed over in favor of an applicant who comes from a top-tier school, but you can say "oh, at least I did not have to deal with a cutthroat environment in law school"? Sure, you will eventually find a job, but why not improve your chances as much as possible that you can choose the job instead of the job choosing you?

 

Go for the best one available.

Go to a local law school (UH, etc) and your career choices are limited to the immediate region and you need to be at the top of your class to even get an interview at a top firm. You are not shut out of possibilies if you don't, but your choioces are more limited.

Go to a national law school (Columbia, etc) and you can pretty much write your own ticket.



As for specific programs, I don't know if that's something to consider unless you're absolutely convinced that its something you want to do and specialize in before you go. It would suck to go to UH for IP and then find out that you think IP work sucks and is boring.

 

Check out Bendini, Lambert & Locke in Memphis if you really want to disocver the law.

 

How much of Law School is public speaking sort of stuff, and how much of it is studying and taking exams.

Just wondering since I have an interest in going to law school, but I have no interest in litigation type of stuff. I would be interested in being a contract or corporate type lawyer.

 

I think most school (mayby all) require you to give an oral argument as part of first yr leagal writing for in some sort of moot court competition. Outside of that its just regular classwork and writing papers. I hate oral advocacy too and just dealt with it 1st yr and it wast too bad.

 

very little, at least for me.

like somebody posted, I had one oral argument thingy to do back when I was a first year, but that was it.