I found this to be helpful and accurate. Law school ranking tends to be more important if your goal is to get hired by a prestigious law firm in a large market, or if you want to secure an upper-end government job such as a federal appellate clerkship or DOJ position. Otherwise, it's best to aim for a law school that has a solid reputation and a broad alumni network in the region where you want to practice. Also, if you know you want to practice law in a subject area that will not pay out large dividends right away (such as starting your own practice, working as a local prosecutor or public defender, or practicing public interest law), you would be better served by attending a lower-ranked low school that is less expensive or offers more scholarships/financial aid.
@Learnlawbetter
6 жыл бұрын
Jeff, thanks for your insight.
@ephedra443
3 жыл бұрын
I would say the DOJ is more situational. The DOJ is extremely competitive don't get me wrong, but looking at a lot of the profiles of lawyers at the DOJ and many of them come from DC area schools that are not highly ranked. So I'd say for the DOJ a high ranked school is not a necessity, but is certainly an important factor.
@jas-chi
6 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for this video. I once saw another law school youtube channel that said you should not even consider going to law school if you will be attending a school ranked outside the top 100. I think that is utterly absurd. My law school is ranked outside 100 but that is probably because it is smaller and not as well known as larger schools, but that doesn't mean its education is any less valuable or worthwhile. I am very glad you posted this video to break down rankings and how exactly they are calculated. It really gave me a lot of insight.
@Learnlawbetter
6 жыл бұрын
It's a shame that not everyone appreciates the role that law schools outside of the top 100 play. For example, the University of North Dakota School of Law is ranked below 100 but is the only law school in North Dakota. Many who attend there will end up practicing in North Dakota. Other law schools also serve regional markets.
@nealhillam5622
5 жыл бұрын
While the law school rankings are definitely skewed and are definitely not a reflection of how good the school actually is, employers do look at law school rankings. Take BYU Law for example. Its ranking is in the top 45. But the culture and the education and law school experience its students get is extremely elite -- absolutely on par with and in some cases greater than "T14" schools (I know several people who got into BYU and Harvard and chose BYU). BYU grads come out of law school with a very high legal education: but only 55% of BYU law grads are employed at graduation (www.ilrg.com/rankings/law/view/12). Why is that the case? Because employers don't care how good BYU Law is. They will take Boston U grads over BYU grads because Boston U is ranked higher -- in short, employers want prestige on the resumes of their attorneys. If you have a Tulane grad and a Northwestern grad, even if the Tulane grad is straight up a better lawyer, the firm would take the Northwestern grad simply because Northwestern is considered prestigious and it impresses potential clients, even in the case where the Tulane grad has better skills. Large potential clients are not going to be wooed into letting a firm do their work if the firm's attorneys do not have prestige on their resumes. It's super messed up, but that's just the way it is. In medicine, if you get a quality med school experience then you are set up to be a great doctor and you can climb up the success ladder. Sadly this isn't the way it works in the legal field. If you graduate from not just a low-ranked school, but a non-elite school, you might not ever be able to get a legal job that will allow you to showcase your true skills and climb up the industry ladder.
@AndreaLindell
5 жыл бұрын
This video was extremely helpful, thank you!!!
@Learnlawbetter
5 жыл бұрын
Excellent! Thanks for letting me know.
@ephedra443
3 жыл бұрын
Ranking matters and also it does not in some aspect. Ranking matters a lot if you want Big Law, Federal Clerkship, and especially if you want to go into academia. If none of these interest you, the often times going to a medium-ranked school with a scholarship in a region you like is the better decision than an elite school with horrible debt. However, I'd say ranking is important to everyone in a very specific way- extremely low ranked schools. I would advise anyone, regardless of your career goals, to avoid the most low ranked law schools as a lot of them have employment rates near 50%. However most schools in the top 100, which really is not that difficult to get into, are a great choice.
@Learnlawbetter
3 жыл бұрын
Except, there are 4th tier law schools that are the only option in their states, and they have great job outcomes. Depends on where you want to practice law. But to your point, look at the ABA Disclosure reports that every law school links to on their home page.
@juanpabloperez5200
6 жыл бұрын
I'm about to start my LLM program, choosing between Georgetown, Cornell and NYU was really hard; at the end I decided GULC, and was a little hesitant because of the ranking spot, I know is a Tier14 but is on the bottom of it and NYU is ranked number 5-6.... after watching this video I understand that even though NYU is ranked higher, in my personal background GULC will be better (I have worked for the judiciary and I intend to keep working on public affairs), like you said "x spots seems like a significant jump to you, but it's not"
@Learnlawbetter
6 жыл бұрын
I’m a Georgetown Law graduate and have never had any problems with the degree.
@fitzwilliamdarcy5263
4 жыл бұрын
I don't think those rankings apply to an "LLM." Those rankings apply to future lawyers who will have actual law degrees, not future paralegals with LLM's.
@juanpabloperez5200
4 жыл бұрын
Vander Copeland they do apply since you take classes with jd professors and jd students, also you can become a US lawyer with an LL.M not just a paralegal
@fitzwilliamdarcy5263
4 жыл бұрын
@@juanpabloperez5200 Most states don't allow you to take the bar with just an LLM. And in those that do, employers will certain know the difference between an actual JD from Georgetown, and a comparatively noncompetitive LLM. Not trying to be a dick, just giving you a heads up.
@dathunderman4
2 жыл бұрын
@@juanpabloperez5200 first of all, it’s called top-14 not “tier 14.” Second, like someone else has said, those rankings don’t really matter for LLM. There’s no law firm in the country that’s gonna pick someone cuz they got their LLM from NYU as opposed to Georgetown. For JDs it’s different because some very prestigious firms will interview at NYU while not at Georgetown. They don’t even do OCIs for LLM students.
@Outta12
6 жыл бұрын
This was a very informative video. Good information.
@thrallingFRglory
5 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for this! I’ve been following your channel since the last few weeks and it’s helped me loads. I was hoping you could help with a few questions. The Rankings you mentioned also have a component for subject rankings. I was looking at the Top Schools for Environmental Law and I couldn’t help but notice that the top 3 schools rated highly in this instance had a very low overall score in general. So while Vermont and Lewis & Clark rate highly for environmental law, they are pretty much at the back of the pack when it comes to overall rankings. So my question is, how does one make a selection in this case?
@Learnlawbetter
5 жыл бұрын
If you can get into an elite law school, that will open up more doors than a degree from a lower ranked law school with a focus on some specialty.
@Heijk
6 жыл бұрын
3:54 Stockholm Municipal Library 💙💛💙
@Learnlawbetter
6 жыл бұрын
Thank you! Glad to see that my audience is keeping me honest. And thanks for letting me know where it's located--it looks wonderful.
@General8675
4 жыл бұрын
Would you mind doing a breakdown of understanding the 509 disclosure? I feel like those are more objective measures
@hyojinlee
4 жыл бұрын
Loved this video. Thank you❤️
@Learnlawbetter
4 жыл бұрын
Glad it helped.
@pranavpillai7778
Жыл бұрын
Law school rankings matter insofar as the reflect employment outcomes of different universities. In general, higher ranked law schools have better employment opportunities. Attending a lower-ranked law schools are generally a mistake unless there is a good program from a niche area of law like patent, environmental, American Indian, etc., has employment outcomes over 50% and bar pass rates are decent, and/or graduate top of your class. Although it is technically possible to be successful no matter what law school you go it comes with a huge caveat that most of these universities have employment outcomes which are awful ie. below 50%. Sometimes they improve if the economy is better. other times they don't. Being top in your class is more imperative if you attend a lower ranked law school in most situation. Successful graduates are the exception, rather than the rule. I don't mean to discourage people from attending these universities, but it is worthy of noting that it is significantly harder to find a job in many of these. I suggest all students to look at law school transparency irrespective of what university they choose.
@Learnlawbetter
Жыл бұрын
This isn’t correct. Many lower ranked law schools have excellent employment outcomes. Rankings are based on many factors, but the primary weight comes from the completely subjective opinions of academics, judges, and lawyers-a questionnaire is sent out each year to get their opinion. At Ohio Northern University, a fourth tier law school, there aren’t enough graduates for the number of employers who want to hire them. Same thing at other fourth tier law schools, like the University of North Dakota.
@pranavpillai7778
Жыл бұрын
@@Learnlawbetter I have to disagree with you here Professor. Most tier lower ranked law schools don't have employment outcomes consistently above 50%. In times of upturn, it may be above, but in downturn it falls. How can someone predict what the outcomes would be? Also, many are consistently below 50%. And very few are consistently above 50%. General rule is top of class or bust if you go to a low ranked law school. Or maybe if you go to a school like CUNY with a niche program in PI law. This might make things different.
@humbertoochoa1327
5 жыл бұрын
What would you say about the large university mergers with low ranked schools. Example: John Marshall Law School currently merging with UIC. I got a 75% scholarship but I'm hoping the ranking would go up. If not I would attend Loyola ranked in the 70s with a lot of loans.
@Learnlawbetter
5 жыл бұрын
Mergers are nothing new. Many law schools began as independent schools and eventually merged with a university. This happens for various reasons, including name brand recognition afforded by the new name.
@jl9062
5 жыл бұрын
Hello sir. Thanks for the video. I've been accepted by Richmond and Tulane (waiting for other schools as well.) It does appear to me that the ranking of law schools around 40~50 fluctuate. I've came to the conclusion that the small ranking differences between schools around that range doesn't really matter(like you said in the vid), but things like location/my future goals matter much more. However I do wish to attend a school within the 50th rank (the clusters you mentioned.) Is there really a difference between graduating a 49th school and a 52nd?
@Learnlawbetter
5 жыл бұрын
Those numbers will fluctuate, sometimes by 10 or more points for some schools. Law firms won’t pay attention to rankings that close to each other.
@ferdinanddelrosario7256
4 жыл бұрын
Good Day! How do we know if a Law School offers a quality legal education if it does not belong to the Top Law Schools of the country? Thank you very much for your brilliant advice. It has been a blessing to learn from you, Professor.
@Learnlawbetter
4 жыл бұрын
You will find that legal education is about the same at every law school in this country, which means you will get a quality education at any law school. Because of the ranking system, students perceive that one law school is better than another. This leads to students selecting schools based on rank, not the quality of the actual education.
@davidswann6154
6 жыл бұрын
I am looking at Harvard, University of Virginia, Berkeley, and UCLA Law Schools. I get a free ride to UCLA and Berkeley. I will have considerable resources to pay off tuition in a few years so I am not worried about the cost of tuition... I live in California. I would enjoy getting a Harvard Education. I have (2) masters and am a licensed architect. I appreciate your thoughts.
@Learnlawbetter
6 жыл бұрын
It really depends on what you want to do. By graduating, in effect, debt free then you will be able to pursue whatever career path you want. Harvard clearly has more prestige and will open more doors for you over your lifetime, but then you will need to pursue BigLaw for years to pay off the debt. If you are already inclined towards BigLaw, then I would recommend Harvard. No matter what you do later in life, you will have more opportunities with the Harvard degree. Wish you well.
@davidswann6154
6 жыл бұрын
Cool, thanks! - I appreciate the quick response.
@nealhillam5622
5 жыл бұрын
I'm in a similar situation. I guess it just depends on what you want to do. Berkely is, of course, the top tech law program in the country and is #1 for IP. But Harvard isn't bad at all too. The only problem with Harvard's IP program is that they only offer a few classes -- it's just patents and copyrights, and it's one course for each if I'm correct. I want to specialize in soft IP. The course list wasn't compatible with my plans. That was the main thing that dissuaded me from a Harvard education, which really bummed me out haha.
@kattetivikram1862
6 жыл бұрын
Sir please do how to entrance examination in law school
@Learnlawbetter
6 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll put it on my list of future topics.
@margaretkaren89
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the video! It was very informative! Does anybody know something about American University, Washington College of law? I am considering applying for the LLM (US law) to be admitted to the NY bar exam. Anybody took this path as an international student?
@janesajenkins3246
2 жыл бұрын
I was under the impression you cannot sit for the NY bar w a LLM?
@zacharythurm852
5 жыл бұрын
What about schools that are ranked between 15-20? Are they in a elite category or are they grouped with 20-40?
@Learnlawbetter
5 жыл бұрын
Those are good schools, and you will find that they are well respected by legal professionals.
@reginaldcharles1133
3 жыл бұрын
Great information sir,Thank you
@Learnlawbetter
3 жыл бұрын
Welcome
@alexanderjimenez1995
4 жыл бұрын
Will going to a high profile university like Berkeley help my chances of going to a T14? Or how much is that weighted in?
@Learnlawbetter
4 жыл бұрын
Going to an elite college will help in law school admissions, but don't expect miracles with a low GPA or low LSAT score. In other words, all other things being equal, attending an elite undergraduate institution is an advantage.
@DrexelGregory
2 жыл бұрын
2:55 Law schools: they’ll screw you before they teach you. Welcome to the legal world.
@suzzaneelliecha9887
3 жыл бұрын
Hi I just wanna ask where should I get the best scholarship?
@kristopherstory9048
6 жыл бұрын
Currently have a 3.984 GPA with 63 hours (government major at UT Austin). I am about to enter my junior year. What schools do you think I could get into with the following LSAT scores accompanied by mediocre extracurriculars: 165 168 171 173 175 176+
@Learnlawbetter
6 жыл бұрын
Those with average GPAs but good LSAT scores are called "splitters." With a high LSAT score, you should be able to get into an elite law school--though not all of them. Once you get your LSAT score, look at the law schools that accept students with those scores and apply to them.
@kristopherstory9048
6 жыл бұрын
Well is 3.984 considered average?
@Learnlawbetter
6 жыл бұрын
Sorry, was rushing to get ready for church this morning and saw the word “mediocre.” You’ve got a great GPA! The extracurriculars aren’t that important, unless you get a high enough LSAT score to get into Yale, Harvard, or Stanford.
@gerardtyson2274
2 жыл бұрын
Don't worry about law school rankings, just don't even bother applying to them. Better to do computer science or engineering and make income right out of 4 years of undergraduate. Rather than spending another 3 years of tuition plus interest going to law school and working longer hours for marginally better, or sometimes worse, income.
@Learnlawbetter
2 жыл бұрын
Assuming money is the primary driver.
@gerardtyson2274
2 жыл бұрын
@@Learnlawbetter I enjoy watching your videos though, even though I don’t have any interest in law myself. Very informative.
@jefe-
6 жыл бұрын
🤩🤗😊😊😊😊
@C3yl0
6 жыл бұрын
In other words top 50 😂 1-15 is the ideal but 😑 the but...
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