Law School Help Needed!!!!!!?

dave23857

Definetly go to the ABA-approved school.

As for jobs...it depends. You need to research the school for three important factors:
1. Bar passage rate. You dont want to spend a ton of money only to find out you can't pass the Bar. Ideally you want a school that is at least equal to the state average. Most statistics will list these stats for you.
2. Tuition and starting salary. I would not go to a lower ranked law school with 30k tuition per year. It's just very risky. I would also check average starting salary of their grads. And you need to compare this with the tuition and make a decision of whether it is worth it.
Where I live in Florida there is a low-ranked law school that only costs 10K a year in tuition. Something like that would be worth it because you will come out with reletively little debt and even a government job would pay that off without much problem.
3. Employment at 9 months. Some stat sites have this at 6 months but it shouldnt matter either way. This should be in the 90% range....80s at the lowest.

It also matters where you want to work. Big law firms probably will not hire you at lower-ranked schools. You will probably be fighting for small firms. If all else fails, you can work for the government....the government hires any person they can but the pay usually isnt great. But you get government benefits and decent working hours. Other people go to low-ranked schools just want to get that JD so they can eventually open their own practice in the future.

So it really matters what you want to do with it. How much money you want to make. How much debt you will take on. Saying whether it is worth it or not is difficult to give an answer to because people have different career goals of where they want to go with their JD.

Also one more thing....where you go to law school is probably where you will live for the rest of your life. Or at least in that state. If you dont want to live in California the rest of your life, consider going to another state. Because most law schools (unless you go to the top 14) are regional. Which means law firms get fed grads from the regional schools they have connections with. If you want to move out of state, you will have to really pull some good interviews.

musicalone8123

Honestly, if you're going to an ABA school that is not that great in terms of reputation, yes, you're kind of screwed. There are simply way too many people in law school, way too many law schools and not enough jobs. Employers do seem to care first and foremost about grades, so if you were in the top 10% at that school you could still have a chance; however, many also just will not hire people from certain schools unless you're good at networking and have the right connections.

There are people at better schools who are struggling to find jobs right now or could only get jobs that barely allow them to pay the bills. I, myself, have struggled with finding jobs and will be graduating from a top law school this weekend without one (I'm pretty sure I'll end up with a job, but if I didn't attend the school I do I don't think I'd be so confident). Plus, if you're talking about California, you have to compete with students from Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, USC--the best schools in CA--and then all the other schools in CA, of which there are TONS, PLUS people from schools like Harvard, Michigan and so on who want to work in CA.

You definitely don't want to go the non-accredited route. Even if the school is cheaper, you're going to struggle to get a job if you even get one at all...therefore, it's still a waste of money. My advice basically is that if you can't attend a decent law school, don't attend one at all. It's hard out there right now for law school grads simply because too many people head to law school nowadays and because the economy is so unstable.

Neonzeus

An ABA approved law school is definitely preferred. Take a look at the bar pass rates. You're going to be spending a lot of money and want to make sure you have a good chance of passing the bar at the end of the three years. Where do you want to practice law? If you want to practice law in CA, going to a CA school is good. Going to a 4th tier school in CA may be better than going to a 3d tier school in another state if your ultimate goal is working in CA. IMO, non-accredited schools are not recommended -- not only because their pass rates are low but you probably won't be able to take the bar in other states. There's a reason why they aren't accredited.

Graduating from a 4th tier school is not a death sentence, but it can limit some career opportunities. You may find it harder to get a job, or to get a better-paying job. If you pass the bar, it won't mean you're unemployable but it will mean that you may find it tougher than a 3rd Tier school. There is a glut of lawyers, so finding an entry level job can be tough anyway.

On the other hand, you are selling your own skills as a lawyer. I f you have motivation, learn the skills, are willing to work really hard and believe in yourself, you can develop a satisfying legal career whether you put out your own shingle or find a job working for someone else.

If you didn't get into the law school that you really, really wanted, you can weigh whether anything would change if you wait a year or two and apply again. Most law schools have a lot of older students.

Good luck!

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