Standards for Assessing Law Schools

Few people will consider all of the following criteria to be important, but they are listed here to spur your thinking about what you would like most in a program. The most important criteria will depend upon your specific needs, but on average they include course offerings, school reputation, location, academic and political atmospheres, school size, facilities, and teaching quality. The two items applicants tend not to weight heavily enough are the learning atmosphere, for reasons discussed here, and the quality of the career services function, because schools of equal quality and reputation tend to have very different rates of success in placing their graduates in desirable positions.

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General

Reputation. Is the school considered one of the best schools in the country? Is it particularly well known and respected where you would most like to work? Is it highly regarded in your chosen specialty? Are professors in that specialty highly regarded? The various school rankings should not be considered definitive. You need to pay at least as much attention to the opinions of those in charge of hiring as employers of the type for whom you wish to work.

Size. Smaller schools often engender a friendly, family atmosphere, with relatively close contact between professors and students. Large schools, on the other hand, are able to provide large numbers of elective courses, activities, and publications.

Location. What part of the country would you prefer to be in for three years? New York is exciting, but expensive and no one's idea of charming. Charlottesville is charming and inexpensive, but not exciting. Do not ignore the fact that you are about to spend three years of your life in law school; try to spend it somewhere you will appreciate.

The location of a school helps determine its social environment. Schools in large cities tend not to foster the degree of social bonding among classmates that schools in small towns do, largely due to the lack of other entertainment options in the latter.

Where do you intend to practice? A "national" school, of course, is termed national because it is well known across the country and able to place its graduates around the country. This does not, however, gainsay the benefits of attending school where you wish to practice. A school will tend to do very well placing its graduates in local firms and agencies. (For any given quality of school, it is easier to get a job in the nearby region than elsewhere.) More than that, you will have the chance to get to know the local legal scene well. Local practitioners will be frequent guest speakers at classes, colloquia, and brown-bag lunches devoted to various employment options. You and your classmates will share knowledge about local employers based upon summer and part-time work for them. This will afford you an understanding of the local scene far beyond what you could get from a distant school, however good it might be. The value of networking, moreover, will be greatest for those intending a very local practice. (Family law specialists need to know, and be known by, the judge and other practitioners in their jurisdiction whereas international corporate lawyers do not.)

Do not be concerned about where you will take the bar exam. You do not need to be at an Illinois law school simply because you intend to take the Illinois bar exam. The top law schools do not teach the laws of their home state, so you will be equally prepared (or unprepared) for Illinois's bar exam after attending Columbia or NYU rather than Chicago or Northwestern.

The school's location will have a major impact upon your spouse's (or significant other's) employment options. A corporate strategy consultant will have a relatively easy time finding appropriate employment in a major city but not in a small town. Similarly, your spouse's educational options are likely to be greatest in a city with numerous major universities rather than in a one-university town. By the same token, your children might have a tougher time socially and educationally in a large city than in a small town, or vice versa.

One additional locational factor to consider: How important is it to be close enough to your former home to allow easy visits?

Safety. Related to the location issue is the question of safety. Be sure that the school environment is, and feels, safe. In assessing safety, make sure you see the school and its environs (wherever students spend time), and do not assume that what appears safe at noon will also be safe at midnight. Discuss the matter with school officials, of course, but do not take their comments on faith. Be sure to discuss your concerns with students physically most like you. (Your notion of a safe environment will not necessarily be the same as that held by a 250-pound world karate champion or a tiny, fragile arthritis sufferer.)

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Facilities. Check to be sure the library and computer facilities are top-notch. In particular, note whether they are comfortable for extended work efforts.

Housing. Housing can be a major concern, especially in your first year. Look at the law school dorms and apartments (where married students are generally housed). Examine the price and availability of off-campus housing. Note what transportation options you will have (and their safety implications).

Mission. Schools vary in the extent to which they wish to educate legal generalists versus legal specialists, those who will actually practice law versus those who will use legal training as a springboard for another profession, and those who will practice corporate law versus those who will work in the public interest sector. These differences can have a major affect upon your fit with a program and the students who have chosen to attend it.

Program

Term length. Long semesters lift the pressure of constant examinations and papers, but quarters make it possible to sample a wider variety of courses.

Program length and timing. Several schools offer the chance to take sufficient courses during summers that it is possible to graduate in just over two years. Michigan offers the chance to start in late May and finish at Christmas (rather than in late spring). Northwestern offers an extended, four-year program for those whose family obligations make a three-year program too intensive.

Courses in other departments. Those studying many different fields of law can benefit from courses in related areas. Thus, someone studying antitrust law might wish to take courses in economics; someone studying taxation might wish to take accounting courses; family law, psychology and finance; and so on. In some cases, this might call for doing a joint degree, but often the needs can be met through just a handful of courses, rather than adding a year to one's program. The problem is that most law schools permit only two, perhaps three, courses to be taken elsewhere in the university. (Penn is a rarity in allowing four courses to be taken elsewhere in the university.) Some schools, however, have brought many such courses within their own program. Thus, some offer multiple courses in accounting, economics, finance, statistics, and so on as part of the regular law school program, thereby obviating the need to take as many courses outside the law school itself. If you will want to take such courses, check to see how many are offered within the law school itself. If you will need other courses, check to be sure that they are open to law students, and that you will be allowed (by the law school) to take the number you need.

Joint degrees. The number and variety of joint-degree programs on offer at the top schools is spectacular. If you want a joint law and forestry degree, contact Yale; law and information science, Michigan; law and bioethics or city planning, Penn. The most popular option remains the JD-MBA, which accounts for nearly half of those doing joint degrees. Joint law and master's degree programs generally require four years of study, thereby decreasing the amount of time that would be required to do each degree independently by one year. (A new exception to this is Northwestern's JD-MBA program, which can be completed in three calendar years rather than four.) Joint law and doctoral programs operate similarly, cutting about one year from the required study time.

The reputation of the "other" degree program may be vitally important down the road. If you intend to teach law and economics in an economics department, for example, the quality of the economics degree you get may matter more in your job hunt than does the quality of the law degree. For a JD-MBA, the MBA portion will weigh more heavily if your intended employers are in the business, rather than the legal, sector. Note that although many top law schools are ranked at approximately the same level as their affiliated MBA programs, there are some prominent exceptions. Yale's MBA program is ranked significantly lower than its powerhouse law program (the same is true for NYU), whereas Northwestern and Penn have higher-ranked MBA programs.

Internationalization. Law has become a strikingly more global profession in recent years. Law firms in Europe and the United States are merging; other firms are working hand in glove across continents. The Big Five accounting firms are developing massive law practices outside the U.S. (and trying to get regulations changed to permit them to establish practices in the U.S.). These developments mirror the needs of businesses and individuals whose affairs are increasingly international. In numerous practice areas you can now expect to have an international dimension that would not have existed 20 years ago. Most of the top schools, though, have adapted only partially to this new environment.

Therefore, if your field has (or will have) such an international dimension, then look at schools' programs carefully. Do not just look to see whether some courses on international law are offered. Instead, examine whether courses devoted specifically to the international aspects of your field are offered. Examine, too, whether regular courses (i.e., those not labeled "international") include an international component.

Depending upon your interests, you might wish to do an exchange abroad (see below) or go a large step further and get an American law degree and a foreign degree, too. For instance, both Cornell and Columbia offer the opportunity to do two years of study in the U.S., followed by two years of study in France or Germany, resulting in both a JD and Maitrise en Droit (France) or M.LL.prax. (Germany).

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Exchange programs. Those interested in an international dimension to their practice might benefit from a term at another top school, one that offers the opportunity to study in another language or pursue a specialized topic in greater depth. Consider the number and quality of exchanges on offer at a given school, but also make sure your particular interests are catered to. For instance, if you intend to practice international tax law, with a specialization in French taxation, make sure the school has an exchange with a leading French law school.

Make sure, as well, that you will have access to the appropriate tax courses in that program. A school like Columbia has established relations with eight programs abroad. UCLA, in contrast, permits no studying abroad during the academic year, just during summers.

Curriculum

First-year courses. Nearly all schools require that you take civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law, property law, and torts. These are normally taken in the first year, although some schools require that constitutional law be taken in the second year, instead; this difference is not meaningful. Several schools, however, are experimenting with the first-year curriculum, largely to provide a more meaningful context for the study of law.

Electives. Make sure the school offers sufficient electives in your chosen field. Note, too, whether the course offerings reflect recent developments in the field. Be sure courses listed in the catalogue or on the Website are given annually. Some schools list all the courses they have given at some point in recent years, or hope to give, rather than those that will indeed be offered. Be sure, too, that more than one professor provides them, so that your education will not be savaged by one professor choosing to take a sabbatical during your third year. Note that some schools have definite specialties (and reputations to match). For example, Tulane is famous for its admiralty and maritime law program, NYU for taxation, Berkeley for law and technology, Chicago for law and economics—and Harvard for too many items to mention.

Clinical courses. Clinical courses offer the opportunity to develop practical lawyering skills and learn what it is like to work for real clients. Internal clinics feature clients coming to the law school for help, with a faculty member on hand to supervise student efforts. External clinics are held away from the law school; a faculty member may or may not directly supervise work done there. In place of a faculty member, the attorneys who regularly work at the institution may be charged with supervisory responsibilities. Mock sessions are the rule in simulated clinics. Sessions are often videotaped, followed by debriefing with a faculty member. Clinical courses are extremely helpful in some fields, such as litigation and family law. In other fields, they are likely to prove useful rather than vital. Check the ABA Official Guide to Approved Law Schools for the number of positions available and filled in each type of clinical course. Check the school's Website for listings of the courses on offer for each subject.

Soft skills and law firm management courses. There are many skills essential to successful legal practice that are not learned in a traditional, substantive legal course. Negotiating, public speaking, and other "soft" skills are often critical to success, but some schools offer few opportunities to develop them in a structured class environment (rather than developing them on your own through student organizations and the like). This is a pity. Examine your chosen schools' offerings in areas important to your chosen specialty. For example, if you intend to develop a family law practice on your own, or with one or two others, you may wish to promote yourself by giving speeches to local groups. Public speaking and
presentation skills will be important to your success. So, too, will be your knowledge of how to run a practice. Some schools offer courses on law firm management that can be invaluable for you. (If such courses are not on offer, they should be. It is astounding that despite the fact that the business of law has become extremely important, few schools prepare their students for the business side of practice. As a rough and ready substitute, look at the business school's offerings, but be aware that they will not focus on the law firm environment.)

Internships. Nonpaying positions can range from working for a judge to working for a national public interest organization. These placements often offer opportunities that are not readily available via classroom or proper work experiences. As with any good job placement, you have an opportunity to learn about a job at the same time as you are learning how to do it. You can make substantial contacts in your field and your firm or agency. Such placements tend to be particularly important for those not going the standard corporate law firm route.

Those headed toward public interest law, for example, will find that an appropriate internship will help them demonstrate their commitment to public interest work (which is critically important in gaining paid employment in this sector).

Externships. Schools increasingly provide real-world placements for which course credit is granted. You can be placed in a private firm, nonprofit organization, government agency, the judiciary, and so on.

Technology. Whether in formal, dedicated courses or ungraded workshops, the school should provide you with ample opportunity to become a proficient user of new technologies.

Pedagogical Issues

Teaching methods. Teachers can use lectures, the case method, simulations, or actual clinics to impart knowledge. Some courses lend themselves to one method rather than another. Unfortunately, all of the top law schools are still overly enamored of the case method, particularly for the first-year core courses. A mixture of lecture and case analysis would be a better bet for such courses, but the tradition of teaching them via case method is still too strong for most schools even to contemplate a change. Teaching of upper-level courses is nearer the mark. The mixture of case, lecture, and clinic is still being sorted out at most schools, but at least the question of what works best for what subject is under active consideration for these courses.

Teaching quality. Even apart from the question of what would be the best method for teaching a given subject, quality is remarkably uneven and hard to assess (especially from a distance). It varies mightily from school to school and professor to professor, yet few students take enough courses at multiple law
schools to be able to render a judgment about the relative merits of the schools' teaching. As a result, the best way to gauge a school's teaching is by examining the ways in which it promotes good teaching. Kellogg (Northwestern University's business school), noted for good teaching, has a number of procedures in place to facilitate good teaching: "Professors are held to high standards in the classroom. Each new faculty member attends an orientation, is assigned a mentor, and is invited to a session on teaching techniques especially designed for Kellogg.

New faculty does not teach in their first quarter, so that they may observe more senior colleagues and become familiar with the Kellogg environment. Every class is evaluated by students, and the evaluations are posted publicly. Tenure and promotion decisions are partially based on teaching quality." Compare each law school's efforts against this standard—but expect to be disappointed.

Workload, All of the top schools require substantial work, but there is still a large disparity between the load at the least and the most demanding schools. This is partly a function of the degree of competition (see below) at the school rather than the actual demands of professors. To this extent, it is under your control; you do not have to work 100-hour weeks simply because most people around you are doing so.

Still, the more easy-going the academic atmosphere, the less hard you will need to work for a given rank-in-class or possibility to be on law review. Be careful in assessing workload, by the way, because even asking admissions people may mark you as someone insufficiently determined.

Pay close attention at school information sessions when someone else is silly enough to inquire about it. When visiting a school, ask students how hard most people work (and note how many people are still in the library or computer rooms at midnight) , but do not take their replies at face value since students love to complain about how hard they have to work.

Class size. During the first year, most classes will be quite large, but their exact size is of little consequence. There is little difference between a class of 80 and a class of 125 in terms of the learning experience. In order to provide a more personal, intense learning experience, without blowing the budget, schools generally have one class per term split into smaller sections (with each still taught by a professor). The size of this section can range from about 20 to 50. This size differential can have an impact upon your learning, so prefer schools that have a smaller first-year section size.

During the second and third years, classes taken by most students—such as corporations, evidence, and individual taxation—will generally be very large, other, more advanced or less popular subjects will be taught to much smaller numbers. It is valuable to have available seminars in your field, not just for the in-class attention you can get from professors, but also for the opportunity to get to know professors in your field out of class. (In some fields, such as litigation, the availability of small classes will be less important than the availability of clinics with appropriate professorial supervision.)

Professors. The ideal professor would combine three related activities. She would be dedicated to teaching, and would always be available in her office for conversations and assistance. She would also be a famous lawyer (or consultant on her subject), hired in all manner of controversies. (She might also be a prominent television commentator.) The ideal professor is, moreover, someone who devotes substantial energy to research and publishing, to increase her fame and that of the school.

Although it is impossible to square the circle and have professors both be readily available and be practicing law in important cases and be prolific authors, a school can foster an open-door policy that encourages professors to be on campus and readily available to students for at least some portion of each week. Students routinely prefer teachers who teach well over those who do high-quality research at the expense of quality teaching. Some schools have student evaluations of professors printed for student use. You are unlikely to be sent a copy if you request this by mail, but on a school visit you should be able to get a copy from the bookstore or an individual student. Look at this to determine how students really feel about teaching quality at the school.

Social Issues

Politics. The political leanings of professors can have a major impact upon your experience.

Competition. Although most students would prefer an atmosphere that emphasizes cooperation more than competition, that is not true for everyone. Some people are inspired to work harder and perform better in a competitive environment. Schools that have a high percentage of old-style Socratic Method professors are prone to a high degree of competition. On the other hand, the more work that is done in teams (and graded on a team basis), the less competitive the atmosphere is likely to be. If students' grades and class rank are displayed to the class and to potential employers, the atmosphere is likely to be more competitive. The use of a mandated grading curve inspires competition, since an improvement in one student's grade means another's must suffer. Last, the number of students who are flunked out of the school has a large impact. Many, but by no means all, schools try to retain every student they enroll, thereby easing student fears.

Student-faculty relations. The student-faculty ratio, at the extremes, can have an affect upon the relations between the two groups. Thus, at a school with a 20:1 ratio, getting to know professors may be more difficult than at one with a 7:1 ratio. But this simple ratio is likely to conceal as much as it reveals. The relative numbers of students and professors tend to have less impact upon relations between the two groups than do other factors. Most important is the attitude professors have toward students. Some schools have a traditional closeness between students and faculty; faculty routinely invites students around for coffee or drinks, join them for lunches, and so on. At other schools, professors do little more than hold periodic office hours. One determinant of the tradition is the school's geographic situation. Schools that are isolated tend to have closer faculty-student relations than those in the midst of major cities. Another determining factor is the size of the law school. Smaller schools tend to have closer relations than large schools.

Quality of life. Student lifestyles may vary a great deal, of course, depending upon both the program and the student. A program in New York City may influence a student's life less than one in the country. At a school like Duke, in a small city, most students’ socializing is done with other students, both because the students tend to get on well with one another and because Raleigh-Durham offers limited enticement to pull students away from the law school. Note that some schools treat spouses and families much better than do other schools. Some allow spouses to sit in on courses as a routine matter, whereas others have never heard of the idea. Again, some but not all schools include families in the school's social life and go to great lengths to help them find jobs, whether in the law school (or university) or in the surrounding area.

Be sure that your favorite activities (including those typically organized as a law school society or club, as discussed below) are available, whether at the school itself or nearby.

Journals and Societies

Law review. "Making law review" is important to many people, whether for the prestige it confers or the improved job prospects that result. For those headed into the teaching of law or work at a major law firm, making law review can be critically important. (The law review is invariably the most prestigious of a school's journals.) Law reviews select members on the basis of grades, a writing competition—candidates are given, say, five days to produce an article on an assigned topic, or a mixture of the two. (Several schools permit writing an article on any subject that might prove publishable.) If you are determined to get onto law review and are a particularly strong writer, you might favor a school that uses a writing competition to select members.

Subject-specific journals. The top law schools publish student-edited journals on a wide variety of subjects. Editing such a journal provides you with an opportunity to develop both your writing skill and your knowledge of the field. Some topics are routinely the subject of journals (environmental law, international law), whereas others are quite rare (criminal law, for instance). Even Harvard, with twelve journals, does not cover all fields.

Student societies. A rich and varied offering of student organizations can make law school a fine learning and socializing experience.

Jobs

Jobs. The more highly employers regard a school's graduates, the more job offers will flow. Specific offers depend upon more, however, than just a school's general reputation. If you hope to practice labor law, for instance, you will certainly want to choose a school that offers numerous courses in the field and has several highly regarded professors who specialize in it. You will also want to make sure other students will be entering the field; otherwise, you can be left out in the cold. A labor law firm will not travel across the country to recruit at Yale, in spite of its high regard for Yale graduates, if it suspects that few if any will venture into labor law.

Check whether people get jobs that you would like to have. In addition, check what credentials they had. In general, distinguish between the job prospects of those at the top of the class and those at the middle and the bottom. With the exception of clerking for the Supreme Court or teaching at a leading law school, the top graduates of the national schools can be expected to get highly desirable jobs. The differences between schools become more marked as you work your way down their class rankings. Those at the bottom of the class at a Harvard or a Yale, for instance tend to do quite well, getting jobs at well-known firms and other highly desirable employers. At less highly regarded schools, this is by no means necessarily the case.

Career Services. A good career services department will provide in-depth assistance to you at each stage of the career assessment and job search process. Essentially all such departments now offer an opportunity to assess your own skills and interests, but the depth and quality of these assessments are not uniform at even the very top schools. The same is true, albeit to a lesser degree, regarding the following stages: determining precisely which field, then which type of employer, you will first work in; mastering the resume and cover-letter writing, interviewing, and "call-back" interviewing processes (including those specific to your chosen field, such as public interest); sorting through job offers and negotiating for the best deal; and learning how to succeed in the first months (years) on the job.

Alumni. Alumni can be useful in providing pointers to jobs, or indeed jobs themselves. They can also mentor students while the latter are still in school, offering advice and contacts that can help establish them in their careers. In addition, alumni affect the ranking of the school by virtue of their degree of career success and also by the amount of money they raise for the school. The value of alumni thus resides in their number and their dedication to the school.

It is easy for you to determine the number of alums—the bigger the school, the more alums it has. To determine their dedication to the school, look at the amount of money they raise, the percentage of alums who donate, their willingness to come back to the school to sit on panels offering advice to current students, and so on.

Local Connections, Schools tend to do very well in placing their graduates in nearby firms. If you are sure of where you want to practice, consider the extent to which a local school's connections may balance the appeal of a slightly more prestigious but distant rival. Check with the local employers you most value to help you analyze this.

Finances

Your costs. Tuition rates vary dramatically from school to school. Public schools charge less than private schools, even for nonresidents. Tuition rates vary across public schools, too, whether for residents or nonresidents. In some states it is relatively easy to become a resident by the second year (or in advance
of the first), making the differential in tuition—compared with private schools—all the greater. The cost of living also varies dramatically from school to school. Living in a major city tends to cost almost 50 percent more than living in a small city or rural area.

The cost of attending a school also includes the opportunity cost of what you (or your spouse) might otherwise do during the three years. In other words, you forego income and other opportunities during this time. If your spouse is unable to work at his or her profession, or must take a poorly compensated position, the differential in salary and career advancement is effectively a cost of the program. This differential will vary according to the location of schools, with those in major urban centers generally offering the best employment possibilities for spouses.

Part-time work. Much of the sting can be taken out of the cost of law school through summer employment (between years of law school) and part-time work during the second and third years of law school. You can expect to gross some $25,000-$30,000 for a summer at a top firm. The better the school and the better your grades (and other credentials), the better are your chances of landing such a summer job.

Part-time work during law school is different from summer employment in so far as it can only be done near the campus. Whereas you can travel from California to New York for a summer job, if you are in law school at UCLA you can do part-time work only in the greater Los Angeles area. The salaries on offer for such part-time work vary dramatically from one location to another. In rural areas, you might not be able to earn more than 10 or 15 dollars per hour. In the major legal centers, such as New York, District of Columbia, Chicago, Los Angeles, and the Silicon Valley, you might earn 30 to 60 dollars (or even more) per hour.

Consequently, your choice of school can have a dramatic affect on the amount of money you can earn during law school. In addition, many schools will ignore what you earn during the school year and not, therefore, alter your financial aid package due to your unexpectedly large yearly earnings. Chat with the career services director, as well as second- and third-year students, to get a sense of the availability of part-time work at local firms, the "going rate" in effect, and the school's treatment of term-time earnings.

Debt load. Calculate the law school debt you will carry upon graduation for each of your chosen schools. Factor in the financial package offered to you, plus your expected summer and term-time earnings.

The amount of debt you will carry upon graduation can constrain your actions thereafter. If you have a massive debt load, you may need to work in a field, or for an employer, that you would otherwise avoid. (This can be every bit as constraining upon your career options as would be the case if you went to a lesser school.) If you intend to practice corporate tax law, you may not be concerned if your financial obligations push you toward working for a major firm.

If, on the other hand, you want to do education law for a (low-paying) foundation, you might resent being forced to take a high-paying job doing corporate litigation instead.

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