How to Select the Right Law School for You

To use this method, you'll have to decide in advance which qualities and programs are important to you. You have your own particular educational goals, and you'll have to decide for yourself what kinds of places you will feel comfortable living in.

For some people, the cultural tone of the community-its offerings of music and other performing arts-is of vital importance; for other people it is not. Some candidates are concerned about schools for their children. Handicapped students must be concerned about accessibility. Some people want to be near their families, while others need to stay far away.


Take a pad of paper and make a list of the things that are important to you. Don't feel embarrassed if your list seems unusual. For one thing, it probably isn't. You aren't the first person who needs to live close to your 'significant other' who is attending medical school, or who can't live happily without being near a body of water or without being able to see mountains in the distance. You are certainly not alone in having allergies or ailments that keep you from living in certain parts of the country.

Besides, no one will see the list but you.

Now, in no particular order, here are some variables that everyone should consider.

Location

How you will live while you are a law student will largely be determined by where your law school is located. The law school's location will also play a role in determining where you will practice law. So you should give some thought to what part of the country you want to live in.

If you're truly place-bound, the selection of a law school will be very simple: you'll have to go to one in the place you can't leave. If that place is Chicago, you'll have a choice of six or seven law schools. If its out on the Great Plains somewhere, your choice will be much more limited. This limitation will make it quite difficult to find the best law school for you. You'll have to choose from a few schools, instead of from the hundreds.

If you think you are place-bound, sit down and list your reasons for wanting to remain in one place. If you are truly immobile, one controlling reason will dominate all your planning. If you hem and haw and keep coming up with another marginal advantage of your home region, you aren't really place-bound. It's to your advantage to try to transcend your limitations by considering many law schools, not just the ones close to home.

Urban vs. Rural

Almost all law schools are located in big cities or state capitals. Even when their parent universities are in the suburbs, law school campuses are usually downtown. Law is intimately connected with the community's business and political life and is best studied where those activities are carried on most intensely. In big cities, law schools find it easiest to raise funds, recruit professors and adjunct faculty members, and locate guest speakers, and schedule internships, clinical work and part-time jobs for their students.

Big cities have drawbacks, however. They're noisy, dirty, and crime-ridden. Traffic, parking, and security precautions make big city life extremely burdensome. Some people are unable to accustom themselves to the pace.

Full or Part-Time Programs

If at all possible, you should attend law school on a full-time basis. You'll save time, because part-time programs typically take four or more years, and you'll simply get more out of your law school education. Part-timers find it difficult to participate in student activities and often have little contact with other students.

If you must be a part-timer, your range of options will decline substantially. Only about a handful of schools have part-time programs (and some of these are small). Since part-time programs differ considerably one from another, read the catalogs carefully. Before you begin, make sure you know exactly what is expected of you, how long it will take, and how good the placement record is for students who have preceded you.

Big vs. Small

In contrast with good liberal arts colleges, law schools have higher student-faculty ratios and, at least in first-year subjects, much larger classes. And some are even bigger and more impersonal than others. If you feel you need some degree of personal attention and nurturing, you are more likely to get it at a smaller school that advertises an attempt at personal contact. You can't always tell what the tone of the school is from talking to a recruiter or reading a catalog. If you visit, however, you may be able to see whether small-group interaction is taking place. Ask the rep whether you can sit in on a third-year course or seminar. It should contain more discussion and more student-generated give and take than the typical first year class. If you talk to law students, ask them if they ever have trouble getting their questions answered.

Big schools aren't necessarily inferior. In fact, they are superior in most respects. The bigger a school is, the more courses and specialties it can offer. The larger the student body, the more diverse will be the social and professional life, and the better will be the contacts and networking possibilities. Most of the top law schools are fairly sizeable, and some are among the largest. Recent enrollment figures, faculty sizes, and a variety of other demographic data can be found in the Official Guide.

In comparison to undergraduate colleges, all law schools are high-pressure places. Although few law professors still persecute and humiliate their students in the style made familiar in the movie "The Paper Chase," the nature of legal study guarantees long hours and a lot of work. Law courses are always graded and opportunities, in law school itself and in job placement, are always strongly linked to grades. spent trying to get into law school.) Clinical work, summer jobs, law review editing, and other non-classroom activities are also extremely time-consuming. But they'll help you in your career. Law is not a field of study for people who can't take some pressure.

That said, some law schools are worse than others. This is extremely hard to measure; law students can talk about the pressure they feel, but they're not in a good position to compare their schools with others. And there aren't good comparative statistics on such things as student suicides and breakdowns.

Student Activities

If you're good at forensics and want to practice some form of law that requires extensive courtroom advocacy, you should investigate the possibility of continuing your speech or debate activities in law school. All law schools require some participation in moot courts and similar simulations. Some are very active in regional and national moot court competitions. In recent years, William and Mary's Marshall-Wythe School of Law has been particularly strong in national competitions.

Although no law school offers varsity sports, most have physical fitness facilities and many have at least student-organized athletic contests. They also offer a variety of social and affinity organizations. Some schools have more such activities than others, and some are more successful than others in creating a sense of participation and community.

Religious Fellowship

The legal profession has been plagued through the years by well-publicized ethical problems. Each year, it seems, there are scandals and prosecutions, with previously well-regarded attorneys falling in disgrace. Some would argue that there's no room for a person with deeply held religious beliefs or high moral standards among the sharks and hucksters. They say that the notion of a religious lawyer is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms like hastening slowly, or army intelligence, or student athlete.

This is nonsense. There are many lawyers of extremely high integrity. If you are a religious person with high moral standards, the legal profession needs and will welcome you.

That said, however, you may feel uncomfortable on some campuses because you'll find a lack of kindred spirits, facilities for worship, or connection to the religious institutions in the larger community. You can't assume that a law school will have a religious tone, or provide religious facilities, simply because it is part of a university that is run or subsidized by a religious body.

Clinical Programs

Clinical programs are a valuable part of every lawyer's education, but they are most important for students who will eventually practice family law, criminal law, or litigation, or who will work in smaller firms or legal aid societies. Since clinical programs vary in quality, you should be sure that the schools on your preferred list have strong programs if you intend to practice in these areas.

Law schools indicate the scope of their clinical offerings in their catalogs. A good program reflects a significant commitment of resources, employs specialized teachers, and provides options. Cardozo Law School, for example, offers seven clinics dealing with such subjects as criminal law and appeals, taxation, immigration law, and mediation. It also has extensive internship programs, placing students in judicial clerkships, prosecutor's offices, and appellate court administration.