University of Cincinnati?

[taxguy]

I checked out Cincinnati for my son. I have to tell you that I REALLY liked the school.We met some great professors that  spent a lot of time with us.
My take is that they have an overall very good program and great facilities. Cincinnti is one of those schools that is very underrated by kids till they get there. Check out their gym and
work out facilities. It will blow you away..

They also have strong programs in their criminal advocacy and tax law. In fact, one of the most famous tax law blogs in the country is written by a Cincinnati professor.

Is it as well known as OSU in Ohio? Probably not. However, it really does have a great reputation in Ohio and throughout that region. It is also very , very reasonable. In fact,
you can easily get in-state tuition after the first year even if you weren't from Ohio!

My only concern with the school is the area surrounding Cincinnati, which isn't that good. However, if you live near the law school , you shouldn't have any problem.

[louiebstef]

TaxGuy,

The quote below gives a bit of info on the Ohio schools and their reputations within the state:

I talked to a part-time professor at Toledo (he was an OSU grad)and asked him what lawyers thought about grads from the three Ohio schools.  He told me that most employers (including those at his firm in Toledo) consider OSU=Case and Cincy to be just below them.  Granted, it's just one guy but he said when he was going to law school in the mid-90's the people who got scholarships to Case went there and if you couldn't get a scholarship to Case you would go to OSU.  I think a lot has changed since then.  I know two 2L's at Case who are both top-25% who have landed Big Law in Columbus.  Martindale lists around 1,500 Case lawyers in Cleveland so obviously a ton will stay.  There are just under 150 in Columbus vs. almost 1,700 from OSU.  I would have to imagine that you'd have a better Columbus Big Law shot from the OSU alumni in Columbus.  But if you just want to be in Columbus and don't care about Big Law and have the potential to get into OSU, then Capital might be a nice option.  You could get great money and would almost be guaranteed a 50-60k job in the suburbs.  Martindale has 1,339 lawyers from Capital in Columbus.

But as OSU is getting more difficult to get into, you could see more Case lawyers try to get into the Columbus market in the future.  In the past, Case lawyers may have gone with Case because they preferred Cleveland.  But now, OSU and Case aren't that similar in terms of acceptances.  Some people may have to settle on Case because OSU is not an option.  And Case and Cincy will become rivals as I'm sure they clearly share the Tier 2 spot for Ohio law schools in the future.  Cincy has almost the same number of lawyers in Columbus as Case on Martindale.

I continue to wonder if this will catch up to the legal market in Ohio.  It won't be too long until people realize that OSU is accepting a "higher level" (don't know how else to phrase that) applicant than Case.

The nice thing about Case is how much money they throw out.  I'm a 159/3.76 and was rejected by OSU, but offered $13,000 a year at Case while only having to maintain a 2.33.  I don't know too much about Cincinnati, but since they are public I'm sure you could go there for a lower cost than Case.  I doubt there are any serious advantages in Columbus from Case or Cincy, but if you want to be in Columbus, I'm sure that most people would agree that OSU is your best bet.  But if you have a great financial offer from either of the other two, I don't think it would hurt your chances at Columbus employment.  But I don't see why you would rule out Capital if you're only shooting for Columbus.