Is Cooley Law School That Bad?

[trudawg]

You guys constant bickering back n forth highlights one thing to someone like me looking at it from the outside. AGE.
I can see the maturity in the thinking from the posts I read. For the record not all of us JD bound students are solely interested in getting rich, making a high salary and having bragging rights.
For some of us, its truly about obtaining the knowledge needed to make the biggest difference in our respective communities. I am a non-traditional student who has already made 100k+ in the IT field, it's not about the money, its about having the opportunity to change the world around you as social engineer!
I am contemplating attending Cooley, have visited the campus, have talked to students, and while its true they do not have a good ranking the fact remains that they are an ABA accredited school, which will afford you entry into the BAR, plain and simple.
If you are not attending Cooley then worry about the school you are attending.

[Cicero]

The ranking issue isn't only about making money. You say you want to make a big difference in your community. Some of those jobs that make a difference can be pretty competitive, such as working for the public defender's office. Many new lawyers want this type of job so that they can gain a lot of experience very quickly, especially in comparison to working at a large or medium firm. Some people may stay and others may leave after 3 years and go to a firm where they can make significantly more money. Coming from a higher ranked school will open more doors in these types of positions, unless you have some connections that you haven't listed.

(Note: I say this as someone transferring from T-4 to T-1 who has no big law ambitions and also wants to use her degree to help others.)

[trudawg]

We all read the disparaging statistics about students leaving law school having difficulties finding jobs. In fact the prospects for future lawyers are so dim (according to what you read), that going to law school period is a questionable endeavor if you hope to pay off loans and get a decent ROI.
If one was to listen to all this and take it to heart, there is no need to even try!
Your career whether you are a plumber or a newly BAR admitted Attorney your job prospects are based on your ability to sell yourself! I am a firm believer in the power of Networking, and honestly the saying its not WHAT you know, rather than WHO you know is the supreme truth!!
I don't care if you went to a NON accredited law school, if you know how to get out there and rub elbows with the movers and shakers you'll be fine.

[trudawg]

On the real though, all sarcasm aside, life, school, career, family is what you make it! A brick and mortar institution cannot determine your future or your future potential, and if you let it then you were probably a failure long before you stepped foot on Cooley School of Law campus
Big5068 I've checked you out on LSN and I can already tell your upbeat, positive, proactive demeanor is what makes you succeed, not where you attended law school, GPA, or what ever. Its the winning attitude that sets you apart from the negative energy attracting nay-sayers, as has been the case for myself in all my endeavors.
Negativity spreads like virus, and a perpetual positive attitude (not found in everybody) is the anti-body needed to fight it off.
With that being said, I want to wish all of you good luck with your schooling and careers!

[Cicero]

My comment about the rankings was in no way meant to be negative or to dissuade you from attending law school. It was meant to explain that there is some importance to the rankings and not just for people who want to make lots of money at big law firms. You can be a positive, proactive, hard worker and still be realistic about the challenges you will face graduating from a T-4 in a market with fewer jobs than lawyers to fill them. Wanting to go to a higher ranked law school doesn't mean you can't hack it at the lower ranked school. Why fight an uphill battle if you don't have to and can go to a higher ranked school? I know it isn't just lawyers facing a job shortage--latest stats are something like 1 job available for every 4 or 5 people out of work. So you can schmooze all you want, but it's not going to work for everyone, since there aren't enough legal jobs, or jobs in general, for everyone to have a job. I do hope that we are all successful at finding employment when we graduate, since we are going to have some loans to pay back.

[trudawg]

right on Cicero, I hear what you are saying and definitely think law school is something that one should put considerable thought into.  I had a few things stacked against me including my criminal record, and my LSAT score. I am just looking for an opportunity, and have been thankful that Cooley granted me that whether it be for their own financial gain, or a legitimate shot, it doesn't matter because I will succeed at the top of my class no doubt about it.
Just being here for ME is such a personal feat, such a triumph after what I've experienced in life that there is no way I would let it slip by.

[the white rabbit]

Your career whether you are a plumber or a newly BAR admitted Attorney your job prospects are based on your ability to sell yourself! I am a firm believer in the power of Networking, and honestly the saying its not WHAT you know, rather than WHO you know is the supreme truth!!

Networking only works when you have something to offer the people with whom you're rubbing elbows.  Unfortunately, most aspiring young lawyers don't have much more to offer than thousands of other aspiring young lawyers.

And as for money, it's one thing to want to get rich.  It's another thing to be able to dig out from one's student debt load.  You can talk about wanting to make a difference in your community all you want.  If you're buried under so much debt that you need to take short-term but high-paying document review gigs just to service your payments, well you're probably not making much of a difference in your community, at least not as a lawyer.

If you've already made the kind of money that you can pay for most of law school yourself without having to borrow money, well the concern about student loans doesn't apply to you.  For a large number of students, this is not the case.

[trudawg]

Debt, schmebt!
 LoL, again if one lets the amount of debt they owe dictate their professional future then chances are they weren't gong to succeed at the highest levels in the first place.
I guess for individuals that have never had any set-backs in life, whom have never experienced any uphill struggles, those who have never triumphed in the face of REAL adversity, and have afforded themselves with every opportunity to succeed that can possibly be given to an individual all of sudden being faced with a mountain of debt could potentially be a highly professional setback. But for the rest of us who have turned lemons into lemonade the glass is half full.
I honestly see why diversity in law school is so highly sought after, because of lot of law students tend to think the world revolves around the life that they have grown to know. There are those that have never been forced to see the world through a different lens, and as result think their lenses are the De facto way at viewing the world.
What may not work for you, could quite possibly be only thing that works for someone else.
And with the power of networking only being beneficial to those that are vastly different from their counterparts is actually true, but if you step out of law school and think you're no different from the rest of the pool of available lawyers then again you failed along time ago. Like I said, I don't care if I were a plumber, just graduating from trade school, its whats within ME that will make me succeed on top of what I've learned from school.  If you don't have that confidence, that upward mobility, that relentless ambition to succeed then simply embrace mediocrity and go on about your life

[trudawg]

Biggs..........real world wisdom like that cannot be taught in a classroom, it's life experiences that makes us wise enough to embrace real world challenges head on and triumph victoriously. It will come soon enough for most, but for some it will never come because they choose to isolate themselves in their own perspective worlds.
The greatest thing I've learned is the ability to engage and relate to others. I was once told that the most lasting powerful people submerge themselves in many, many different social circles. Aww but I digress, because we are getting into the real underpinnings of life, not just life in or after school.
I have been working for the past 20 years, and have had my fair share of ups and downs, and believe me having a JD from Cooley School of Law is the least bit of discrimination that I have or will face in life.

[the white rabbit]

Debt, schmebt!

How profoundly irresponsible.