international law

[cmessler]

are the US NEWS rankings pretty much on par for the best international law programs? if not what are the top? what are some tier 1 schools that aren't in the t14 with really good international law programs?

[MikePing]

The schools with ranked specialties by USN tend to offer more classes in those subjects.  If you want to practice international law, consider applying to the top schools that serve the market where you want to live/practice. Take the classes that school offers.   Do very well in school, and you can have more choice in the direction of your carreer. 

IMO, attending a school ranked for specialty has little bearing on a job search. 

[BikePilot]

^  Outside of a few specialized LLM programs law schools don't really specalize and employers certainly don't say oh, I want x-type lawyer from school A and y-type lawyer from school B.  Law school is a general education, get the best one that fits with your finances, numbers and geographic restrictions.  If you end up stuck between two schools then see which has the strongest faculty in your area of interest.  HLS has some really good things going on with international law.

[Morten Lund]

I also wonder what you mean by "international law."  This phrase is used to mean a variety of things.  In its most literal sense, the practice of "international law" would essentially be limited to proceedings in the Hague.  Was that what you meant?  If so, you might consider a law school that is tied to political power centers, such as Georgetown, or any of the very top-ranked law schools.

More commonly, the phrase may refer to what is essentially "multi-national law," i.e. cases or transactions with participants or features from several countries.  If this is what you meant, than you can find happiness in a variety of places, as most of the world has some international feature these days - particularly if you go into corporate/business law.