Immigration Law

[jadoo]

Hello,

I'm a 0L, planning on attending law school and I have a few questions about choosing an area of practice. I have always been interestred in international relations and immigration law. As an undergraduate with a double major in Spanish and international relations, I lived and studied abroad for a year in Mexico and have been to Canada, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and the United Arab Emirates, so I am confident my interests lie in this area. I'd love to take those interests and experiences and combine them with the desire of advocating for the immigrant community.

The dilemma is this: owing to a horrible freshman year and some immaturity on my part, my cumulative GPA is quite low, at 2.9 with a possibility of 3.0 at the end of this semester. My LSAT score should be fairly respectable as I am going to devote a lot of time to proper study and preparation, I tested cold under test conditions at around 160-165 on the several tests I took. With that said, prior reading here tells me my aim should be for regional schools in areas which I would like to practice.

I am a Georgia resident, so my choices here in-state are probably limited to Georgia State and UGA as a reach. Emory would be a very far reach if I perform exceptionally well on the LSAT, but that would be the best case scenario. I am not considering Mercer due to the disproportion that exists between tuition and future prospects. In any case, I'm not sure how strong the legal market is here for my interests.


With the above information in mind, I have a few questions with which I hope someone can help:

- Given the fact that the legal market is already heavily saturated, is something with immigration law/immigrant rights focus going to be too much of a niche?

- Which regions and schools should I look into given my interests and GPA? I know this is hard without an LSAT score, but I'd like to form a general picture. I don't have any particular region in mind or any preferences.

Any and all information on this would be greatly appreciated.

I am not URM and I speak fluent Spanish.

[JTyrrell]

I'm an 0L as well but I've almost made up my choice of school and am in a very similar position to you. I have a UGPA of 2.37 (don't even ask) and a LSAT of 167 (I recommend Kaplan). Along with similar GPA, I also have an interest in immigration law and I found applying to schools throughout the rankings with an immigration (or IR) clinic was the easiest option. It seems like the decisions are extremely variable with this combination of abysmal GPA and high LSAT. I've had some acceptances (and denials) in the top 25, denials in the 30s, waitlists in the 40-60s, and full-rides to the Tier 3. Basically, I've been unable to predict with any certainty what law schools might accept me. So my advice, try to get that 3.0 and rock the LSAT, apply everywhere, cross your fingers, and hope for the best.

Saludos desde Madrid

[Tofayel]

I think immigration law is most prospective.