Bad decision to move down in rankings?

[meh]

I am currently a 1L at UPitt.  I'm from the NJ area, but decided on Pitt because of the opportunity to do a JD/MBA with Carnegie-Mellon, which is ranked around 16 for business.  If I don't get into this program, I would like to transfer back to a school closer to home, either in the NY or NJ area.  I plan on putting transfer applications to the top schools in the area, but also want to put transfer applications to Seton Hall (70) and Rutgers-Newark (80).  Is it a bad idea to transfer down in the rankings?  I definitely want to work in either NY or NJ, and wouldn't mind working for a smaller firm in either state. 

[queencruella]

I don't think it will hurt you that dramatically. My law school advisor transferred down from a T14 to one of the schools you're thinking of transferring to and since she's my advisor and a law professor, she obviously didn't do that badly for herself. The transfer you're considering isn't nearly as dramatic and involves regional schools, so I don't think it really will make a difference.

[RUMike]

It would be a very smart decision...if you check out martindale.com (do an advanced search by law school) you will see that Rutgers and Seton Hall nearly dominate every law firm in the state. If you want to work in NJ, either Rutgers or SHU is your best bet...some NYC and Philly schools also place well in NJ if super concerned with rankings, like

Fordham (32)
Cardozo (53)
Brooklyn, Temple (58)
Villanova (60)