Best schools for BIGLAW?

[Johnny Stuffs His Mouth]

Are the US News Rankings a fair indicator of the best schools to become a corporate whore from? For example, Yale from what I gather is a great place to go for clerkships and stuff like that, but are they also number 1 for BIGLAW? Is there a site (or thread, I'll admit, I'm too lazy to search... I'm a paralegal, it's in my blood) that is fairly reputable that lists this ranking? Thanks, LSD!

[A.]

Law firms are probably the biggest prestige whores of all.  So, yes, I think USNWR should generally give you a good idea of the best schools from which to get BIGLAW.  However, keep in mind coast bias: You might have a slightly easier time getting a job in NYC or DC coming from Stanford than from Harvard, due to supply and demand.

[db2ur]

Are the US News Rankings a fair indicator of the best schools to become a corporate whore from? For example, Yale from what I gather is a great place to go for clerkships and stuff like that, but are they also number 1 for BIGLAW? Is there a site (or thread, I'll admit, I'm too lazy to search... I'm a paralegal, it's in my blood) that is fairly reputable that lists this ranking? Thanks, LSD!

Concur w/ Alcibades.  Firms hew the closest to USNWR.  For other vocations and interests, the rankings are a little different, but USNWR gets things about right, too.  For example, academe: based on USNWR, Yale is where it should be, Chicago is underrated, and NYU is overrated.

[miller]

The best schools for biglaw are the following:
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1168423325385

[Denny Crane]

BIGWHAT?

[challandler]

The best schools for biglaw are the following:
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1168423325385

I hate this article precicely because students like miller think it represents.  There are several flaws in taking it as a ranking.  One has already been pointed out - the students at elite schools who choose not to work in firms are not doing so becuase they are unable to get a job with one.  That makes it unfair to compare Yale, where less than 50% of grads go the firm route immediately, with Columbia, where more thn 75% of grads choose the firm path.  Second, the article treats placement at any of the 250 largest firms as equal.  Some firms are simply more desireable to most students, and, if I were interested in biglaw, I would want a ranking that accounted for the quality/prestige of the firms where grads are working.  Finally, the size of the firm is based on the number of associates nationally.  Most national firms have an office in three or four major cities.  As a result, these rankings are going to have a bias towards graduates from law schools in major cities.  This is a little misleading.  We can easily imagine a graduate of Minnesota working at an office in Minneapolis that has as many attorneys and pays as much as the NYC offices of national firms, but which doesn't count among the 250 largest law firms becuase it is one of two offices for that firm, rather than one of 8 for the NYC firm. 

[Denny Crane]

Vapid, how did you do this past semester if you don't mind me asking?

[challandler]

Vapid, how did you do this past semester if you don't mind me asking?

I'm still waiting on a grade, which will put the other grades in context.  Also, the first two only came in last night, so I'm going to talk to my friends before I say anything on here that they'd prefer not to know.  If you're really interested, I guess you can PM me on Monday (which is when I think the last one should be in).

[challandler]

Vapid, how did you do this past semester if you don't mind me asking?

I'm still waiting on a grade, which will put the other grades in context.  Also, the first two only came in last night, so I'm going to talk to my friends before I say anything on here that they'd prefer not to know.  If you're really interested, I guess you can PM me on Monday (which is when I think the last one should be in).

lol.  two A's, eh?

Nope.  But nice try.

[BonesMcJones]

The best schools for biglaw are the following:
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1168423325385

I hate this article precicely because students like miller think it represents.  There are several flaws in taking it as a ranking.  One has already been pointed out - the students at elite schools who choose not to work in firms are not doing so becuase they are unable to get a job with one.  That makes it unfair to compare Yale, where less than 50% of grads go the firm route immediately, with Columbia, where more thn 75% of grads choose the firm path.  Second, the article treats placement at any of the 250 largest firms as equal.  Some firms are simply more desireable to most students, and, if I were interested in biglaw, I would want a ranking that accounted for the quality/prestige of the firms where grads are working.  Finally, the size of the firm is based on the number of associates nationally.  Most national firms have an office in three or four major cities.  As a result, these rankings are going to have a bias towards graduates from law schools in major cities.  This is a little misleading.  We can easily imagine a graduate of Minnesota working at an office in Minneapolis that has as many attorneys and pays as much as the NYC offices of national firms, but which doesn't count among the 250 largest law firms becuase it is one of two offices for that firm, rather than one of 8 for the NYC firm. 

I think the problem is people misinterpret what the list means.  All NLJ is reporting is where top firms get their attorneys.  It does not claim to represent a school's ability to place students.