I really want to get out of Michigan and I'm considering going to law school out of state. I know this is going to kill me on having to pay out of state tuition, but its still a possibility. I should be able to get into most pretty good schools. I'm not looking for stanford or anything like that.
This is what I'm looking for:
*nice safe, non-ghetto area
*good gun laws
*decent home and necessity prices
*predominately Caucasian people

Check out Franklin Pierce Law center in NH - Franklin Pierce

Don't know about housing costs and such.  They are known for their IP program.

 

You sure you want to go to law school?  

The legal industry is in a big time slump now.  Students coming out of school with $$$ loans cannot find jobs.  Huge law firms laying off people and canceling summer associate classes.  

Basically, you're in a situation (today) which says unless you are the cream of the crop (i.e. Ivy or top 10-20 school) you should not incur a significant amount of debt because you won't be able to easily find a job that will permit you to pay off those loans.

I got out of law school at a particularly lucky time (just before the dot com boom).  I don't see a boom coming around the corner, and the legal market is generally saturated right now.  I'd rethink going to law school unless you can do it (1) without incurring significant debt or (2) have a reasonable opportunity to do well at a top law school.

I don't necessary think FP would be ideal. Its a really small one.

Why not move to neighbor state indiana? I am getting my MBA at Valparaiso University www.valpo.edu

They have a good law school.

To above poster: whats wrong with wanting to be in a like group of race?

Idaho maybe?

UVA in Charlottesville, VA, fits all your criteria, including being in a mostly white area, if 23% African-American isn't too much for you . As a bonus, it's one of the top schools in the country. Hope you have a good stats, though, my brother barely got in and he had a 3.6 and 172 LSAT.

If you are going to pay out of state tuition you may as well go to a private school.  SMU- Southern Methodist University.

Come on down to the "Harvard on the Plains" -  Oklahoma City University. It's law school rivals any in the midwest and they have a very good dance school.





GO CHIEFS

University of Nebraska fits all of your requirements.  Plus the law school is ranked high.

Or Utah. BYU supposedly has one of the best law schools in the US. While tuition is cheaper if you're LDS, it's not required. 10K per semester if you are not LDS, 5K if you are. Great gun laws (byu technically has a no weapons policy since they are a private school, but several people carry anyway, including faculty...).

National rankings

The J. Reuben Clark Law School is recognized nationally as a top-tier graduate institution. In 2008, JRCLS was ranked #8 by The Princeton Review,[14] #28 on the Ciolli Elite Law School ranking, [15] and #41 by the U.S. News & World Report. [16] The Princeton Review also ranks the school #1 for Most Competitive Students and #7 for Best Academic Experience. [17] Additionally, the ILRG ranks the law school #2 for cost-benefit,[18] and #12 for average bar passage rate.[19]

In terms of judicial clerkships, BYU Law School ranks 7th in the country for percentage of graduates placed in federal judicial clerkships. [20] Additionally, from 2000-2007, the school ranked 13th in United States Supreme Court clerk placement. [21]

Admissions

Admission to the JRCLS is highly competitive. The law school receives approximately 1,000 applications each year for an entering class of 150 students, yielding an acceptance rate of approximately 15%. [22] Successful applicants usually have exemplary grades, high standardized test scores, and unique records of non-academic achievement. More than 80% of admitted students speak a second language, many have graduate and doctoral degrees in a wide range of academic disciplines, and most have spent time abroad. [23] Entering students graduated from over 70 different undergraduate colleges and universities in 11 countries and nearly 40 states.

The JRCLS admissions committee gives substantial weight to undergraduate grades. In 2008 the median GPA for incoming BYU Law students was 3.73 and the 75th percentile GPA was 3.88.[24] Based on average admission standards from 2004-2009, the JRCLS ranked 8th in the country for 75th percentile GPA [25] and 12th in 25th percentile GPA.[26] In 2008, the incoming class had a median Law School Admission Test score of 165 and a 75th percentile LSAT score of 166, [27] placing the school at #25 in the country for overall LSAT admission standards. [28]

Do you want to practice law? If so, consider a school local to the state you plan to practice in. IIRC graduates of UW Wisconsin and Marquette don't have to take the bar exam to be licensed in Wisconsin. Not that I'd want to move to Wisconsin but you haven't exactly provided enough details upon which to make any sensible sort of recommendation.

LSAT score? GPA? Are you trying to go Big Law or hang out a shingle? etc.etc...

You think so?

I am pretty set on law school.  I graduate in 2 years with a bachelor's in Philosophy.  I have a 4.0 currently and lots of extra-curriculurs which make me appealing (hopefully) to graduate level schools.

You really forsee this slump staying on longer?  I really would love law school but if that's the case, I'll go for something else.

UVA, William and Mary, University of Richmond


ETA: Regent University has a pretty strong program

University of North Dakota in Grand Forks definitely fits the first three, maybe not the fourth though.  The word on the street in South Dakota is that a couple black people and a Mexican moved to Fargo over the summer.

depending on your LSAT scores, if UND law fits the general caliber of school you should be going to.

















*good gun laws


















 

Apply to a shit ton of schools in areas you can live in and would possibly like to work. Go to the best one unless you get better offers from other schools and consider them according to your financial situation. My biggest regret is not applying to more schools. I think I might have been able to get into even better schools if I had tried. All they can do it tell you no.

TSU Thurgood Marshall School of Law

Florida State fits your bills pretty well.  It has a good program as well.

IIRC out of state tuition for UW-Madison is actually cheaper than in-state tuition. I could be off base but when I lived up there everyone bitched about that.

Here is my advice:

1)  Go to the best law school you can get into.  
2)  Unfortunately, some of the best schools (college, med, law, etc.) are located in shitty places.
     You are going to be there for only 3 years so suck it up.
3)  Don't buy a home you may live in for only 3 years.  The general rule is to buy a home if you will
     be there for > 5 years, but I would strongly recommend against buying unless you will be there
     much longer than that.

Good luck!

If you don't go to the best school you can get into, don't go.  There are few jobs out there, and the legal market has been saturated for years.

I'm an attorney, and I would also suggest rethinking law school.  There are way too many people graduating law school, legal research jobs are being outsourced to India, and I see the legal job market being over-saturated for at least a few decades.  There are thousands of attorneys out of work, and thousands working for $15.00 to $20.00 an hour at temp jobs - and these aren't just new attorneys, but attorneys who have practiced for 15 or 20 years.  And they have to pay huge law school loans.  Most legal temp jobs are sweatshops - they'll put 30 to 50 attorneys in one room with computers to review documents, treat them like crap - limited breaks, no air conditioning, no talking allowed, etc.  The average debt load of a law school student is something like $70,000, and many have over $100,000 in school loans, and only the absolute cream of the crop are making 6 figures, the rest are in small firms making 40 to 60k a year or working temp jobs making 30 to 40k a year.  Do not go to law school unless it is your passion.

Ha! hive mind, posted 8 seconds apart..  

 











 

1st let me say LAW SCHOOL SUCKS. 2nd don't expect to be making huge dollars, especially right out of school.

Now, if you're sure that you want to do this then:
Look at the rankings on law schools. Then look at those schools websites or call them. See what their placement rate is and what their average starting salary is. On that basis, pick 5-10 Tier 1s fitting your criteria and then pick 5 lower Tier safety schools. Some school will let you apply online for free now. There's a large disparity in Tier 1s.. Case Western's average starting salary is like $85,000-90,0000, but its tuition is close to $40,000/year. Toledo's (it was a Tier 1, not sure now) starting salary is around $50,000, but its tutition is only $15,000. I can only speak about Ohio law school, but I'm sure you find a similar disparity in all states.

Interesting the posts above....

You see pretty much the identical advice in "Should I go to Med School" threads..... Including the "don't do it" from existing Doctors.

AFARR

Why is there an issue with where he wants to go to school?
He wants to be surrounded by people that he feels comfortable around.
I dont have a problem with this.

I wouldn't bring up this part with any admission committee.  Just a suggestion.

Hope that doesn't scare you out of doing something you want to do but it is certainly something to think about. I'm having a hell of a time finding a job right now as a 3L and I'm not exactly bottom of the class at a mediocre school. Hopefully things will pick up in a few years but you can never count on that for sure. Still if you're committed then it can be worth it if you're willing to stick it out.

University of South Carolina, in Columbia.

fits most if not all of what you "want"

The most responsible thing to do would be to establish residency somewhere else 1st. Very few law degrees are worth the $150,000 in student loans you would get.

Law school was the biggest mistake I ever made, and I even went to a top 10 law school (UVA).  Out of work 6 months now.  Sad thing is I realize this wasn't for me in my first year, but I was already 20k in debt.  The skinny these days is that lawyers have huge debts and make jack shit except for the few who land top tier firm jobs.  Those that do land top tier firms hate life.  Mostly because partners at top firms are generally assholes - major assholes.  I think I've seen every female associate in my former firm (a top Dallas firm) cry at least once after being chewed out in front of peers, very unprofessional.  And none of them deserve it.  These are your classic A students who always work hard and try to do a good job.  The big firm these days is intended to be a pressure cooker that burns people up in about 5 years because they don't have room to make more than 1 in 5 a partner, and half of those spots are reserved for women and minorities.  I've had friends tell me they envy me being unemployed.

Sorry to sound so negative.  If this is something you really want to do then do it.  But don't go in with your eyes closed like I did.  Law schools blow a lot of smoke up your ass about all the wonderful things you can do with a law degree.  The reality is that half the people doing the wonderful things got fed up and changed careers.  Law school didn't open any doors for them.  If you do go, I'd recommend one of the following paths.

1. If you like money and are business oriented, then go to a top tier law school, go corporate of some type (M&A, Real Estate, etc.), hide all guns and sharp objects for first three years of practice, and then start looking for any in-house opportunity you can find once you hit 3 years.  Whatever you do avoid commercial litigation.  Ass end of the legal world.    

2. If you actually want to do something in court, your only real option is the government, and preferably criminal law.  Civil litigation is so expensive everyone settles, especially when insurance is involved.  Partners at large law firms can go decades between jury trials.  Look to develop connections with the local DA office or AUSA district early.  JAG would be another good option although that is a big commitment.  Downside is you will be poor for a while given the salary v. the debt you have to incur.  Another option is to work for government agencies like DOJ, EEOC, etc.  Try to be a minority when applying for these jobs.

Right now is certainly a bad time to go.  For one, mid-tier law schools like Texas Tech are now harder to get into than the University of Texas was 3 years ago. College kids can't find jobs so they're staying in school.

Regarding the job market... my wife graduated law school 3 years ago.  She and her peer group all landed nice jobs and still have them. However the ones at the big firms are completely beat down. They just make too much money to quit. My wife didn't go that route. I'm sure it's better in TX than some other places.

I want to go to law school also, but I'll be saving up for the cost of it 1st and going in with the expectation that it will not end up being a raise unless I get lucky.  I just want to give a shit about going to work every day and think that fighting my own little battles against our soft tyranny is something that I could get more passionate about than any other profession that actually pays money.

this +1000.  school teachers and police officers can make more money than the average law school grad these days.  If it is what you were born to do, then go for, but lawyers are a dime a dozen these days.

If you really want to do this do employment law or criminal law.  Most discrimination suits are complete BS so every one you win will make you feel good.  And criminal law sort of explains itself if you like to go after the bad guys.

I know 5 people who have graduated from law school's in Michigan in the past few years and all of them had jobs prior to graduation. Their starting salaries were all upward of 80k per year to start. Wayne state university which is in Detroit is one place i have considered all of the huge local firms hire predominately through them. It is a the 2nd best law school in Michigan, but no where near ivy league.

Based on your question, I say somewhere easy.

Harvard––––––>POTUS––––––->Profit!!!!!!

You go to the best school you can get into.

Period

end of story

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Yeah, that's what I thought... (I was originally planning on going to law school, but later decided against it - had I pursued it, this would have definitely been the approach.)

It's not that surprising since there's a law school practically on every street corner.

U of M has an excellent law school. Why not take advantage of it and your residency?  I don't get it and this is coming from an Ohio State alum

St. Mary's University in San Antonio.

go to UVA

but have a genuine degree first (like a BS in Mechanical Engineering)

do patent law

profit

Forget being a lawyer, as said its a completely overcrowded field...even with the fact that almost half of all lawyers are non practicing.
Lot of people get into law and then go do something else, just like accountants do after a certain number of years.
The good paying law jobs you work like a two dime whore and are treated like one.
 

This

Don't go to law school unless you are a genius, a workaholic or want to be poor.





Don't go to any law school that is not a top 10% law school unless you want to be poor.





Everything happycinic said is true.





BTW, I am a Franklin Pierce Law School alumni. The school is highly regarded for patent law and nothing else. Don't go there unless you want to be a patent lawyer and have a technology background in something that his highly desirable (I am 15+ years out, so I have no idea where the demand is in patent law now. Back then, it was not in Chemistry, the economy sucked, and I could not get a job, despite being in the top 10% of my class).





I have my own firm with one partner. I do OK, but do not make a huge amount of money. I do not do patent law (although somewhere I have a piece of paper that says I am a licensed patent attorney). I enjoy what I do, but most lawyers would rather be doing something else.
 

Don't go.

Cooley it is.

You know that on Cooley' page they list themselves as number 12 in the country?






This is the most retarded list of law school rankings I have ever seen.

Do think long long and hard about it.  I just graduated and took the bar.  I was lucky in that i had a job at a firm waiting for me since last december.  I make good money for my market with a lot of room to grow, but monday I worked 14 hours.  That was after a 10 hr friday and a 3 hr saturday.  Now the good news.  I get to meet a lot of interesting people being on the insurance, big business side.  Trips to private clubs happen once a week and I now know a lot of people with season tickets to most region sports teams, mostly in box seats.

Always keep this in mind, no matter what you want to do, theres always room for one more if your good enough at it.

And as for what school, I went to University of Buffalo.  The law school is in Amherst.  It fits all of your needs except Communist NY gun laws.

I had to edit.  I will say the partners I work with are all great people.  I could not imagine working for assholes, no matter what field.  Most are available for happy hours, what to know what your into, and some even line up hunting trips and NRA dinners.  I'm probably in the minority on this experience.