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Texas doesn't want any more lawyers.  Please go somewhere else.

What made you decide against an honest living?

I am not a lawyer yet, but I am in law school so I will offer my two cents as I went through the decision not that long ago and am currently going through the job search process.  I would go to Texas.  It has a great national reputation.  This option would probably give you the most flexibility in terms of search area for jobs right out of law school.

I don't know if you would like to live permanently in any of the areas that you have mentioned, but Texas will give you the greatest shot of finding a job right out of law school outside the general region of the school itself.  I am not sure abouct UC Davis, but there is a greater chance that if you went to William and Mary, you would end up practicing somewhere in the Virginia, North Carolina, Washington D.C. area.  Also, even though there are a number of law schools in Texas, there is a great deal of competition for legal jobs in the area of William and Mary.  In that general area of Vriginia, you have the University of Richmond, University of Richmond, and if you go a little farther north you have American University, George Mason, and all of the other schools in the D.C. area.

That said, if you feel that you would be a great fit at any of these schools, I would recommend going to that one.  It is a three year experience and if you go to a school that has the best reputation but that you personally do not care for, it will be a long 3 years.

Also, Austin is a great place to live.

ETA: This is not to say that the other schools are not good, just out of those three options, Texas has the best national reputation.

My youngest Sister got her Law Degree from William and Mary, spent her 3rd year taking courses at Bolt Hall (Berkeley) but as a William and Mary Student.

William and Mary is a good Law School. I guess it sort of depends on what type of Law you wish to specialize in.

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Quoted: Texas doesn't want any more lawyers.  Please go somewhere else. What made you decide against an honest living?

What do you do for a living?

I went to Texas, mainly because it was way cheaper than Georgetown.  I don't really have an opinion on William and Mary or UC Davis, but I can give UT a thumbs up.  When I went there, it was easily the best bang for your buck in law schools.  It's gone up quite a bit since then, but it's still about the same as William and Mary and about 2/3 the price of UC Davis.

Of the three, UT is consistently rated higher in the US News rankings--typically around 15th in the country while William and Mary and UC Davis rank around 30th.  For whatever that's worth.  I doubt there's a significant difference in the quality of education you'd get among any of the schools you've applied to or ar waiting to hear from.  

If you know where you want to live when you get out of school and one of these choices in the same state, that's the one I'd say to choose.  If you're going to be looking for a job far away from where you went to school, Berkeley would probably have a slight edge over UT with whoever's doing the hiring, and they'd both have a significant edge over the others.  

That said, I don't have anything negative to say about UT's law school.  The faculty is, on the whole, very good, and there are lots worse places than Austin to live.  And with Austin, unlike Davis or Berkeley, they don't have any stupid laws that would prevent you from bringing your AR with you.

I have my law degree and practiced for three years before I quit to back into the Army.

One of the things I underestimated was the lack of portability of your degree;  portability right out of law school in particular depends precisely on the school's national reputation (which generally has more to do with who has heard of your school than the measurable quality of the education.)

Of the three you listed UT proabably has the best national reputation and thus would give you the most flexibility upon graduation.  If you want to work in the DC area, particualry for the Feds would be fine as there is huge need for attorneys in the Fed.  If you want to work in private practice William & Mary probably  creates a great deal more competition; if you go to Davis you will be working in NoCal at least to start your career and and taking the three day California Bar.  Also remeber it is King Hall for a reason.  Actually the more I think about the more I would say don't go to UCD.

Also don't underestimate the value of a fellowship; many of us found ourselves with the "golden handcuffs" - good paying jobs - but you need to keep them and swallow alot so you can pay off those loans.

Hope this helps

Eric

Much though UC Davis is a nice area, my better half, currently studying for the California Bar, doesn't think it's got the best law school in the State.

NTM

U of R