DC area law schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown
GWU
Mason
Howard/AU/Catholic
UDC

What's the profile of a Georgetown law student? And one at GWu law?

Look it up, lazy bones

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Above the Law Rankings are heavily weighted by outcomes—e.g. employment after graduation—and GMU is not ranked in the top 50. It wasn’t ranked in the top 50 last year either.

Georgetown, GWU, William & Mary and Howard are all ranked both years.

https://abovethelaw.com/2025/06/2025-top-50-law-school-rankings/

No one cites Above the Law for law school rankings. No one. It’s USNWR, and top 14, that everyone talks about, where Scalia is ranked 31z https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/george-mason-university-03159

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want Biglaw your only realistic choices are Georgetown and GWU. Mason may be highly ranked but its reputation doesn't match its ranking. As for AU, virtually all of its top students end up transferring.

[url]

Scalia law has done amazing things since it started unaccredited around 1976. Today, it hovers between 25-34. It sends a lot of its students to conservative judges and justices, who also teach there. It has sent six students to clerk in the Supreme Court. And,it is with great with merit (offered my son free tuition)

Well, five not six but who's counting. And nothing you said contradicts my post. GMU is highly ranked but doesn't place in Biglaw commensurate with its ranking. My guess is that it doesn't precisely because, as you imply, it's faculty and students are [b]super Trumpy and Biglaw skews liberal.

I’m there today at an antitrust conference and can say there is no one here “super Trumpy”. You are confusing the fact that there are all sorts of moderate to far right beliefs that have nothing to do with Trump. Even the judges appointed by him are, imho, not Trumpy.

It’s Trumpy AF.

If it were “Trumpy” (such an elegant word choice!) was was GMU targeted by the Trump Administration in 2025?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want Biglaw your only realistic choices are Georgetown and GWU. Mason may be highly ranked but its reputation doesn't match its ranking. As for AU, virtually all of its top students end up transferring.

[url]

Scalia law has done amazing things since it started unaccredited around 1976. Today, it hovers between 25-34. It sends a lot of its students to conservative judges and justices, who also teach there. It has sent six students to clerk in the Supreme Court. And,it is with great with merit (offered my son free tuition)

Well, five not six but who's counting. And nothing you said contradicts my post. GMU is highly ranked but doesn't place in Biglaw commensurate with its ranking. My guess is that it doesn't precisely because, as you imply, it's faculty and students are [b]super Trumpy and Biglaw skews liberal.

I’m there today at an antitrust conference and can say there is no one here “super Trumpy”. You are confusing the fact that there are all sorts of moderate to far right beliefs that have nothing to do with Trump. Even the judges appointed by him are, imho, not Trumpy.

It’s Trumpy AF.

If it were “Trumpy” (such an elegant word choice!) was was GMU targeted by the Trump Administration in 2025?

Not the PP you responded to. Maybe he confused the many George schools in the DC area? Would you be surprised if that was true?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Above the Law Rankings are heavily weighted by outcomes—e.g. employment after graduation—and GMU is not ranked in the top 50. It wasn’t ranked in the top 50 last year either.

Georgetown, GWU, William & Mary and Howard are all ranked both years.

https://abovethelaw.com/2025/06/2025-top-50-law-school-rankings/

No one cites Above the Law for law school rankings. No one. It’s USNWR, and top 14, that everyone talks about, where Scalia is ranked 31z https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/george-mason-university-03159

No one “cites” it? lol, ok.

It’s a legit reference created by people actually working in law. This T14 “that everyone talks about” is when “everyone” = the mommies on dcum who are desperate strivers looking into all of this for a kid who probably doesn’t want to go to law school or who will end up bottom 10% on the lsat lol. DP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, The current USNWR rankings are
Georgetown 14 (tied with others)
GW and Mason tied at 31 (with several others, including W&M)
Catholic 71 (tied)
American 104

I went to AU law when it was ranked in the top 50 and liked it, have had good jobs since graduation. But it was outrageously expensive then and seems to be so now. I can’t fathom what it has done to fall so far in the rankings.

If I had it to do all over again and wanted to be in this area, I would live in VA and go to Mason law school. Well ranked and a lot less expensive.

Yeah, what's going on at AU Law?

Likely nothing is "going on at AU Law," the rankings have never meant much beyond top 15 or so and they have shifted like crazy for many, many schools in recent history, and usually for no obvious reason. I attended Tulane when it was just inside the first tier at 40 and now it's 78. Nothing "going on" (although there were some issues when Katrina hit, that was over 20 years ago).

LOL. The "first tier" stops way short of no. 40.

Not when I went to law school it didn't. It referred to the top 50, not the top 14 like now.

When did you go to law school? Fifty years ago?

No, not 50 years ago.

When did you go to law school? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Never. You’re one of the mommies, right? Obsessing over things like this because you want your kid to go to law school? Yep. That’s what I thought.

I am a law school graduate.

Sure, Jan.

Why on earth is that so hard to believe? This board—like this town—is full of lawyers.

If you disagree with what I’m saying, fine, prove me wrong. Simply writing me off as a non-lawyer when it isn’t true is hardly a lawyerly approach to an argument.

“law school grad” = didn’t pass the bar, right? That’s you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Above the Law Rankings are heavily weighted by outcomes—e.g. employment after graduation—and GMU is not ranked in the top 50. It wasn’t ranked in the top 50 last year either.

Georgetown, GWU, William & Mary and Howard are all ranked both years.

https://abovethelaw.com/2025/06/2025-top-50-law-school-rankings/

No one cites Above the Law for law school rankings. No one. It’s USNWR, and top 14, that everyone talks about, where Scalia is ranked 31z https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/george-mason-university-03159

Right. GMU is ranked 31st but still does a relatively shitty job of getting its grads top jobs. That's why I cited ATL. For that metric only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FWIW, The current USNWR rankings are
Georgetown 14 (tied with others)
GW and Mason tied at 31 (with several others, including W&M)
Catholic 71 (tied)
American 104

I went to AU law when it was ranked in the top 50 and liked it, have had good jobs since graduation. But it was outrageously expensive then and seems to be so now. I can’t fathom what it has done to fall so far in the rankings.

If I had it to do all over again and wanted to be in this area, I would live in VA and go to Mason law school. Well ranked and a lot less expensive.

Yeah, what's going on at AU Law?

Likely nothing is "going on at AU Law," the rankings have never meant much beyond top 15 or so and they have shifted like crazy for many, many schools in recent history, and usually for no obvious reason. I attended Tulane when it was just inside the first tier at 40 and now it's 78. Nothing "going on" (although there were some issues when Katrina hit, that was over 20 years ago).

LOL. The "first tier" stops way short of no. 40.

Not when I went to law school it didn't. It referred to the top 50, not the top 14 like now.

When did you go to law school? Fifty years ago?

No, not 50 years ago.

When did you go to law school? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Never. You’re one of the mommies, right? Obsessing over things like this because you want your kid to go to law school? Yep. That’s what I thought.

I am a law school graduate.

Sure, Jan.

Why on earth is that so hard to believe? This board—like this town—is full of lawyers.

If you disagree with what I’m saying, fine, prove me wrong. Simply writing me off as a non-lawyer when it isn’t true is hardly a lawyerly approach to an argument.

“law school grad” = didn’t pass the bar, right? That’s you.

You said I didn't go to law school. That's the question I answered. Now you're saying I didn't pass the bar, so I'll answer that one too. Yes, I passed the bar. The DC bar to be exact.

Weirdo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Above the Law Rankings are heavily weighted by outcomes—e.g. employment after graduation—and GMU is not ranked in the top 50. It wasn’t ranked in the top 50 last year either.

Georgetown, GWU, William & Mary and Howard are all ranked both years.

https://abovethelaw.com/2025/06/2025-top-50-law-school-rankings/

No one cites Above the Law for law school rankings. No one. It’s USNWR, and top 14, that everyone talks about, where Scalia is ranked 31z https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/george-mason-university-03159

No one “cites” it? lol, ok.

It’s a legit reference created by people actually working in law. This T14 “that everyone talks about” is when “everyone” = the mommies on dcum who are desperate strivers looking into all of this for a kid who probably doesn’t want to go to law school or who will end up bottom 10% on the lsat lol. DP

Sorry, not a DC “mommy” here but a real lawyer from T3 law firm, clerk and Big Law with kid also going to T3 law school. Above the Law is gossip trash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Above the Law Rankings are heavily weighted by outcomes—e.g. employment after graduation—and GMU is not ranked in the top 50. It wasn’t ranked in the top 50 last year either.

Georgetown, GWU, William & Mary and Howard are all ranked both years.

https://abovethelaw.com/2025/06/2025-top-50-law-school-rankings/

No one cites Above the Law for law school rankings. No one. It’s USNWR, and top 14, that everyone talks about, where Scalia is ranked 31z https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/george-mason-university-03159

Right. GMU is ranked 31st but still does a relatively shitty job of getting its grads top jobs. That's why I cited ATL. For that metric only.

I was at an antitrust conference at Scalia today and have taught there You are quite wrong; the opposite is true. It was much discussed today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Above the Law Rankings are heavily weighted by outcomes—e.g. employment after graduation—and GMU is not ranked in the top 50. It wasn’t ranked in the top 50 last year either.

Georgetown, GWU, William & Mary and Howard are all ranked both years.

https://abovethelaw.com/2025/06/2025-top-50-law-school-rankings/

No one cites Above the Law for law school rankings. No one. It’s USNWR, and top 14, that everyone talks about, where Scalia is ranked 31z https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/george-mason-university-03159

Right. GMU is ranked 31st but still does a relatively shitty job of getting its grads top jobs. That's why I cited ATL. For that metric only.

I was at an antitrust conference at Scalia today and have taught there You are quite wrong; the opposite is true. It was much discussed today.

You taught at Scalia and that's how you write? Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Above the Law Rankings are heavily weighted by outcomes—e.g. employment after graduation—and GMU is not ranked in the top 50. It wasn’t ranked in the top 50 last year either.

Georgetown, GWU, William & Mary and Howard are all ranked both years.

https://abovethelaw.com/2025/06/2025-top-50-law-school-rankings/

No one cites Above the Law for law school rankings. No one. It’s USNWR, and top 14, that everyone talks about, where Scalia is ranked 31z https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/george-mason-university-03159

Right. GMU is ranked 31st but still does a relatively shitty job of getting its grads top jobs. That's why I cited ATL. For that metric only.

If you had bothered to google “Scalia job placement “ before shooting off your mouth, AI could have instructed you thusly:

Antonin Scalia Law School (George Mason University) boasts strong employment outcomes, with 97.5% of the Class of 2023 employed, primarily in private practice ($149,784 median salary) and the public sector ($74,672 median salary). The school excels in judicial clerkships, securing 102 for 2025-2028 terms, and leverages a strong DC-area network and focus on law


Employment and Salary Highlights
High Employment Rate: 99.4% of the Class of 2023 were employed or in graduate studies shortly after graduation, according to the NALP report.

Employment Sectors (Class of 2023): 49.1% entered the private sector, while 50.9% entered the public sector, including government and public interest.
Salaries: The median salary for the private sector was $149,784, while the median for the public sector was $74,672.
Location: Most graduates are employed in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.


Key Opportunities and Clerkships
Clerkships: Strong performance in placing graduates in federal and state courts, with 72 federal clerkships (including 31 U.S. Courts of Appeals) secured for the 2025-2028 terms.
Law & Economics Focus: The school's emphasis on the intersection of law and economics provides unique networking opportunities through the Law & Economics Center.

Networking and Recruitment: Active Fall and Spring recruiting programs are available, with opportunities to connect with top law firms and government agencies, note users on Reddit.

Career Services: The Career and Academic Services Office provides resources for job placement, including counseling and on-campus interviews.

Networking: The school connects students with employers through various, often intimate, settings.

For more detailed data, you can view the official 2023 NALP report and employment statistics on the Scalia Law School website.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you attended law school in the DC region (GWU, AU, Georgetown, Catholic, UDC, GMU), or your kid currently attends/graduated recently from one in the DC area: do you recommend the law school and why?

I would add UVA, W&M to the mix. They are just a few hours away and send tons of grads to DC.

If you are going to add schools that are a few hours away, why not add ones even closer: University of Maryland law school and University of Baltimore law school. There could be more law schools closer than UVA and W&M. But OP says ones in DC (with the exception of GMU which is in Northern Virginia about 15 minutes car ride from Georgetown).

Because I was including ones that are worth going to for good career outcomes in DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Above the Law Rankings are heavily weighted by outcomes—e.g. employment after graduation—and GMU is not ranked in the top 50. It wasn’t ranked in the top 50 last year either.

Georgetown, GWU, William & Mary and Howard are all ranked both years.

https://abovethelaw.com/2025/06/2025-top-50-law-school-rankings/

No one cites Above the Law for law school rankings. No one. It’s USNWR, and top 14, that everyone talks about, where Scalia is ranked 31z https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/george-mason-university-03159

Right. GMU is ranked 31st but still does a relatively shitty job of getting its grads top jobs. That's why I cited ATL. For that metric only.

If you had bothered to google “Scalia job placement “ before shooting off your mouth, AI could have instructed you thusly:

Antonin Scalia Law School (George Mason University) boasts strong employment outcomes, with 97.5% of the Class of 2023 employed, primarily in private practice ($149,784 median salary) and the public sector ($74,672 median salary). The school excels in judicial clerkships, securing 102 for 2025-2028 terms, and leverages a strong DC-area network and focus on law


Employment and Salary Highlights
High Employment Rate: 99.4% of the Class of 2023 were employed or in graduate studies shortly after graduation, according to the NALP report.

Employment Sectors (Class of 2023): 49.1% entered the private sector, while 50.9% entered the public sector, including government and public interest.
Salaries: The median salary for the private sector was $149,784, while the median for the public sector was $74,672.
Location: Most graduates are employed in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.


Key Opportunities and Clerkships
Clerkships: Strong performance in placing graduates in federal and state courts, with 72 federal clerkships (including 31 U.S. Courts of Appeals) secured for the 2025-2028 terms.
Law & Economics Focus: The school's emphasis on the intersection of law and economics provides unique networking opportunities through the Law & Economics Center.

Networking and Recruitment: Active Fall and Spring recruiting programs are available, with opportunities to connect with top law firms and government agencies, note users on Reddit.

Career Services: The Career and Academic Services Office provides resources for job placement, including counseling and on-campus interviews.

Networking: The school connects students with employers through various, often intimate, settings.

For more detailed data, you can view the official 2023 NALP report and employment statistics on the Scalia Law School website.

I love how someone claims to be such an expert and then cites AI. If you are a lawyer, shame on you. But you probably are not.

Anyways, there was something telling in your AI summary. The median salary for the private sector for Scalia grads was just $149,784. That's really really low for first year lawyers, and waaaay below big law salaries. This tells me Scalia grads are not doing so well in the job market.

Also I have worked in big law. We did not hire at Scalia. I have also taught at Scalia. The quality of the students was highly variable. The top 2-3 students in each class were quite good, the bottom few were really ... not good. The big group in the middle were just ok. The only ones comparable to my colleages in biglaw and my classmates at at T14 law school were the 2-3 at the top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Above the Law Rankings are heavily weighted by outcomes—e.g. employment after graduation—and GMU is not ranked in the top 50. It wasn’t ranked in the top 50 last year either.

Georgetown, GWU, William & Mary and Howard are all ranked both years.

https://abovethelaw.com/2025/06/2025-top-50-law-school-rankings/

No one cites Above the Law for law school rankings. No one. It’s USNWR, and top 14, that everyone talks about, where Scalia is ranked 31z https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/george-mason-university-03159

Right. GMU is ranked 31st but still does a relatively shitty job of getting its grads top jobs. That's why I cited ATL. For that metric only.

If you had bothered to google “Scalia job placement “ before shooting off your mouth, AI could have instructed you thusly:

Antonin Scalia Law School (George Mason University) boasts strong employment outcomes, with 97.5% of the Class of 2023 employed, primarily in private practice ($149,784 median salary) and the public sector ($74,672 median salary). The school excels in judicial clerkships, securing 102 for 2025-2028 terms, and leverages a strong DC-area network and focus on law


Employment and Salary Highlights
High Employment Rate: 99.4% of the Class of 2023 were employed or in graduate studies shortly after graduation, according to the NALP report.

Employment Sectors (Class of 2023): 49.1% entered the private sector, while 50.9% entered the public sector, including government and public interest.
Salaries: The median salary for the private sector was $149,784, while the median for the public sector was $74,672.
Location: Most graduates are employed in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.


Key Opportunities and Clerkships
Clerkships: Strong performance in placing graduates in federal and state courts, with 72 federal clerkships (including 31 U.S. Courts of Appeals) secured for the 2025-2028 terms.
Law & Economics Focus: The school's emphasis on the intersection of law and economics provides unique networking opportunities through the Law & Economics Center.

Networking and Recruitment: Active Fall and Spring recruiting programs are available, with opportunities to connect with top law firms and government agencies, note users on Reddit.

Career Services: The Career and Academic Services Office provides resources for job placement, including counseling and on-campus interviews.

Networking: The school connects students with employers through various, often intimate, settings.

For more detailed data, you can view the official 2023 NALP report and employment statistics on the Scalia Law School website.

I love how someone claims to be such an expert and then cites AI. If you are a lawyer, shame on you. But you probably are not.

Anyways, there was something telling in your AI summary. The median salary for the private sector for Scalia grads was just $149,784. That's really really low for first year lawyers, and waaaay below big law salaries. This tells me Scalia grads are not doing so well in the job market.

Also I have worked in big law. We did not hire at Scalia. I have also taught at Scalia. The quality of the students was highly variable. The top 2-3 students in each class were quite good, the bottom few were really ... not good. The big group in the middle were just ok. The only ones comparable to my colleages in biglaw and my classmates at at T14 law school were the 2-3 at the top.

ASS Law outperforms its rank. It places much better than many regional schools in the DC area, particularly in antitrust. Its combined big law and federal clerkship employment rate is 21.2% compared to AUWCL's 17% and Catholic's 11.9%. And I have no skin in the game here. I went to a T14 elsewhere and work in big law. But an unusually large number of my colleagues went to GMU.