Reply to Indiana University political science placement director writes scorched earth letter to PhD students

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Lots of people make bad decisions.  Our child was a serious musician but basically decided that she would apply only to top 10 conservatories and if she was not accepted then she would not pursue music.  It's like saying law school is a waste of time if you can't get into a top law school.  People do this all the time.  Anyone who goes to a nonranked PhD program or even worse self-funds that PhD program has only themselves to blame.  If you're not good enough to get a full ride at a top program then you're not actually good enough to be a professor.  It's like being a mediocre athlete and wanting to play pro ball.[/quote]

Law school is a waste of time if you can't get into a top law school.

Retired attorney.[/quote]

This is so untrue and out of date.  My post-college boyfriend said the same thing to me but luckily I ignored it and went to a middling public law school, kicked ass, and got a job at a top firm with all the ivy leaguers and have had a great career.  I would hire a scrappy lawyer from a middling law school who works hard and has common sense over some of the lily livered, overly brainy lawyers from “top law schools” that I’ve worked with over the years.  [/quote]hat

I agree with the notion of getting a tough, hard minded practical lawyer over some of the top law school types I went to law school with.  Identifying them is key.  The problem  ist hat your personal anecdote does not address is that Big Law - a highly imperfect complex to the say the least - tends to hire from the top schools, and when they don't, people from so-called middling law schools must be very high in their class to get jobs.  My firm (back in the 90's) would only hire from the Law Review (and top 3%) at my top 10 law school, opting for Harvard Yale and Stanford grads.  I don't think I necessarily received better training that that at a middle market firm, (in fact, it is much harder to get courtroom time at a big firm) but learning to compete around incredibly bright people was a real plus.  It helped my career terrifically down the road.  But law in general has a lousy ROI.  And playing the game (even for very bright people) is rife with risk and opportunity cost.

Mid grade law schools might make sense in terms of having a goal to be proficient in court.  They historically have been a pipeline to prosecution positions, and there is no substitute for getting into court early in a career and often.  I just don't see incurring lots of debt to do it. [/quote]

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