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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yale opens doors for years. I’m a Fed mid career attorney getting ready to start applying to jobs when they shut my agency down, and grateful to have YLS on the resume even though I kind of hated it when there and suffered through 4 years of Biglaw to pay off the loans.

That said if you plan to stay in CA your whole career, Boalt is quite respected. But it isn’t respected in the same way on the East Coast. (No idea about Midwest.) Whereas YLS is known everywhere. So factor that in too. [/quote]

I honestly think you are wrong about Yale opening doors mid-career. Yes a T10 law school (and law review) probably counts, but your achievements and connections matter MUCH more. Massive debt even if from Yale can cripple an early career where making those connections and gaining experience is important. But for a person who is going to go to Biglaw anyway - sure choose Yale for the marginal increases benefit. Although personally I would like to be able to quit Biglaw without worrying about debt in any event. [/quote]

Berkeley law school is rated #13 by usnwr. Are you really saying that a difference of three (to get to t10) is worth the money? [/quote]

It's the name recognition factor outside of California/West Coast. Everyone sits at attention when they see Yale. When they see Berkeley, they probably know it's a good school, but they don't sit up straight and go "oh!" like they do for Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia. Not saying you definitely get hired, but your resume stands out a lot more.

Again, if you're sure to practice in CA, totally worth it to go to Berkeley and get the $$. Similarly, I clerked on the EDPA and half the clerks were Temple Law grads. Temple is not widely known outside the Philly area, but in Philly, it is very respected and has a placement network like no other. If you knew you were going to stay in Philly, it might be worth it to get a full ride at Temple and skip the Ivies. It's not determinative - just a consideration.

Personally, I turned down full rides at Columbia, NYU, and Georgetown to go to YLS. Yes, it sucked having to work in Biglaw - which I loathed - to pay them off. But I know for sure it has opened doors. As PP says, once the doors are open, you still have to prove yourself, of course. And the judge I clerked for told me he almost didn't interview me because he assumed a Yale grad wasn't serious about clerking on a district court outside of DDC. So there can be negatives too. But overall as far as I know, it's been nearly all positive. [/quote]

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