Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown used to be T14.

Also don't forget about Notre Dame, we have a SCOTUS from ND.

Fordham grads probably do a lot of contract review at the big law. Not the same as Columbia grads. Completely different tracks.

You’re wrong about Fordham. OP is clearly talking specifically about NYC. Fordham law has a good name and good placement in NYC Biglaw. They’re not doing contract work. They’re getting the same associate jobs as the Columbia grads, just not as many.

You obviously never went to law school. Contract review work is not equivalent to contract worker. You also never worked at a big law, in whatever capacity.

Anonymous wrote:I think it's a little easier to get into Big Law from a T14, but there are still a great number of #15-50 law schools represented. I graduated from a non-coastal law school traditionally ranked in the 15-20 range and had offers from Cravath, Skadden, Gibson Dunn, and a couple other big firms. I had good grades and was on law review, but I wasn't a superstar.

For the half of the class that is median or below, T14 is a lot better though. I finished 1L right about at median in a not-great year for biglaw recruitment (my OCI was summer of 2011) and still landed well.

Anonymous wrote:Antonin Scalia Law School at GMU is where all the Federalist and MAGA actions are these days. Some fairly recent JD grads with the right connections have placed extremely well in current administration.

Current administration maybe.

Anonymous wrote:Georgetown used to be T14.

Also don't forget about Notre Dame, we have a SCOTUS from ND.

Fordham grads probably do a lot of contract review at the big law. Not the same as Columbia grads. Completely different tracks.

You’re wrong about Fordham. OP is clearly talking specifically about NYC. Fordham law has a good name and good placement in NYC Biglaw. They’re not doing contract work. They’re getting the same associate jobs as the Columbia grads, just not as many.

Anonymous wrote:I think it's a little easier to get into Big Law from a T14, but there are still a great number of #15-50 law schools represented. I graduated from a non-coastal law school traditionally ranked in the 15-20 range and had offers from Cravath, Skadden, Gibson Dunn, and a couple other big firms. I had good grades and was on law review, but I wasn't a superstar.

It really depends on the economy, which may or may not be the same when you apply to law school vs when you're looking for an associate position.

- 2010 law grad

And yup Fordham does well in NYC biglaw. Over half their graduates go to national firms. It's a tier below Columbia/NYU of course, but does well for a non-T14 school.

This site lawhub is quite helpful.

Just looked at NY figures. There are 5 schools outside the NYC region that have at least 100 placements in 2024: Harvard, Georgetown, Cornell, Penn and Duke.

Harvard, Cornell and Penn don't surprise me, a little surprised to see Georgetown and Duke make it. Georgetown has a very large graduating class size, but Duke is much more NY-heavy than I thought.

Yale is less than 100 but it's a small school where over a quarter do clerkships.

I think it's a little easier to get into Big Law from a T14, but there are still a great number of #15-50 law schools represented. I graduated from a non-coastal law school traditionally ranked in the 15-20 range and had offers from Cravath, Skadden, Gibson Dunn, and a couple other big firms. I had good grades and was on law review, but I wasn't a superstar.

Anonymous wrote:Where do you think the Yale, Harvard and Stanford grads go after their clerkships? Elite govt jobs are mostly a nonstarter right now, and there are only so many academic positions. Most end up in BigLaw or comparable boutiques.

A lot will do at least a few years in Big Law for the clerkship bonus and salary. Before transitioning to something else.

Antonin Scalia Law School at GMU is where all the Federalist and MAGA actions are these days. Some fairly recent JD grads with the right connections have placed extremely well in current administration.

Where do you think the Yale, Harvard and Stanford grads go after their clerkships? Elite govt jobs are mostly a nonstarter right now, and there are only so many academic positions. Most end up in BigLaw or comparable boutiques.

DH attended Duke Law and his law school friends went to big law all over. NYC and DC were probably the most popular, but Atlanta, Boston, and Cali were popular too.

Anonymous wrote:How accurate is this asssessment?

For law teaching and Supreme Court clerkships, Harvard, Yale, Chicago and Stanford dominate.

The T14 dominate big law. In NYC, the major feeders are Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Cornell and Penn. Stanford, Chicago, Northwestern, Berkeley, Michigan, Virginia do well but are more dispersed across the country (Yale is less represented in big law as most are interested in clerkships or academia). One school that is outside T14 but well represented in NYC is Fordham.

IANAL but I think this is largely correct. Yale still sends plenty to big law. Definitely add Duke to that second group, and it even bumps into the "NYC major feeders group" a bit.

You are correct about Fordham - it does surprisingly well in NYC. The bar is just higher but they get a fair number of people hired at big firms. Cardozo and Brooklyn even sneak a few alums each year into the top firms. Georgetown also does fairly well in NYC.

In the current administration there are more non-traditional feeders for clerkships, with George Mason being the most obvious example.

Georgetown used to be T14.

Also don't forget about Notre Dame, we have a SCOTUS from ND.

Fordham grads probably do a lot of contract review at the big law. Not the same as Columbia grads. Completely different tracks.

How accurate is this asssessment?

For law teaching and Supreme Court clerkships, Harvard, Yale, Chicago and Stanford dominate.

The T14 dominate big law. In NYC, the major feeders are Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Cornell and Penn. Stanford, Chicago, Northwestern, Berkeley, Michigan, Virginia do well but are more dispersed across the country (Yale is less represented in big law as most are interested in clerkships or academia). One school that is outside T14 but well represented in NYC is Fordham.