AboutSally A. Kane Expertise As a recent law school graduate who excelled in law school, I can answer questions regarding the law school experience including preparing for and applying to law school, excelling in law school, law review, legal writing tips, the law school curriculum, exam success, financing law school, balancing work and school, clerkships and externships, job interviewing and more. I do not answer homework questions.
Experience I have thirteen years’ experience in the legal field, ten as a litigation paralegal and three as a corporate attorney. During law school, I juggled many priorities including a full time job, law school and a newborn baby. In law school I served as a law review editor, wrote for student publications and completed two externships, one with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and one with the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Publications I have published law and career related articles in a variety of publications including Legal Assistant Today, The Legal Intelligencer, Juris and The Journal of Legal Nurse Consulting.
Education/Credentials I possess a B.A. in Writing from Edinboro University, a Paralegal Certificate from Duquesne University and a J.D. from Duquesne University School of Law.
Expert: Sally A. Kane Date: 3/26/2008 Subject: Law School Tiers
Question In past answers you have made reference to 4th tier law schools. In the mid-west (Minnesota, Dakotas, Wisconsin, Michigan) what are the different levels of schools and how do law degrees from those schools determine potential jobs after law school?
Answer Sarah,
Law schools rankings sort the 195+ ABA-approved law schools into four levels based on the quality of the law school and a combination of empirical statistics such as average LSAT score, GPA and starting salaries of graduates. U.S. News & World Report offers the most popular law school rankings. Detailed information on law school rankings can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_School_Rankings.
Generally speaking, attending a tier-one law school will provide graduates the most job opportunities. The top 200 law firms generally limit their recruiting efforts to top-tier schools. Graduating from a tier one school evidences the high level of academic achievement that many top employers seek.
Tier-four schools (the bottom tier) generally admit students with the lowest average LSAT scores and undergraduate GPAs. While these schools are the easiest to gain admission to, some employers will not recruit from bottom-tier schools. However, attending a tier-four school does not mean you can’t find gainful employment as an attorney. It may just limit your opportunities in the top national firms and some other employment environments (such as the federal judiciary).
This article - lowerhttp://legalcareers.about.com/b/a/000036.htm -
offers strategies to improve your post-law school opportunities while attending a bottom tier school.
