Law School Selection Advice… From CBS Sports
As the 3Ls complete their steady march through finals to graduation, we wonder if those heading into Biglaw are thinking about how the next few years will be like one long finals week.
Remember back in the day when you were idealistic about the law school experience, touring campuses, and trying to decide where to go to become a top-notch attorney? CBS Sports has a column on how to choose the right law school. Yeah, CBS Sports.
Here are our favorites from the list of 17 pieces of advice. We left off “don’t be seduced by rankings.”
1. Visit the school when there’s good weather, if at least half of the guys aren’t wearing shorts, flip-flops, and t-shirts, then you don’t want to go there. Law school should be fun because being a lawyer isn’t fun. If people at the law school are already dressing like they’re practicing law (or the law school has some sort of stuffy motto like, “We take the law seriously in the classroom too”) then you’ll be miserable for three years. Trust me.5. Think about the size of the law school. My Vandy class had 184 people. That’s like a high school. You knew everyone. Some people loved this, others wished the school was bigger because once they got drunk, made out with a midget missing an arm, and later were called a midget lover by the entire class. At a larger law school this probably would have been less likely.
7. When you visit consider the attractiveness of the undergraduate population. One of my good friends went to college in the northeast. He knew nothing about Nashville or Vanderbilt. But he went to a law school fair and the Vanderbilt counselor gave him the usual selling points for a school like Vandy. My friend was unmoved. Then at the end, the guy said, sort of under his breath, “Plus, the undergrad girls are unbelievably hot.” Sold. Remember, you don’t want to waste your love in the law line at the bar on mediocre girls with bingo wings.
14. Don’t go to the Midwest for law school. Pick any other region. Unless you’re absolutely certain you want to practice in Chicago. Yeah, yeah, Chicago’s awesome but it’s also the de facto capital of about eight states. If you really want to end up in Chicago you can get there from lots of places outside the Midwest.
We 
were surprised to find law school advice on a sports site, but the columnist, Clay Travis, is actually a 2004 graduate of Vanderbilt Law School. He says, “Never underestimate what lawyers will do not to practice law.” Indeed.
Though most of his columns are on sports, he lets the law creep in occasionally, such as this column on how each Supreme Court justice might rule on a fantasy sports case. It may have been a bit too “inside legal baseball” for the usual CBS Sports audience, since the only comment is “What the hell is this guy talking about?”
Update: Wondering about the identity of the law student in the photo? See here (and note her comment at 8:54 PM — she’s cool with our using it here).
ClayNation: Looking for law school? Study this precedent [CBS Sports]
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Bull. Rankings are all that matter. THe only criteria should be: what school will help me get a good job. Period. All else is crap.
Travis on rankings:
"2. Don't be completely seduced by law school rankings. For instance, Cornell is a top-ranked law school. But it's also filled with people who didn't want to go to Cornell but went there anyway because they didn't get in anywhere else as highly ranked and their Long Island parents wanted to brag about their spoiled children going to an Ivy League law school. Choose wisely."
A whole article to justify his horrible decision to go to Vandy?
What are bingo wings?
7. is an interesting piece of advice, but ultimately, you have to have mad game if you're going to score an undergrad. In theory, dropping the law school bomb would work on a highly impressionable undergrad. In reality, however, undergrad girls care more about neandrethal frat guys who played LAX in high school and now double as adderall dealers than they do about fast-talking, polo-wearing, slightly pudgy lawguys.
What are bingo wings?
Bingo wings:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bingo+wing
10:00 - criterion
That guy didn't get laid much. You shouldn't publish an article advising people how to get laid and then put your picture up so that everyone can see you might be a virgin. Is Vandy really taking guys with down syndrome??
Maybe if the guy paid attention to rankings he wouldn't be stuck writing fluff pieces for CBS Sports.
Though I suppose his advice isn't far off for the sort of people who read CBS Sports, for whom Vandy might actually be a respectable get, law-school-wise.
No way, 10:15. He's rockin a backwards lid, halfass facial hair, and shades hanging from his tee. He's clearly a Cool Guy.
10:11- Douche
10:11- douche
The girls at Vandy are probably the best reason to go there.
that description of Cornell sounds perfect. I think it also applies to PSU-Philly Campus -- it's a school filled with people who wish they got into NYU/Columbia.
10:15 - actually, quite the opposite, and he ended up married to a very attractive NFL cheerleader
What a tool...
Ummm...tongue in cheek humor?!? You guys are clueless...enjoy your pasty, flat and frigid Harvard & Yale ladies, oops I mean "women."
What a tool....
10:31 appears correct -- this guy's bio page says he married an NFL cheerleader. (http://www.sportsline.com/columns/writers/travis/bio)
That said, we don't know whether she was attractive, or the ugly duckling who grew bingo wings & was kicked off the squad after a year...
This looks like one big advertisement for USC Law or Miami Law.
What a tool. The only color hats you should wear backwards are green (Jets) or black (Mets), never white. It looks so stupid. His facial hair is cool and the glasses are a nice touch, but the shirt should be a throw back Chrebet jersey or maybe an open Piazza jersey and the hat should be green. However, query whether one should ever wear a hat if they have a fresh blowout haircut. When I got my first blowout, I didn't wear a hat for two months.
See, none of these dudes are wearing a hat:
http://guidofistpump.com/GuidoOompa.jpg
Yeah, c'mon guys!! It's "tongue-in-cheek humor." Don't you recognize that this guy is a comic genius??
If I want advice on where to go to law school, I'll go to Dan Cortese, not this guy.
CBS Sports must have hired this guy to make Pete Prisco's writing look interesting.
Next can we have a "Frivolous Friday Pronunciation Post?" Please?
I would recommend avoiding law schools with dudes wearing backwards-facing baseballs hats with sunglasses hanging from the front of their shirts who refer to their school as "Vandy."
OMG. They called his friend a "midget lover" at Vandy Law. That place must be nuts!!
Lat,
I can't believe #16 re lateral moves for associates didn't make your favorites list! Not up for generating your own free publicity?
Lat,
I can't believe #16 re lateral moves for associates didn't make your favorites list! Not up for generating your own free publicity?
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
16. Keep in mind that the law is completely unbalanced when it comes to career search. The most competitive jobs in the legal profession are either the highest-paying or the lowest paying. The only thing more miserable than practicing law is trying to get a job practicing law. Don't expect that your first law job is going to last. I've been graduated from law school for less than four years and 75 percent of my classmates are already working at different jobs than the ones they started. That's why getting hung up on the first job you have is really a waste of time.
I am now completely addicted to this site... Lol... You guys are freakin' hillarious. "Bingo Wings"... roflmao!
UVA over UMich and Chicago!!! For all the reasons the author says.
he prob has a more satisfying job than most laywers. he's a sports writer. so he has creed. and some insight.
Ugh, he needs a mirror. Won't someone please get this man-boy a mirror???
This is an interesting part taken from #2:
Cornell is a top-ranked law school. But it's also filled with people who didn't want to go to Cornell but went there anyway because they didn't get in anywhere else as highly ranked and their Long Island parents wanted to brag about their spoiled children going to an Ivy League law school. Choose wisely.
The part about spoiled kids from Long Island reminds me of about 99% of the people I've met in law school....
"Yeah, yeah, Chicago's awesome but it's also the de facto capital of about eight states."
Correction: Chicago is the dbag capital of the midwest. If you know any guy who (1) went to high school in Chicago, (2) went to U of I, and (3) returned to Chicago after graduation, then you probably know a giant dbag.
And speaking of dbags... HofstraMagna... wearing a Jets hat backwards? Does it match your tracksuit? I didn't know sanitation workers needed JDs.
Harvard and Yale chicks are without a doubt, frigid, pasty library trolls.
UVA is filled with douche bag tools wearing madras all the time- even in the winter -- fucking southern dandies
11:11 speaks the truth. Those are the same dudes in the bleachers at Wrigley with their unbuttoned Zambrano jersey on, bellies hanging out, ten beers and with more obnoxious accents than Bahhhhstonites, if such an accent exists. Chicago is the coolest place in the universe according to them.
Yeah 11:18, I agree. Herbs from flyover states like Illinois are total losers. Long Island is 10x better than crappy Chicago. Avoid the flyover states like the plague. There are a ton of hot women at Hofstra.
Who's the looker in the first image on this post?
Oh, God, I really need to shed these Berkeley goggles.
Whats a Hofstra? Is it contagious?
The midwest sucks, but it is still worth it to suffer a few years of living among Midwestern dbags going to U of C, NW and UMich over Vandy.
You guys putting Vanderbilt down are unbelievable losers. I know people who went there who make 90% of your salary and do 40% of the work. You retards do the math and see who comes out on top.
10:35 - here's a link to a picture of his wife
http://nflcheerleader.blogspot.com/2004/10/nfl-pudding-strike.html
This guy is right-on- on #7. UVA had gorgeous undergrads and they got along just fine with law and business students.
10:07-- the frat dudes you described grow up to be half of UVA laws population
This guy is right-on- on #7. UVA had gorgeous undergrads and they got along just fine with law and business students.
10:07-- the frat dudes you described grow up to be half of UVA laws population
10:31 & 10:35 -
It is funny you should point that out, because only on a board like this would that be impressive. Marrying a girl who is generally unemployed, wears two-inches of makeup, and has a shitty personality is really overrated (I am describing 98%). Besides, while half of the girls are good looking, the other half are only decent looking because they are a mile away, wearing skimping clothing and you are drunk. That guy looks like a tool and if he is supporting...I mean married to a NFL cheerleader, I would guess she falls into the second category above.
What if someone told you they were married to a model? Everyone on this board would be impressed, until you found out it was a plus size model or a hand model.
Also, she is apparently a former cheerleader as the Titans do not have a cheerleader named Lara. Also, they almost all fall into the second category (check out the website).
11:14,
UVA and southern dandies? I beg to differ. Maybe once upon a time. Now, it's full of goofball d-bags that grew up without the accent many of them adopted at UVA. UVA today has more students from the South of Asia than it does from the South of the United States.
11:46,
Who cares if it's a plus-size model or a hand model? Whatever, dude, I'm bangin' a model.
P. Bondurant
Unfortunately for most of you, any woman anywhere will seem frigid.
Send her my way, the Blue Collar that will make her holler.
P. Bondurant
This guy is fairly good. My favorite quote is "The most competitive jobs in the legal profession are either the highest-paying or the lowest paying."
Vandy girls are mighty hot - but the law school schmooze does NOT work...on anyone really. Way better to be a LAX frat guy.
By his standards I really messed up. I went to NYU where unless you like girls with dyed hair and multiple piercings than the undergrad girl population is pretty bad (although the law student girls are decent). Fun students? Fun, if you like people who get all worked up protest the military recruiting on-campus because of the military "discrimination policy" against gays and half of them don't watch the Super Bowl. Great weather? Not so much.
off a bit about the midwest. went to a public university, paid (without taking out loans) $17,000 per year for tuition, and now at a V10 firm in the NYC office. Now the only difference between me and the guy in the next office (with the Harvard degree on the wall) is that I am not making loan payments.
oh yeah, I had season tickets to Big Ten football for 3 years. don't know anyone at my firm with a Vandy JD.
He sucks as a sportswriter, too. He panders to the hayseeds.
Interesting article. Too bad he's still miffed about his Cornell rejection.
Guys in my high school used to bang ugly cheerleaders all the time; it was no big deal.
FRAT STUD
10:35 - here's a link to a picture of his wife
http://nflcheerleader.blogspot.com/2004/10/nfl-pudding-strike.html
Larger photo and more Lawyers/Cheerleaders here:
http://nflcheerleader.blogspot.com/2007/07/attorneys.html
Dude, I went to GW and graduated in 2002. Clay Travis supposedly graduated in 2001. I have never heard or seen him before. I doubt he was that cool at GW. He definitely wasn't known in the bar or club scene and probably wasn't in a good fraternity, so it just appears that he is trying to come across as this real smooth guy when he probably spent most Saturday nights in his friend's apartment wondering how to get girls.
OUCH! I just took a look at Clays gal. Now my eyes hurt.
I like this guy. People are defensive because they are, in fact, uptight dickhead lawyers, and feel the need to put him down to feel better about it.
I actually think Chicago is a really wonderful place to go to law school.
Go Maroons!
- Adam Kirgis
I actually think Chicago is a really wonderful place to go to law school.
Go Maroons!
Adam Kirgis
The zeitgeist of Clay's column and this site are polar opposites. Those who went to SEC schools for law school understand and nod in approval; the rest of you just tee off like you do on everything else.
UVA is easily top 3 law school. Stop talking about it as if it was just like U Richmond or something.
Go 'Dores!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, the undergrad women are smokin' at Vandy. The law school ain't half bad either.
!0.02 is a bloody twit who needs to get over his/her Yale/Columbia rejection! Most Cornell grads actually wanted b'cos its "goregous," the class size, etc.
Clay's Wife = Not good looking.
12:36 - zeitgeist? Really? And SEC schools? Okay, I know who you are now. And I understand your need to reference athletics at your alma matter. There really isn't much else to talk about for you is there? Take off the jersey and stop pretending you ever played sports.
Vandy alum are not in a position to bash Chicago.
And did I really read someone posting that UVA is a top 3 school? [Insert softball joke here].
Berkeley and UVA. If you don't get into a top 3 school (and if you aren't a fan of NYC), these are clearly the top schools to attend.
"10:07-- the frat dudes you described grow up to be half of UVA laws population"
Half may be overstating it. But there are a lot of overgrown fratboys at UVaLaw. I would say that it's the prevailing social norm at the law school, but not really in an exclusionary, "we're-better-than-you" kind of way (with a couple of embarrassing and notable exceptions a few years back). It's more like, people like to play beer pong, give high fives and throw theme parties. All are welcome.
Second 11:01 & 1:05.
Clay is probably the Roger Lou impostor. Enough, already!!
Seriously, UVA? UVA is a joke.
It's a pretty good article.
If UVa is a joke, it's the best joke I've heard in awhile.
This is retarded.
Don't go to U of Chicago, U of Michigan, or Northwestern? Right, cause those schools obviously don't place as well outside of Chicago as Vandy.
This guy needs to STFU.
UVa is lame. It's all preppy, uninteresting white people. And theme parties are for douches.
Guys in my high school used to make out with drunk one armed midgets all the time, it was no big deal.
yeah, you guys are just jealous. clay travis has a much cooler job than most of us and even wrote a pretty entertaining and widely distributed book (http://www.amazon.com/Dixieland-Delight-Football-Southeastern-Conference/dp/0061431249).
"And everyone has to take the Multi-State Bar Exam (MBE) no matter what jurisdiction you're choosing."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA
Not me... suckers!
No. the info he gives is just plain retarded.
Don't go to Cornell because the people suck? Don't go to Chicago, Michigan, or Northwestern since its in the midwest?
He has no information on any of those schools. He's obviously never been enrolled there and has no idea what its like to be at those schools.
The bottom line is that his decision to go to Vandy was his own, but he shouldn't fuck up other people's futures (lets go to Vandy instead of Harvard, because the people are more laid back there!!!!!). What a fucking moron.
His book may have been "widely distributed," but according to Nielsen BookScan, it was not "widely purchased."
Also, the position that he has at the CBS Sports website likely pays very little.
I liked his column on fantasy sports and scotus.
You guys need to stop knocking Vanderbilt. They produce some of the best damn staff attorneys you'll ever meet.
2:13 - I'm fairly certain that prospective students at Chicago, Michigan or Northwestern aren't relying on a stupid sports column to make their decision. Your moral outrage may be a bit misplaced.
2:13 -- He's not "f---[in'] up other people's futures." He wrote an article. No doubt, he intended it to be amusing. And interesting. He obviously succeeded, because all of us dbags have read it, and many of us have commented on it. But anyone who would take his "advice" as gospel probably would not get into Harvard, or Vandy, or most other law schools for that matter. Seriously, you all need to get a grip. I know that lawyers are not supposed to have much in the way of a sense of humor, but come on now.
And even if some naive, booksmart undergrad out there takes this guy's advice to heart and decides to go to Vandy over Harvard, I would hardly call this "f---[in]] up" one's life. It's not like Vandy is a crack den, a maximum security prison, or even a TTT.
You guys need to lighten up. It is a funny article, not meant to be taken serious. Jesus, you guys are uptight. Oh my God, he knocked me school, or city I work in. How can I hold my head up high.
Anyone who calls out Pat Robertson is first class in my book: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/26/national/main1662789.shtml
you're the moron. the column is tongue-in-cheek. this guy doesn't honestly believe you should go to pepperdine over NYU if you are trying to get a job at Wachtell.
The law school schmooze definitely works on undergrads. Those of you saying that it doesn't are probably 5'5'' ugly douches without enough social skills to move beyond "I go to law school."
Don't go to a Midwest school? Everybody else, except the Midwest, is crazy. Went to fourth tier midwest school. Earned job on federal district and federal appeals courts. Work at V10 NYC firm.
2:51 - at places like Yale or places with hot undergrads? I went to law school with at a university with a totally hot undergrad population. They could care less that you're at the law school. And I'm 6'2".
I know that he's trying to be more cool than accurate, but when I went to Michigan a few years ago, people who managed to get in-state tuition (i.e. their parents lived in Bloomfield Hills or Birmingham), saved something like $2k/year. Now I'd like to owe the gubment $6k less than I do, but I'd harly call those who do "lucky bastards."
I second 3:02 (presuming he means the opposite of what he's saying, i.e. that they "couldn't care less"). Too late to worry about this now, though. Dropping bashfully, "Oh, I'm a lawyer" in the right places does much more for me than "I'm a law student" ever did in college bars.
Wisconsin.
Cheap tuition for residents.
An enclave of hot girls - not only sconnies, but rich girls from MN suburbs and coasties who think there is something kitschy about us.
Close to Chicago.
Wisconsin.
3:02 - I agree.
Girls don't care that you are a law student - it just makes you old and then you have to lie and say you are a 21 year-old 1L. As we all know, law school is full of really, really dumb people - not to mention weird. Girls seem to be smart enough to pick up on that.
I am looking forward to graduating here.
I wonder how many of the Vandy bashers could have even gotten in there. Probably few, if they are sufficiently ill informed to think that a top 20 law school produces staff attorneys and screws up people's lives.
CBSSportline is really bottom-of-the-barrel sports coverage. ESPN or SI (and maybe Yahoo) I'm listening; but some no-name columnist from a second-class sports information website. He peaked when he was admitted into Vandy, and it's been all downhill ever since...
Don't be completely seduced by law school rankings. For instance, X is a top-ranked law school. But it's also filled with people who didn't want to go to X but went there anyway because they didn't get in anywhere else as highly ranked.....
Doesn't this apply to EVERY law school that's not Yale?
UVA is filled with people who wanted to get into Vandy but couldn't because they were too ugly and awkward.
I'm thinking of going to law school. What do people here have to say about UPenn State? Only non-rude comments please.
It has two campuses on opposite side of the state, which some would say is a drawback.
But you can take classes at the Warden school, which is a definite plus. Just stay away from any class taught by JoPa.
Is Warden on the Philly campus?
"Who's the looker in the first image on this post?"
That's Ann Althouse back in 1981.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/62fujx
Was Ann a classmate of Roger Lou's at America's Univ. or did she go to UPenn St. (Philly campus). Or maybe Hofstra?
A midget!
Ha! Ha!
4:41: no. Many of us did not apply to Yale b/c we actually wanted to learn something in law school, and didn't want to be surrounded by pretentious asshats (exhibit A: Will Baude).
Most of us did quite fine. Say, a federal court of appeals clerkship, V10 firm, etc, etc
Seriously, I've met Yale graduates while clerking and they have the legal knowledge and reasoning abilities of 1Ls. It's embarrassing.
Go to Midwest public schools if you are from those states, or if you get reciprocity. Having virtually no debt changes the balance of enjoyment on life. Unless you are a strong admit to a T14, stay in state. Probably stay in-state anyway unless you are absolutely obsessed about going to NYC.
Re: undergrads
Law students are one thing. They are kind of thought (with justification) to be weird, nerdy and generally icky library dwellers.
On the other hand, the ones who got summer jobs that pay a few grand a week...now that'll get people's attention. "Oh, so THAT's why you study!"
yeah i'm sure UVA is full of kids "who wanted to get into Vandy"
Hofstra Douchebag !!!
3:55- Vandy is a fine school, its a Top-20, but leave it at that. It's certainly better than, schools ranking 30 and onward, but it also produces a significantly larger percentage staff attorneys (or people who couldn't get good jobs) than say a T-14 school. Thats common knowledge.
But telling someone to go to Vandy over a T14 could have consequences. And I think you are "vastly ill-informed if you think differently." It very well could "screw up someone's life."
God bless Vandy law
Sorry about your tiny pink cornell rejection bro.
Guys in my high school chose their law school based on the availability of alcohol and hot blond trim all the time, it was not big deal.
-FRAT STUD
Also, Vandy is one of the few prestigious law schools that actually takes personality/appearance into account in admissions.
11:47, you are correct in one sense. If you go to Vandy and goof off and end up at the bottom of your class, your life is screwed up in comparison to the person who goes to Harvard, goofs off, and ends up at the bottom of his class. And if you plan to move to NYC no matter what, obviously your chances of doing so successfully yplummet when you go to Vandy rather than, say, Columbia. But you have not screwed up your life if you have to go work at a top 20 Dc firm rather than Wachtell in NYC, unless your life is pretty lame.
You are all stupid. Shut the fuck up.
If you’re the typical antisocial troll who doesn’t come from money, you should definitely go to the highest ranked law school you can get into. Let’s face it, you haven’t been getting laid, and you’re smart enough to know that you’re not going to start to get laid now that you’re a law student, so you really shouldn’t concern yourself with the quality of the undergrads. If anything, you should stay away from schools with hot undergrads because you know that every time you see one of those hot numbers strolling across the campus, you’re going to start doing your best Phillip Seymour Hoffman in Happiness impression as you suffer deep mental anguish over the fact that you’re undeniable wit, intellect and, indeed, the long-term security you represent fail to turn her head, much less turn her on. But with a law degree from one of the top five schools, you’re all but guaranteed a gig at a big firm and job security for around three years. Sure, you can expect to get into some serious debt that will necessitate spending at least six years in big law, regardless of whether you get off on what is essentially the business casual version of a bukkake picknick. But there are a number of undeniable perks. First, you’re guaranteed that big law job, and you’re not going to have to bust your ass or even shave that crustash or wipe that spiddle from the corner of your month, unless you’re some sort of super gunner who wants to work at Wachtell or Cravath, in which case you’ll have to bust your ass but fortunately still won’t have to shave the crustash or wipe that spiddle. Second, there’s a chance you’ll meet the female version of yourself in law school, and if you’re really lucky (or stealthy) she will come from money, and then you can ditch the crap big law gig and pursue your dream (or at very least a job that’s not as demanding and unrewarding), after an all important good faith attempt to establish yourself as independent income earner who’s not interested in mooching off of the in laws (market seems to be around two years of big law, but please don’t kill yourself if you’ve got this ace up your sleeve; remember, you get three years regardless of how much you bill). And then you and your ugly mate will produce heinous yet brilliant progeny who’ll be shoe-ins for those spots at the choicest Manhattan private schools, where they’ll spend their days wondering why they don’t look like Nate or Serena and why everyone laughed when that bitch interrupted their boastful description of a weekend jaunt up to your in-laws’ summer house with her sardonic, “Southampton isn’t even a Hampton.” Third, as you bide your time at big law, you can take the piss out of anyone who attended a TTT, which is very fun activity that doesn’t require you to use any of the logic you honed during those dreaded tuna days and ramen nights while you practiced for your LSAT like a medieval monk transcribing a scroll.
If you’re affable, sociable and relatively attractive (compared to other potential lawyers) and do not come from money, go to the highest ranked TTT that gives you a full ride. Bust your ass for one year. Make sure you’re in the top ten percent and get on law review. If you do, chances, at most respectable TTTs, you’re going to score a summer job at some top 50 firm. If you do, you’re golden. You’ll be making the same loot as those from higher ranked law school and emerge debt free. Now at least you’ll get to keep most of the post-tax dough you make for starring in the bukkake picknick. Of course there are some drawbacks. First, you’re going to have to deal with the scarlet TTT for the rest of your life. Don’t take this lightly. Think about it. For better or worse, for richer or poorer, if you win the case of the century or get caught beating your wife, some 1L is going to post something about how it’s surprising/predictable that you did such a thing given that you attended a TTT. Second, if you actually end up enjoying the picknick, you’ll face some additional scrutiny for having attended a TTT when partnership decision time comes around (at some firms more than others). There’s probably a way to get a rough sense of the level of the amount of additional scrutiny by comparing the number of TTT associates to TTT partners at any given firm, but that’s imperfect and you’ll have to adjust for many factors, and ultimately, like all forms of discrimination, there’s really no way of knowing the extent in advance. Third, certain exit ops won’t come as easily, but if you intend on going in house (say, to an i-bank), you can manage a large amount of that risk by picking the right practice area. For example, if you have any doubt about your desire to make partner, don’t go into litigation just because you won your TTT’s moot court competition. Litigation is teeming with thousands of former clerks from top five law schools who may just wake up one day and decide to take one of the five in house litigation spots that open up each year. Fourth, in a down market, you’ll have to try even harder and graduate even higher in the class to land that big law gig. But there are some other benefits. First, you will be able to turn some relatively hot dimwitted girl in your 1L class into your sex slave. No joke. She’ll be in awe of your legal prowess and the way you “just get it,” and later your grades and job. Don’t underestimate how much fun it’ll be to be intellectually revered. That’s just not going to happen at some first tier hog pit where every chick thinks she’s going to be the next Hillary Clinton. Second, every babe in your law school will want a piece of you, and you can tap that without giving up your sex slave, who’ll perceives you as some enlightened being who can do no wrong. Third, as with non-TTT schools, you won’t have to do shit in your second and third years. No firm wants to get the rep for rescinding offers, so go ahead and take the easiest classes and load up on Bs and Cs. It’s not going to matter. Fourth, you’ll potentially be able to nail some hot undergrads. Actually, come to think of it, this applies equally to first tier schools. Now, it’ll be tricky because, remember, these honnies are at a stage in their lives where they want to get with what’s cool and hot and they’re not thinking about their futures (the hotter they are, the truer this will be), and believe it or not, even if they were thinking about their futures, they’re already smart enough to know that you’re never going to be raking in hedge fund bucks. As intolerable as this may sound, the key to drinkin’ some undergraduate Tang on a regular basis (as opposed having an occasional sip at the local pub every now and then) will be befriending some undergraduate facilitator (ideally, someone interested in going to law school who falsely believes that s/he can benefit from an association with you) who takes you to parties, introduces you around and talks you up. Oh and be sure to keep up on all the new shows (yes, that means reality television) so you’ll have something to talk about because they won’t be interested in hearing your thoughts about proximate causation…you can start by watching the Soup.
If you come from money, go to the highest ranked law school you can get into. Even if the ‘rents aint pickin’ up the tab in an effort to teach you some sort of sense of responsibility, it’ll all equal out a couple of years down the line when they help you out with the down payment on your first apartment or start redistributing their assets as part of their grand estate plan. Just watch out for those stealthy gold diggers who do not come from money that are going to try incorporate your family’s assets into their master retirement from big law plan. If you know that you never want to step foot into big law (e.g., you're intent on becoming a criminal prosecutor or a plaintiff’s lawyer), and find reasons one through four above (really reasons one and two) appealing, then go ahead and go to a TTT, just don’t do it for the money.
A guy who goes to Vanderbilt's law school is giving advice? Vanderbilt? The school where only the wealthy and well-connected need bother attending?
I don't know anybody who attended Vanderbilt Law School that actually become a lawyer outside of the South.