second

Omg u penn state lol lulz! Joe pa is the dean! Lulz. Free ciolli. save autoadmit.

Lulz

Upenn state

Why? Most lawyers complain about the general uselessness of Yalies. Not surprising at all that Yale is not in the top 10.

BC >>>>> BU

I believe that Clarence Thomas would beg to differ with Elie's assessment of Yale.

If only every propsective law student could check that special box for an automatic acceptance letter (and scholarship!), then we too could be living in fairy tale magic liberal unicorn land as well.

Dream on 5.

- Professor Ryckman Secure

BU ahead of Harvard and NYU? Are you fucking kidding me?

- BUSL '07

If you go to Yale you'll just end up some d-bag professor. What kind of career prospect is that?

Yale shouldn't be in the top 10, because Yalies don't practice law. They teach it.

Which is why law school bears so little resemblance or attachement to reality.

What the hell kind of metrics are they using for "quality of life" where the middle of Virginia qualifies?

Places where straight white men can wear flip-flops year-round and buy incredibly cheap beer?

Initially thought maybe University of St. Thomas was in the Virgin Islands, which would explain the high quality of life. But apparently it's in Minneapolis, so that makes little sense.

SMU > Georgetown.

Suck my prestige.

SMU2L

dude, i didn't know penn state had such a great law school... awesome football and awesome law school? no way

Damn, Elie, did Lat point a gun at you while you were typing up platitudes about Yale Law? Or did he just threaten to take away your donut plant?

I wouldn't have bothered looking it up, but I assumed the same as 13.

Only putrescent iconoclasts who prefer to play Frisbee more than work would value "Quality of Life" when selecting a law school.

Berkeley, Virginia, UCLA, USC, Cornell, Columbia, Yale >>>>>>>>>>>>> BU and BC --- what a BS list

Is it me or are a good portion of the quality of life places also schools known for smoking a ton of pot?

QUINN REMAINS skeptical of this list as well

I've always seen Yale Law professors as emblematic of a sort of infinite loop.

People go to YLS and become professors. Some of those same future professors proceed to teach at YLS. In so doing, they educate YLS students who become professors. Some of those same...

Has anyone here ever sat in a barbershop or hair salon with mirrors on both sides of the walls and counted how many iterations of the back of your head reflected in a mirror inside a reflection of the back of your head inside a mirror you could count?

I think that somewhere there is a bottom to this rabbit hole, and, there, Bruce Ackerman and Akhil Amar are playing Scattergories.

Elie, maybe the affirmative action losers are pulling the Ivies down

st. thomas is in florida

http://www.stu.edu/Default.aspx?alias=www.stu.edu/law

I am pounding JaKe Emeritus in the ass right now!

Partner Emeritus

apparently there are two law schools with the name st. thomas. WTF

Finally a list that exposes Yale as an overrated toilet.

23, no, that would be the gays

26,
One of them is named after Roxana St. Thomas and the other is named after Thomas Aquinas. Have you been living under a rock?

29, yes. and it's a big ass rock

william and mary is not even included on the complete list of 172 schools. what the hell?

What's with Chapman? They are on multiple lists. Filling out the Princeton survey must have been compulsory for 1L's

31,
What the hell? Barry, Jason, and Theresa were also excluded from his list.

The University of St. Thomas School of Law is in Minnesota. www.stthomas.edu/law

Florida: St. Thomas University.
Minnesota: University of St. Thomas.

Emory didn't make the quality of life rankings because every day a law student almost gets mowed down on Clifton Road by the speeding Jappy undergrads in their fucking Jeep Wranglers and Daddy's BMWs.

what about the The University of St. Thomas University School of Law

University of St. Thomas University Law School? Or University of St. Thomas University School of Law?

university of pennsylvania NOT penn state. big difference.

Zero suprises on the liberal and conservative lists.

How is Chapman on the best professors list? That is just weird.

University of St. Thomas University College of Law School

Wow...that list for "top career prospects" is a joke.

If you choose ANY school over Harvard/Yale, it better not be because you think you'll have better career prospects.

39 is right. One is UPenn, the other is Penn State. They are both state schools though, and thus both governed by the Pennsylvania Board of Education. It's kind of set up like SUNY or Rutgers...you know, lots of campuses: Camden, New Brunswick, Newark, etc...

39 - are you slow? UPenn is the Philly campus of the Penn State university system.

If your undergrad career adviser tells you to turn down Harvard or NYU for Northwestern, Penn, Michigan, Chicago, or BC/BU, she should be fired for malpractice.

45 - take NYU out of that and I completely agree.

42 nailed it. I got denied by Yale and waitlisted at Harvard, didn't go to either. I was very happy with where I went to law school. But don't think I wouldn't have traded in a second for Harvard or Yale. And my school made Princeton's bizarro Top 10.

46 - tcr --> I chose Penn over NYU (though I got more money at Penn). Would NOT have done the same if I got into harvard

19 = Not-so-subtle USC trolling.

45 - perhaps there are financial considerations involved, so that it would make more sense for a student to attend a state school like Penn or Michigan instead of Harvard?

45 is blatant NYU troll. Please don't try to put NYU with Havard and then Chicago on "some other tier".

-Not from chicago, just aware that if there were a real top-5 NYU would have no business being in it.

Apparently Roxanna St. Thomas is difficult to get into. Who knew?

51 -- Is u. chicago a public school?

22: "I think that somewhere there is a bottom to this rabbit hole, and, there, Bruce Ackerman and Akhil Amar are playing Scattergories."

The one and only time I have ever laughed out loud at a comment on this blog. Well done.

All the UPenn hate is hilarious. As if Penn's Fighting Quakers needed to try to identify with JoePa for some football prowess.

Have any Penn players ever won the Heisman, the Outland, or the Bednarik trophies? I see where you’re going. Penn has had quite a drought when it comes to the major football awards…oh, wait, John Heisman, John Outland, and Chuck Bednarik all played for Penn. Too bad Penn’s never won any national championships…oh, wait, they’ve won four.

You can suck my Heisman, my Outland, and my Bednarik, you state school slummers.

53 - What is u. chicago?

My kingdom for a SMU!!

ps: I am pounding JaKe Emeritus in the ass right now!

Cash

I heard Princeton Law was one of the best? Why isn't that on here?

58 Will Smith's uncle in Fresh Prince went to Princeton law i think

This list does not pass the red face test.

This list does not pass the red face test.

Uncle Phil went to Princeton UG, Harvard Law. It's a damn shame - if he had gone to BU Law, he probably could have been Dean of UCLA or USC Law, or a hotshot partner in Big Law, instead of just a lowly state court judge.

58 - Apparently they found out that Princeton Law wasn't accredited by the American Bar Association and wasn't in good standing with the American Association of Law Schools. It remains, however, accredited by the New Jersey Department of Education and the New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners. Students must pass the "baby bar" after their first year and, after graduation, may sit for the New Jersey bar exam.

- Sondra Huxtable, J.D.

A truly asinine list.

Dammit, do you think BC has room for one more transfer?

-HLS 2L

63 ftw.

We need to bomb these top 10 lists back to the stoneage!

-DOJ Secure

What a bunch of jerks. Princeton doesn't include in the registration the category "law grad"...like a curious guy doesn't want to know where his alma mater is ranked? Just trying to sell me something...

SMU me? Oh no, SMU YOU, asshole!

66

Proud St. Thomas grad

Where's Cuse ranked?

-Upstate Secure

I suppose I should know this, but is Northwestern an accredited law school?

Did Mystal go to Harvard, or was it the fat asian that went there?

@22 -

Sort of like this: http://www.infinitecat.com/infinite/cat1.html

You're all fuckin idiots.

By career prospects, I'm pretty sure unlike everyone on ATL, they are factoring in public interest work (which generally, people who do such work are happier people from my experience - richer? no. happier, yes.)

BC actually has a very strong reputation in the legal community outside of biglaw and going here have always been surprised and impressed by the people who attend the school who actually have no interest in being rich biglaw attorneys. It has certainly made my experience here enjoyable. People aren't assholes, generally.

BC also, until the economy went in the toilet, had a very high placement rate compared to T10 law schools. Granted, they aren't jobs you all may want. People don't go to BC to work at Skadden (though a select few here do get those jobs). It's probably why student surveys show happier students here.

Yo, Princeton Review, I'm really happy for you and I'mma let you finish. But, Thomas Cooley had one of the best rankings OF ALL TIME! One of the best rankings OF ALL TIME!

Apparently I went to the top law school in the country. Can I get a job now?

76 goes to BU

75 - I agree

@38 - University of St. Thomas University School of Law School

76 - I'm pretty sure you don't know WTF you are talking about. If Harvard students actually wanted your gutter public interest jobs, they'd get them over the BU and BC students (and Harvard would pay their loans for them, something TTTs like BU and BC don't do).

But if public interest were the clinching factor, you'd think that NYU would be higher.

55: You forgot to add John Cappelletti to your UPenn St. list of heisman winners.

45 - I like the subtlety in your HLS trolling. But excluding Stanford gave you away. I'm a 2L at Stanford and while I haven't taken a poll, I'm quite confident that most of my classmates had the option of going to HLS. I know I did.

Where is UMKC Law in all of this? Let's not forget it's only one of four schools that has a US President and Supreme Court Justice as its alumni. The President was Truman and the Supr. Ct. Justice was Whitaker.

Where is UMKC Law in all of this? Let's not forget it's only one of four schools that has a US President and Supreme Court Justice as its alumni. The President was Truman and the Supr. Ct. Justice was Whitaker.

man i had an offer from BU but went to BC, then 9 years later, BU is ranked higher - its BS i tellz ya !!

45 - you really have no idea. Are you a law student? Maybe at NYU?
Penn, Michigan and of course Chicago but even Northwestern are all better than NYU, including better for your career. NYU is not considered such an amazing law school in the big world out there. Good (and too big and with too much distractions) but nothing more than that. Harvard is of course better than Penn, Michigan Chicago, Northwestern and NYU.

12 - That sounds like heave to me

Straight white male living the dream in San Diego

12 - That sounds like heave to me

Straight white male living the dream in San Diego

51 - you might be correct that 45 is an NYU troll, but your comment is at least as troll-worthy. NYU isn't a top 5 school? There's only one ranking that anybody pays attention to. Every single year, without fail, it ranks NYU either #4 or #5. If you're not from Chicago, you must be from the other NYU-hating school (Columbia).

52 = FTW

76-You are talking about Boston College when you say BC right? Most go there seeking BigLaw.

I guess people don't go there to work at Skadden, but I know they go to work at Ropes & Gray and Goodwin Proctor.

89- you're right to some extent about the fact that NYU degrees don't travel well. But you don't go to NYU unless you plan on sticking to NYC, where it is top 5 by any measure. I imagine I'd be at the same firm I am now if I'd taken my Columbia acceptance over my NYU JD, given that my firm hires masses of people from both.

I suggest Concord establish a program in Homo law and see its ratings fly up. There are so many fags in teh profession now it's starting to rersemble retail.

UPenn law rox!

Go JoPa!

89 - I suspect that you are 51. If you aren't, then get in touch with him/her so you can form a lifelong friendship built on your obsession with the Hyde Park Geek Factory.

Chicago is on par with NYU. And its generous for NYU people to say that, considering that more people want to go to NYU, more people want to be in New York, the Village is a million times nicer than Hyde Park and NYU is ranked higher every single year, even if only by a spot or two.

As a recent NU law grad, I think the rest of you are completely screwed if this list is to be credited and my career prospects are the best out there. What a joke!

NYU Degrees don't travel well? Are you high?

I'm not surprised at all Chapman made the top 10 for Quality of Life. It's in Orange County, within a half hour from the beach, Disneyland, Angels games, Ducks games, concerts, always had great weather, it was a fun environment around law school. School there was always intense but the profs and students alike were all about helping each other out instead of being ultra-competitive. I actually enjoyed law school and was sad to leave it. Apparently that's weird....

I also had a great experience at Chapman and am not surprised that it continues to do well in these rankings. The Chapman University campus is great and continuing to expand. The law school itself is modern and beautiful. And, the professors really do rock. Maybe they are enjoying the quality of life as well.

85—that may be, but as an East Coaster I didn't even apply to the California schools, and have never for a second regretted it or wished I'd gotten in.

89—You're out of your damned mind if you think Northwestern is better than NYU, and I would add Michigan and Penn to that as well. Get some stats.

89 really doesn't know what he's talking about.

I cold not agree more with this post.

I could not agree more with this post.

I could not agree more with this post.

I could not agree more with this post.

55 - sadly, you are right. Not all campuses of a state school system are equal. But you get the same degree.

I am a 3L at BC. I'm in the top third of the class and was no-offered this summer. My career prospects are zero. Career services loves to tout this ranking as an example of how helpful they are. The sad truth however is that if you aren't selected for OCI, you have to go it alone. It certainly doesn't help that BC seems to be a local school and the Boston legal market has totally dried up.

As a recent Chapman Law grad, I am happy to provide my (totally unbiased) input.

Chapman has been on a number of Princeton's Top 10 lists for a few years running now. It was actually in 4 "Top 10" categories for 2009: Quality of Life, Best Professors, Best Classroom Experience, and Most Diverse Faculty. For 2010, it retained a place in the first three categories.

Chapman is still relatively new – less than 15 years old now – but its reputation is steadily growing. It may not yet be well known east of the Rockies, but it is very well-respected in California, which is where I wanted to practice anyways. Anyone considering becoming an attorney and practicing in California, whether public or private sector, would be well-served in taking a look at Chapman.

110:

I completely empathize with you as a 2L at Penn. These rankings are complete garbage. A bunch of my friends and I came up empty from OCR and now have no leads, no prospects and no real direction for what to do next.

43,44- well done.

55, you're a tool.

112- maybe you should have gone to a school that emphasize academics over bit-time college football.

U. of Chicago came in fourth behind U. of Rio de Janeiro, U. of Tokyo, and U. of Madrid.

Mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack Hussein Obama.

nice "quality of life" list. what a joke. GW is number 10? GW is miserable... i would advise anyone considering law school to stay far, far away.

seems like your career prospects are a BIG part of your quality of life. how can you enjoy life when you're facing massive debt and unemployment?

116-you drink often and heavily.

110/112 - That's true of any school not named Yale, Harvard or Stanford. If you come up empty in OCI (and not insubstantial number of students at every school other than HYS do) you're pretty much stuck.

And it's not just the Boston market that stinks. The markets are terrible everywhere. Thank heaven you're not in Charlotte.

Finally, Northwestern getting the respect it deserves!

UPenn law [philly campus] is weak = NiTTTany Lions!

82 - The point wasn't that Harvard would or would not get them over BC/BU students - the point was they don't want them and BC students do and BC students get them. And that is considered placement for purposes of this ranking. And students who WANT to work in public interest and get the jobs they want are generally happy and that is reflected in the student surveys that are reflected in the scores in these rankings.

I wasn't arguing that BC students get public interest jobs over Harvard and the fact you didn't understand that means: 1. you don't know WTF YOU are talking about and 2. you probably don't go to Harvard. Or BC for that matter.

94: I go to BC. There are plenty of people at BC who want biglaw (just like at every law school). However, there is also a very large % that want public interest jobs compared to many top 30 law schools. There are a select few who end up at Skadden and yes, obviously at Ropes and in a normal year about 30% end up in biglaw. But being here, I can tell you, the "I want to work in biglaw" mentality isn't overbearing. Most of my friends came to BC to genuinely work in public interest fields - immigration, health care, legal services, civil rights organizations. In fact, many who are on law review didn't even bother with OCI. It's uncommon and refreshing. And it's why BC has the reputation it has in the public interest legal market - they turn out solid and passionate people. While I doubt #82 has ever bothered looking for a public interest job, if s/he had, they would know that public interest jobs care very much about someone's desire to actually do work in the related field and not just make money.

In this economy and dor the foreseeable future

any school not HYS - is not worth going to - especially if loans are involved - too risky.

121 - are you retarded if you think that.

All I know is BU is better than BC.

I went to BU. I'm willing to accept that most of the schools ranked higher than BU are better for jobs than BU, since firms mostly care about school rankings. But, BU isn't too bad of a place and its fun (as far as law schools go). Since law school pretty much sucks no matter where you go and the legal market is a black whole right now anyway, I guess I'm glad I went some place tolerable. And I have a job, so that's a plus too.

I don't know why we have to keep ranking everything. Harvard and Yale are obviously going to mean more to employers than any other school in Boston, but whatever. A Ferrari is better than a Buick Lesabre, but they'll (probably) both get you where you're going.

8, I agree

95 Professor Ryckman Secure

110, I'll throw you a bone. The legal market isn't totally dried up!

http://boston.craigslist.org/nos/lgl/1398499857.html

Busy North Shore (Salem) law firm seeks a 0-2 year civil litigation associate for immediate hire.

Candidates will be members of the Massachusetts Bar and should have excellent work product. Candidate will also have strong writing and research skills. Duties will include drafting and reviewing complaints, motions, preparation of discovery, and communicating with the courts and clients. Multiple court appearances each week, so reliable transportation is a must. Excellent communication skills a plus. Pay is commensurate with experience $30,000-$35,000.

And this one:

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/lgl/1409741715.html

Entry-level position available for a recent or soon-to-be law graduate with 0-2 years experience and notable on-the-job or clinical litigation practice. We are a small firm looking to bring someone on at low pay to start, but great responsibility and possibility to gain experience. A go-getter with some knowledge of criminal practice and/OR lgbt family law desirable. We want the best and most highly motivated!
Location: Boston
Compensation: 32000 neg.

Which is a bigger joke?

A. Yale being left off the Princeton's Review's top-ten law schools

B. Yale being left off GQ's list of the top twenty five douchiest colleges: http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_10779

Discuss.

BLACK WHOLE!

I have to poop really bad btw...

126, I stand corrected. These positions will definitely help me pay off $100,000 in student loans faster than I could possibly imagine. Thanks for the lead.

-110

U penn and penn state are 2 totally different schools. one is ivy league. a very pristeegus law school which I attended. the other, penn state, doesn't even have a law school. additionally, their undergraduate students are comprised of meat heads and meat chics. Hope that provides some clarity for those who are confused.

-U. Pa. L. Rev. 09- (BB Master)-

Why don't all of you T14 students stop arguing over whose school is better and pull out the rulers to settle this pointless dick measuring contest once and for all

So basically, YOU think that the law school should be ranked a certain way. The entire point of people looking at the rankings is to find out what schools are ACTUALLY best for certain things, not to find out what people generally THINK are the best. In case you didn't know, Yale law students are looked at in my area as having a plethora of useless academic knowledge and very little practical skills, which leads to the view that the education is less useful, or, one could say, worse. This would support the idea that they only study 1.5 hours a day, because you would probably need more time to study practical information than you would hypotheticals or ideas.