Practice Management

Are Ivy League schools overrated?  The answer might be generally no, but I do not believe they produce better students than many good regional law schools.  And, often good regional schools produce comparable lawyers at a lower cost to the student.

I was once up against a trial lawyer who graduated from Harvard Law.  I was not very long out of law school, and this lawyer was very proud of his Ivy League degree, as well he should be.  But, his crucial mistake was that prestige does not overcome good lawyering and good facts in an East Texas hick court.  In fact it even might hurt.

It scared the hell out of me though.  I remember sweating bullets.  I had to leave the lawyers lounge where everyone was meeting at the Courthouse and talk to myself in the bathroom mirror.  I had to say, "Dammit Chuck, you have got to get a hold of yourself!  Who cares about his Ivy League degree?  You have four children to feed.  Now you have got into into that courtroom looking good, feeling good, and knowing with absolute certainty that you are going to win".  And, the good news is that I did.

Ultimately, I learned two things.  One is that if you are going to try a case in Texarkana, Texas you had better have a Northeast Texas accent and put on a J.C. Penny suit.  Two, in the Northeast Texas environment in which we found ourselves, the likely difference between our legal educations was that I did not have any student loans or debt.

In a difference sense my Daddy taught me that.  Although he is a country boy he did graduate from the top medical school in the Country in the top part of his class - Johns Hopkins.  After serving his time in the Air Force he moved back to a small town to practice, which was Texarkana.  He told me that when he set up shop he was very proud of his education and degree, and when the first elderly lady from the Arkansas hills came into his office to have her eye's examined, he made a point of telling her that he was a graduate of Johns Hopkins to which the elderly lady replied, "Well son, where is that and do they or do they not believe in God there"?

People go to lawyers because they have a problem or a difficulty, and they want to know if you can, and how you can, help them.  They are not concerned about where you graduated from school, or that you graduated high in your class.  They judge a person -- a lawyer -- from their perspective of what they need, and an Ivy League degree is not on their list.  Law schools might fancy Ivy Leaguers when looking for professors.  Big Law might use it as a means to try an seperate the wheat from the chaff when deciding who to hire.  Presidents might like to pick Ivy Leagues for the few big federal judgeships available, but your changes are not much good at getting one of these unless you manage to cotton up to the right politicians anyway.  Otherwise, I will tell you the pride and prestige of such a degree ends with the person who received it, and their family.

In this regard, Edward Wiest was kind enough to alert me to the William D. Henderson and Andrew P. Morriss article article and study on about law school rankings and value received as covered by Paul L. Caron at TaxProf Blog.  I had read the initial article, but have not covered it much here.  The study is telling, however, and it is worth a look.

Henderson and Morriss greatly caution perspective law students against relying on the U.S. News law school rankings in determining the worth of a school.  One, if you are not interested in corporate law and otherwise do not qualify due to your class ranking, you are not likely to be invited to the Big Law firms that offer the generous starting pay.  You might not want to practice with Big Law in any event.  Either way, if you are not careful, you could be left with a little prestige but find it difficult to pay for or justify the degree that cost you $100,000 +, and the earnings lost while in law school.

As the authors state: "For many prospective lawyers, the best strategy may be a careful evaluation of the regional job market in the area of the country where they want to work. If they are not competitive for admission into a national law school ? or are sure they are not interested in corporate law ? they can use their entering credentials to negotiate for a substantial tuition discount. By focusing on price rather than rankings, they will have the financial freedom to pursue jobs that will build valuable professional skills and mentoring relationships, or leave the law altogether, without debt, to pursue other life ambitions. Further, if prospective law students still want a shot at large corporate law practice, their best bet may be to focus on regional schools in major legal markets that will provide them with substantial scholarships. Virtually all large firms routinely interview at regional law schools in close proximity to major branch offices while ignoring higher ranked schools farther away".

Professor Caron posts a chart of the top 25 law schools, for example, based on full and half-to-full tuition scholarships and grants.  You can view this chart by CLICKING HERE.  In think Professor Caron's point is well taken when he says, "[N]umbers that would get someone into the bottom of the U.S. News Tier 1 (at $100,000 in debt) can get that person a full ride at an excellent regional school with a strong alumni base in his or her dream city".

Now, my objective is not to discourage you from heading off to an Ivy League law school if that is your druthers and you have a chance to do so.  That is a personal decision.  It might be a costly decision.  I just wish to comfort the folks that do not get selected or feel it is out of their range to do so, that it is not necessary for you to feel good about yourself.  And, you had better believe that there are dollar advantages for sticking with a good regional law school.