quote:
The ENTIRE SYSTEM OF LAW EDUCATION (except for Texas) in this state is set up to provide local attorneys. I don't want A&M to be a "local" school. I want it to be a national brand. Top 100.
And let me tell you, top schools aren't local schools. A "presence" in DFW. How moronic.
You don't seem to understand how law school rankings work at all. The only schools that consistently place attorneys nationally are the top 14 (and to a greater extent, the top 10). Schools in the 15-25 range can do it, but only for their top students. I have a cousin who graduated from ND (#22 or so) and got an internship with a 9th circuit judge, but he graduated #2 in his class. Get much lower than that and the ability to place shrinks dramatically. So in order to even start the "national brand" conversation, we need to get into the top 20-25. To be taken seriously, we need to get into the top 14 (and good luck with that. The top 14 have been the same for the last 35 years or so, and they're almost all private schools).
Until then, we'll be a regional school. That is, we can't just snap our fingers and say "Forget this regional law school business. We're going to be a national law school from day 1." That's not how the game works. We have to work our way up the ladder first i.e. become a strong regional school. It will be easier to do that in a big metropolitan area. Again, the USNWR rankings use placement as a part of their rankings, and it's MUCH easier to place attorneys when we're in a big city and have tons of potential employers nearby.
For example, take this very real scenario. Firms like to hire people with on-the-job experience. Law students gain this experience through semester clinics and jobs (both during the summer and semester). The opportunities between DFW and CS are more than a little lopsided. In DFW,
1) we can have our students working for those cities' public defenders and prosecutors during the semester. Not only does that expose our students to a wider variety of legal situations i.e. more than MIPs and Northgate assault charges (which firms notice), but it means our students have a greater chance of getting offers from those agencies because the people hiring know our students personally and know the kind of work they'll do.
2) We can have our students doing contract work for nascent tech startups.
3) Students can hold part time jobs for law firms during semesters (HUGE HUGE HUGE).
I'm sure I could come up with more, but this is a sufficient number to make my point.
If our law school is in CS, these opportunities are hamstrung or disappear completely because B/CS is just too small. Working for the CS prosecutor's office, students would be exposed to a small fraction of the situations they'd see in the big city. And job opportunities are pretty much non-existent unless you want to do family law.
If you say that doesn't matter, you're flat out wrong. Law firms love this stuff far more than they'd love a "Law and National Security Center." Period, the end.
[This message has been edited by atfarmer (edited 7/1/2012 5:10p).]
