Send me to a law school?

June 28, 2007 8:47 PM

Law Schools. Cardozo or Brooklyn? Must decide by tomorrow, and really I am still (somehow) not sure. I'm leaning, but I want to query the hive mind before I commit.

I know there are a lot of law school-specific forums and sites out there. I am asking here, instead, because I implicitly trust your opinions more than I do those of the types of people who hang around law school-specific forums sites.

I have been offered a full scholarship at Brooklyn, as well as a ~90% scholarship at Cardozo.

I feel like IP law might be what I want to end up doing, but I really have no way of knowing yet. (Cardozo, of course, has an extremely well-renowned IP program.) I was somewhat more impressed by the professors I saw at Brooklyn than by those I saw at Cardozo, but I did not get what I would call a sufficient read on either place, though I spent quite a bit of time at both. Brooklyn is closer to me, and my support base is in the area immediately surrounding the school. Many around me think that Brooklyn would be the superior choice. There are Brooklyn alums in my family.

For those who have been through the same search, or chosen one over the other, or chosen one but not been interested in the other, what were some of the things that helped you decide? I'd like to hear responses from every possible angle.

Thanks!

posted by thejoshu to education (10 comments total)

I'd opt for Cardozo.

String of caveats: I attend a top-25 school with a national name, good legal rep. and great lay rep. The prime motivation for picking the school I did was that I didn't know where I wanted to end up, and my degree will allow me to travel coast-to-coast. Outside of NYC, Cardozo has more pull than Brooklyn, so it would open more doors outside of NYC. If you plan on staying in NY, these considerations may change quite a bit.
posted by craven_morhead at 8:52 PM on June 28, 2007

Go to the higher ranked of the two (Cardozo).

Rankings are stupid and only matter to shallow people. It just so happens that rankings matter to the people who will be hiring you someday.

I would normally advise to think very seriously about the financial burden, the eventual debt load, etc, but it doesn't sound like that's really an issue in your case.

And if you have any chance at all of doing IP law, due to a technical background, for example, then set your course that way, and don't vary from it. You won't be sorry.

And listen to craven. He/she speaks the truth.
posted by The World Famous at 8:59 PM on June 28, 2007

A good friend of mine goes to BLS. He loves it. Overall, excellent professors, except for the few oddballs. A pretty together-feeling student body compared to what you get at other schools.

If you plan on working in NYC--and you probably do--I'd say it's a tossup.
posted by Brian James at 9:23 PM on June 28, 2007

I went to law school in the middlewest, so take this with a grain of salt: I practiced in NYNY for a few years at a big ol' law firm, and did a lot of interviews. Cardozo and Fordham students were offered many, many more interviews (and offers) at my firm than were students at other regional NY law schools.

Also, my cohorts from Cardozo really seemed to like the school.

Good luck!
posted by subgenius at 9:44 PM on June 28, 2007

I went to law school in New York (at neither Cardozo or Brooklyn), and my vague impression is that Cardozo students have better job opportunities.

Living around Cardozo will be more expensive than living around Brooklyn, but it's probably worth it. It seems that too many Brooklyn students, like the bottom 1/4, really end up struggling to get their careers started.
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 10:09 PM on June 28, 2007

I just graduated from Cardozo this year. I took several IP courses there as well. You can email me with specific questions you might have.
posted by falconred at 10:58 PM on June 28, 2007

Cardozo has a kind of sheen to it that Brooklyn doesn't have. It's got more of a repuation as an up and comer. Whether that's actually true -- who knows? But the impression seems to be that Cardozo is slightly more prestigious, and that's all that really matters (unfortunately).

Another good measure of prestige might be clerkship rates. I know Cardozo got at least one Supreme Court clerkship recently.
posted by footnote at 6:40 AM on June 29, 2007

I am a partner at a small boutique litigation firm in NYC. My partners and I make all hiring decisions together (we're that small) and all come from large New York firms. For what it's worth, I would be more likely to look at a resume from Cardozo than Brooklyn simply because Cardozo's reputation for training good, practically minded trial lawyers is fairly solid.

Having said that, from either school, you are going to want something on your resume that says "I am more than the average [Cardozo|BLS] student." For us that's either a clerkship or work on Law Review. Without one of those, we pretty much don't even get sent the resume, and the same is true of most of the larger New York firms. So wherever you go, I strongly advise you to get on a Journal -- it will help enormously in your job search and it'll help your legal writing skills, too.
posted by The Bellman at 7:50 AM on June 29, 2007

TWF, I agree with you on the rankings. I don't like 'em much, but they definately open some doors. Look at Bellman's post as an example, "without one of those, we pretty much don't even get sent the resume" (uh, Bellman, not to say that you're shallow or anything, it just seems like that's how hiring goes).

Good luck with everything, joshu.
posted by craven_morhead at 12:32 PM on July 2, 2007

I went to Cardozo, and I had a great experience with professors, students, and job opportunities afterwards (but surely, there are unhappy students at any school). With that said, I think that having a strong alumni support network is really valuable, especially if you don't make law review or wind up in top 50%. Even if Cardozo is slightly better ranked and has a stronger national reputation, students in the bottom half are not in a great position going out for most competitive jobs. So at both schools, it's very important to do well. But it sounds like if you wind up as an average student at either school, you'd be in better shape at BLS with your strong netwrok there. To me, it really sounds like you're leaning toward BLS, and you just have to go with your gut.
posted by barmaljova at 2:15 PM on July 4, 2007