re: Do law school rankings matter?

quote:

---

In the grand scheme of things? For example, starting up your own firm.

---

No. It is better to be in the top 10% of a lowly regarded law school than to be back of the pack at a mid-tier. Obviously, the top 20 schools are tickets to the game in larger firms in larger cities, but you're just joining another highly competitive game at that point.

If you're going to hang out your own shingle - either soon after graduating, or after 3 to 5 years learning the ropes at a family/friend firm or a smaller firm in a smaller town, where you went to law school or what it was ranked will mean little, if anything to your long-term success. Competence, hard work, hustle to get clients and luck - in some combination will be far more important.