Osler's Razor

I'm not sure why, but Clay Travis over as CBS Sports had an excellent blog post about picking law schools recently (he's a Vanderbilt Law Grad). Here are some of his more intriguing tips:

7. When you visit consider the attractiveness of the undergraduate population. One of my good friends went to college in the northeast. He knew nothing about Nashville or Vanderbilt. But he went to a law school fair and the Vanderbilt counselor gave him the usual selling points for a school like Vandy. My friend was unmoved. Then at the end, the guy said, sort of under his breath, "Plus, the undergrad girls are unbelievably hot." Sold. Remember, you don't want to waste your love in the law line at the bar on mediocre girls with bingo wings.

8. Assuming the law school is above 80 percent, comparing bar passage rates tells you nothing about the quality of a law school. Don't be moved by the trumpeting of these stats. By the time you're studying for the bar exam you realize that most intelligent people could spend three months studying the Barbri course outlines, memorizing the absurd MBE fact patterns, and pass the bar exam. But by that time you've spent three years learning how to be a lawyer. Congratulations. Once you've practiced law for a couple of years you wouldn't be able to pass the bar exam. It's a great system.

9. The better the school you attend the more it costs but the less hard you have to work while you're there. There are exceptions (for instance those lucky bastards who get in-state tuition at Virginia or the University of Michigan) but this is generally the case. The better the school the more lenient the grading curve. Consider this a good trade. And if you can go to Yale or Stanford where law school is graded pass/fail? My god, mortgage your soul. Go.

12. For the record there is no law school that you can't afford to attend. No matter how poor you are they'll give you the loan money and enough over and above that amount to live on because lawyers, for better or worse, generally pay back their loans. So if anyone isn't planning on law school because of the cost issue, that's not a legitimate concern. Nor is assuming that everyone is rich in law school. That's a complete fallacy. Most of my friends still have negative net-worths.

13. If you go to a lesser-tier school you'll have to work harder to get looked at by big firms. And if you go really far down the law school pecking order you may not be able to get a job out of state. That can be fine, most big firm jobs pay well but suck the life out of you with every passing hour. But if you're not able to compete for what you perceive to be the best jobs it can be really frustrating. Even worse it can also poison the law school environment to have everyone gunning for one of five big firm jobs. Be forewarned if you go this route that the law school environment might very well be miserable.

15. Where should I go to make the most money? If money is your ultimate goal you shouldn't be a lawyer. There are thousands of ways you can make much more money. Plaintiff's lawyers notwithstanding, as a lawyer you're ultimately hamstrung by how many billable hours you can crank out. And every hour you bill is one less hour you get to have a life. Be careful chasing those big firm golden handcuffs, be careful.

16. Keep in mind that the law is completely unbalanced when it comes to career search. The most competitive jobs in the legal profession are either the highest-paying or the lowest paying. The only thing more miserable than practicing law is trying to get a job practicing law. Don't expect that your first law job is going to last. I've been graduated from law school for less than four years and 75 percent of my classmates are already working at different jobs than the ones they started. That's why getting hung up on the first job you have is really a waste of time.