To: Users of the Middle bury College Pre-Law Club WEB Page
From: Murray Dry, Pre-Law Adviser
Date: July 1, 2001
Law School Resources
The other links on this site are to information about
law schools that other organizations provide. They include
rankings of law schools, information for students who are
considering law school, and legal resources. While these
sites provide updated information that may be useful, I
cannot vouch for the soundness of all the information; I
know that the law school rankings vary and not all ranking
organizations explain how they came up with their rankins.
U.S. News' law school rankings are currently the most
famous. They seem to me to be roughly accurate, with this
caveat: the overall score, which determines the ranking, is
not always consistent with the two "reputation" rankings, by
academics and lawyers/judges respectively. If you were to
follow those rankings alone, you would conclude that
Yale, Stanford, and Harvard are at the top and
indistinguishable by reputation, and that Columbia and
Chicago are just behind, by a difference that might not be
significant. "Selectively," among other factors, accounts
for the disparate overall scores.
Two law school publications merit special mention as
presenting the most important information in an objective
manner. They are:
The Official Guide to U.S. Law Schools, a
publication of the Law School Admissions Council, w
which is updated annually; the current edition (2001) costs
$20.
The American Bar Association's Approved Law Schools, which
is also published annually; its current edition (2001) is
also $20. Copies of these books should be available in the
College Store and in Career Services.
Questions About Law Schools
Students with an interest in law school often ask about
the curriculum they should be following. This is
understandable, since there is a pre-med program and since
there is a Pre-Law Club and Pre-Law Adviser. As it turns
out, law school officials agree that there is no set
"pre-law" curriculum. Students may not believe this and even
if they do, they want to know what they should study. At
this point, the experts, or advisers, no longer agree. Most
will say something about a liberal education, but if pressed
to explain that, it will turn out to mean selecting a wide
range of courses. As for the major, students will be advised
to select what interests them. While not clearly wrong, such
advice is not very helpful. A stronger account of liberal
education, I believe, emphasizes the careful reading of good
books, some courses in moral and in quantitative reasoning,
including science courses, and attention to clear and
succinct writing. As for the major, in addition to enjoying
the subject, a student should have some idea of the
substantial advanced work that he or she will be able to
undertake in a given academic department. This will depend
on both the quality of instruction and the range and
importance of the subjects covered in course work, as well
as the opportunities for independent work.
Students are less inclined to ask whether they should go to
law school. This is an important question and it is
difficult to answer. A partial answer is that students
should not rush into law school, thinking it is merely a
continuation of their liberal education, because it is not.
As academically challenging as a law school curriculum is,
it is geared toward preparing lawyers, not liberally
educated men and women. Law school training equips people
for a wide range of well-paid jobs, and that is one good
reason to go to law school and become a lawyer; after all,
many lawyers make a good living without spending time
arguing cases in court. Still, lawyers deal with practical
controversies that are controlled by law, and not everyone
is suited to become a lawyer. The best way to answer this
personal question may be to talk with lawyers, in order to
learn what they do and what skills make them succeed. For
many years (more than ten, perhaps twenty), most Middle bury
graduates who have attended law school waited at least a
year after their college graduation before attending law
school.
The Pre-Law Club normally sponsors talks by law school
admissions officers in the fall and lectures and panel
discussions by both academics and practitioners. To receive
a personal invitation to our events, simply send your name
and box number to Ms. Linda Booska, Department of
Political Science, or to me. If you wish to consult
with me, send me an email or call me at x5305.
Murray Dry
Professor of Political Science
Pre-Law Adviser
Middle bury College
