Law School Class Rank | Transferring Law Schools

I recently received the following e-mail:

PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL

Dear Upper Class Students,

                Class ranks are recalculated at the end of each fall and spring semester.  This cannot be done until all grades have been submitted by the faculty.  At present, three class rosters of grades have not yet been submitted by faculty to the Registrar.  This has been reported to the Associated Dean for Academic Affairs and  the faculty, according to faculty rules, are being fined $100 days per day per roster.  When the grades are submitted, I will re-calculate class ranks and send an email notifying you that you can find your new rank under Grade Point Average by Term in Web Advisor.  A class rank letter will also be mailed to you. 

 I could not help but grin at the thought of a law professor, who probably makes well over $120,000 a year being fined the massive sum of $100 per day!  Can you imagine?  Now, keep in mind that this letter was sent on January 14th.  As of today, February 3rd, there is still no class rank posted. 

What kind of motivation is needed then?  I do not think that the sum of $100 a day is going to do much, especially if he/she values being able to take the grading process very slowly and instead do whatever it is that law professors do.  It may be worth $100 a day to sit back and focus on other tasks, such as playing Virtual Boy, or whatever it may be.

Virtual Boy -- the greatest gaming system of all time!

In fact, this is not the first time something similar has happened to me.  During my 2nd semester, one of my professors was late in turning in exams.  Professors are often given a month's time to grade exams, and to be late on this, when people use their grades for jobs, transferring, and other professional tasks, seems irresponsible.  Professors get angry when their students do not know every little tidbit of the case, yet it's alright for them to be chronically late with exam grading?  We are not the ones being paid thousands upon thousands of dollars to teach a couple of classes using the same recycled notes from years past.  

Perhaps there are better ways to motivate a professor.  A wage reduction for chronic lateness in grading papers?  Being disbarred perhaps?  Maybe a caning like in Singapore?  Something along those lines would be more in line with the real motivation that is needed.  I say we take 'em all out back and flog 'em even if one is a second late!  That would make for a more interesting law school experience, and a better one for the students, I imagine.  A floggin' instead of playin' the ol' Virtual Boy.  It sounds like a plan!

The Importance of the Law School Class Rank

Why is the law school class rank so important?  Well, if you are lucky enough to do well it is said you have a better chance of getting a coveted "big law" job.  Further, if you are in a lower tier school, such as a third tier school, you can often transfer to a better school.  That being said, transferring law schools comes with its price.  You lose your scholarships.  You must weigh the costs and benefits of changing law schools.  Is it worth having the name of your school on your JD and looking for a job under that school's pedigree, or would you rather have a more refined name on your diploma?  For some, having a better school named on that piece of paper is very important.  Others care mostly about the debt they will carry.  Ultimately the choice is yours.

I would like to say that oftentimes the transfer doesn't really have a much better chance of getting a big law job.  For example, take a student who transferred from Golden Gate University in San Francisco to Seattle University in Seattle, WA.  Golden Gate University is a very low ranked school (fourth tier I believe).  Seattle University is a second tier school and is said to be regional in its reach.  If you are planning on practicing law in San Francisco or even California, you may want to stick with a school like Golden Gate University School of Law. 

Golden Gate University, entrenched in the fourth tier

However, if you are hellbent on practicing law in Seattle and you abhor the idea of having a fourth tier school being your alma matter, then you may want to transfer.  Again, you will probably (read 99% chance -- maybe more) lose your scholarships.  Further, if you did well at the lower ranked school, you may want to stay. 

You will want to weigh where you want to practice in your analysis.  In the above example, if you want to practice law in Seattle, you may want to make the transfer.  A Golden Gate University Graduate may not have a good chance of practicing law in Seattle.  Seattle is a very hard market to practice in I have been told, and students from schools in Washington such as Seattle University and Gonzaga University are having a hard time competing with students from University of Washington School of Law.

University of Washington School of Law

That being said, if you are going to Golden Gate University, you are competing against UC Hastings, University of San Francisco (now in the third tier), and Stanford.  Oh, did I forget UC Berkeley?  You're also competing with UCLA and some of Southern California's great schools.  Oh, and throw in Harvard and Yale, and even Columbia and the other big boys.  So, you are realizing that maybe this whole law school thing wasn't worth it.  I know I sometimes do.  So, do you want to transfer or do you want to cut your losses? 

In the end, I find that the whole law school thing is mind bogging and just plain upsetting.  Do you want to play a game in which you constantly trying to climb to the top.  If you are going to a low ranked school, you have to realize you are at the bottom of the pack, and to climb up from the fourth tier to the tip top and be lucky enough to get a job is not a small feat.  In fact, it's next to impossible.  And if you have the drive to do that, why did you not get into the top schools in the first place? 

Of course, I don't want to depress you, but it is something to think about.  If you are still a 1L and are thinking of transferring, ask yourself if there is anything you would rather do, and if that something is something you can do now, why not put the law school thing aside for a while?  It will always be there when you feel the need to come back.  However, the reality is, there may not be a want to come back once you find that you are truly passionate about something else.  Further, law school is not Perry Mason or Judge Joe Mathis.  In fact, Law School is a headache. 

Either way, think about it long and carefully.  And let me know what you think in the comments below.