With possible negative consequences to transferring, students should determine how much of where they went to law school matters. Experts overwhelmingly agree—long-term, it doesn’t matter much where you went to school. A law degree is what you make of it, and your career success depends on factors such as your work ethic, your business, your location, and your practice area.
In the short term, however, where you went to law school can affect your job prospects. Many law firms look to your education as an indicator of your success, and in their minds, the better law schools have already weeded out the best lawyers.
“The law school you went to matters – but it does not matter forever,” said Harrison Barnes of BCG Attorney Search, a leading legal recruitment firm. “The law school is simply a way to distinguish you from the tens of thousands of people graduating from law school each year. After that, no one cares for the most part.”
Attorney Ali Mattern said that there was very little difference from a school ranked in the 60s to one in the 30s. She stated that an optional transfer is not really worth it unless you are trying to get into an elite school like Harvard.
“You should only change schools if the jump you are going to make is going to put you in a substantially better place than you are. I could have easily transferred to Fordham law school (which is ranked in the 30s) from Brooklyn (ranked in the 60s) but I did not even apply because the move was not worth it,” Mattern wrote on The Student Appeal. “The key if you decide to transfer is to make sure that the jump is significant. As a general guide, you should jump at least 35 points in the rankings and higher if you can. Also, the move should move you from one tier to another or from a first tier school to a top 5 school. I know students who moved from Brooklyn Law School to schools ranked from 20–30 and they had a tough time during the on campus interview process and did not substantially benefit from the transfer. Make your jump count!