Which Law School is Right for Me? Make an Informed Investment

Choosing a law school is one of the most significant personal and career investment decisions you’ll make. Law school requires a multi-year commitment of your time, energy, and financial resources. So, like any significant investment, it deserves careful, informed evaluation when asking: Which Law School is Right for Me?

Too often, applicants rely on name recognition or rankings, rather than examining the data that truly counts student outcomes. Luckily, the American Bar Association (ABA) requires every ABA-accredited law school to publish detailed information about student outcomes annually. These reports, known as ABA 509 Disclosures, are one of the most valuable tools prospective law students have when choosing where to apply and enroll.

Think of 509 Disclosures as a law school’s version of a publicly traded company’s annual report. They’re designed to help you, the applicant-investor, make a thoughtful, informed decision about where to invest your time and money.

1. What are ABA 509 Disclosures? Why They are Better than Law School Rankings

Every ABA-approved law school must submit standardized, audited data by October 15th each year; the ABA then publishes this data in December. 509 Disclosures include, among other things:

• Class size and student demographics
• Admissions data (LSAT/GPA ranges, JD-Next acceptance data)
• Tuition and scholarship breakdowns
• Employment outcomes by job type and geography
• Bar passage rates

This is regulated, comparable, and designed specifically to prevent prospective law students from making decisions based on incomplete or misleading information. You can view ABA 509 Required Disclosures here: https://www.abarequireddisclosures.org/

2. How to Examine 509 Disclosures - Law School Employment Outcomes

Most schools publish their Standard ABA 509 Disclosure on their website. This section of the Disclosures includes enrollment data organized to help prospective applicants assess their chances of acceptance.

However, when you're choosing a law school – deciding where to attend and not just apply – you should begin by reviewing a school’s Employment Outcomes, a separate section of the ABA’s 509 Disclosures. This section of the ABA Disclosures will help you predict the return on your law school investment based on job placement for the prior year’s class.

Employment data in 509 reports is detailed. Here is a quick guide for interpreting it:

Selecting “which law school is right for me?” involves more than choosing a place for academic study. You’re choosing the launchpad for your legal career. If you hope to work in Boston, Atlanta, or Seattle, be sure to check the Employment Location section of a school’s report to determine whether the school places graduates in that city. If only 4% of graduates end up working in your desired region, you may experience a steep uphill climb to find a job in that market.

3. Review Bar Passage Rates to Determine Outcomes

Your J.D. doesn’t qualify you to practice law unless you pass the bar exam and become licensed. So, after assessing your employment prospects, you also should look at the school’s pass rates for the bar exam. The ABA separates this data into a section called “Bar Passage/Admission Outcomes.”

To evaluate a school’s effectiveness in preparing students for the bar exam, consider:

• The school’s first-time bar passage rate
• How it compares to the statewide average, and
• Trends over the last 3 years, not just one cycle

If a law school you’re considering consistently underperforms the state average, you need to inquire about what academic support programming is in place and whether the school is making investments to improve bar outcomes.

 4. Pick Up the Phone: Ask the Admissions and Career Placement Offices Your Questions

Yes — call them. While you’re still an applicant, ask pointed questions to help you make the best decision for your long-term plan. Your future self will thank you.

Law school career offices exist to help their graduates succeed, and they know exactly where students are working. If you can’t find specific data in a school’s 509 reporting, don’t be shy to ask them:

• “Did graduates from the last two classes work in the city or field you’re interested in?” 
• “Do employers actively recruit on-campus, or do students mostly need to network on their own?” 
• “What percentage of students get summer employment after their 2L year?” 

A conversation with a career office will be much more informative than simply reading a marketing brochure.

5. Law School Is an Investment: Focus on the Return

Your return on this investment comes in the form of:

• Employment opportunities 
• Professional network access 
• Bar readiness 
• Long-term earning potential 

And like all investments, the goal is value, not simply prestige. Sometimes the best return on investment comes from a law school that offers you a significant scholarship (decreasing the up-front risk), has a strong track record for placing students in the geographic region where you want to work, and provides academic support and bar-prep resources. So, when you ask, “which law school is right for me?” think about “which law school will set me up for the best ROI?”

Final Thought

You are not simply “being admitted,” you are choosing a school. So, choose the best law school for you and your long-term goals. Approach your decision like the high-stakes investment it is: 

• Analyze the data
• Understand the likely outcomes
• Ask direct questions
• Ensure that a school’s 509 Data aligns with your post-graduation professional goals

Bonus Thought

To help you succeed in choosing “which school is right for me?” be sure to review the schools who can accept JD-Next in place of the LSAT and those that use JD-Next when evaluating law school applications. Adding JD-Next to your application could be the difference between choosing a law school of your dreams or being stuck whichever law school you are admitted to.