Thomas M. Cooley Law School?
Q: Does anyone have anything to say (good or bad) about Thomas M. Cooley Law
School?
I understand that they will accept new students who do not have a
Bachelor's degree. They also have a two year program. Does anyone know of
any other schools in which you can get a law degree fast?
A:Southwestern, in Los Angeles, has the FLEX program, in which you attend
for two continuous years.
This is a tremendously poor idea since a lot of your post-graduation
employment rests on your summer employments, but this is your error to
make for yourself.
Is this so much true for lower-ranking schools? What about students
who, even if they went the traditional three years, would have to work
at a non-legal job during the summer to make better money? What about
students who work part-time during the academic year and then
full-time in the same job during the summer?
I think it's useful to point out that legal summer employment can help
some people with post-graduate employment, but flatly categorizing it
as "error" seems to be overstating it.
True for some. Not so true for someone in my situation: 20 years of
steady employment, higher level management positions, numerous
presentations at symposia, adequate extracurricular activities,
single parent, no appreciable life outside of work and school, etc.
My plan is to seek admissions to a law school with a 2 year program.
Complete same and get on with life. I doubt that summer
externships would enhance my ability to find employment after
school. I trust, perhaps foolishly, that my significant
administrative accomplishments and maturity are worth more than
another year of school and summer jobs.
The most easily accessible statistics that come to mind are those
published by firms listing how many of their hires are drawn from
their 2L summer associates. It's a hefty number.
If the two-year law school program deprives you not only of your summers,
but also of internship/externship/clinical opportunities, you're even
worse off. If you're headed towards a job that requires trial ability
from the get-go--let's say public sector criminal law--your employers
would really prefer to rely on something other than your Evidence grade.
Your reference to "lower-ranked" law schools throws me. I'd bet my
clearest example would be a 24-year old three-year graduate of Southwestern
(working two summers and doing an externship one semester) and a 23-year
old two-year graduate of Southwestern (having zipped straight through).
Grant them similar coursework and grades. Send them to apply for the
same job. What advantage does the two-year graduate have? He'll