Sure, glad to help. To answer a couple of your questions. No, you would not be relegated to $20/hour doc review if you don’t graduate from a top 20 school in the first quartile. Some of the other posters were correct in emphasizing the importance of the region where you plan to work. For example, some USD grads in the top of their class can get jobs in top firms, whereas a USD degree would not be worth much in, say, Florida. In general, the better the school, the better your chances; and the lower-ranked the school, the more pressure you will face to rank near the top of your class. And keep in mind, what I (and presumably others) are focusing on are your prospects for landing a top-paying job at a first-rate firm directly out of law school. Starting salaries at the top CA and national firms are now $160,000. By way of comparison, a decent mid-size local SD firm might pay you maybe half that ($80K to $100K tops) as a new graduate, assuming you can even get a job. And trust me, it is highly competitive. There is also a tremendous “San Diego discount,” as many firms here pay a good 20% (or more) less than those in LA, SF, and other comparable cities. As for specific schools, you’d be much better off at UCLA than Hastings, though the latter is a great school and well-recognized in California. When you consider that schools just below the top 25 include places like Fordham, Illinois, and Washington & Lee, I would try to stay in the top 20 if possible. A top-20 school like Duke, Georgetown, Texas, or Michigan is a much safer bet–especially considering that your debt load for a top school will be no less than a second-tier one. Best of luck.
