Law School Rankings and how much I care

This morning law school rankings were released for the past year. Louisville Brandeis School of Law has dropped from #98 to somewhere in to 100s. Of course, they don't keep track of where outside of the top 100 you are, so we just know that we are a third tier law school, at the moment.

The shit hit the fan during torts, which of course means that it immediately got everyone's attention because maybe 1/4th of the class is paying attention at any given time. I saw consternation. Confusion. Anger. Sadness. Indignation. Finger-pointing. Essentially the same six things I saw at my junior prom. Let's be real about a few things:

#1: No one who goes to a school outside of the Ivy League is getting a job based on their J.D. alone.

I know that I am only a 1L but ask any lawyer if this is true. It doesn't matter if UL is ranked 99th or 15th or anywhere in between, you will NOT get a job by walking into an office, laying down your J.D, and say "whaddya think about that?" Sure, it can be a factor in getting you an interview, but so would being able to shoot laser beams out of your ass. That would make you a pretty handy person to have around the office.

Now, if your life's ambition is only to work for a massive firm, become a partner, make shitloads of money, but otherwise be completely miserable maybe this is a temporary setback. But again, go ask an attorney what matter more after 3 years on the job market: Your J.D. or how you performed at your first job.

#2 The Collateral Bitching Effect

Go and look at what happened recently at Mercer Law when the students shat themselves over the rankings. I'm serious, look it up, I'll wait. Yeah thats right. It became such a "to do" amongst a minority of students that prospective students went elsewhere.

This is what I like to call "The Collateral Bitching Effect." People HATE negativity. We do not gravitate towards negativity. We have a ton of applications coming in this year and I am pretty sure that the first thing they want to hear about is the 3 spot drop in the rankings.

Remember that guy in college who could never stop talking about the worst things in the world? And that group of people who hung out with him? That also could not stop talking about disasters, minor annoyances, or that professor they hate? Remember how much you hated that guy? If you don't, you are that person. I would work on that before you irritate the living hell out of everyone.

#3 Just what the hell are you going to do about it?

There is no point.....And I mean....NO POINT....in worrying about anything you can't control. So a body with a subjective set of criteria has decided that Pacific U in now number 98. Want to write them a letter? Circulate a petition?

If there is one thing that is a DEAD SET FACT in life: The only thing you can control is your reaction to events. There is no chance that I will let where UL is ranked when I graduate control what I want to do with my life. Maybe because I am not into working at a big firm I'm not as worried about it.

But that piece of paper does not, and will not, control me. Don't let it mess with you either.