The Black Student's Guide - On Being A Black Lawyer

5 Truths – These ThingsActually Do MatterBy Jamie Brathwaiteand Yolanda YoungUndergraduate GPA and LSAT - Undergraduate GPA and LSAT scores are excellent predictors of law school success. It is unlikely you will prove an exception to this rule. Additionally, your law school student body’s average GPA and LSAT scores will help you determine the level of intellectual discourse and professional influence your classmates willprovide. So while law school faculties are, to a great extent, interchangeable, law schoolstudent bodies are not.Law School Location - Increasingly, law students are left to their own devices to securean entry-level legal position. One cannot overestimate the value of personal relationshipsto help in this regard. Students attending law schools in cities with large legal communities -- courts, law firms, major companies -- will stand a much better chance of buildingprofessional relationship with established lawyers and judges, who might ultimately assist a new lawyer in securing a job.Size of Black Alumni - As stated earlier, you will likely have to forge your own path tolegal employment. An invaluable resource during this process will be your black alumninetwork. While you should attempt to build relationships with law alumni of all backgrounds, the more things you have in common with a potential mentor, the more likely itis the relationship will be productive and sustained.Black Faculty to Black Student Ratio - While few law school professors will work aggressively to help you find employment, they are an invaluable resource when it comesto securing letters of recommendation. Employers can tell the difference between a perfunctory recommendation and one that is truly an endorsement, so building a personalrapport is key. Law professors also provide advice, mentoring, and emotional support tostudents. Since black law students tend to seek out black law professors to facilitate theseroles, it is imperative that law schools have a black faculty large enough to accommodateits black student population.Quality of Life - Quality of life will differ for each student, but before choosing a lawschool, answer the question of what type of personal and professional life you hope tohave. If you want the chance of making partner in a large law firm, only about 50 lawschools give you a decent shot. If your aspirations lean more towards solo practice orindigent defense work, a law school’s prestige will be less important than the debt youincur. If you dream of becoming a professor at a public law school in the south, odds areyou’ll still need a J.D. from a top law school to get even a campus interview.Like us: Facebook.com/onbeingablacklawyer www.onbeingablacklawyer.com 11

OBABLBESTRANKINGSLAWSCHOOLMethodologyThe Best 25 National Law Schools for Black StudentsIn addition to the scoring on the next page, to be considered “national,” law schools must meet the following criteria: the black law student population must equal or surpass the ABA’s black lawyer population of4.8 percent; be included among the 50 go-to law schools for the NLJ 250; have had at least one alumnusserve as a justice or clerk for the U.S. Supreme Court.The 5 Best Regional Law Schools (For each of the 6 regions)In addition to the scoring on the next page, law schools must meet the following criteria: the black lawstudent population percentage must reflect or exceed one-third of the state’s black population percentage; tuition cannot exceed 20,000 in the Midwest, southern, and mountain regions or 27,000 in the midatlantic, east coast, and west coast regions.The 10 Best Bargain Law SchoolsThis list places a heavier weight on cost of tuition and percentage of black law students.The 10 LL.M. Programs We RecommendThis list places a heavier weight on the diversity of the law school’s faculty, student body, and city.12 www.onbeingablacklawyer.com Follow us: Twitter.com/OBABL

Our rankings committee is comprised of OBABL’s editorial staff, law school fellows, and professionaladvisors, including an attorney-CPA and an actuary. Our rankings are based on a weighted averageof eight factors:Cost (weighted at .25)Cost is measured by the 2011 annual tuition data provided by the ABA and LSAC. For public lawschools, resident-tuition figures are used.Placement (weighted at .25)In measuring placement we consider data from two sources: the ABA Law School Employment Summary Report and the National Law Journal’s annual survey of the 50 law schools that NLJ 250 reliedon in 2011. Employment rates are based on the number of J.D. graduates working full time in a legalor J.D. advantaged job. Data is adjusted to take into account the percentage of black law students ateach law school.Distinguished Black Alumni (.10)In measuring the level of distinguished black alumni we tally the law schools attended by OBABL’sPower 100. We also consult law school websites and other sources.Selectivity (.10)This measure combines the following data from the 2011 ABA and LSAC for all full-time and parttime entering J.D. students: 75% GPA (5 percent) and 75% LSAT (5 percent).Black Student Population (.10)This measure uses figures from the 2011 annual demographic data provided by the ABA and LSAC.Local Legal Job Access (.10)For this measure, we determine the strength of each law school’s local legal market by noting thenumber of the following: state and district courts, appeals courts, federal public defender offices,state capitals, and NLJ 250 firms.Local Cost of Living (.05)This measure uses the Kiplinger Index to determine the cost of living in law school cities.Local black population (.05)This measure uses the 2010 U.S. Census to determine the percentage of African Americans in lawschool cities.Like us: Facebook.com/onbeingablacklawyer www.onbeingablacklawyer.com 13

25National Law Schoolsfor Black StudentsThe TopFor students attending one of these 25 law schools, every career path in the the legal profession is open toyou. Your chances of securing a position as a Biglaw associate, Appellate Law Clerk, or DOJ attorney may begreater at some schools than others, but students who do well at any of the schools listed here should have areasonable expectation that they can pursue the career they want. How do we know? Because graduates of theselaw schools do so every year. These are the go-to schools for large law firms and the schools judges look to for lawclerks time and time again.RankLaw SchoolCity, StateOverall ScoreBlack StudentPopulation1Harvard Law School *Cambridge, MA8010.52Howard University School of LawWashington, DC7882.23Georgetown University Law CenterWashington, DC6784Columbia University School of LawNew York, NY657.94University of Virginia School of LawCharlottesville, VA6576The University of Chicago Law SchoolChicago, IL606.37University of Pennsylvania Law SchoolPhiladelphia, PA597.37The University of Alabama School of LawTuscaloosa, AL5999Northwestern University School of LawChicago, IL587.410Stanford University Law School *Palo Alto, CA577.411New York University School of LawNew York, NY566.811Temple University School of LawPhiladelphia, PA567.513University of North Carolina School of LawChapel Hill, NC557.514Duke University School of LawDurham, NC546.414Rutgers University School of Law—NewarkNewark, NJ5415.316University of Wisconsin Law SchoolMadison, WI521616University of Maryland School of LawBaltimore, MD521016Vanderbilt University Law SchoolNashville, TN52819Yale Law School *Hartford, CT51619The University of Texas School of LawAustin, TX514.821The George Washington University Law SchoolWashington, DC495.122Emory University School of LawAtlanta, GA485.223UC Berkeley School of LawBerkeley, CA455.424Notre Dame Law SchoolSouth Bend, IN445.925Washington and Lee University School of LawLexington, VA426.814 www.onbeingablacklawyer.com Follow us: Twitter.com/OBABL

* These three law schools have historically dominatedthe top of law school rankings, so why did our matrixscore Stanford and Yale lower? To start with, their blackstudent populations are comparatively lower. Additionally, they are both located in areas with small legal communities. And there is this: When we consulted OBABL’sPower 100 list to assess which schools had distinguishedblack alumni, we discovered that while Yale and Stanfordwere generously represented on the list, there was virtually no career diversity -- nearly all were academicians.Of the 10 Yale Law graduates, eight were law school professors or deans, and one additional junior honoree hadrecently clerked for the U.S. Supreme Court, so it is likelywe’ll find him in the ivory tower soon. So for law studentswho want to teach, give serious consideration to thesethree.Followed us?www.twitter.com/obablHave you.Liked us?www.facebook.com/onbeingablacklawyerA law school is more than what it teaches.At the University of Notre Dame Law School, our academic program stresses bothlegal theory and practical skills training. That’s what we teach.What students quickly learn, though, is that one of the Law School’s greateststrengths is the community we foster. From our law students, faculty, and staff toour Career Development Office and the more than 8,000 alumni and supporters ofthe Notre Dame Law Association, there’s a culture here unlike anywhere else, onein which students are greeted warmly, treated collegially, challenged intellectually,and encouraged personally and professionally to serve each other and the commongood.Where you graduate from is important.What you graduate into is just as important.law.nd.eduLike us: Facebook.com/onbeingablacklawyer www.onbeingablacklawyer.com 15

WhyHarvard IsBy Yolanda Young#1Each year the Harvard Black Law Students Association (HBLSA) hosts its Spring Conference. Theyear I was invited, the banquet’s keynote speaker was Ted Wells, Jr., who spoke rhapsodicallyabout the power and influence of Harvard Law’s black alumni.He bolstered his claims by rattling off a list of legalluminaries. Among them -- American Express CEO,Kenneth Chenault; deceased billion dollar venturecapitalist and CEO, Reginald Lewis; and former Baltimoremayor and Howard Law dean, Kurt Schmoke. Indeed,when reviewing OBABL’s Power 100 selections, I noticedthat while 30 percent of law schools represented hadonly one honoree, Harvard had 26 (excluding The President and First Lady), more than twice that of the secondrunner up, Yale and three times the number of the nextnearest law school, Columbia. I could go on as Mr. Wellsdid, but you get the point.towards common goals, rather than merely buildingtheir individual resumes. For example, in addition to itsannual conference, HBLSA publishes The Harvard LawSchool Journal on Racial & Ethnic Justice, for which Derrick Bell, Stephen L. Carter, and Randall Kennedy havewritten.Harvard’s black law students certainly do. Their confidence gets an added boost from their large numbers.HBCU’s notwithstanding, at 10.5 percent Harvard hasone of the highest percentages of black law students.These numbers allow black students to collectively workWhat does all of this mean for black students at Harvard Law? In a word -- jobs. Judging from anecdotes andavailable statistics, the exceptional Harvard Law graduate is the one who doesn’t end up doing exactly what hewould like.16 www.onbeingablacklawyer.com Any discussion of Harvard Law, must include mention ofits world-renown black faculty. While “brilliant” describesmany law school professors, “obscure” does as well. Conversely, Harvard Law has an all-star faculty. Its black professors, beginning with Charles “Mentor to Barack andMichelle” Ogletree, are household names.Follow us: Twitter.com/OBABL

What Makes Howard Law Great?By Christopher NelsonThe legacy of the institution is in a word, undeniable. Howard University School of Law located inWashington, D.C. is the oldest historically black law school in the United States, but more broadlyit’s also one of the oldest law school’s in the nation’s history. Founded in 1867 today Howardprides itself on offering a stellar legal education to a truly diverse student body.History is a theme you hear over and over again inany discussion of Howard Law. Since history is sucha crucial part of the development of the law it’s onlynatural that the historic achievements of the legal minds soclosely associated with the school are what come up first inany discussion.Charles Hamilton Houston the law school’s dean from 1930to 1935, who as a law student was the first African-American to serve as an editor on the Harvard Law Review playeda key role in helping to dismantle Jim Crow laws. How didhe do it? Through his own legal prowess and by providinga pipeline of lawyers committed to the cause. He mentoredmany students, among them eventual Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who he encouraged to work withThe NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF)on the legal battle for civil rights. This sort of experientiallearning remains a hallmark of the Howard Law experience.In the spring of 2012 after the tragic death of Trayvon Martin, Kurt Schmoke the law school’s then dean offered thelegal assistance of HUSL students to attorney BenjaminCrump and his team of lawyers, who had begun representing Trayvon Martin’s family. Dean Schmoke wrote, “I writeto inform you of our interest and desire to assist you in anyway to obtain justice for Trayvon Martin.”In order to gain other experiences students need only travela short distance from campus throughout the nation’s capital, which is home to a diverse legal marketplace. Throughout D.C. and in nearby Maryland and Virginia students cancomplete internships, and externships. Many Howard students often avail themselves of the opportunity to work infederal government or in private industry. These experiences certainly bolster what they learn in the classroom froman esteemed faculty.Howard’s law school professors are experts in a variety of legal fields from civil rights law to business law. Howard firmly believes in clinical legal education and has a number ofclinics including a Criminal Rights Clinic, a Civil Rights Clinicand a Fair Housing Clinic. The school is also home to a number of centers the Education Rights Center, the Institute ofIntellectual Property and Social Justice, and the World FoodLaw Institute each devoted to substantive research, scholarship, and advocacy.Like us: Facebook.com/onbeingablacklawyer In an increasingly competitive legal job market these typesof opportunities are becoming more and more important.Yet students also value the sense of community often engendered during co-curricular activities. Howard has a wellrespected law journal, three moot court teams, and groupssuch as the nationally recognized Sports and Entertainment Law Students Association, which provide programming and allow for networking opportunities.Students leave Howard University School of Law preparedto engage in the practice of law, work in business, or engage in public service. According to The National Law Journal Howard is one of the top 50 law schools top law firmsrely on to fill their first-year associate classes.Students hoping to go another route can often utilize access to an accomplished alumni base. Among the school’sprominent alumni are businessman Vernon Jordan, formerVirginia Governor L. Douglas Wilder, former D.C. MayorAdrian Fenty, and current Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.Lastly, but perhaps most importantly given the wide arrayof resources, access to opportunity, and career development services Howard has time and again been named oneof the “best buys” for law schools with an annual tuition stillunder 30,000 a year.www.onbeingablacklawyer.com 17

RegionalLaw SchoolsOur best regional law schools are highly-regarded, particularlyin nearby states. Law graduates from these excellent institutionsare well positioned to have successful legal careers without theburden of excessive loan debt. Certain legal careers, however,will be closed to all but one or two of these graduates.OBABL decided to break with the common practice of ranking all law schools numerically because such rankings tend to result in several law schools having an identical rank yet being vastly dissimilar in relation tolocation, cost and career opportunities. For reasons stated earlier, we believe law school students are bestserved when they attend law schools in regions where they would like to work. This is especially true with respect toregional law schools.MID-ATLANTIC*University of Baltimore School of LawBaltimore, MDEarle Mack School of Law, Drexel UniversityPhiladelphia, PAWest Virginia University College of LawMorgantown, WVWilliam & Mary Law SchoolWilliamsburg, VA* Only four law schools met our criteriaEAST COASTRutgers, The State University of New Jersey School of Law CamdenCamden, NJCity University of New York School of LawLong Island City, NYUniversity of Connecticut School of LawHartford, CTSUNY Buffalo Law SchoolBuffalo, NYUniversity of Maine School of LawPortland, ME18 www.onbeingablacklawyer.com Follow us: Twitter.com/OBABL

People.Perspective.Profession.CUNY School of Law is the premierpublic interest law school in the country.Our mission is to graduate outstandingpublic interest attorneys and to enhancethe diversity of the legal profession.Our new location, at the center of atransportation hub in the vibrant urbancommunity of Long Island City, increasesaccess to the school for students andclients throughout the region.At the University of Memphis Cecil C. HumphreysSchool of Law, our continuing goal is to offera richly diverse and inclusive environment thatfosters robust intellectual discourse, providesstudents with a broad legal perspective, andprepares them to achieve their professional goalsand succeed in the legal job market. 93% Tennessee Bar Passage rate for July 2011,topping state bar average of 83%. 2011 Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial National Champions. Ranked among the top “Best Value” law schools inthe country by preLaw magazine. Certificate in Advocacy for students interested in acareer in litigation.www.law.cuny.edumemphis.edu/lawLike us: Facebook.com/onbeingablacklawyer www.onbeingablacklawyer.com 19

WEST COASTUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas, William S. Boyd School of LawLas Vegas, NVArizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of LawTempe, AZUniversity of Oregon School of LawEugene, ORUniversity of Washington School of LawSeattle, WAUniversity of Idaho College of LawMoscow, IDMOUNTAINBrigham Young University Law SchoolProvo, UTUniversity of Nebraska College of LawLincoln, NEThe University of New Mexico School of LawAlbuquerque, NMUniversity of Oklahoma College of LawNorman, OKWashburn University School of LawTopeka, KSMIDWESTCleveland State University Cleveland-Marshall College of LawCleveland, OHUniversity of Kentucky College of LawLexington, KYUniversity of Louisville’s Brandeis School of LawLouisville, KYThe University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of LawMemphis, TNUniversity of Missouri Kansas City School of LawKansas City, MOSOUTHERN*University of Arkansas at Little Rock,William H. Bowen School of LawLittle Rock, ARUniversity of Florida, Fredric G. Levin College of LawGainesville, FLThe Florida State University College of LawTallahassee, FLUniversity of Georgia School of LawAthens, GAGeorgia State University College of LawAtlanta, GALouisiana State University Law CenterBaton Rouge, LA* OBABL was compelled to include six law schools in this very strong region20 www.onbeingablacklawyer.com Follow us: Twitter.com/OBABL

Top 5 Best Regional Law School for Black Students — On Being a Black Lawyer#33 “Go To” Law School — National Law Review#15 Best Law School for Public Interest Law — preLaw and The National Jurist#16 Best Value Law School — preLaw and The National JuristWILLIAM H. BOWENSCHOOL OF LAWAdmissions (304) aculty ExcEllEncEat BowenProfessors at the ualR William H. Bowen Schoolof law are committed to sharing professionalism,public servi

Meet The OBABL Law School Fellows. 10. 5 Law School Myths - Things Said To Be Important That Aren't. 11. 5 Law School Truths - Things That Actually Do Matter. 12. OBABL Best Law School Rankings Methodology. 14. The Best 25 National Law Schools for Black Students. 16. vard Is #1Why Har. 17. Why Howard Is A Great School for Black Students. 18