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#Cornell University Law School

Ratings Rankings

What do these ratings mean?

from Brian Dalton, Breaking Media Director of Research

The ATL School and Firm Insiders Survey asks self-identified current students, alumni, and practicing lawyers to rate major aspects of life at their law school (academics, social life, clinical training, career services, financial aid advising) and/or law firm (compensation, hours, morale, culture, training). We then translate these ratings into letter grades, where the mean score for each particular ratings category is the equivalent of a “B.”

Employment

Insider Reviews

Alumni

Cornell provides a wonderful learning environment, with small class sizes, hands-on professors, and high quality legal education. The small overall class size is very conducive to forming long-lasting friendships and business relationships.

Career Services is oriented towards Fall OCI for rising 2Ls. No one there helps much for anything else.

Cornell teaches corporate law really well, and has extensive ties with the business school, so it s well-suited for those looking to work in NYC BigLaw. It s less well-suited for those (like myself) interested in other practice areas, especially intellectual property.

Don t be afraid of Ithaca. It s a perfect place to go to law school.

Dont go by the rankings. The school is MUCH better than it is ranked.

Students

It s worth it if you re willing to work incredibly hard 1L year and have no life. Get amazing grades, and then enjoy the rest of your life afterward. But it s a grind, so don t take on the debt or challenge unless you re truly willing to put in the time and effort.

Ithaca gets a bad rap for being a barren tundra, but the thermostats in my house/the law school/Ithaca bars, work just fine. Additionally, because Ithaca is a small place the law school has a great sense of community. Most of my friends live within walking distance of me and as a result it s very easy to be social.

The smallness of Cornell Law makes for a double-edged sword. On the one hand you know everybody, at least by face. You feel the place to be intimate and personable because of it. Some professors and administrators are also very accessible, and the bureaucracy is not onerous. On the other hand, you know everybody, so rumor-mongering can get out of hand. Personality quirks also tend to get amplified in a small school, so that a back-stabbing sociopath or an oblivious gunner who you would otherwise ignore in a bigger school begins to loom much larger and annoyingly.

The reading room can be cold. Since you ll be spending the better part of your time there, make sure you have some comfortable sweaters.

Don t come here. It s in the middle of nowhere, which makes networking HELL.

Go to work in BigLaw, or go to be different, but you won t find a robust system in place to help you with public interest or government work.