Ann Israel is the legal profession's Dear Abby. A New York legal recruiter since 1979, Ann is a past president of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants. Advice for the Lawlorn is updated every Tuesday.

Q: I have reached the point in my life where I have to make a decision about which law school to attend. I have gotten in to Fordham and Rutgers, but Rutgers is giving me a financial aid package that will make it only $5,000 a year to attend.

I know that I want to start my career at a top New York law firm making a top salary and being on their inside track for at least the first five years of my legal career, and I will make sure that no matter which school I go to I will graduate in the top 25 percent, but that's all I can guarantee.

Based on that information, which school should I go to and how tangible is the advantage given to me by a school like Fordham under these circumstances?

Thanks for your help,
Tom

Dear Tom: Let me start by congratulating you on being accepted into two law schools. I know you are pleased and must be quite excited about starting your career path to becoming an attorney.

I have written many columns about which law school to attend when you are faced with a choice between two schools with very different rankings. In your situation -- and, of course, depending on which ranking system you are using -- Fordham is, generally, accepted as being ranked at No. 27, and Rutgers hovers at No. 77. That's a wide gap, no matter how you slice it.

Here's what I can't accept in your analysis: You say that you can guarantee graduating in the top 25 percent of your class. How did you come to that conclusion? There are so many variables that will determine your grades once you start law school -- how can you guarantee where you will graduate in your class? I think it is great that you are optimistic about your future over the next three years, and you should feel that way, but don't let that optimism make the difference as to where you will go to law school.

By the way, graduating in the top 25 percent of your class is not necessarily going to put you on the inside track at a top New York law firm. Coming from Rutgers, being in the top 25 percent of your class may not cut it at all, depending on the job market competition at the time; it might not even work out for you from Fordham, but certainly, you would have better odds from the higher-ranked school.

There is no question whatsoever that attending law school for only $5,000 per year is very enticing. Imagine not having those huge law school loans hanging over your head once you graduate! However, if you are planning on being associated with a Biglaw firm upon graduation then you really need to be concerned with the ranking of the law school as well as your grades.

On the other hand, if you were to graduate No. 1, 2 or 3 in your class at Rutgers, you could probably name any firm you might be interested in joining, and, in fact, you might be a far more viable candidate than someone graduating in the top 25 percent from Fordham. But pay attention to what I am writing here -- I am referring to the top three people in the class. You don't seem to be setting your sights on that kind of level of achievement in law school.

Based on that, as much as it would be wonderful to get by on $5,000 per year for a JD, and in light of what you hope to accomplish during your first five years of practice, I must stand by my previous advice that I have given over the years and that would be to attend the highest-ranked law school where you have been admitted.

Good luck!

Sincerely,
Ann Israel
President, Ann Israel & Associates