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 am a 2L (rising 3L) at a tier 2 regional law school. I did well 1L and just started my summer associateship at Biglaw NYC.

I am a little concerned that almost everyone at the firm has better credentials than me (or, at least, went to better schools).

Would it be worth it to me to sacrifice my full scholarship and attempt to transfer to Columbia or NYU for the completely useless third year of law school, just for the resume stamp?

I am more than a little concerned that, even though I am obviously qualified to summer at this firm, I don't really have the pedigree necessary to succeed here.

I am completely ignorant of the transfer process -- is it too late to even be thinking about this?

Best,
Concerned About Pedigree

Dear Concerned: Although I am always the first one to recommend transferring to the higher-ranked law school, in your particular case I don't think you will reap the greatest benefits if you transfer at this point in your law school career, particularly in light of the fact that you will be sacrificing your full scholarship.

The reason I am saying this for your situation is because of the fact that when you transfer law schools after your second year, although you will be able to put down the fact that you attended Columbia or NYU during your third year of law school, your JD will not be from one of those schools. Rather, it will be from the school where you spent your first and second year.

So yes, it will look very spiffy to show that you were able to transfer to a top 10 law school during your last year, but really, what are you ultimately accomplishing here?

Let's look at the facts. Apparently, you must be doing quite well at your tier 2 regional law school, or I doubt that you would have been invited to be a 2L summer associate at a Biglaw New York firm. I don't see any reason to give up that full scholarship except to show that you were able to transfer to an Ivy League law school for your 3L year.

Some people might encourage you to transfer for the professors you will meet at Columbia and NYU as well as some of the contacts you will make with the students in your class. Granted, there will be some lifelong influential friends you might come in contact with at Columbia or NYU.

And, the truth of the matter may very well be that many of the other associates at the firm might have "better" credentials than you in terms of the ranking of their law school. However, you would not be at a Biglaw summer program unless your grades were high enough to put you at the top, or close to the top, of your class.

But take a look at the Martindales of all of the major firms -- and I have discussed this over and over again in many of my previous columns. All of the Biglaw firms -- the major law firms of the world -- have graduates from almost all four tiers of law schools. What you will find is that partners and associates from the lower-ranked law schools all will have stellar transcripts. Generally, they will have been in the top 5 percent of their graduating class, if not higher.

You said it yourself: You are, obviously, qualified to summer at this firm, and believe me, if the powers that be have decided that they want you to be associated with the firm, then your "pedigree" is just fine. You might be very surprised to learn that some of the most powerful rainmakers in some of the greatest firms come from the lesser law schools.

In the final analysis, when all is said and done, I still believe that you really do not need to give up that full scholarship and transfer to Columbia or NYU for your third year of law school to be ultimately successful at the Biglaw firm and beyond.

Don't put yourself down -- you are to be congratulated for being the best that you can be! You have earned a full scholarship, and you are, clearly, working very hard to get top grades, grades that have put you in the highest echelon of your class, allowing you to compete with those other law students from schools that you label pedigreed. Good for you! Keep going and don't look back -- you have a great future waiting for you -- and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise.

Best wishes!

Sincerely,
Ann Israel
President, Ann Israel & Associates