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the law school. Local lawyers will be doing research in the school's law library and some will be teaching classes as adjuncts. After three years of rubbing shoulders and making good impressions with these folks, you'll have created a distinct advantage over others who are entering the local job market after being away at law school for three years.

Third, your law school classmates will become your colleagues. You'll have gained strong friends (and maybe a nemesis or two) during three grueling years of legal studies. These are people you can tap for favors, law work, and friendship once you become a working stiff. These connections are more likely to be stronger and more useful, the closer you are to where you went to school.

Finally, law schools aren't just helpful in teaching you the law, they also help you get employed after you graduate. But, this help is going to be strongest in the region where the law school resides. That's where the roots and resources of the school are strongest. Plus, proximity is pretty important if that help means you have to go into the placement office weekly to check the latest crop of job postings.

Law school is a big step, legal education is a difficult three-year period, and practicing law is a challenging profession. But you don't have to abdicate control of your destiny by taking the rote recommendations of going to the highest ranked school you can. You will do better at law school, be a better lawyer, and be a happier person if you determine your passion, determine your budget, determine your location, and make a selection that is in line with those goals.

Learn more about this author, Joseph Hazelbaker.
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