ADAMS — Volume 63, Issue 3

Legal education's economic value depends on whether law school attendance increases prospects for big law firm partnership. Adams and Engel conducted empirical analysis of approximately 33,000 big law firm partners across 115 firms using data on law school attended, years in profession, and gender. The study challenges popular belief that T-14 law schools (top fourteen ranked schools) dominate big law partnerships. Index scores reveal only two small tiers at the top with Harvard and Chicago producing disproportionate partners, while other schools cluster arbitrarily, contradicting claims that tiers represent meaningful prestige distinctions. The research demonstrates that prestigious schools give students better chances for big law partnership, though effect sizes vary. Faculty quality impacts student outcomes, as does geographic concentration of law firms and alumni networks. The study questions whether premium tuition at prestigious schools translates to proportionate partnership likelihood. Different schools produce partners at different rates relative to class size, suggesting schools' efficiency in launching partnership careers varies significantly. This empirical analysis provides law students, firms, and school administrations tangible data about law school choice's financial implications.

Topics: Legal Theory · Corporate Law

Keywords: law school rankings · big law partnerships · legal education · career outcomes · empirical analysis · law firms · legal profession