Did you end up living in the state where you went to law school?

ALL schools teach general law. It's not really advantageous for a law school to teach state-specific law. Most casebooks give a quick sentence or two on how a general principle of law might be different in New York, but that's the extent of teaching state-specific law.

Bar exam: the MBE portion is not state-specific. The essays are state-specific.

It might be easier to get a JOB in the same state as the law school because of the alum connections. Plus, traveling to interviews is easier in-state.

If you want to practice in LA or TX, it's probably best to go to a school there - that's what I've heard, at least.

I am taking the July 2008 Bar in two states, and plan to add one other state in Feb 2009. Only one of these is my law school state.

Bottom line: Go to the best school you can.

By the time you graduate from law school, you want to:

1) Never take the bar and work as a bartender.

2) Take the bar as insurance for when you get fired from your job as a bartender.

3) Take the bar because you've already landed a job.

If you plan to live for more than 3-5 years in the state where you went to law school, then you should look to see if that state has reciprocity with a state you'd LIKE to move to (and practice law in). Reciprocity means that if you pass the bar in one state and are in "good standing" in that state (and have practiced law for a certain number of years), another state will NOT make you take it's bar exam. For example, many people who go to law school in New Jersey will take the Pennsylvania bar. This is because may people will work at firms or other places that have clients and cases in both states. Also, PA has better reciprocity with other states. NJ has NO reciprocity.

I recommend not worrying about the bar until your 2L year.

The primary goal of all law schools is to teach you how to read the law and to understand the principles behind it.

Essentially, you're learning how to learn the law no matter where you plan to practice.

The two main reasons people say that are:

1) The school is more likely to offer "state specific" courses.

Since every state has its own set of laws then most of the classes like torts, crim law, etc. deals with the basic principles, concepts and definitions so that you'll be able to understand the law in any state.

A state specific course, however, deals with the law in that particular state. So if you're planning on living in say New York and go to a law school in California then odds are you won't be able to take New York specific courses.

And since a portion of the bar exam is state specific then it may be beneficial to take some of those courses.

That being said, once you finish law school then you'll need to take a bar prep course which will focus on the law in your state.

And I've known plenty of lawyers who went to law school out of state.

2) The other reason people say that you should go to a school where you plan to live is that you have built in networking opportunities, via alumni, professors, as well as familiarity of your school by prospective employers.