The John Marshall Law School

NOT A JMLS STUDENT.
From a legal professional standpoint: Their Events committee is poor at communication and will not respond to emails or voicemails left. I’ve been trying to enroll for a 2-​day seminar for 3 weeks now; just imagine if I was trying to enroll in classes!
From an HR standpoint: I’ve worked in lawfirms for 15 years. The candidates we have interviewed (and the few that we hired) from JMLS are poorly trained and appear to lack the keen eye, creative mind, and work ethic that most attorneys require to not just succeed, but to merely get the job done.
From a non-​JMLS student standpoint: I attended an online paralegal school, and one of my instructors happened to be a full-​time JMLS teacher as well. He was the most difficult to understand, condescending, arrogant and backwards instructor I have ever had. And, no, I’m not a disgruntled student (got an A in class regardless), just an observation.
If I were looking into lawschools, I’d look elsewhere. Excellent lawfirms want excellent education, and JMLS is known in the legal field as kind of a generic place to get your degree. Invest wisely.

Graduated in 1984, top 15%. Was naïve, assumed a law degree was a law degree — if you worked hard you’d get a good job. Problem was, by ’84, there were already too many lawyers, so the selection process was brutal. I got interviews because of my ranking, but few offers. Ended up in a small, struggling law firm doing collection work — it really sucked. Then I attempted to start my own practice — what a nightmare — didn’t have enough experience and ended up just spinning my wheels.
Marshall’s placement office was a joke — school had no prestigious connections in the legal community and law is a very prestige-​oriented profession — all law degrees are not created equal. The legal education was all theory, no practical training. I had law clerk positions in school — but they were just «go-​fer» jobs.
Overall, was a bad career choice. I enjoyed studying the law there but without job opportunities, I don’t recommend the school or the profession. I know it’s only gotten worse in the last 30 years — too may lawyers!!!

I would give this school zero stars if I could. You will hate every minute you spend here. Hell will be a better option. Please, don’t accept the scholarship money to come here. Go to the higher ranking school even if they offer you no money. JMLS has been a nightmare for me. The way the faculty treated me and fellow students was a nightmare. There were times I considered suicide. My undergrad GPA was a 3.81. I didn’t need to come to this 4^th tier hell hole. They enticed me with money. They only cared about me when I was a prospective student. They do not care about you once you are in the school. They only cater to those who kiss their butts. If you are not the type to brown nose and be phony, they will treat you like garbage. Professors can also say the most offensive comments and they call it academic freedom, but students have no freedom of speech at the school. Read the Third Tier Reality website. Much of the stuff on that website is the truth. I did not want to believe these websites before I went to this school, but now I know they are the truth. I used to think people were just discouraging me from the profession because they didn’t want competition in the legal profession. Law school grads are telling you the truth! Its a waste of time and money! Even if you get a scholarship, you will still have to support yourself for 3 years because you will not be able to work. Law school is not a good route. I thought it was the only thing I could do with my political science degree. Law school is nothing like political science. In political science, you read interesting facts. Law school is like watching paint dry and if you need help finding a job, they will not help you. All they will do is direct you to the Symplicity website.
Btw, I wasted two years of my life at this school. They will do everything to get you to come. Offer you scholarship money on top of money. Once you are a student, nobody cares about you. If you need help or have a problem, the deans will ignore you and pretend to be busy. All they care about is taking your money. Websites like Third Tier Reality are the truth. Anybody who wants to know more about JMLS, please inbox me and I will tell you everything. There are people who lost everything because of JMLS and other third tier hell holes. No wonder why these schools are being sued by former students.

I love the upgrades done to JMLS. They have expanded, offering larger facility and more resources. Their location is great, being in the mecca of downtown Chicago. just sucks because its right on State St. with all the retail stores too! Being one of the largest law schools in Chicago, they have an impressive networking circle and clinics. Every time I visit, I’m never disappointed.

It’s obvious those that gave JMLS a review less than 5 stars have not attended the institution. If you know anything about the legal world, EVERY legal degree and institution is what you make it. I know people that have graduated from Notre Dame, Loyola, University of Chicago, Northwestern, Depaul, and UMich legal programs and STILL have not found a job months after graduation. You will either be at the top of the class, or lost with the rest of students with law degrees. For those that are not tops, Your job is to build a strong foundation of experience before or during law school as a law clerk, paralegal, or legal assistant, then NETWORK like CRAZY! JMLS has a great legal writing program (#2) and IP certificate program (#12). I also personally know judges that only hire from JMLS because of the quality of writing from the students. (which is basically the most important thing employers and judges desire of their first year employees) … so long story short…
Law school is what you make it. Get in… Network… Work hard to be above and stay above… Do not let anyone discourage your decision to join a great program such as JMLS… We all have different experiences in Law School.

I graduated from JMLS in 2008. I loved my experience there as a night student, and looking back, I feel I got an excellent value on a great legal education.
John Marshall takes a practical, practice-​oriented approach to legal education. In addition to its wonderful full-​time faculty, JMLS has many great adjunct professors who are actually out practicing law every day and bring their practical experience to the table. I learned so much about what to expect from the practice of law by learning from them.
It’s true that JMLS is not the best choice for you if your goal is to work in a big firm representing corporations, as the school is not highly-​ranked. However, if you want to work in a small firm, go out on your own, and/​or represent individuals in civil or criminal cases (i.e. have an interesting and fulfilling legal career), John Marshall is an excellent choice for law school.
I’ve been so happy with my career since law school, and I give JMLS a ton of credit for preparing me so well for the challenges of those first few years of practicing law.

i am a 2L and yes before anyone calls me out, I am aware of the rank and that it’s fallen. This said, the school teaches both the law and its analysis as well as the practicable skills. For example I’ve done 5 oral arguments in my L1 year, one at a court house even. I’ve written 6 memos as well.
Additionally the professors are approachable/​available inside and outside of office hours. Many go above and beyond by having study sections, and answering email on weekends and evening outside of office hours. The same goes for the support staff like the writing center and career center, and deans.
They give a chance to perfectly smart people like me who merely test very poorly. In fact if they are not sure, hey have classes before you ever begin if selected I was not to make sure you are prepared. The offer of acceptance is conditional in this case. Once in all students must now not our class go to an enrichment class
They are # 2 in legal writing and have a course called Herzog where you are taught my a judge must argue in front of the judge and must write 2 memos one with no help or so I hear.
They have other enrichment programs just be assertive
My only complaint is make sure to know about the curve!!!

I want to punch this school in the face.

All right, y’all, full disclosure: I didn’t attend this school. I do, however, currently attend my bar review classes in their building. It suuuuuuuucks. The bathrooms are pretty old, the hallways are kinda confusing, and the Plum Café (BASTARDS) are obviously set on infiltrating all law schools by the end of the decade. Minor pluses: (1) it’s really convenient for public transportation and (2) the vending machines are a full 25 cents less than the ones at my (now-​former) school.
Seriously, though, John Marshall peeps, why oh WHY does it smell like permanent er… PERM stankness (as in hair curling/​waving chemical grossness) in the hallway?