I got almost full mark in PBT-TOEFL, but my writing score is 4.0 partly because the supersivor of the test did not inform the time properly. If I plan to apply for Top 20 Law schools of Ameirica, do this score 4.0 matter much? I notice there is no requirement for the writing score of TOEFL in the websits of law schools except Columbia Law school.
And If this does matter to my application, should I explain why I got a little lower writing score in my personal statement? I am urgent to get any advice, thanks a million, guys!

Helen,

a) As you mentioned, many top US schools, including COLUMBIA, dont require a TOEFL score if ur native lang. is English or you have completed your law degree in English. Following is from Columbia's website:

I completed my first degree in law in my native language, but completed an advanced degree in English. Do I still need to take the TOEFL?
Yes. You are exempt from taking the TOEFL exam if (a) your native language is English or (b) you completed your first degree in law at a school where the language of instruction was entirely in English.
b) If you dont fall in either of the category, you will have to take the TOEFL successfully ( manage the scores set out for each section) for almost all the schools.

That being said, some colleges say that TOEFL scores are not the deciding factor in any admission at all. Wonder why is it a must!

I have completed my law degree in English and the only College which has asked me for a Toefl score is Fordham.

VA, thanks for you detailed information. My native language is Chinese and I completed my law degree in China, so I have to take a toefl test for application for LLM. I took the test, and my score is great, except for the writing score, which is a little low. A friend told me that most of top law schools actually require the writing score above 4.5(Paper based toefl), even though they do not write this requirement on the webside. I am wondering whether this is true. If it was, so I had better explain why my writing score is a little low. If not, it will be fine.

Helen- It is not evident from your answer above if your degree in law was taught in english or not. Although I agree that most colls have an internal min. cut-off level for the Toefl scores, i am not of the opinion that it has a very imp. role to play in the admission itself. You can always mail the grad. admission office of these colls (i have successfully done that on diff. issues) and figure more out.
My quest- What specialization are you applying to columbia for? i have a list of the specializations they offer but i am not too sure if you are asked to mention the same on the application form.

Thanks for your advice, VA. I will write to law schools to ask this question. To be exact, I complete my law degree in Chinese, so I have to submit toefl score report.

I do not plan to apply for Uni Columbia, for they have asked the writing score of toefl on the webside. I want to special in International law. Maybe I will try New Nork University. How about you? Good luck to us.