Based on the US New 2012 JD Tax rankings, here are the LLM rankings from TaxProf. The LLM list is followed by the complete US News JD Tax list. (Remember, not every JD tax program has an LLM in Tax - that explains the difference.)

LLM TAX PROGRAMS:
1. NYU
2. Florida
3. Georgetown
4. Northwestern
5. Miami
6. Boston University
7. Loyola-LA
8. San Diego
8. Villanova
10. U. Wash
11. Chapman

J.D. TAX PROGRAMS
1. NYU
2. Florida
3. Georgetown
4. Northwestern
5. Miami
6. Harvard
7. UCLA
8. Virginia
9. Boston University
10. Columbia
10. Loyola-LA
10. Stanford
10. Texas (Austin)
14. Michigan (Ann Arbor)
14. USC
16. Boston College
16. Penn
16. San Diego
16. Villanova
20. U Wash
21. Chapman
22. UC Hastings
22. Chicago

I just got accepted to a few schools, and I'm trying to figure out where to go. I only applied to schools on the west coast because that's where I want to live, specifically in California.

I got accepted to Loyola, Chapman, Denver and the University of Washington.

I've narrowed it down to Loyola and Washington.

Does anyone have any thoughts, insights into which is the better school? Which school will give me better employment opportunities?

I appreciate any help.

Hi,

If you want to be in California then Loyola I guess.. Since you might contemplate taking the Bar exam and also for employment...

Thanks Pratima for your response.

The factors which I'm weighing are as follows:

1. University of Washington is $10,000 less in tuition.
2. University of Washington has a better national reputation as a law school. It's ranked 34th in the nation. Loyola is ranked 54th.
3. Obviously Loyola is in California, the state I want to be in.
4. Cost of living is cheaper in Seattle as opposed to L.A.

I guess I'd like to know if anybody knows how likely it is for a California firm to hire a graduate of the University of Washington as opposed to Loyola?

I realize that this may be too difficult to ascertain, however, I'd appreciate any personal insight regarding one's own experience or of someone they know that went to these schools or knows of hiring preferences amongst California law firms.

I visit autoadmit.com often. Sometimes the site can be very helpful. What I have learned from that site is that a lot of California law school graduates from 2008 onward are still out of work. These are people who graduated from Boalt and Stanford. I think you need to ascertain whether it is even possible you'd find work in L.A. even if you were attending a graduate tax program program there.

What I DO know is if you are a foreign lawyer (i.e. did not graduate from an ABA-accredited school), you will not be able to sit for the Washington State Bar Exam unless you have already practiced 3 to 5 years in a common law jurisdiction (either in the US or outside) or you have worked in a certain type of law clerk program (not sure of those particulars). So you will need to call the Washington State Bar to be clear of the requirements.