If someone is planning to work for “Big law” and get rich, the right degree from the right school matters. If someone is planning on “hanging out a shingle” serving the local community, all that matters is the persons competence and ability to market themselves, along with admission from the bar (which is most states requires an accredited bachelors degree and a degree from an accredited law school though some states allow “reading law” as an alternative). While “big law” may be increasingly tight since oversupply wipes out the impact of retiring boomers, and they were overpaid as it is with the result that paralegals and “outsourcing” to contract lawyers are replacing overpaid associates – if someone wants to work in a largely frum environment they should plan on being a “small” law pracitioner in which case any law school will be adequate and avoiding crushing debt is important.
Also, if someone is planning to go into “small law” having trained as a paralegal might not be so dumb since they’ll be doing a lot of things that paralegals do in the “big law” world.