What non-Boston law schools should I consider if I want to work in Boston after graduation?

What were your LSAT scores and GPA? It'd be helpful to know what sorts of schools you'd realistically get in to... for instance, why isn't Harvard on your list?

In my experience, Boston is an incredibly insular market - it's very hard to break into the area unless you go to school there, even if you're coming from highly ranked programs elsewhere. Who knows how the market will look in 4 years, but it's going to be a real uphill battle to get a decent job in Boston out of schools less well regarded than BC and BU, or to get jobs at Boston firms (of all kinds) coming from anywhere outside the truly national law schools. Even at those places it is difficult if your grades aren't, say, in the top half of the class. Are you from Boston? Do you have other history there? How likely are you to get into BC or BU? Do you have any idea what kind of work you want to do? Do you have prior work experience? Could you spend your summers in Boston during school? Are you there now? There are a lot of other factors that go into employability beyond just the school you go to and the grades you get.

LSAT in 3 weeks, but I can realistically expect to score in the 166-170 range (inclusive), with 171 being my target score. GPA of 3.6 was lowered to 3.25 when consolidated and weighted by the LSAC so that shuts me out of the top-15 to top-20 schools. (I've been eating, sleeping and breathing LSAT for the past few months so please no tangential advice on studying, etc...)

Mass. Lawyer's Weekly has a list of the top 100 Mass. firms here: http://www.masslawyersweekly.com/index.cfm/largestLawfirms/list I'd start perusing their associate pools to see what schools they're hiring from. The low bar pass rates at Suffolk and NESL are due to the part-time programs that both schools have. (They are the only two such programs in Boston.) It's less likely that a student will pass the bar on the first try having worked full-time while attending law school and also through bar prep. Full disclosure: I'm an '07 grad. of Suffolk Law (nights)

"GPA of 3.6 was lowered to 3.25 when consolidated and weighted by the LSAC so that shuts me out of the top-15 to top-20 schools." Don't be so sure. If you can find a school in the 15-20 range that has a solid median GPA (compared to schools near them) but a weaker LSAT median, they're going to be looking to improve their ranking by bringing in higher LSAT scores, and won't care nearly as much about the GPA. There's no formula that works for all schools, it has far more to do with what goals the particular schools have, how they plan to accomplish them, and what their applicant pool is like in that given cycle. This comes from a recent grad who spent three years working in the admissions office at a top tier law school.

Higher-ranking is always better. ALWAYS.

BUSL '02. If you want to work in Boston, IMO BC is your best non-Harvard option. True, Suffolk will get you some ins at the State House or Government Center, but you'll have more flexibility overall by going to a higher ranked school. BC places well in private practice and government, and has the added advantage of being a Catholic school in a city that still values Irish Catholic connections (which is why it will help out with networking for government jobs). BU is more of an outsider school, and placed better in NY than in MA when I graduated. Keep in mind that I don't know how things may have changed in the last few years since BU eclipsed BC in the US News rankings. If you want to work in BIGLAW, take a look at the Choate, Goodwin, Wilmer, Foley, and Bingham web sites and see where the associates come from. Better yet, try to find out where this year's class of summer associates came from. What another poster said about Boston being an insular legal market is true, and my impression is that most people start there rather than lateraling there, but that doesn't necessarily mean you have to have gone to law school in Boston. BIGLAW is going to care more about what school you went to and what your grades were than where you went to school (caveat: you might get questions about why you want to work in Boston if you go to a west coast school). Bottom line: for BIGLAW, school over location; for gov't, location over school, but don't be reckless in your choice of school.

My father is a partner at one of the firms mentioned by Bezuhin (though not in their Boston office) and what he told me about their hiring practices is that they hire from most top schools (in and out of Boston) but the "shelf" is smaller the further you go down in the national rankings--so if you want to work in big law, I'd go to the highest ranking school you can get into, regardless of location. For government work actually being in Boston might matter more.

I completely agree with the other posters who noted that school rank is by far the most determining factor in whether you'll get an offer from the firm of your choice, regardless of location.