The answer is really dependent on a lot of things...

For choosing a particular school:
- Where does he want to practice (geographically)
- Where are the law schools he is considering in relation to where he wants to practice?
- What kind of law does he want to do?
- What is the median salary in the field and geographic area he expects to practice in?
- How important is the prestige of the law school he intends to him?
- Does ND/the other school(s) have programs aimed at the areas he is interested in?

Finances...
- How much less tuition does the regional school represent?
- When did he apply to law school in the application cycle?
- If he did not apply at the beginning of this cycle, how would he feel about reapplying earlier in the next cycle to have a better chance at getting more financial aid?
- Is there a chance he can increase his LSAT score to get into a better school and/or get more financial aid if reapplying?

It is definitely "safer" to go regional at a lower cost but that is only true for certain markets and schools. There are plenty of lower cost schools that have awful job prospects. To be completely honest there is only one "safe" option and that is if you can go to a law school on a free ride -- even the holy trinity of Harvard, Yale, and Stanford Law Schools cannot guarantee a top-of-the-market salaried job that would make paying down loans relatively easy.

I would be happy to chat more about the specifics of the situation with you (email linked), so feel free to email me, you or your son directly whichever you would prefer.

In fact, the Notre Dame Law Association rep should have sent him a letter upon his acceptance. You can find your rep by Googling the Notre Dame Law Association. The alumni network that you become a part of with a Notre Dame law degree is, in my opinion, second to none. The NDLA rep should be able to give him some current and straight advice.

Almost all law schools are regional. Once you get into the top 14/top 10 it gets slightly less so, but ND's law school isn't going to carry a ton of national weight, but it will be great in the midwest.

If your son knows the city he'd like to practice in, and the regional is in that city, he's probably in a better position there. If he knows he wants to hang out his shingle after law school, it really doesn't matter where he goes, though the more regional schools will probably leave him more "courthouse ready" upon graduation, but this is definitely something to look into as it isn't always the case.

If he's looking to work for a bigger firm, the most important thing is that he kick ass in whatever school he goes to. Unless he's going to a top 10 law school (and even then, really), he needs to finish high in his class to get good job offers.

Student loan debt can be very damaging to morale and potential career options, as it requires payments every month, and doesn't allow for as many risks. He should attempt to calculate what his monthly payments will be upon graduation based on the different schools he'll be at.

I could not disagree more with the myth perpetuated by lower-tiered law schools that they produce lawyers that are more "practice-ready" than top-tiered law schools. All the top-tier schools offer clinics, moot court, seminars, etc. that provide practical skills in addition to the more less-practical "[Insert Liberal Arts Discipline Here] and the Law" courses.