Law Schools - Where and Why?

[skitlets]



I don't know if I'd call Newport Beach livelier, but you won't be more than about 8 miles from UCI anywhere in Newport, unless you live way out on the Newport harbor peninsula, like by the Bluth Banana Stand. If you live in San Francisco, that seems like some pretty brutal traffic to me and I bet you can handle switching to 8 miles of multilane curving surface streets through manicured suburbia for your commute.

Newport Beach sounds promising, as I can avoid the highway. Traffic in San Francisco is actually pretty damn tolerable. I never have to drive on the Bay Bridge and take the bus to work. Takes at most 45 minutes to get to the opposite part of town during rush hour if I do have to drive.

Just FYI, these numbers can actually be skewed if data points get lost, intentionally or not. For instance I graduated from UCLA law in 08 and had a terrible employment outcome for about 1 year (ie, basically no employment).

UCLA never asked me what my employment status was (I never changed my email address or phone number, and I updated them when I moved out of an apartment I couldn't afford due to no income, so I doubt they couldn't find me). As a result I didn't show up in the employment stats the next year. Yes, I would have answered a survey if they sent me one - I was checking their career services website multiple times a day and I was bitter and wanted to be counted, so I didn't self-select out of the survey due to embarassment (although I was also embarassed). When it got to the 9 months after graduation time when they ask about employment outcome, I kept checking to see if I would get a survey, and I never did.

For what it's worth, it has all worked out fine for me, but it took about 2.5 years to get to where I figured I'd be a few months after graduation. Oh, and if you have better grades than me or more hustle and people skills, things will also likely work out better. But just know that even UCLA isn't a guarantee of immediate success if you just get average B+ grades like me.

Would you show up in the no-response in a situation like that? In my school comparisons, I just lump "unknowns" or non-responses into the unemployed category. Good to hear you're back on your feet.

Was the median at UCLA a B+ while you were attending? I have no idea whether or not I'd be an above median student, so I'm looking at schools and trying to gauge what job prospects are like for the average student. In this regard, UCI sounds amazing. The faculty and administration have a vested interest in each student, and in such a small class, each student gets a lot of support and attention. After visiting UCI for their admitted student weekend, I'd almost go with UCI over UCLA at the same cost.

 

[yerfdog]



Was the median at UCLA a B+ while you were attending?

I'm not sure, but probably B+ was pretty close to median, maybe just a little bit above median.

I think you have a good point about UCI. I'm not sure if I would recommend one over the other. The close attention, high profile, and having Professor Chemerinsky calling in favors on behalf of the school, probably goes a long way toward evening out the disparity in rank and alumni base.

For cost of living, you can probably do it cheaper at UCI than at UCLA without living in a near-ghetto or in a college-style multi-roommate crash pad, and you can get farther away without having a suicidal commute. It's still an expensive area compared to everywhere in the US besides the Bay Area, Westside LA, NYC, and DC.

 

[ShoeShopperJ]

But I've fairly made up my mind that this is the path I should be pursuing - if not necessarily to practice law, then to get into gov't work, whatever. It's what feels "right".

First and foremost, I worked in the government - law enforcement.

Second, 100% of the reason why I obtained my job was through connections.

Third, after seeing

• "ghost payroll" (nieces, nephews of members of Congress who sometimes showed up at around 1:00 p.m. and just made a few victim phone calls for over 120,000 a year with awesome benefits)
• Political promotions (and of course hiring where I benefited),
• immense waste ("we are investigating something in our government vehicles--they are all falling apart people smoke in the "unmarked" cars and spill coffee and food everywhere---with taxpayer-paid gas)
• "retired" detectives collecting two (2) pensions at 80,000 a year on both with very generous cost-of-living increases
• incredible amount of days off (some police departments I worked with had UNLIMITED sick days and FBI is paid for commuting AND exercise)
• inter alia

It was apparent to me that this "system" is utterly unsustainable.

If you want a "good" government gig, you need connections.

 

[ShoeShopperJ]

= You cannot take $200k out in loans, spend a summer studying "law" in Spain from a "for-profit" law school. =

I think the only "value" I had from law school were my foreign study programs. See, I obtained my MBA and studied at the London School of Economics PRIOR to attending law school. I never really wanted to earn an MBA, but my employer required it and paid for it.


Law school is such a rip off it is remarkable. I am reluctant to state it because I do directly benefit from this "prestige" thing that is wholly unwarranted.


If someone is foolish enough to attend law school WITHOUT connections and a network in place PRIOR to going, then you might as well enjoy yourself as do as many foreign study programs as you possibly can.

 

[Joffrey]



First and foremost, I worked in the government - law enforcement. 

Second, 100% of the reason why I obtained my job was through connections.

Third, after seeing

• "ghost payroll" (nieces, nephews of members of Congress who sometimes showed up at around 1:00 p.m. and just made a few victim phone calls for over 120,000 a year with awesome benefits)
• Political promotions (and of course hiring where I benefited),
• immense waste ("we are investigating something in our government vehicles--they are all falling apart people smoke in the "unmarked" cars and spill coffee and food everywhere---with taxpayer-paid gas)
• "retired" detectives collecting two (2) pensions at 80,000 a year on both with very generous cost-of-living increases
• incredible amount of days off (some police departments I worked with had UNLIMITED sick days and FBI is paid for commuting AND exercise)
• inter alia

It was apparent to me that this "system" is utterly unsustainable.

If you want a "good" government gig, you need connections.

No you don't.

 

[rohde88]



Funny -- I drop by this thread from time to time, type up a few paragraphs of reply, then erase it.
Are any practicing attorneys posting in this thread? The thread could really use the input of midlevel associates.

I'm an attorney who graduated in 2010 and I know xkxRomeo is an associate.

Work sucks. its not what you expect, but then again I've come around to embrace the good parts of my job. While I wouldn't go to law school again and don't think its right for 50% of the people in school now, it'll be ok for me ( I speak Mandarin Chinese).

 

[skitlets]



I'm an attorney who graduated in 2010 and I know xkxRomeo is an associate.
Work sucks. its not what you expect, but then again I've come around to embrace the good parts of my job. While I wouldn't go to law school again and don't think its right for 50% of the people in school now, it'll be ok for me ( I speak Mandarin Chinese).

Can you explain what field you're in and why the work sucks?

 

[El Argentino]



Can you explain what field you're in and why the work sucks?

This - I'd appreciate more specifics in the thread as well as compared to the broadsweeping "Law School Sux" trend that has generally pervaded in the past months. School always blows, but more about the career possibilities afterwards, etc.

 

[oisin]



Funny -- I drop by this thread from time to time, type up a few paragraphs of reply, then erase it.
Are any practicing attorneys posting in this thread? The thread could really use the input of midlevel associates.

5th year patent litigation associate at a LA-based firm. Transferred from a lower-ranked UC to a T14. Be happy to answer questions people have.

 

[skitlets]



5th year patent litigation associate at a LA-based firm. Transferred from a lower-ranked UC to a T14. Be happy to answer questions people have.

Did you transfer to a T14 in California? I'm assuming no and that patent litigation is such a specialty that coming back to CA wasn't as difficult as it'd be for others.

 

[oisin]



Did you transfer to a T14 in California? I'm assuming no and that patent litigation is such a specialty that coming back to CA wasn't as difficult as it'd be for others.

I did actually. But I would agree that coming back to CA from out of town would not be difficult. If you are coming from a top school (generally T14) and have some sort of ties to the state/area, most firms will not hold it against you that you are out of state. I wouldn't say that this is unique to patent lit either. It's expected that people will move for law school (especially very good ones). I think you'll find that firms travel for OCI (my firm did cut back on a few of the lower T14 schools this year where we have not had a lot of success recruiting, but we go to most). So if you have family somewhere, your SO has family or a job there, etc., or even if you are convincing that you really want to live in that area for some reason, there's no reason to not apply to a firm out of your area at OCI. Expect the question to come up in your screening interview, is all.

 

[Lord-Barrington]



First and foremost, I worked in the government - law enforcement. 

Second, 100% of the reason why I obtained my job was through connections.

Third, after seeing

• "ghost payroll" (nieces, nephews of members of Congress who sometimes showed up at around 1:00 p.m. and just made a few victim phone calls for over 120,000 a year with awesome benefits)
• Political promotions (and of course hiring where I benefited),
• immense waste ("we are investigating something in our government vehicles--they are all falling apart people smoke in the "unmarked" cars and spill coffee and food everywhere---with taxpayer-paid gas)
• "retired" detectives collecting two (2) pensions at 80,000 a year on both with very generous cost-of-living increases
• incredible amount of days off (some police departments I worked with had UNLIMITED sick days and FBI is paid for commuting AND exercise)
• inter alia

It was apparent to me that this "system" is utterly unsustainable.

If you want a "good" government gig, you need connections.

Quit confusing cops with civil servants.

 

[facebookdigg123]

yikes

http://abovethelaw.com/2012/04/bayl...-of-entire-admitted-class-data-that-weve-got/

 

[Joffrey]

^ Of course the culprit is a ginger



Skimming through the GPAs, Who was the minority that got in with a 2.45??

 

[Vaio]

How does one get a 2.45 gpa