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Law Firms / 2L seeking some advice on life after law school
« on: March 30, 2009, 10:04:31 PM »
So as the title of this thread suggests, I'm facing a bit of a dilemma and need your sage advice. If you have a proclivity for leaving sarcastic and/or unhelpful comments, please go on to the next thread.
My question is with regards to where I should practice the year after I graduate law school. Below are the specifics of my situation.
I am currently a 2L at a top 5 law school. I recently got engaged and my fiance is a 1L attending a top tier school in FL. I have a summer associate position in a NY law firm this summer.
I would like to be in the same place as my fiance after I graduate (naturally we'd like to get married some time after law school!). The problem is, however, based on his grades and the general economic climate, I dont think he would be competetive to land a job up here. We have both discussed this, and we will likely work at least for a few years in the south after he graduates.
So the reasonable option would be for me to try to land a position in a law firm in FL upon graduation. There are 3 problems however. I know that during the first year after law school, it is important to receive good training- I am afraid if I go to FL, I will not receive this. (I may be misinformed about this, so if you think otherwise, please let me know). Secondly, I am interested in IP and government affairs and I've had some trouble finding big law firms in FL that specialize in these areas.
One option that I've considered is working in DC. I think it has reciprocity with all other states, so maybe I could take the FL bar and practice in DC for a year.
Another option is working in NY and then go back down to FL after my fiance graduates. Problem with this is having to take the NY bar one year, and the FL bar the next year (b/c FL has no reciprocity with any states ever). Also, NY is really expensive and I have a LOT of loans to pay off (I'd like to pay them off within a few years). And the hours will be killer, I'll never get to see the fiance.
A third option is to return to FL upon graduation. Drawback in this case is that I might end up stuck in an area of law I'm not particularly interested in and may receive suboptimal training as a first year associate (if i'm wrong on this, please let me know).
What should I do?
My question is with regards to where I should practice the year after I graduate law school. Below are the specifics of my situation.
I am currently a 2L at a top 5 law school. I recently got engaged and my fiance is a 1L attending a top tier school in FL. I have a summer associate position in a NY law firm this summer.
I would like to be in the same place as my fiance after I graduate (naturally we'd like to get married some time after law school!). The problem is, however, based on his grades and the general economic climate, I dont think he would be competetive to land a job up here. We have both discussed this, and we will likely work at least for a few years in the south after he graduates.
So the reasonable option would be for me to try to land a position in a law firm in FL upon graduation. There are 3 problems however. I know that during the first year after law school, it is important to receive good training- I am afraid if I go to FL, I will not receive this. (I may be misinformed about this, so if you think otherwise, please let me know). Secondly, I am interested in IP and government affairs and I've had some trouble finding big law firms in FL that specialize in these areas.
One option that I've considered is working in DC. I think it has reciprocity with all other states, so maybe I could take the FL bar and practice in DC for a year.
Another option is working in NY and then go back down to FL after my fiance graduates. Problem with this is having to take the NY bar one year, and the FL bar the next year (b/c FL has no reciprocity with any states ever). Also, NY is really expensive and I have a LOT of loans to pay off (I'd like to pay them off within a few years). And the hours will be killer, I'll never get to see the fiance.
A third option is to return to FL upon graduation. Drawback in this case is that I might end up stuck in an area of law I'm not particularly interested in and may receive suboptimal training as a first year associate (if i'm wrong on this, please let me know).
What should I do?
