Law School Discussion

I don't feel I need to defend my genuineness, but there is truth to my original rant and my intention (beyond bitching my frustrations) is for people to truly do their homework before applying to law school. But to address Botbot....

 

• Winter graduation means OP had to either withdraw a semester or fail multiple classes... (Tulane only offers full time and does not charge by the credit hour)

Correct, I dropped out for a semester due to a family tragedy.

• OP already knows the billable hours and pay of a firm he hasn't interviewed for

As I said before, I used Tulane's reciprocity agreement with SMU Law and applied to the firm from their job posting. Botbot ask OCD about the BYU job posting website, Tulane has reciprocity with most law schools if you don't believe me. The firm listed their minimum billable requirement at 170/month (so really about 2040/year).

• OP found a firm that takes "applications"

Again, it came from SMU.

• OP doesn't understand Dallas mass transit

Yes I do as I am from here. There is the DART, but most of the non-biglaw firms are not near a DART station. I can take the bus, but as I remembered it in high school, the buses were always behind schedule.

• Even Dallas PI/ID firms don't require 2000+ billables

I am not familiar with the PI/ID firms here, but I know of a couple of firms requiring 2000+ billables beyond the firm I applied to including Bicker & Brewer and Barron & Budd

• OP had BIGTEX and now works at Starbucks

Unfortunately this is correct, however I was not a biglaw firm but at a specialty boutique firm. I only applied to Starbucks in addition to my bartender job because I thought it would only be temporary (plus I could work part-time while I was studying for the bar). No job materialized since the bar, so I am sticking with Starbucks until something comes up.

• OP makes no mention of severance or post termination assistance (BIGTEX firms offer fantastic assistance to the people they lay off to preserve their name)

Again, not bigtex but I did have a severance (hence using my savings to pay off my loans). However, since I never started working as an associate at the firm, my severance package was only for one month's salary.


[/list][/list][/list][/list][/list][/list][/list]

OK, I fixed the subject line....again my intention was not to refer to my school as a TTT or even blame my school. Mainly it is my rant on the economy and some bad assumptions on my part before going to law school.

Y'all can assume flame all you want. I only mentioned Tulane by name to give perspective to people who are applying to schools ranked lower than Tulane. I would also recommend that people go to schools who want to practice in the same region/city. I'm sure that if I went to a school like SMU or Houston I would be in a better position with someone similarly ranked.

But if Botbot has suggestions, I am all ears. I have even emailed Tulane grads asking for advice (as recommended by OCD) but I haven't received any responses.     

It is hard to get those kind of jobs with a law degree because they know that you are only doing it for a short time. Jobs like starbucks are easier to get because they don't care if you aren't going to stay with them long term.

I graduated top third and with honors from Tulane Law School in December and I am still unemployed. I moved to Dallas in January, but the firm I worked for during the summer laid me off (with other attorneys). I already passed the Texas bar in February but I still can't find a legal job. Currently I am working at Starbucks and at a bar to pay rent and my $2000/month student loans. I want to work at a law firm or some other legal part-time job but there is nothing available - not even contract jobs. I am going to have to start selling my personal possessions on Ebay because I am falling behind on my credit card payments and about to deplete all of my savings. Plus I have to go to a coffee shop with free WiFi to post this stuff on Ebay because I can no longer afford internet or cable. I just submitted my application to a small law firm in a town outside of Dallas that pays $40K/year with no benefits and has a 2100 billable hours/year requirement (which means I will be working for less than $15/hour when you factor in actual hours worked).

I am just posting this as a rant because I thought that graduating with honors from a tier one school would open doors, not close them. I went from working at a firm paying six figures to working at Starbucks. To law school applicants, consider the worst case scenario (i.e. unemployed) before choosing a law school (especially if you have to take out loans). Even if a law school has an average starting salary of $100K/year, the only jobs outside the big law firms pay less than $50K/year. What really sucks is that my 10 year high school reunion is coming up and I will be either unemployed or getting paid less than the high school dropouts who are plumbers. Even if I get the $40K/year job, I might have to sell my car and start using the bus (which sucks in Dallas) because I can't afford the gas and insurance.