University of Wisconsin, Class of '11

[HippieLawChick]

MILWAUKEE has tons and tons of alums from Marquette, and they don't consider those students to be less than UW's at all.  I am sure your 6 months of law school have taught you a lot, but they haven't informed you about how to NOT run your mouth off without some facts to back you up.  Consult a hiring partner who went to Marquette at any medium sized firm in Milwaukee, and you will find that there is no hesitation to hire Marquette grads.

My father is a partner for a mid law firm in Milwaukee (UW grad), my uncle is a partner (involved in hiring) for one of the few big law firms in Milwaukee (Marquette grad), my grandfather was a partner at a big law firm in Milwaukee for 25 years (Marquette grad).  My mother, while not a lawyer, works in placement for a major midwest law school.  My Aunt is a senior associate at mid law firm in Milwaukee (Marquette grad).

The one thing they ALL say:  UW students are much more highly recruited.  Period.  It's actually not that easy to get UW students to move to Milwaukee.  Most want to stay in Madison or move away.  I grew up in Milwaukee and completely understand why.  Hiring partners aren't stupid and their egos aren't big enough to want a less intelligent Marquette grad over a UW grad (no, that's not a blanket statement that all Marquette grads are stupid).  No one is offended by it, it's just a reality.  Are there more positions held by Marquette students in Milwaukee?  Probably... in the same way there are more positions held by Cooley students in Lansing. 

Marquette grads recognize the huge difference in the incoming class.  It's not like the GPA/LSAT profiles are similar or the schools are closely ranked.  If Marquette was ranked #60 or something (thus having higher scores), they probably would be close to equal in terms of recruiting in Milwaukee.  But again, it's not even close.  Firms see this and want the best students they can get.  A near T3 school graduate can't compete with a mid T1 school graduate (1.5 hours away) of the same class ranking in the T3's home town.

I actually know many partners in firms in and around Milwaukee (many are Marquette grads).  Marquette is certainly considered a good school by them and they'd prefer hiring them over some other higher ranked, but non-local schools.  But everyone is in agreement that Marquette doesn't compete with UW.  It's common sense.  You act like someone intelligent enough to make partner is so blinded by law school loyalty that he wouldn't take a better applicant from a nearby school.  I know that when I get my UW degree, if I stay in Madison, I wouldn't think twice about hiring a Northwestern or U of C student over a UW student with a similar class rank (outside of the top 10% or so).  It's a better school with smarter students.

EDIT:  and I apologize about the football comment.

Nice!



Well, as far as I am concerned, I can tell you that my mileage varies here.  I have been disappointed many times when doing informational interviews all over Milwaukee. However, I can tell you that I concentrated on public interest, gov't and smaller employers.  I can also say that if you go to Marquette, I highly recommend you stay in Milwaukee.  The word on the street is that you have a better chance there.

[XxWaitlistedxX]

i'm not sure, but at the ASW it seemed like it was very tough to get in-state unless you'd been there for a while beforehand or you're married and your spouse is going to be working.

I will be married and both my spouse and I would be working for a year.

[Vietnow]

If that's the case, I would say you could make a pretty strong case for in state tuition. Which is one of the major factors in my decision to stay at UW.

Earlier comments about the difficulty of getting in state tuition at UW are right on though. I have a friend who spent four years at UW for undergrad (out of state) and doesn't think he'll get in state tuition for law school. Ahhh sometimes it's awesome to be from Wisconsin...

[nikos13]

MILWAUKEE has tons and tons of alums from Marquette, and they don't consider those students to be less than UW's at all.  I am sure your 6 months of law school have taught you a lot, but they haven't informed you about how to NOT run your mouth off without some facts to back you up.  Consult a hiring partner who went to Marquette at any medium sized firm in Milwaukee, and you will find that there is no hesitation to hire Marquette grads.

My father is a partner for a mid law firm in Milwaukee (UW grad), my uncle is a partner (involved in hiring) for one of the few big law firms in Milwaukee (Marquette grad), my grandfather was a partner at a big law firm in Milwaukee for 25 years (Marquette grad).  My mother, while not a lawyer, works in placement for a major midwest law school.  My Aunt is a senior associate at mid law firm in Milwaukee (Marquette grad).

The one thing they ALL say:  UW students are much more highly recruited.  Period.  It's actually not that easy to get UW students to move to Milwaukee.  Most want to stay in Madison or move away.  I grew up in Milwaukee and completely understand why.  Hiring partners aren't stupid and their egos aren't big enough to want a less intelligent Marquette grad over a UW grad (no, that's not a blanket statement that all Marquette grads are stupid).  No one is offended by it, it's just a reality.  Are there more positions held by Marquette students in Milwaukee?  Probably... in the same way there are more positions held by Cooley students in Lansing. 

Marquette grads recognize the huge difference in the incoming class.  It's not like the GPA/LSAT profiles are similar or the schools are closely ranked.  If Marquette was ranked #60 or something (thus having higher scores), they probably would be close to equal in terms of recruiting in Milwaukee.  But again, it's not even close.  Firms see this and want the best students they can get.  A near T3 school graduate can't compete with a mid T1 school graduate (1.5 hours away) of the same class ranking in the T3's home town.

I actually know many partners in firms in and around Milwaukee (many are Marquette grads).  Marquette is certainly considered a good school by them and they'd prefer hiring them over some other higher ranked, but non-local schools.  But everyone is in agreement that Marquette doesn't compete with UW.  It's common sense.  You act like someone intelligent enough to make partner is so blinded by law school loyalty that he wouldn't take a better applicant from a nearby school.  I know that when I get my UW degree, if I stay in Madison, I wouldn't think twice about hiring a Northwestern or U of C student over a UW student with a similar class rank (outside of the top 10% or so).  It's a better school with smarter students.

EDIT:  and I apologize about the football comment.

Nice!



Well, as far as I am concerned, I can tell you that my mileage varies here.  I have been disappointed many times when doing informational interviews all over Milwaukee. However, I can tell you that I concentrated on public interest, gov't and smaller employers.  I can also say that if you go to Marquette, I highly recommend you stay in Milwaukee.  The word on the street is that you have a better chance there.

By being disappointed, you mean that you've found it hard for UW grads to find employment in Milwaukee? I'm interested in that prospect so any thoughts would be appreciated, thanks!

[HippieLawChick]

No!  I was disappointed that Marquette got so much love from people there, compared to UW, which ranks much higher and is so well-respected comparatively everywhere else in the country.  I was hoping to hear "Wow - UW Law School!"

Instead, I heard, "Great, UW Law is a good school.  So is Marquette"

As for the in-state tuition thing: I have a friend who has been fighting for in-state tuition for 2 years.  She moved to WI 2 years before law school and had 2 children in the state, but they kept telling her she wasn't eligible.

Don't count on getting in state unless you had connections with Wisconsin before you applied for law school.  They can be really tough with this.

[nikos13]

I suppose that there are just so many Marquette grads in hiring positions in Milwaukee, that the idea of it being equal to UW is built into some of those firms?

Could be bad news for UW grads who want to work in Milwaukee?

[lsatarist]

I suppose that there are just so many Marquette grads in hiring positions in Milwaukee, that the idea of it being equal to UW is built into some of those firms?

Could be bad news for UW grads who want to work in Milwaukee?

I'd still take Wisconsin everyday of the week and twice on Sunday... and I am!

For Wisconsin Law 2011 attendees: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10616305996

[lsatarist]

How is the housing hunt going for you guys? I am still looking for places.

[geelpiet42]

I lucked out and have friends who live in Madison who took care of that for me.  I think the primarily used Craigslist and madisonrent.com.  Do you know what neighborhood you'd like to live in?

[El_Che]

I've been following those as well. It's certainly a scary set of events (3 unsolved killings near the campus in the past year), but I don't think that it should discourage anyone from attending. Overall, Madison still has a very low crime rate I'm guessing (although I don't have the stats in front of me) that Madison's crime rate is lower than both Minneapolis and Seattle. Being from Mpls, I can say that the crime is fairly low here, provided you're not caught up with gangs, drugs, etc. But I would imagine Madison is just as low, if not lower. It pays to be extra cautious when something like this is happening, but I don't think it should dissuade you from attending all together.