prestige over money or money over prestige

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

The O/P could go to Cornell, then apply for an LRAP through a non-profit, if that's her thing. If she wants to go straight into big law in New York City, Rutgers might not be too bad. NYC people know Rutgers (as evidenced by the Burning Sands.) Big Law anywhere else will require the Cornell name on the C.V.

agreed

[jfields32]

Burning Sands, I am currently looking into Rutgers Camden and wanted to know what percentage in your class would be needed for big law? Does being URM help at all(don't think so)?

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

Burning Sands, I am currently looking into Rutgers Camden and wanted to know what percentage in your class would be needed for big law? Does being URM help at all(don't think so)?

I went to Rutgers Newark so I can't speak too much for Camden, although the two are pretty similar with the key difference being Philly market (Camden) v New York market (Newark).

To give you an idea, we (Newark) had the following out of a class of approx 250 last year:

40% - Law Firms
30% - Clerking
10% - Business
10% - Fed/State/Local Government/Prosecutors
5% - Public Interest
5% - Academia


Like I said, Camden is pretty similar.  They also had a class of about 250 and had the following last year:

40% - Clerking
35% - Law Firms
10% - Business
10% - Fed/State/Local Government/Prosecutors
2% - Public Interest
2% - Academia



As far as URM status and law firms, not so much.  Firms have a pecking order that goes like this:

#1 criteria - Your Connections (if any)
#2 criteria - Your Grades
#3 criteria - Your Law Review status

...[distance]...

#4 criteria - Other Journal status or Moot Court status

...[HUGE GRAND CANYON distance]....


#5 criteria - Everything else (competitions, involvements, URM status, teaching assistant, etc.)



If you don't have those top 3 factors then its pretty much a cold game out there if you're trying to do Biglaw.  They can be pretty snobby about their *&^%.  The irony is, its really not that necessary.  If you're competent enough to graduate from law school and pass the bar then you're competent enough to do the work I see on a daily basis.  The only reason firms get so hung up on all the titles of nobility are for the sake of appearance to the clients. Unfortunately, that's the game we have to play to get here.  Once you're here, nobody cares anymore.  Kinda like your LSAT score after you get into law school.   

[Muhammad Ali]

bi-weekly tax = $2,501.68

Monthly Tax = $5,003.36


Also, remember this is just tax.  You still have your health insurance and your 401k which will vary depending on what you want.

 

That's... unbelievable.  Your mentioning of connections, how's that work?  Can we build them in law school or is that the Good Ol' Boy phenomenon I've been hearing about?  I mean, I don't have any lawyers in my family and I'm sure I'm not alone.

[Burning Sands, Esq.]

bi-weekly tax = $2,501.68

Monthly Tax = $5,003.36


Also, remember this is just tax.  You still have your health insurance and your 401k which will vary depending on what you want.

 

That's... unbelievable.  Your mentioning of connections, how's that work?  Can we build them in law school or is that the Good Ol' Boy phenomenon I've been hearing about?  I mean, I don't have any lawyers in my family and I'm sure I'm not alone.

Absolutely you can and should build as many connections as possible in law school!!!   The good ol' boy phenomenon exists at every school, some are worse than others.  The trick is to get one of the good ol' boys to vouch for you and then you are good money.

Connections are everywhere.  You just have to find the right ones.  This is where school placement comes into play.   Your school, in and of itself, can be a "connection" if you're in the so-called "top 14."  In addition, the faculty at Harvard, Yale, NYU, etc. have MAD connections.  So many connections that it just becomes commonplace to send their graduates to XYZ judge or XYZ firm every year.  For the middle tiered schools, the connections are there as well but obviously not in the same quantity as the upper tiered institutions.  Nevertheless, the connections are there all the same.

Regardless of what school or tier you end up at, it has connections.  You need to seek them out and use them to your advantage.  If you go through 3 years of law school and don't have so much as a single professor who knows your name then something is wrong!  In fact, I submit that in that scenario you've missed the whole point of professional school entirely! 


Case in point, I got my job through a series of connections that started with one of my study partners during 1L.  After orientation hit and the dust settled, you could see who the active law students were going to be vs. the ones who were just there for the ride.  The study partner in question and I both joined SBA as 1L's and were cool from there on forward.  He happened to snag a Federal externship with a judge, and when he was done, he put me on for the following semester.  He had done such a good job for the judge that when he gave the judge my name and I went in to interview, my interview took all of 60 seconds.  The judge basically said, "So you know [my boy's name]?  Great.  So when can you start?"   I kid you not.

I got in there the following semester and made sure I handled my business for the judge cause I didn't want to make my buddy look bad for recommending me. Plus the judge was a good guy and somebody who I still talk to till this day for adivce.  Anyway, long story short, I did a good job for the judge, he had a connect with the firm I'm at now which got me in the door for an interview, I made sure I did my thing in the interview and the rest is history.  Although several firms interview at my school every year for OCI, this particular firm did not, so basically my judge got me an interview that I probably could not have gotten otherwise.


All that to say - connections ya'll.  Worth their weight in gold.

[LHL]

I have a question that I don't feel merits a whole new thread but might go a little bit with this one.  Would it be stupid to take a full scholly at U of Houston over UT with 1/2 scholarship or even no money?  Thanks to anyone that answers.

[Special Agent Dana Scully]

I have a question that I don't feel merits a whole new thread but might go a little bit with this one.  Would it be stupid to take a full scholly at U of Houston over UT with 1/2 scholarship or even no money?  Thanks to anyone that answers.

if UT is giving you a half ride, then yes, it would be stupid.  if UT isn't giving you any money...then, yea, it may still be stupid.

are you trying to practice in texas?

[Muhammad Ali]

Burning Sands, thanks for that information, man.  Much appreciated.

[LHL]

I have a question that I don't feel merits a whole new thread but might go a little bit with this one.  Would it be stupid to take a full scholly at U of Houston over UT with 1/2 scholarship or even no money?  Thanks to anyone that answers.

if UT is giving you a half ride, then yes, it would be stupid.  if UT isn't giving you any money...then, yea, it may still be stupid.

are you trying to practice in texas?

My preference may change in the future but at the moment, I'm pretty bent on practicing in Texas.  UT did give me 1/2 tuition, it's just that with deposit deadlines approaching, I started freaking out about accummulating debt at UT when I could've gone to a couple of schools for free.  I just didn't wanna make a decision that I'm going to regret.

[Special Agent Dana Scully]

I have a question that I don't feel merits a whole new thread but might go a little bit with this one.  Would it be stupid to take a full scholly at U of Houston over UT with 1/2 scholarship or even no money?  Thanks to anyone that answers.

if UT is giving you a half ride, then yes, it would be stupid.  if UT isn't giving you any money...then, yea, it may still be stupid.

are you trying to practice in texas?

My preference may change in the future but at the moment, I'm pretty bent on practicing in Texas.  UT did give me 1/2 tuition, it's just that with deposit deadlines approaching, I started freaking out about accummulating debt at UT when I could've gone to a couple of schools for free.  I just didn't wanna make a decision that I'm going to regret.

if there is any possibility that you may change your mind about getting out of Texas, then you should definitely go to UT.  furthermore, even if you end up staying in Texas, the UT name is stronger and firms will dig deeper in the class than they would from UH.