How important is the name really?

[UChi2L]

Very strange to read this thread all morning then turn on We and see OP on "Unwrapping Macy's" registering for her wedding.

As for my $.02, you're going to have to pray that LSAT and undergrad GPA are accurate predictors of your success in law school (they're not all that accurate, but you could be lucky).  I transferred from a low T2 (with nearly the exact same reputation as Hofstra, in fact, I almost went there) to a top 10 law school and the difference in job opportunities was shocking. When you have 800 law firms rather than 20, how could it not be?  Kids at the bottom of the class at my new school are being aggressively recruited for incredible biglaw jobs all over the country and the world(where they do, in fact, often bill more than 3000 hours.  I know partners at the firm I summered at who break 3000 consistently, and I've met associates who have had 400-hour months).  Good clerkships are utterly impossible to get out of a low T2 or T3, no matter how stellar your grades are, who you know, or how many languages you speak.  Also, don't forget that while someone coming out of a lower-ranked school with lots of "other skills" does look better in interviews than a top-10 law student with zero personality, nobody can compete with a student with depth and character who graduates from a great school.  Your life will also be much easier not having to worry about being on every committee, journal, and moot court team.  And trust me, you won't.

You're not shut out of a possible career in biglaw, I have a close personal friend who graduated from Hofstra and got permanent full-time offers at Sullivan & Cromwell and Shearman, but he had a 4.0 cumulative GPA and was EIC of the Law Review.  I'm sure it happens -- it happened at my old school -- but you have a much better chance of landing a good job out of a good school than a T3, and (as you'll learn as you progress through law school) it's all about increasing your chance do to what you want to do, because nothing is guaranteed.

My advice: you MUST transfer after your first year unless you want to do government work or work at a "lifestyle" firm.  Don't even think twice about it.  The debt means very little coming out of a great law school with an ability to earn nearly $200K (all in).  Then again, based on your previous choices, it seems like you might want to reconsider biglaw.  If you want to be happy and if "soft factors" (read: anything other than money and prestige) mean anything to you, I wouldn't recommend biglaw.  It can be soul crushing.

Good luck with school (and your wedding)

[T. Durden]

the irony of all of this of couse is that within 8 years of having started at biglaw less than 1% of us will still actually be there....

[Budlaw]

the irony of all of this of couse is that within 8 years of having started at biglaw less than 1% of us will still actually be there....

Shhh!!!!! You need to keep that to yourself lest everyone over on the pre-law board should find out! Biglaw's the only way to go or stay according to them and half of everyone else on this board.

[T. Durden]

well i guess then i'd be remiss by "spilling" that biglaw attorneys maintain higher divorce rates than our U.S. Navy Seals.

oops!

damn i'm just ruining it for everyone aren't i

[RenaldoBalkman]

People always like to diss biglaw.  Too bad the criticism usually comes from those who have no biglaw work experience or are upset about getting dinged from screeners and callbacks.

[Budlaw]

People always like to diss biglaw.  Too bad the criticism usually comes from those who have no biglaw work experience or are upset about getting dinged from screeners and callbacks.

Guess I'll have to let you know how it is after next summer. 

[RenaldoBalkman]

People always like to diss biglaw.  Too bad the criticism usually comes from those who have no biglaw work experience or are upset about getting dinged from screeners and callbacks.

Guess I'll have to let you know how it is after next summer. 

Cool we can compare notes. 

There are a number of things about biglaw that aren't enviable.  But I hate it when I hear people who couldn't get a job talk about how they "didn't want to work biglaw anyway."

[T. Durden]

if by "dissing" you mean sharing some facts and statistics about the profession, then yes, i am dissing big law

but alas, like most who can, i will be there this summer and probably for a couple of years after graudation

i like to tell myself that i am victim of circumstance

[RenaldoBalkman]

if by "dissing" you mean sharing some facts and statistics about the profession, then yes, i am dissing big law

but alas, like most who can, i will be there this summer and probably for a couple of years after graudation

i like to tell myself that i am victim of circumstance

Cool congrats.  From some of your posts, I was under the impression that you didn't get a biglaw summer offer.

Getting a biglaw firm to practically pay for your 3rd year isn't too bad 

[Budlaw]

People always like to diss biglaw.  Too bad the criticism usually comes from those who have no biglaw work experience or are upset about getting dinged from screeners and callbacks.

Guess I'll have to let you know how it is after next summer. 

Cool we can compare notes. 

There are a number of things about biglaw that aren't enviable.  But I hate it when I hear people who couldn't get a job talk about how they "didn't want to work biglaw anyway."

I understand what you're saying. However, I personally hate to hear from so many people that Biglaw is the end all be all of the legal market. Most of us won't even start at biglaw or if we do, we'll be out of there within a few years. Don't get me wrong, biglaw is a great way to get your 3rd year of lawschool financed and also a way to pay off student loans. However, after those loans are gone, a lot of peoples priorities change.

Oh well....back to not studying.