Touro to...some other place in NY

[MikePing]

On the same note see what Touro's schedule is, go into Touro's career service office and see what is going on with them. The real thing to consider is that very few students at non T-14 schools get employment through OCI anyway. Even if there are actually 80 employers coming to Brooklyn for OCI, I find it unlikely that all 80 firms actually hire someone through OCI. A firm coming in for interviews often is nothing more than professional courtesy, and some firms have no intention of hiring anyone, but they show up as a favor to the school.

One way to test this would be to identify OCI employers and then check their website.  Most of the major firms allow you to search attorneys by law school.  The smaller ones are not time consuming to go through the individuals. 

Focus on associates, not partners.  That will usually give you people who are out of school less than 10 years. 

[bigs5068]

Yea search law firms websites as MikePing suggests and e-mail some of the people that went to Touro or Brooklyn and ask what there experience was. Most people will be friendly and lawyers generally like to talk particularly about themselves and they will give you feedback. Some will not, but most will and they will be friendly about it.  Some state bar websites allow you to search members by law school. I know Nevada does this and e-mail some people that are out working in the real and ask how Brooklyn or Touro ended up for them. http://www.nvbar.org/findalawyer2.asp I don't know what other states let you search by law school, but I am sure there are some out there. There are not many Brooklyn or Touro Grads in Nevada, but there are a few contacts.

Be careful with these blanket numbers of OCI employers that a school lists, etc a major part of law school administrative work is manipulating statistics. Having 80 people come to interview, but not hiring anybody is not much help to you or any other student. Or if they hire people in unpaid positions again not much help. Certainly not worth paying 100k more for. Whether you graduate from Touro or Brooklyn or any ABA school you can have a successful career, but you should be careful with how much you spend.

[lawschoolFyeah]

Thanks for the advice.  I emailed some people at a couple of the Big Law firms in NYC.  Hopefully that will give me a clearer picture of what the market is like.  However, a couple of the firms didn't even have Touro listed as a search criteria  womp

[bigs5068]

Well if Biglaw is your sole goal for going to law school then go to Brooklyn. That changes everything, because Touro Grads, NYLS, Pace, don't even really have a shot at BIG LAW. There will be exceptions to that, but I would think most Big Law firms don't look to tier 4 schools. You can get a job in government, mid-size, small firm etc, but if your goal is to work at White & Case or a firm of similar caliber then Brooklyn will give you a shot albeit a small one at Big Law. If you want to be a lawyer D.A., P.D., Assistant City Attorney, or work in a small to mid-size firm then Touro will suit your needs better and not cost near as much.

Basically if you really really want Big Law and know what that entails then Brooklyn might be worth. Just know it is a huge gamble to pay all that money and have a 15-20% chance at Big Law from Brooklyn, and it is possible you will hate the Big Law Environment.

[the white rabbit]

It depends on how you define "Big Law" exactly, but 15-20% is almost certainly optimistic in terms of chances for Big Law out of law school.  I'd say single digits is more likely.

[lawschoolFyeah]

Touro's expensive tuition and abysmal job prospects make it a school that all applicants should avoid. Even if one is lucky enough to be one of the few that receives a full ride, attending another school will undoubtedly be better for one's career prospects.

This worries me.  Top law schools don't have a dog in the hunt, they are trying to help students decide.  Moreover, jumping from Touro to BLS is not jumping from 7th to 5th.  Touro, after Brooklyn, is also considered worse than SJU, Hofstra, Pace, NYLS, Albany, SUNY Buffalo, Rutgers, Seton Hall, and arguably CUNY Queens (in terms of schools primarily feeding the NYC job market).  Its a sizable leap.

Additionally, I could really care less about "big law".  As a matter of fact, I don't think I would enjoy it at all.  However, I have spoken to Touro grads who speak of a stigma attached to people coming out of Touro, regardless of rank.  They that Touro grads cant get A job, let alone a great job.  I don't care if my starting salary isn't 160k or if I am working with blue chip companies.  I do care if my degree commands a modicum of respect in the legal community

[bigs5068]

Things like that are generally written by people that never took the LSAT yet alone spent one day in a law school classroom. Always question the source of the information and remember those who know the least know it the loudest. I don't think anyone is arguing Touro is some great school. In the New York area I think Touro is the least respected school, but honestly if an employer was going to look at a resume from St. John's, Pace, Seton Hall, etc I don' tsee why they would see why they wouldn't look at a resume from Touro.   

As I understand it in New York the local rank of schools is
1. NYU
2. Columbia
3. Fordham
4. Cardozo
5. Brooklyn
6. St. Johns.
7. Rutgers
8. Hofstra
9. NYLS
10. CUNY
11. Pace
12 . Touro
I am probably missing a few schools, but as you can see New York is not not lacking law schools not to mention people from Harvard, Yale, Cornell, UCLA, Berkeley, Georgetown, etc want to move to New York. Some employers will only look at TOP SCHOOLS. Brooklyn is not a TOP SCHOOL. If It is probably 5th I might be wrong on that list, but realistically if a firm is going to look at a resume from Brooklyn, or NYLS I don't see why they wouldn't look at Touro. Again, I could be wrong, I just don't see Brooklyn opening enough doors to be worth 100,000 more in tuition/living expenses. Especially if you do not want to work in Big Law.



 Honestly, it is a difficult choice, but don't take quotes like that seriously. Honestly, talk to 3L's at Touro or recent grads, e-mail firms in the area, tell them what is on your mind. I truthfully don't know much more than the person that posted the quote.  I am a second year law student in San Francisco, who certainly doesn't have the answers. The only people you should really give any consideration to are graduates from Touro and Brooklyn, because they can give you REAL answers. Not speculation and bold statements. Random internet sites like this or top law schools are not what you should base a life altering decision on. Nobody that has posted really knows anything about Touro or Brooklyn law school includign myself. I walked by Brooklyn Law School a few times and the outside did not impress me, but that is me a random guy on the internet subjective view regarding the school's aesthetics and it might be an AWESOME school. The only people that really know whats up are current Brooklyn students and people that do hiring in the New York area.

[imtoocoolforschool]

How do you put NYU before Columbia. And also forget Cornell for NY state? Similarly, Fordham is not transfer friendly, OP as you won't even be able to participate in OCI. FYI.

Things like that are generally written by people that never took the LSAT yet alone spent one day in a law school classroom. Always question the source of the information and remember those who know the least know it the loudest. I don't think anyone is arguing Touro is some great school. In the New York area I think Touro is the least respected school, but honestly if an employer was going to look at a resume from St. John's, Pace, Seton Hall, etc I don' tsee why they would see why they wouldn't look at a resume from Touro.   

As I understand it in New York the local rank of schools is
1. NYU
2. Columbia
3. Fordham
4. Cardozo
5. Brooklyn
6. St. Johns.
7. Rutgers
8. Hofstra
9. NYLS
10. CUNY
11. Pace
12 . Touro
I am probably missing a few schools, but as you can see New York is not not lacking law schools not to mention people from Harvard, Yale, Cornell, UCLA, Berkeley, Georgetown, etc want to move to New York. Some employers will only look at TOP SCHOOLS. Brooklyn is not a TOP SCHOOL. If It is probably 5th I might be wrong on that list, but realistically if a firm is going to look at a resume from Brooklyn, or NYLS I don't see why they wouldn't look at Touro. Again, I could be wrong, I just don't see Brooklyn opening enough doors to be worth 100,000 more in tuition/living expenses. Especially if you do not want to work in Big Law.



 Honestly, it is a difficult choice, but don't take quotes like that seriously. Honestly, talk to 3L's at Touro or recent grads, e-mail firms in the area, tell them what is on your mind. I truthfully don't know much more than the person that posted the quote.  I am a second year law student in San Francisco, who certainly doesn't have the answers. The only people you should really give any consideration to are graduates from Touro and Brooklyn, because they can give you REAL answers. Not speculation and bold statements. Random internet sites like this or top law schools are not what you should base a life altering decision on. Nobody that has posted really knows anything about Touro or Brooklyn law school includign myself. I walked by Brooklyn Law School a few times and the outside did not impress me, but that is me a random guy on the internet subjective view regarding the school's aesthetics and it might be an AWESOME school. The only people that really know whats up are current Brooklyn students and people that do hiring in the New York area.

[bigs5068]

I didn't say it was a perfect list and yea Cornell is really good. I am a San Francisco law student and far from an expert on what goes on in New York. My point was Brooklyn or Touro will not compete with NYU, Colombia, Cornell, Fordham, etc. In my opinion, which is not an expert one it would not be worth it to the OP to spend 100k to transfer from Touro to Brooklyn.

[politicolaw]

I believe the recruiting/oci data website that was being mentioned is the NALP site. its nalpdirectory.org

Lists OCI, firm profiles, etc.