Which florida school?

[yykm]

personally, i'd judge based on cost so would choose UF, FSU, UMiami in that order.

If youre a non-resident, the cost becomes trivial.  (What's a few grand here or there once you're in the 40k range?)  However, FL residency doesnt seem to be too difficult to obtain if you jump through the loops, so your cost argument should hold true.

[gop29403]

i go to stetson and i'll tell you go wherever you want to go.  visit them all and go on where you are comfortable.  no matter where you go you'll get a job.  i'm in the top 1/3 at stetson and i've had no problem interviewing with firms and clerking and the such.  people at UF do like to act like unless you go to UF you're not getting a job and you're not going to be able to get a job.  that's entirely untrue.  if you're a hard worker and can sell yourself you'll get a good job.  it's mostly about who you know.  i've talked with partners in several big firms in florida and south carolina and georgia.  i asked each does it really matter where you go to school.  and they all told me to some extent someone who goes to UF and is top 10% will get interviewed over someone who goes to florida coastal and is top 10%.  uf, miami, fsu, and stetson are all respected around the state.  the my current boss told me straight up i really don't give a *&^% if someone went to florida or whereever.  he said you're top 1/3 at stetson and i would hire you 10/10 times over someone who comes in expecting a job b/c they went to florida.  once you get to interviews they don't care what school you went to they care about if they could see themselves working with you for the next 5-10 years and if you seem like you are going to work your ass off for them.  again pick where you're happy.  if you need help deciding talk to someone who is in a big firm in florida. don't ask law students they're all going to see their own school and talk down the other ones to make themselves feel better about getting a job after school.

[Butters Stotch]

personally, i'd judge based on cost so would choose UF, FSU, UMiami in that order.

If youre a non-resident, the cost becomes trivial.  (What's a few grand here or there once you're in the 40k range?)  However, FL residency doesnt seem to be too difficult to obtain if you jump through the loops, so your cost argument should hold true.

The talk here is that the FL legislature is considering making it much harder to establish FL residency for tuition purposes, though as of this writing I don't think they've taken action.

There's a big to-do over tuition costs here as well.  A former governor and senator is suing the state over who has the right to determine tuition costs.  A lot may change over the next year or two.  http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070707/CAPITOLNEWS/707070326/1010/NEWS01

[cui bono?]

St. Thomas and Nova are other options but they aren't that respected

i go to stetson and i'll tell you go wherever you want to go.  visit them all and go on where you are comfortable.  no matter where you go you'll get a job.  i'm in the top 1/3 at stetson and i've had no problem interviewing with firms and clerking and the such.  people at UF do like to act like unless you go to UF you're not getting a job and you're not going to be able to get a job.  that's entirely untrue.  if you're a hard worker and can sell yourself you'll get a good job.  it's mostly about who you know.  i've talked with partners in several big firms in florida and south carolina and georgia.  i asked each does it really matter where you go to school.  and they all told me to some extent someone who goes to UF and is top 10% will get interviewed over someone who goes to florida coastal and is top 10%.  uf, miami, fsu, and stetson are all respected around the state.  the my current boss told me straight up i really don't give a sh*t if someone went to florida or whereever.  he said you're top 1/3 at stetson and i would hire you 10/10 times over someone who comes in expecting a job b/c they went to florida.  once you get to interviews they don't care what school you went to they care about if they could see themselves working with you for the next 5-10 years and if you seem like you are going to work your ass off for them.  again pick where you're happy.  if you need help deciding talk to someone who is in a big firm in florida. don't ask law students they're all going to see their own school and talk down the other ones to make themselves feel better about getting a job after school.

[LittleRussianPrincess, Esq.]

i go to stetson and i'll tell you go wherever you want to go.  visit them all and go on where you are comfortable.  no matter where you go you'll get a job.  i'm in the top 1/3 at stetson and i've had no problem interviewing with firms and clerking and the such.  people at UF do like to act like unless you go to UF you're not getting a job and you're not going to be able to get a job.  that's entirely untrue.  if you're a hard worker and can sell yourself you'll get a good job.  it's mostly about who you know.  i've talked with partners in several big firms in florida and south carolina and georgia.  i asked each does it really matter where you go to school.  and they all told me to some extent someone who goes to UF and is top 10% will get interviewed over someone who goes to florida coastal and is top 10%.  uf, miami, fsu, and stetson are all respected around the state.  the my current boss told me straight up i really don't give a *&^% if someone went to florida or whereever.  he said you're top 1/3 at stetson and i would hire you 10/10 times over someone who comes in expecting a job b/c they went to florida.  once you get to interviews they don't care what school you went to they care about if they could see themselves working with you for the next 5-10 years and if you seem like you are going to work your ass off for them.  again pick where you're happy.  if you need help deciding talk to someone who is in a big firm in florida. don't ask law students they're all going to see their own school and talk down the other ones to make themselves feel better about getting a job after school.

let me preface this by saying that i think stetson is a fine school, especially for trial attorneys. it was my home away from home for my last semester of law school as i was doing an externship in the tampa area and was using stetson facilities to work on my writing requirement. i found the students there to be bright and motivated.

that said, i think that you are providing people with misleading information when you say that a stetson student is on equal footing with a florida or fsu student when it comes to getting a job in florida biglaw. that's simply not true and while i can't argue with you about your personal experience, i don't think you are doing anyone here a favor by trying to sell your experience as the general trend.  the reality is being even top 10% at stetson doesn't guarantee you biglaw. ANYWHERE. and while certain partners for whatever reason may prefer stetson students, if you do a simple search of attorneys at major florida firms, even tampa firms, like holland and knight, carlton fields, etc., you will find far more fsu and florida alums than stetson ones and i promise you that's not because stetson alums don't want those jobs.

if a person already has connections with a firm prior to law school and are virtually guaranteed a job on the basis of those connections, you are right; there's no reason to go somewhere based on just rank. however rank plays a huge part in getting your foot in the door for an interview.

hell if you don't believe me (and you probably shouldn't), just do your own research and check the employment stats of the various florida schools. i assure you that there is a substantial discrepancy in placement there.

[queencruella]

The reality of the matter is that top 10% at any Florida school isn't going to guarantee you biglaw. I know plenty of people at UF who say that you may get OCI interviews if you are top 10% but even then the callbacks may be few and far between.

[LittleRussianPrincess, Esq.]

The reality of the matter is that top 10% at any Florida school isn't going to guarantee you biglaw. I know plenty of people at UF who say that you may get OCI interviews if you are top 10% but even then the callbacks may be few and far between.

that's likely correct. however it is an absolute fact that the top 10% at florida has a better shot than the top 10% at stetson.

[stevensjunk]

This may be a little off topic, but if someone was not considering a BIGLAW job, and wanted to work for the government or a small firm, how important is the school? does rank within the school mean more?

[yykm]

While I'm transferring out of UF, top 10% meets the reqts for all OCI firms, except the IP ones.  I know several top 10% students who have biglaw SA jobs as 1Ls.  If you want biglaw and are top 10% at UF, you can get biglaw.  The only reason anyone in the top 10% doesnt get biglaw is due to choice or doing something stupid.

NOTE: the biglaw I described doesnt include biglaw in the major markets - NYC, DC, LA, SF, Chicago.  Therefore, obtaining a biglaw position at one of the firm's smaller offices is available.

[queencruella]

While I'm transferring out of UF, top 10% meets the reqts for all OCI firms, except the IP ones.  I know several top 10% students who have biglaw SA jobs as 1Ls.  If you want biglaw and are top 10% at UF, you can get biglaw.  The only reason anyone in the top 10% doesnt get biglaw is due to choice or doing something stupid.

NOTE: the biglaw I described doesnt include biglaw in the major markets - NYC, DC, LA, SF, Chicago.  Therefore, obtaining a biglaw position at one of the firm's smaller offices is available.

Firms choose you for OCI, so even if you are top 10% it doesn't mean you're going to get the interview or the callback. I also know several students there who say that their group of friends who are in the top 10% didn't have the same luck you mentioned.