Part-Time and BIGLAW

[Captain]

From another thread:

Probably.  After your first lateral, most of your job opportunities come from LS buddies calling you up and going "hey, we're working on X.  Want to join us?"  It's why networking matters -- and why the more buddies, the better. 

UVA is plenty big.  Georgetown's size is definitely an asset for establishing a wide alumni network, but first jobs are important in determining where you might be competitive as a future lateral hire.  UVA's better placement among top law firms nationally may mitigate the effects of having a smaller student body (and alumni base).

I'm not sure this is true in the way you need it to be for this to work.  IOW, I think it's a useful guideline at the the broader prestige brackets (e.g., V50 vs. V250), but not necessarily true within prestige brackets (e.g., V50).  Since the field I know the most about is health regulatory law, let's take that as an example.  For the best long-term options, it's much better to work at lower-ranked DC firms with good health groups, like Hogan & Hartson, than it is to work for some significantly more prestigious firms like Cravath.  Why?  Because they don't have a regulatory health practice worth mentioning, if they have one at all....

29% versus 22% is fairly significant, and would still place UVA ahead of GTown for placement.

See my comments about PTers: these firms don't hire them, so they shouldn't be included.  Remove them, and it's around 26-27% -- which isn't really significant.  

SO, my question is: if you go PT to a top law school, does it eliminate your chances of getting a BIGLAW job? If it is still possible, how much harder is it?

[BonesMcJones]

I imgaine its easier if you transfer to FT, which is generally not that hard.  Fordham and GW both make this easy to do and the standards are lower to get in.  GW goes so far as to encourage borderline students to apply PT while making it clear that transfer to FT is possible after the first semester (with summer classes).

[Above & Beyond]

Don't really understand why it would be harder to get a job in BIGLAW if you're in the PT program v. FT, especially if you're in a top school like GULC, GW, Fordham and possibly Cardozo.  The quality of the education for the school mentioned should be the same, as I believe that there is not a degradation in the quality of faculty.  The only issues in my opinion is whether you have the grades, timing of your summer internship (which ordinarily happens after your second year) and, if you have a job to complement your PT studies, whether you are willing to forgo your job to pursue the summer internship, with the intent to solicit a full time offer thereafter.  Of course, when you receive an offer of admissions from the schools, you should ask questions about the respective career services offices, and whether they provide the same services to PT and FT students alike.

But your original question may be better suited to current PT students in their second and third years (those who haven't transferred to the FT program).  You should post this question on the Students & Graduates board.

[lovelyavocado]

take the june exam.

i was signed up to take it, but came off a really hectic ridiculous semester and thought it'd be easier to swing the september exam -- i did fieldwork + internship in malaysia over the summer, and thought i could balance that w/ studying for the LSAT. hellllllllll no

so september was insane, and i dedicated my life to the LSAT for 30 days, and totally missed out on a fun part of my senior year (and didn't score as high as i'd like, either)

moral of story: crank it out for june!

[BonesMcJones]

What if you don't intend to transfer to FT -- and you're applying to PT not because of a perceived easier time getting in but because you have a job?

PT and working year-round will hurt your ability to get a summer position, which will in turn hurt your BIGLAW prospects.

[Barney]

PT won't, in and of itself, hurt your employment prospects. However, you do set yourself up to make mistakes along the way that will.

If you're doing PT because you have a decent job, that's providing you with worthwhile work experience, you're ok.  As a rule, if you'd keep the job on your resume when you're seeking your second post-LS legal job, it's worthwhile.

If you're doing PT and you're willing to put in the effort to make connections, to network and find the leads you need to build a career (without the traditional summer associate opportunities) you'll be fine.

If you're doing PT because you don't have the credentials to get admitted full time, because you think the FT workload might be too difficult, or because you just like to spend your days playing video games, you should reconsider. Employers aren't stupid, and nobody wants to hire these people.

[WeeSqueak]

Also many PT students at places like G-Town or GW work as law clerks in local firms and make some great connections that way that translate into FT enmployment after law schoo.  I work at a V100 in DC and this is true at my firm.