Case Western '10!

[Pops]

Case apparently does at least one kinda sleazy thing: according to that student, they'll employ people for like 2 weeks in the summer for "research" or something like that, if they don't have another job lined up, solely for the purpose of padding their employment stats.

That should probably be a bit of a red flag in and of itself, but from what I've heard, if you do well, you can probably find SOME kind of employment in the legal field.

This is a very common thing, even at more prestigious schools (NYU I believe is the one people mention on these boards a lot) so I wouldnt worry about it too much. 

Its like most things, if you do well you'll be fine.  If you struggle in school, you will probably struggle finding a job, or more likely, a job in the area you are looking for.

[kipford]

I'm pretty sure it was earlier on this thread that we talked about about how Cleveland has a surprisingly strong legal market.  Because of its important role in the economy in years past it became something of a legal hub.  This hasn't changed, but because Cleveland has something of bad reputation outside the area (insert joke about buring water here) it tends to not to have the same attraction that cities with comprable legal markets have.  Thus, coming out of Case, IF (big if) you want to stay in the Cleveland area you should be in a significantly better position than someone coming out of a similarly ranked school in a similarly sized market elsewhere.

In other words-if you want to practice in, say, D.C., its going to be tough as you will be competing with grads from Georgetown, other t14 schools, etc. but if you stay in Cleveland you will be coming from the most prestegious school in Northeast Ohio (and second in the state behind OSU) and not a lot of Georgetown (or Yale, Harvard, etc.) grads will be drawn to Cleveland.

Of course you need to do well at Case to get the top jobs, its just that for your class rank you will probably be in a better position than someone at a similarly ranked school with the same class rank (again, assuming you want to practice in the Cleveland area.)

[rhombot]

I'm pretty sure it was earlier on this thread that we talked about about how Cleveland has a surprisingly strong legal market.  Because of its important role in the economy in years past it became something of a legal hub.  This hasn't changed, but because Cleveland has something of bad reputation outside the area (insert joke about buring water here) it tends to not to have the same attraction that cities with comprable legal markets have.  Thus, coming out of Case, IF (big if) you want to stay in the Cleveland area you should be in a significantly better position than someone coming out of a similarly ranked school in a similarly sized market elsewhere.

In other words-if you want to practice in, say, D.C., its going to be tough as you will be competing with grads from Georgetown, other t14 schools, etc. but if you stay in Cleveland you will be coming from the most prestegious school in Northeast Ohio (and second in the state behind OSU) and not a lot of Georgetown (or Yale, Harvard, etc.) grads will be drawn to Cleveland.

Of course you need to do well at Case to get the top jobs, its just that for your class rank you will probably be in a better position than someone at a similarly ranked school with the same class rank (again, assuming you want to practice in the Cleveland area.)

titcr. the cleveland legal job market is underserved by regional schools, and i don't get the sense that it's a hot destination for graduates of national schools. it's also an inexpensive place to live. i suspect that if you ranked legal markets by employment opportunities in law divided by cost of living, cleveland would come out near the top.

[kipford]

Hey, Kipford thanks for those links.  I'm an incoming 1L and new to the loan process.  Looking at my financial aid including my scholarships and federal standford loans on the case website, do I have to get a lender to receive those, or can I just accept the aid on the website and it will be disbursed out to me by case?

Has anyone done their loans yet?  I read (well, read/skimmed) the material they sent last week, but its not clear to me what to do about choosing a lender.  Is Case's preferred lender (Access Group) the best to use?  If we sign up online does it go to them automatically?  Anyone know???

[mt]

Hey, Kipford I just talked to Tanya over at Case and she explained the loan process to me.  On the Case finincial aid website, accept the amount of aid that you want.Then for Federal Stafford and Plus loans we have to choose a lender.  Then once your lender approves you, then Case approves the amount of aid.  I choose Access Group, and I found them to be pretty helpful.  They were quick and helpful in answering all of my questions.  You can apply over the phone (800)282-1550 or online.