Hope to practice in Chicago... choosing between Case, Mizzou, and Temple

[cbrob]

Hi everyone.

I have a tricky decision  to make.  After law school, I hope to practice intellectual property in Chicago.  However, I was denied from University of Illinois, and I am still waiting for my Chicago-Kent response.

I applied to Case and Temple because they offered a waived application fee, and I applied to Missouri because it is a large public school in the Midwest.  However, none of them have particularly strong alumni base in Chicago.  None of these three schools would be ideal for my situation.  However, which of these three choices stands out?

What do you guys think?  Thanks and have a nice day.
 
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EDIT - 4/24/2007 6:55 PM


For me, Misssouri will cost 45K total (tuition + room and board) for three years.  On the other hand, Case will cost 120K total for three years.  To make this decision even more tricky, Temple is in the middle (85K)! 

Does this change things?

Thanks for your input.  Have a nice day!

[FrancesUVA!]

Case?

[cbrob]

To clarify, Case Western in Ohio.

[Pop Up Video]

Ehh, I'd guess Case Western or Temple would have the best name recognition. Case is closer, so maybe they have more alumni in the Chicago area? I could be completely wrong on that.

[Rule of Reason]

*IF* you're sold on IP you should look into that.

I know Case has a good reputation in that area. 

Hopefully, you can get into Kent.

Mizzou could be nice though: Cheap cost of living, its a Big 12 school, and it is easy to get residency. I have no idea how they are ranked as highly as they are with their scores? (but who cares...) And where do they have the upper hand in the job market? KC I guess?

You might just really hustle to keep a grip on connections if outside the city you want to be in... join some bar assoiciations, keep in touch with some clinics, etc...

I can imagine this might be tough, but not impossible.

Out of those three I'd pick Mizzou

[FrancesUVA!]

Sorry. I meant: "I guess Case."

[Rule of Reason]

I'd sworn off this site, but I'm bored so...

Here's my breakdown (1 = best, 3= worst):

In order of: Costs, reputation, location.

Case: 3, 1, 3
-undisputed best school in a big city that a lot of ppl seem to hate with a passion and advise strongly against - in a nicer part of town if that helps at all. They have an IP cert program.  Ned Ryerson from Groundhog's day went there.


Mizzou (winner): 1, 3, 1
-College town / nice campus / low costs, decent access to two markets (them and KU are probably the trumps in KC, while Wash U has top dibs on STL), can get in-state tuition after a year if you do some basic things. I can imagine ppl in Chicago being like "oh, they have a law school?" You'll have to find a good positive response to sell it. 
 
Temple: 2, 2, 2
-Nice city that is similar to Chicago, public school (unsure of res. possibility?), lots of competition (Penn, Villanova...), I think finding an apartment around here would probably be the most expensive.

[Journeyman]

Whichever would be the cheapest option between  Mizzou and Case.

Temple is a Philly...at best east coast school.

[ks2pa]

It doesn't seem like any of these schools would be all that great for chicago.  Temple would likely be the worst IMO since they focus primarily on the Philly area.

If you could get into Temple/Case it seems like you could have gotten into at least one of Kent/Depaul/loyola.  Did you not apply to all three?  If not maybe you should wait a year...at least if you are really set on chicago.

[slacker]

If you could get into Temple/Case it seems like you could have gotten into at least one of Kent/Depaul/loyola.  Did you not apply to all three?  If not maybe you should wait a year...at least if you are really set on chicago.

I'd second this, possibly. Chicago's a tough market with 6 law schools in the city plus the others in the area. Being in Chicago allows you to meet practitioners in the area; something that's more difficult if you're not located in the city, attending events, etc., etc.

There are a few things that could change this opinion. For example, do you want to do patent work? Are you already a patent agent? Do you have an advanced degree? (MS/PhD?) Is your undergrad degree in engineering; eg., e.e. seems "hot" right now for patent-related hiring. These factors make you more competitive and a little less dependent on getting out there and networking for jobs.

If, by IP, you're looking to do non-patent IP work, I'd defnitely hold out for either a Chicago school or a top-14 school. Otherwise, you're probably going to have trouble getting noticed in the crowds.

Just a few thoughts based on the limited info on hand.