Chicago Placement (Biglaw?)

[redacted]

Hey-

I was curious what people thought about placement in the Windy City.  If my only concern was making 140k in Chicago (it isn't, but for the sake of this thread and for the sake of my decision-making process), what option is my best route.  Let's also assume I do well but not spectacular, say top third of my class.

1. USC
2. Texas
3. WUSTL

I guess also take into consideration that I'd be on a pretty significant scholarship at WUSTL (>15k/year) and only minor aid at USC, with nothing from UT.

Thanks so much!  I appreciate any sort of advice (or any advice on how to discover this myself).

[El Diablo]

For Chicago, I'd take the scholly at WUSTL, they seem to place pretty well there...

[rsieg10]

WUSTL.  I'm not as familiar with the others, but WUSTL is very prestigious and will likely get you a decent job (so long as you do reasonably well).  They are known for placing graduates mostly outside of St. Louis, particulary in Washington D.C., but I'm sure you wouldn't have a problem with getting something in Chicago.  WUSTL is in a fairly nice part of St. Louis, although the city as a whole is "spotty" as far as crime goes.  My best friend is in Med School at WUSTL and lives within walking distance of the campus.  It's a nice, cute little area with lots of unique restaurants (non-chain type stuff), boutiques, coffee shops, etc.  And, rent is extremely cheap.  There are tons of cool loft apartments and the downtown is really turning itself around quickly.  I hear the bus system isn't the greatest in St. Louis, but the MetroRail is a fast, excellent way to get around if you're able to use it (speaking in terms of distance).  I grew up not far from St. Louis, so if you have any questions, please ask

[Rule of Reason]

WUSTL.  I'm not as familiar with the others, but WUSTL is very prestigious and will likely get you a decent job (so long as you do reasonably well).  They are known for placing graduates mostly outside of St. Louis, particulary in Washington D.C., but I'm sure you wouldn't have a problem with getting something in Chicago.  WUSTL is in a fairly nice part of St. Louis, although the city as a whole is "spotty" as far as crime goes.  My best friend is in Med School at WUSTL and lives within walking distance of the campus.  It's a nice, cute little area with lots of unique restaurants (non-chain type stuff), boutiques, coffee shops, etc.  And, rent is extremely cheap.  There are tons of cool loft apartments and the downtown is really turning itself around quickly.  I hear the bus system isn't the greatest in St. Louis, but the MetroRail is a fast, excellent way to get around if you're able to use it (speaking in terms of distance).  I grew up not far from St. Louis, so if you have any questions, please ask

Yeah the Lou is nice like that...

[FrancesUVA!]

WUSTL 100%

[ElectricalStorm]

NALP numbers for Chicago offices paying over $130k entry level (Because they will at least be over $140k by the time you're out) -

USC - 4
UT - 6
WUSTL - 15

Three fine, well-respected schools that can take you pretty much anywhere. Just that WUSTL has the proximity advantage for Chicago.

[redacted]

NALP numbers for Chicago offices paying over $130k entry level (Because they will at least be over $140k by the time you're out) -

USC - 4
UT - 6
WUSTL - 15

Three fine, well-respected schools that can take you pretty much anywhere. Just that WUSTL has the proximity advantage for Chicago.

Could you explain where you got these numbers?  I found a list of all firms that recruited at UT and WUSTL, but not USC.  And the firms at UT seemed more prestigious (using Vault) than the firms who came to WUSTL.  Is that inaccurate?

[rsieg10]

Go to http://www.nalpdirectory.com/
Click "Advanced Search"
Then you can pick the schools under "Campus Interviews"

This shows what firms interview at each law school.  You can then click on an individual firm and see its starting salaries and a wealth of other interesting info.

[redacted]

That is good stuff...

But how do you quantify the number of positions they're hiring for or the depth they'll go into the class?  And what about self-selection?  I bet if I was at UT there would be fewer people looking at the Chicago firms AND they'd go deeper into the class because of the prestige bump?  Is that blind assertion possible to prove?

[ElectricalStorm]

If you look at the NALP form for the individual office, it does have a section for Expected 2007 hires as well as historical hires for the past two years. As for how deep they'll go into the class...that's just going to be up to the office itself.

As for self-selection, yes, UT grads by and large choose to stay in Texas (but there are some that do go up to the Chicago area) so it isn't worth it for many firms to make the OCI investment at UT compared to WUSTL. I can't speak for any sort of "prestige bump", but it may be worth noting that those Chicago offices on NALP coming down to UT do include some of the bigger names (such as Latham, DLA, Greenberg) that aren't listed for WUSTL.