Tulane... Best School Ever?

[Judgie Poo]

He was led to think that he would be able to get NYC BIGLAW.  He ended up not even able to get midlaw.

He was a huge networker and member of two journals.  Nepotism doesn't help nearly as much as people think.  With his school/grades, he couldn't even get an interview with 95% of firms (which is a shame because he has one of those great interviewee charming personalities).

As for why he didn't get better grades: he finished above the median.

[John Blackthorne]

He was led to think that he would be able to get NYC BIGLAW.  He ended up not even able to get midlaw.

He was a huge networker and member of two journals.  Nepotism doesn't help nearly as much as people think.  With his school/grades, he couldn't even get an interview with 95% of firms (which is a shame because he has one of those great interviewee charming personalities).

As for why he didn't get better grades: he finished above the median.

That sux for him. 

[BearlyLegal]

He was led to think that he would be able to get NYC BIGLAW.  He ended up not even able to get midlaw.

He was a huge networker and member of two journals.  Nepotism doesn't help nearly as much as people think.  With his school/grades, he couldn't even get an interview with 95% of firms (which is a shame because he has one of those great interviewee charming personalities).

As for why he didn't get better grades: he finished above the median.

If your friend is an amazing networker, and has a winning social personality, why did he decide against starting his own solo practice?

[Judgie Poo]

He was led to think that he would be able to get NYC BIGLAW.  He ended up not even able to get midlaw.

He was a huge networker and member of two journals.  Nepotism doesn't help nearly as much as people think.  With his school/grades, he couldn't even get an interview with 95% of firms (which is a shame because he has one of those great interviewee charming personalities).

As for why he didn't get better grades: he finished above the median.

If your friend is an amazing networker, and has a winning social personality, why did he decide against starting his own solo practice?

ummm, despite what the TTTulane literature might say, it's incredibly hard to get clients as a 24 year old newly minted TTT grad in a city with nearly 1mm lawyers.

[BearlyLegal]

He was led to think that he would be able to get NYC BIGLAW.  He ended up not even able to get midlaw.

He was a huge networker and member of two journals.  Nepotism doesn't help nearly as much as people think.  With his school/grades, he couldn't even get an interview with 95% of firms (which is a shame because he has one of those great interviewee charming personalities).

As for why he didn't get better grades: he finished above the median.

If your friend is an amazing networker, and has a winning social personality, why did he decide against starting his own solo practice?

ummm, despite what the TTTulane literature might say, it's incredibly hard to get clients as a 24 year old newly minted TTT grad in a city with nearly 1mm lawyers.

Once again, I am not that interested in Tulane, please move on.

Hundreds of thousands of lawyers from TTT schools like Texas Tech establish successful practices nationwide, and do not need to work for their dads. What makes your friend inferior to these successful attorneys who went to lesser schools? Has he even tried the entrepreneurial route?

 

[Judgie Poo]

It's not as easy as you think.

You start out with ZERO clients.  ZERO experience.  ZERO officespace.  ZERO money to buy officespace.

...and you have nothing clients wants.




It's much easier to fail than you people seem to realize.  LSD paints a very rosy picture, but boards with actual lawyers on tell a much different story.

Here: HELL YES YOU SHOULD TAKE ON DEBT TO GO TO LOYOLA!

Boards with Lawyers: Don't go to law school.  Don't even think about going to a non t14 school.

[WaveLaw]

He was led to think that he would be able to get NYC BIGLAW.  He ended up not even able to get midlaw.

He was a huge networker and member of two journals.  Nepotism doesn't help nearly as much as people think.  With his school/grades, he couldn't even get an interview with 95% of firms (which is a shame because he has one of those great interviewee charming personalities).

As for why he didn't get better grades: he finished above the median.

If your friend is an amazing networker, and has a winning social personality, why did he decide against starting his own solo practice?

ummm, despite what the TTTulane literature might say, it's incredibly hard to get clients as a 24 year old newly minted TTT grad in a city with nearly 1mm lawyers.

You are a true friend. I hope I have someone to despair over my future of temp-law and stale coffee for me on meaningless message boards. Maybe they didn't teach your friend the secret handshake. I could be wrong. I'm sure you'll tell me why.

[BearlyLegal]

It's not as easy as you think.

You start out with ZERO clients.  ZERO experience.  ZERO officespace.  ZERO money to buy officespace.

...and you have nothing clients wants.




It's much easier to fail than you people seem to realize.  LSD paints a very rosy picture, but boards with actual lawyers on tell a much different story.

Here: HELL YES YOU SHOULD TAKE ON DEBT TO GO TO LOYOLA!

Boards with Lawyers: Don't go to law school.  Don't even think about going to a non t14 school.

1) 90% of all new businesses fail in their first decade of operation. Failures are not limited to legal practice alone. If you are risk-averse, antisocial, unintelligent, financially liberal, or just plain unlucky, you will fail at any given business. The solo practitioners on the internet message boards you troll would be equally unsuccessful at any other entrepreneurial venture.

2) Unsuccessful people have a great deal of motivation to go to internet forum and female dog and moan about their lack of success, and blame it on their law school. Successful people have better things to do. I don't think John Edwards or W. Mark Lanier are whining on an internet bulletin board about how horrible their TTT degrees are.

3) Going into debt at Loyola is retarded, I agree with you. My interest in Tulane stems primarily from their propensity to give $60-90k scholarships to kids in my numbers range. That amount of money may well make Tulane a better option than a 14-30 school with no money.


Edit:
4) If good jobs were limited to people who went to T14 schools, market forces would make every other school go out of business for lack of utility. The JD holds a great deal of value for people who end up at the top of their TTT class, people who are interested in solo careers or people who want the JD as a steppingstone in their current career path.

Not everyone strives for a judicial clerkship - for many, a decent living is enough.

[Lindbergh]

Something smells fishy to me (Besides the streets of New Orleans). I work in an NYC V15 firm, and Tulane seems to be a very respected program at my firm. Today, I talked to an attorney who suggested I go to Tulane over Fordham, for example. They are rated No. 2 nationally in graduate earnings potential by USNWR. They are an expensive school, but very generous with scholarships for people with decent numbers. They are one of the few schools in that range that places nationally.

I will make the logical assumption that one of the reasons for their low USNWR rating is a result of their low LSAT and GPA cutoffs. But is that it? Why does Iowa, for example, rank higher than Tulane?

Just wow.

Enjoy poverty.  TTTulane isn't respected.  Trust me.

Tulane is more respected than its ranking would otherwise indicate.

[stateofbeasley]

The JD holds a great deal of value for people who end up at the top of their TTT class, people who are interested in solo careers or people who want the JD as a steppingstone in their current career path.

Not everyone strives for a judicial clerkship - for many, a decent living is enough.

Which basically makes TTT law schools a huge gamble.  It's not a gamble that is worth $150,000. 

Most judicial clerkships do not pay much.  An entry level clerkship with a county judge in Pennsylvania could pay anywhere from 30-43k depending on location.