Pepperdine Job Prospects

[losangles18]

I am trying to decide between Fordham and Pepperdine...what are the real Pepperdine job prospects??

[Lindbergh]

My understanding is that they're not good, even though the location is obviously nice.

If you got into Fordham, you should be looking at UCLA/USC, not Fordham.  Or, you should be looking at a full ride at Pepperdine, which may make it worthwhile. 

Otherwise, I'd take Fordham if your priority is finding a job.

[I am Penny Lane]

I made friends with a law firm recruiter based in LA this past weekend.

He said that Pepperdine has a great rep in the area right behind USC and UCLA and that they have a strong alumni network. He also said Loyola was a distant 4th.

That said... if you want a degree that will give you far reaching job offers... go Fordham. He also stated the top 30 schools can get you in the door across the US.

[Lindbergh]

I made friends with a law firm recruiter based in LA this past weekend.

He said that Pepperdine has a great rep in the area right behind USC and UCLA and that they have a strong alumni network. He also said Loyola was a distant 4th.

Interesting -- most people would say that Loyola is clearly #3 in L.A.

You could surf at Pepperdine, though.

[I am Penny Lane]

I thought the same thing when he said it. I know they are tied in the rankings now, but up until this year Loyola was way ahead in the rankings. Maybe that should be a clue.

[Denny Crane]

I've got an auntie who is on the advisory board at Pepperdine Law. She does arbitration and is mightily impressed by the school's dispute resolution program. Apparently Ken Starr has sucky politics but knows how to carve a niche.
He's roped in many lawyers like my aunt as board advisers and visiting lecturers--he gets them personally invested in the school and suddenly you've got 50 world-renowned mediators talking up the quality of Pepperdine's training at every conference they go to.

No doubt Mr. Starr has also managed to convince many local firms that Pepperdine students have something unique to offer. I'm inclined to think he's right.

Why do you say he has sucky politics?  Because he's not a Dem?

I think Cabra meant that Starr just has poor interpersonal skills when dealing w/ law school politics. 

[Lindbergh]

I've got an auntie who is on the advisory board at Pepperdine Law. She does arbitration and is mightily impressed by the school's dispute resolution program. Apparently Ken Starr has sucky politics but knows how to carve a niche.
He's roped in many lawyers like my aunt as board advisers and visiting lecturers--he gets them personally invested in the school and suddenly you've got 50 world-renowned mediators talking up the quality of Pepperdine's training at every conference they go to.

No doubt Mr. Starr has also managed to convince many local firms that Pepperdine students have something unique to offer. I'm inclined to think he's right.

Why do you say he has sucky politics?  Because he's not a Dem?

I think Cabra meant that Starr just has poor interpersonal skills when dealing w/ law school politics. 

This is very possibly true, but I was referring more to Starr's knack for working cases where the legal issues seem to fall by the wayside in favor of right/left conflict. Perhaps he was just unlucky and controversial cases just fell in his lap and there was nothing he could do to minimize partisan bs, but I doubt it.
He does seem sorry about the various Clinton messes in retrospect, and I do think that his days of extreme partisanship are over. So I won't hold it against him.

Seems to me he was just doing his job. 

[Denny Crane]

I've got an auntie who is on the advisory board at Pepperdine Law. She does arbitration and is mightily impressed by the school's dispute resolution program. Apparently Ken Starr has sucky politics but knows how to carve a niche.
He's roped in many lawyers like my aunt as board advisers and visiting lecturers--he gets them personally invested in the school and suddenly you've got 50 world-renowned mediators talking up the quality of Pepperdine's training at every conference they go to.

No doubt Mr. Starr has also managed to convince many local firms that Pepperdine students have something unique to offer. I'm inclined to think he's right.

Why do you say he has sucky politics?  Because he's not a Dem?

I think Cabra meant that Starr just has poor interpersonal skills when dealing w/ law school politics. 

This is very possibly true, but I was referring more to Starr's knack for working cases where the legal issues seem to fall by the wayside in favor of right/left conflict. Perhaps he was just unlucky and controversial cases just fell in his lap and there was nothing he could do to minimize partisan bs, but I doubt it.
He does seem sorry about the various Clinton messes in retrospect, and I do think that his days of extreme partisanship are over. So I won't hold it against him.

Seems to me he was just doing his job. 

When you're a special prosecutor summoned by one party to investigate serious allegations against the President who is a member of the opposing party, you're going to be accused of partisan hackery, even if there is merit to the allegations you're investigating.

There was word recently about the Dems appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration.  I'm sure that prosecutor, whomever he/she may be, will be accused and admonished just as harshly as Starr was.

[Lindbergh]

I've got an auntie who is on the advisory board at Pepperdine Law. She does arbitration and is mightily impressed by the school's dispute resolution program. Apparently Ken Starr has sucky politics but knows how to carve a niche.
He's roped in many lawyers like my aunt as board advisers and visiting lecturers--he gets them personally invested in the school and suddenly you've got 50 world-renowned mediators talking up the quality of Pepperdine's training at every conference they go to.

No doubt Mr. Starr has also managed to convince many local firms that Pepperdine students have something unique to offer. I'm inclined to think he's right.

Why do you say he has sucky politics?  Because he's not a Dem?

I think Cabra meant that Starr just has poor interpersonal skills when dealing w/ law school politics. 

This is very possibly true, but I was referring more to Starr's knack for working cases where the legal issues seem to fall by the wayside in favor of right/left conflict. Perhaps he was just unlucky and controversial cases just fell in his lap and there was nothing he could do to minimize partisan bs, but I doubt it.
He does seem sorry about the various Clinton messes in retrospect, and I do think that his days of extreme partisanship are over. So I won't hold it against him.

Seems to me he was just doing his job. 

When you're a special prosecutor summoned by one party to investigate serious allegations against the President who is a member of the opposing party, you're going to be accused of partisan hackery, even if there is merit to the allegations you're investigating.

There was word recently about the Dems appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration.  I'm sure that prosecutor, whomever he/she may be, will be accused and admonished just as harshly as Starr was.

I'll just note that the whitewater investigation was initiated by the justice department when the Democrats controlled both the White House and Congress.  Ken Starr took over while the Democrats still controlled both branches, and was chosen by a 3-judge panel that included a Democratic appointee.  (Clinton himself passed the law that created the special prosecutor selection process.)  So Starr was actually summoned by the government, not a party.

There certainly seems to be tons of partisan hackery going on currently, regarding Gonzales, etc.  I hope the media starts looking as critically at this as they did at Starr, who was again simply doing his job within a scandal-tainted administration.

[Roman815]

I made friends with a law firm recruiter based in LA this past weekend.

He said that Pepperdine has a great rep in the area right behind USC and UCLA and that they have a strong alumni network. He also said Loyola was a distant 4th.

That said... if you want a degree that will give you far reaching job offers... go Fordham. He also stated the top 30 schools can get you in the door across the US.

"Loyola was a distant 4th" in what? alumni network?  rep?  After taking a quick look through attorney profiles of some of the major law firms in LA and OC, Pepperdine seems to me to come in a distant 5th at best, behind USD even.

I'm not surprised at this. Although I do wonder if USD is 3rd or 4th when looking at all of Southern California. Loyola produces a lot more attorneys per year than most other law schools so I'm guessing that they'll take 3rd but from the looks of it, both schools provide similar job prospects.