St. Louis Legal Market Forum

[joshceo]

I live near St. Louis and plan on practicing in St. Louis.
Thus far I have 50% tuition at UIUC (it started as 25%, I negotiated to 50%, but they seem firm on that being their best offer).

I will most likely have a full ride at SLU, should get in to WashU (STL) but probably little money (WashU is crazy expensive).

So, assuming the usual doom and gloom of the legal market, what are my prospects in St. Louis coming out of UIUC? I have a good friend who works in St. Louis for Brown and James, and he'll have about 5 years of experience with the firm when I graduate law school. I think he could help me secure employment with his firm, but I am not relying solely on this connection. I also have a full ride at Carbondale, which most TLS users probably don't consider an actual law school. I understand that belief, but a good friend of mine went to Carbondale and has done well put of law school, but she was hired just before the downturn. Either way, given these offers, and the fact that I want to stay in St. Louis (I own two rental properties here, lots of friends, etc.), what would you do in my shoes?

[mattviphky]

I live near St. Louis and plan on practicing in St. Louis.
Thus far I have 50% tuition at UIUC (it started as 25%, I negotiated to 50%, but they seem firm on that being their best offer).

I will most likely have a full ride at SLU, should get in to WashU (STL) but probably little money (WashU is crazy expensive).

So, assuming the usual doom and gloom of the legal market, what are my prospects in St. Louis coming out of UIUC? I have a good friend who works in St. Louis for Brown and James, and he'll have about 5 years of experience with the firm when I graduate law school. I think he could help me secure employment with his firm, but I am not relying solely on this connection. I also have a full ride at Carbondale, which most TLS users probably don't consider an actual law school. I understand that belief, but a good friend of mine went to Carbondale and has done well put of law school, but she was hired just before the downturn. Either way, given these offers, and the fact that I want to stay in St. Louis (I own two rental properties here, lots of friends, etc.), what would you do in my shoes?

SLU. If you are that deadset on St. Louis, then SLU, especially if you get that full ride merit scholarship. If you have doubts about Stl, think it over.Congrats on awesome news from UIUC! However, with a 164, Wustl may not bite.

[blurbz]

PMed.

[joshceo]

I live near St. Louis and plan on practicing in St. Louis.
Thus far I have 50% tuition at UIUC (it started as 25%, I negotiated to 50%, but they seem firm on that being their best offer).

I will most likely have a full ride at SLU, should get in to WashU (STL) but probably little money (WashU is crazy expensive).

So, assuming the usual doom and gloom of the legal market, what are my prospects in St. Louis coming out of UIUC? I have a good friend who works in St. Louis for Brown and James, and he'll have about 5 years of experience with the firm when I graduate law school. I think he could help me secure employment with his firm, but I am not relying solely on this connection. I also have a full ride at Carbondale, which most TLS users probably don't consider an actual law school. I understand that belief, but a good friend of mine went to Carbondale and has done well put of law school, but she was hired just before the downturn. Either way, given these offers, and the fact that I want to stay in St. Louis (I own two rental properties here, lots of friends, etc.), what would you do in my shoes?

SLU. If you are that deadset on St. Louis, then SLU, especially if you get that full ride merit scholarship. If you have doubts about Stl, think it over.Congrats on awesome news from UIUC! However, with a 164, Wustl may not bite.

I've been very surprised by the offers I've earned with my 164, perhaps because of my gpa and WE. I agree though, WashU is a stretch. I was waitlisted at UCLA, but other than UIUC, I don't have any comparable schools that have given me an answer. Got $30k a year at Wake Forest, but I don't think Wake would help me too much in St. Louis. Thanks for the input, I appreciate it.

[punkyg0608]

SLU. If you are that deadset on St. Louis, then SLU, especially if you get that full ride merit scholarship. If you have doubts about Stl, think it over.Congrats on awesome news from UIUC! However, with a 164, Wustl may not bite.

I'm actually in a similar situation. I know I want to come back to St. Louis, but my issue is that my girlfriend lives in Indiana and I'd like to be closer, so UIUC is probably my top choice right now. Does UIUC not place well in St. Louis?

[blurbz]

SLU. If you are that deadset on St. Louis, then SLU, especially if you get that full ride merit scholarship. If you have doubts about Stl, think it over.Congrats on awesome news from UIUC! However, with a 164, Wustl may not bite.

I'm actually in a similar situation. I know I want to come back to St. Louis, but my issue is that my girlfriend lives in Indiana and I'd like to be closer, so UIUC is probably my top choice right now. Does UIUC not place well in St. Louis?

PMed.

[blurbz]

I know of a few people at Illinois who have biglaw SA's in St. Louis. Most of them also had options in other markets, for whatever it's worth.

I know people who chose Illinois over WashU for money reasons even though they knew they wanted St. Louis. Those who got good grades still got callbacks at every major firm in St. Louis, so I don't think it hurt them at all.

[mattviphky]

I know of a few people at Illinois who have biglaw SA's in St. Louis. Most of them also had options in other markets, for whatever it's worth.

I know people who chose Illinois over WashU for money reasons even though they knew they wanted St. Louis. Those who got good grades still got callbacks at every major firm in St. Louis, so I don't think it hurt them at all.

Really? I like St. Louis, so I am seriously inclined to SLU...although I don't like how SLU can be somewhat confining to the StL region. However, I like the idea of going to UIUC for my own personal interests. I didn't know UIUC placed that well in Stl. But I'm also Held at UIUC, and most likely to be rejected from WUSTL, so I'm not entertaining the same options as OP. Would you say that UIUC places better in stl for people that want it?

[blurbz]

Yeah, people I know with good grades got a bunch of St. Louis CBs out of OCI. Of course, the grades were necessary for it....We don't place that many people in the city because most people here don't want St. Louis, not because it's an impossible market to break into. That being said: Grades are important. You won't be able to get biglaw in St. Louis with bad grades out of any of the schools you're talking about.

I think Illinois (or WashU etc.) are better than SLU because they are not quite so limiting: It's easier for someone from Illinois to get a job in St. Louis or Chicago or Indianapolis etc etc than it is for graduates of SLU to move to those other midwestern cities.