Top Law Schools

Is it worth going since Illinois already has U of Chicago and Northwestern and im guessing competition for jobs is pretty rough? Does the recent scandal affect anything? How would it compare to UNC or Ohio State?

P.S. I'm not biglaw or go home, just looking for a solid job in the private sector.

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UIUC is a really good school. They have competition from University of Chicago, Michigan, and Northwestern (primarily), but they're on par with Notre Dame and WUSTL for that next tear of hiring in the city.

It's a rough market in Chicago right now, but it's the third or fourth biggest legal market in the country.

I go to UIUC and think its great. We just got a new dean of career services who is a former partner at Winston & Strawn. I got a Vault top 50 Summer Associate position lined up for this summer and was only top 25% at OCI. The scandal does suck, but I think it will blow over in the long run. Also our Dean, Bruce Smith, is a badass.

Chicago is the third largest legal market in the country after NYC & DC. Illinois may be worthwhile depending upon your other options. Without a large scholarship, then you need to look elsewhere to get into Chicago biglaw, in my opinion, because the risk at full tuition is not worth the chance of getting Chicago biglaw from Illinois in this market.

CanadianWolf wrote:Chicago is the third largest legal market in the country after NYC & DC. Illinois may be worthwhile depending upon your other options. Without a large scholarship, then you need to look elsewhere to get into Chicago biglaw, in my opinion, because the risk at full tuition is not worth the chance of getting Chicago biglaw from Illinois in this market.

This raises some good points, namely (1) you should try to get a scholarship (especially because Illinois hands out a lot), (2) a similar point, cost should ALWAYS be considered, even from a T-14, and (3) there is risk of not getting BigLaw from any school, and your chances decrease as the schools rankings decrease.

BUT, I wouldn't listen the the doomsday predictions if you are confident in yourself. I didn't, and I'm thankful because now I have a way better job prospects than I did prior to coming to law school. If you are smart, hardworking and confident ... you can get BigLaw. It is NOT completely out of your hands. Law school is filled with people who try to get overly involved in school activities, social activities, etc. If you come to Illinois, work hard, and keep your focus on GRADES (and grades only) then you can do it. These forums are filled with young, anxiety filled kids who have no real life experience. Thus all the pessimism...