Hey all,

I have been accepted and have narrowed my choices down to the Wisconsin Law School and The Ohio State - Mortiz College of Law and am having trouble deciding where to go this Fall. I qualify for in-state tuition at both schools and received enough money from Ohio State to bring the tuition down to just below that of Wisconsin's. I have family in both Wisconsin and Ohio and do not really have a preference as to which state I would prefer to live in following graduation. I graduated from the University of Wisconsin School of Business last May with a degree in Finance, Investments and Banking and hope to practice corporate/securities law. I am not sure if attending law school at the same institution as I did my undergrad is frowned upon in the eyes of prospective employers. Ideally, I would like to get into big law in Chicago but would have no problem living in a smaller city elsewhere in the Midwest. Any help or insight as to which school might have an edge over the other would be greatly appreciated! I have to pay a seat deposit at OSU by Friday if I plan to go there so some timely responses would be great!!

Thanks for your help all!!

If you want to work in securities, you should be targeting NYC, not Chicago. Point's a bit moot though, since neither school will give you a reliable shot at cracking either market.

I read on one of the scam blogs that less than 20 graduates from Ohio State ETA: per graduating class have even received big law offers in recent years.

So you're going off of something you read in an online blog.

OP, I would say Top 5% at OSU may get biglaw.

In the greater scheme of things it is a small thing, but I like how the Wisconsin Bar waives their exam for graduates of the University of Wisconsin. While I fully suspect (but did not bother to look up) that OSU grads do quite well on bar exams overall, it would be nice to have one less thing to worry about as you are transitioning out of law school.

Of course if you want to work elsewhere, you will likely need to take that states bar exam, but nonetheless it would be nice to have one state in the bag.

Based on OSU's class size of 225, my claim that less than 20 people at OSU get biglaw actually matches up with your "only 5% may get biglaw snark" right?

I took your statement as meaning for ever since you never specified per year. The way it was written kind of suggests that.

But per year you are right and OP should rightfully think twice about OSU or U of W for that matter at anything less then 3/4th scholarship.

Yeah OP, with these schools there is no real "edge" over another. You will be very regionally limited based upon whatever school that you do attend.

Yup Yup. Changed to make more clear. Thanks for pointing it out!

GO TO OHIO! Seriously, Wisconsin sucks. Ohio is amazing. DO NOT GO TO WISCONSIN, I REPEAT DO NOT GO TO WISCONSIN

(full disclosure: I'm on the wait list for Wisconsin :p)

This is as easy as choosing where you want to live for the foreseeable future (barring perfect grades, strong connections, and federal district/COA clerkships).

This. Neither one is likely to project beyond their local region. So, pick a state.

Well, there is something to be said for staying somewhere where you have a support network of friends and contacts outside of law school. It would be less of a transition to stay in Wisconsin. But on the other hand, going to OSU opens up your options to another market, and you can always go back to Wisconsin later because you have solid ties there. Have you visited and found which you preferred?

Visit both, then decide if equal COA & both locations are equally appealing to you.

Wisconsin's "diploma privilege" for law grads is a significant factor, in my opinion, that should allow you to prepare for and take another state's bar exam. Nevertheless, this comes down to personal preference in your situation.

It also makes the Wisconsin version cheaper. I don't know when you actually get sworn in at Wisconsin, but it could allow you to start practicing earlier which means more opportunity costs at OSU. There's also the whole paying for the bar thing.

That said, this probably should just come down to where you prefer to live.


PS It is not true that you need biglaw to do securities work. That's so silly.

Op if it is any help to you at all UW has 12 firms coming this OCI that are interviewing for Chicago (and other offices) and has another 8 firms collecting resumes for Chicago. I personally know of a number of people who have a SA gig with vault firms in Chicago this summer. I think if you are in the top 10-15% at UW you stand a decent shot at one of the Chicago biglaw firms. Also, I think that some of the off campus job fairs offer even more opportunities in places like Chicago and other larger markets. I also know that there are people that do place in NYC from UW, but I suspect most of them have ties to NY (same goes for CA). Ultimately, I think if your numbers are in the top 10-15% range it comes down to things like personality, LR, moot court, work experience etc.

As others have said the diploma privilege is pretty kewl! I also wouldn't limit myself to Chicago, there are NLJ250 firms that would provide you with the work you seek while you get to stay in WI. Similarly, I wouldn't rule out Minneapolis. There are obviously good firms there with a number of them interviewing at UW. I mean really... who comes to OSU OCI? Cincinnati firms? lol

There is always that law firm/women's shoe store as a solid Cincinnati option...

I'd go Wisconsin.

You'll need great grades to get an out-of-state job out of either of these schools, so look at the in-state options. With Wisconsin you don't have to take the bar and I'd take Milwaukee over any city in Ohio. Plus, less competition for Milwaukee jobs than jobs in Ohio just going off the number of law schools