YLS or HLS - Interested in Corporate Law Forum

[burgergirl]

Hi folks,

I've been incredibly lucky this cycle. I'm currently trying to decide between HLS, YLS and SLS. I know this topic has been discussed before but I would appreciate any fresh thoughts. My criteria are as follows:

1. I'm interested in corporate law and am debating whether to pursue litigation or transactional work
2. I'm interested in getting a federal clerkship
3. I would like to be on the law journal and get as much practical experience as possible
4. Given my background, I may end up working overseas at some point
5. I'm a Y undergrad so I'm a bit hesitant to go back to the same place for law school
6. I'm not too concerned about competition but a friendly, non-cliquey environment would be a big plus

Thanks in advance for your input and good luck to everyone still waiting to hear back!

[latetolunch]

Stanford is the only one that fits all of your criteria...congrats

[Elston Gunn]

Hi folks,

I've been incredibly lucky this cycle. I'm currently trying to decide between HLS, YLS and SLS. I know this topic has been discussed before but I would appreciate any fresh thoughts. My criteria are as follows:

1. I'm interested in corporate law and am debating whether to pursue litigation or transactional work

Don't let this dissuade you at all from Yale, unless you want to be taking *a lot* of specialized classes in corporate law. The vast majority of people here want to be litigators, but that just means you stand out more if you want transactional and can signal that in some way with your resume.

2. I'm interested in getting a federal clerkship

As I'm sure you're aware, Y>S>H for this. Do realize that if you really want transactional it would be kind of silly to do most clerkships.

3. I would like to be on the law journal and get as much practical experience as possible

Big advantage for the smaller schools here, I think. I don't know much about Stanford, but at Yale ~50% of people who try for YLJ get it. Also, it's very easy to be in clinics for 5 semesters if that's what you want. Yale may have a justified reputation for being overly academic/theoretical in the classroom, but I'm pretty sure the clinical opportunities are unparalleled (at the very least because you can stand up in a courtroom as a 1L).

4. Given my background, I may end up working overseas at some point

Don't think this matters much. I suppose for international prestige it would go H>Y>S, but tons of Yale grads do stuff internationally, and I'm sure it's no problem from Stanford either.

5. I'm a Y undergrad so I'm a bit hesitant to go back to the same place for law school

This is really the only strong reason I see to choose anything but Yale. It's up to you how important this is. Maybe you can say what about Yale makes you not want to return? Obviously, if you just hate New Haven with a burning passion, that's fine. Though I think no 1st semester grades >> getting out of NH, from a QoL standpoint.

6. I'm not too concerned about competition but a friendly, non-cliquey environment would be a big plus

I doubt you'll have a problem anywhere with this. Yale has an advantage in that the gradeless first semester means there's an astounding level of non-competition, just because there's no stress, and then you never have to do the 1L 4 exams thing again. That said, it isn't some paradise where no one competes--in large part, people are just sneakier about it.

[Justin Genious]

Penn and up full ride is tcr.

[ph14]

Yale

[AreJay711]

Yale

This. Basically you can take your pic of multinational firms.

[bigbang]

Yale sounds like the best option - especially if you want a clerkship. The biggest reason not to do it is because you went there for undergrad, but I think the pros outweigh that. Especially the lack of grades first semester and the opportunity to do clinics 1L.

Most people say law school is so different from undergrad, so they don't really feel they are at the same school anyway. However, I do know some who chose HLS over YLS (there are so many Y undergrads at H) because they really wanted a change, so it's really a personal decision.

[twenty]

1. I'm interested in corporate law and am debating whether to pursue litigation or transactional work Harvard
2. I'm interested in getting a federal clerkship Yale
3. I would like to be on the law journal and get as much practical experience as possible If you actually got on HLR, Harvard. Otherwise, Y/S
4. Given my background, I may end up working overseas at some point Hands-down Harvard. I'm sure Y/S grads are fine too, though.
5. I'm a Y undergrad so I'm a bit hesitant to go back to the same place for law school Doesn't matter if you're worried about career. If you hate CT, I guess that's another thing.
6. I'm not too concerned about competition but a friendly, non-cliquey environment would be a big plus Y, followed by S. None of these are going to be "competitive", i.e UC Hastings.

Thanks in advance for your input and good luck to everyone still waiting to hear back!

That said, there are a lot of intangibles here that would make me say Yale over Harvard. Yale's grading system is pretty much the most amazing thing in the world, which means a basically stress-free three years. Stanford piles on a ton of 1L classes, but they're H/P/NP, and even straight Ps can get a good gig, so again, fairly stress-free.

Harvard might have a bump in biglaw, but the upper echelons of firm life (i.e, Williams and Connolly) go to top Yale grads.

I don't think clerkship opportunities should matter too much. Maybe S/Y grads have it a little better out of the gate, but since most clerkships now are going to folks with 2-3 years of work experience, and at that point it really doesn't matter as much whether you went to H, Y or S. Also, doesn't help too much with transactional.

Personally, I'd take CCN with a full ride over HYS if you wanted corporate law. You're quite a bit more likely to get a firm job with HYS, but you make significantly less money when you factor in the 3-4 years you're paying off student loans. If this were me, I'd take Columbia or NYU in a second over H.

[MapsMapsMaps]

Personally, I'd take CCN with a full ride over HYS if you wanted corporate law. You're quite a bit more likely to get a firm job with HYS, but you make significantly less money when you factor in the 3-4 years you're paying off student loans. If this were me, I'd take Columbia or NYU in a second over H.

+1 from a CLS 1L. I will have little to no debt coming out, and it's fucking sweet. Never ever underestimate the weight of 250k.

ETA: CLS is very focused on corporate law, is in the largest corporate market, has a SHIT TON of very corporate-ish courses, and you get to live in NYC. The employment numbers are great.

[ph14]

Personally, I'd take CCN with a full ride over HYS if you wanted corporate law. You're quite a bit more likely to get a firm job with HYS, but you make significantly less money when you factor in the 3-4 years you're paying off student loans. If this were me, I'd take Columbia or NYU in a second over H.

+1 from a CCN 1L. I will have little to no debt coming out, and it's fucking sweet. Never ever underestimate the weight of 250k.

Highly credited.

[catwoman]

Personally, I'd take CCN with a full ride over HYS if you wanted corporate law. You're quite a bit more likely to get a firm job with HYS, but you make significantly less money when you factor in the 3-4 years you're paying off student loans. If this were me, I'd take Columbia or NYU in a second over H.

+1 from a CCN 1L. I will have little to no debt coming out, and it's fucking sweet. Never ever underestimate the weight of 250k.

Highly credited.

...

[dixon02]

As most are saying, the finances are pretty critical here. Do you have a full ride or close to it to a CCNP? Do you know yet how much, if any, aid you will get from any of the top 3 schools? I would agree with the notion that if you're going into law school knowing you want to do corporate law, I would take a full ride at any of the former over sticker at any of the latter in an absolute heartbeat.

If the money is close (depending on scholarships/aid), I'd personally find Yale to be a pretty easy decision but I guess it depends in part on how strongly you weight the various factors you listed. If the international bit is really critical, HLS gets an edge. If clerking is a big deal, Yale has a huge edge. For the environment, based on my visits, Stanford as a pretty big edge but that's something you'd have to assess for yourself by visiting.

[mindarmed]

Full ride at T6 > preftige at HYS if you're not looking for academia.

[RodneyBoonfield]

6. I'm not too concerned about competition but a friendly, non-cliquey environment would be a big plu

So GDI

[TripTrip]

[bluepenguin]

Yeah, yeah, you know you're gonna be starting this same thread in a couple months, Trip.

[tracy77]

Hi folks,

I've been incredibly lucky this cycle. I'm currently trying to decide between HLS, YLS and SLS. I know this topic has been discussed before but I would appreciate any fresh thoughts. My criteria are as follows:

1. I'm interested in corporate law and am debating whether to pursue litigation or transactional work
2. I'm interested in getting a federal clerkship
3. I would like to be on the law journal and get as much practical experience as possible
4. Given my background, I may end up working overseas at some point
5. I'm a Y undergrad so I'm a bit hesitant to go back to the same place for law school
6. I'm not too concerned about competition but a friendly, non-cliquey environment would be a big plus

Thanks in advance for your input and good luck to everyone still waiting to hear back!

I think HLS is better. Seems they have big class (and therefore alumni) and focus more on corporate law and private practice. And Harvard's reputation oversea is really good. (although don't mean Yale or Stanford is weaker). Btw, would you mind sharing your credentials? What's your LSAT score?

PS. do congrats!

[Ti Malice]

I sign on to everything Elston wrote.

Personally, I'd take CCN with a full ride over HYS if you wanted corporate law. You're quite a bit more likely to get a firm job with HYS, but you make significantly less money when you factor in the 3-4 years you're paying off student loans. If this were me, I'd take Columbia or NYU in a second over H.

+1 from a CCN 1L. I will have little to no debt coming out, and it's fucking sweet. Never ever underestimate the weight of 250k.

Highly credited.

That said, I'm inclined to agree with the above. Given your career goals, a full ride from CCN would make more sense than coming here (or going to S/H), assuming you don't stand to receive need-based aid. The prestige difference is not worth the additional $200-250K (after interest). On a 10-year payment schedule, you'll be shoveling $3,000 into debt service every month. It may not seem like real money now, but you should think about what that really means.

Do you have any large offers from CCN? Have you applied? If not, you should apply now and see what comes your way. Will you be eligible for substantial need-based aid at YHS?

[nebula666]

If you want to work in New York, I tend to agree with those who say a full ride from Columbia.