Best school in Florida yet prospects don't seem to be that strong. Anyone care to give insights? With the economy being the way it is, unless I get into a t-25 then I will seriously consider staying in-state.

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Honestly UF is a great deal if you want to stay in Florida...who can argue with such low tuition (if you are in state, that is). The alumni base within Florida is outstanding and, while starting salaries might not be so amazing, I attribute that to the fact that Florida in general isn't so strong economically: the entire state was built around growth and has now essentially stagnated.

Specifically, I know that for environmental law, land-use law, and tax law, UF is top-notch. Honestly, if it were between UF and a school in the 20-30 range, I would choose UF. I know of at least a few people who went to schools in that range and have lower paying jobs than UF grads.

Really? Wow, that's good to know.
Any thoughts on UF vs. Emory, if planning on practicing in FL? Or if practicing in any southeast states?

UF would provide just about the same opportunities as Emory, but at a fraction of the tuition cost. The highest paying jobs in Florida go to UF and UM grads (because UM dominates the Miami market). It almost doesn't make sense to pay higher tuition than UF to go to UGA or Emory.

Yeah it seems the opportunities in Florida would be similar between UF and Emory. I would bet however that your prospects of getting ANY decent job are safer at Emory. UF has 190 firms at OCI with 450 per class whereas Emory has 274 firms for 207 per class. These numbers are obviously outdated.

Everyone believes UF to be highly regarded - I just don't understand how people find jobs with such low OCI numbers.

If you're this guy, prospects are pretty good.

That's because most schools will tel you that many jobs are secured outside of OCI. OCI is an imperfect system. Those 274 firms you mentioned that visit Emory also visit schools like UVA, Duke, Vandy, and UT (not to mention UGA, Tulane, UF, etc). There are plenty of qualified applicants from each school and just because Emory has 274 firms for 207 students doesn't necessarily mean that each student gets a job through OCI even though it's mathematically possible.

For Florida, UF is probably the best option if you are a Florida resident. The small emount of debt you would incur by attending this school coupled with the promising job prospects you would receive upon graduation make it the best option, in my opinion. I would only consider Emory, UGA, Tulane, and the like for employment in Florida if one isn't a Florida resident.

Dumb question, maybe, but would a T-14 grad have an advantage over a UF grad for a job in Florida?

I am also curious to hear people's perspectives on this...

yeah, dumb...T14 has advantage over everybody everywhere

Haha, thanks. Just trying to make sure as this may be my situation.

The one exception to that with UF is its Tax LLM program, which is in the top 3 in the country. (all other LLMs/Specialty rankings are irrelevant besides Tax, for some reason)

Class is 300 students this year and I believe they intend to keep it that way, though I am not well apprised on this issue.