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Hi future lawyers,

Looking for help here. Admitted to UCLA with a full ride. Recently admitted to NYU with 25k per year. Want to do entertainment law and UCLA has the top program in the nation. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Entertainment law is a VERY narrow niche, and one that most people who aim for it end up not getting. So my main question would be what your backup plan would be if you weren't able to do entertainment law out of school, and where you are comfortable being for the next 3 years. That should help guide your choice a bit. As much as you may not like to hear it, you likely won't end up in entertainment law to start. NYU will give you a far better and far safer slate of backup options.

Thanks for your reply. I am interested in media law and policy, and I would like to work for the Federal Communication Commission. I know that this is a very narrow field, and I appreciate the fact that you brought it up. Regarding my back up plan - I am well connected in Los Angeles (with studios), and I am interested in working in-counsel, or potentially a non-lawyer job in an executive role. I am leaning towards NYU, however, I want to live in LA, and I like the fact that the debt I will accrue at UCLA wont force me into biglaw.

1) Specialty rankings are next to useless
2) NYU is a very portable degree that will have a lot of weight in LA
3) You already have connections in LA so going to school locally won't really give you any added benefit

Go to NYU, you will still probably have an arguably better shot at entertainment law, and your prospects for everything else will be astronomically better

1. You dont want Biglaw, you're not even totally set on law, you would do a non-law job first
2. You want to be near the action in LA for the field that interests you
3. UCLA has offered you a full ride allowing you to flexibly pursue whatever law or non-law opportunities arise with minimal cost
4. You have connections in the area in the niche field that you are interested in

Not sure why you'd pay more for NYU? Seems like it gets you things that you don't necessarily care about

yantasticguy wrote:Thanks for your reply. I am interested in media law and policy, and I would like to work for the Federal Communication Commission. I know that this is a very narrow field, and I appreciate the fact that you brought it up. Regarding my back up plan - I am well connected in Los Angeles (with studios), and I am interested in working in-counsel, or potentially a non-lawyer job in an executive role. I am leaning towards NYU, however, I want to live in LA, and I like the fact that the debt I will accrue at UCLA wont force me into biglaw.

How are you going to get a job in an executive role as a backup? And would this in house counsel backup position be junior counsel at a large company, or are we talking general counsel at a startup?

ETA: basically if you have such amazing connections that you really are bulletproof with backup plans, then I guess you could make an argument for UCLA. But if you're that bulletproof why not take on the extra debt and have NYU on your resume for the rest of your career?

in-house entertainment lawyer here. Go to UCLA. Build the networking connections. Save the money. NYU prestige is great but won't necessarily open doors in the entertainment industry that a UCLA degree could not open. Being where you want to work during law school so you can network and be in the midst of the action has enormous value. Jobs and opportunities randomly present themselves, and if you are not there you will miss out. Finding the rare entertainment job/internships is easier too if you are right where they will be. Outside of the big firm hiring, grades and school prestige is not as important (still important to go to a good school and have good grades, but the NYU vs. UCLA distinction is not as great so long as you have done well in applicable courses and have relative work/internship experience). Entertainment law is a difficult field to break into but is not a pipe dream if you are really determined. Coming out of law school with no debt gives you a lot of freedom on how to pursue your first post-grad job. You can handle taking a lower paying entry-level legal job in the entertainment field vs. having to get one of only a couple biglaw entertainment associate positions that exist.

Take the money and run. You will have less stress and can focus on getting internships and great experience. end of story.