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Lots of T14 grads end up at small firms. There's nothing wrong with this as long as you have enough scholarship money to make it a reasonable investment. But geographic flexibility isn't what you think it is. Its really hard for a small firm lawyer to move to another state and give up their local reputation in the legal community, relationship with clients and potential clients, and knowledge of state law and local practice. Small firm law is all about building a practice, and you can't build a practice if you're moving every 7 years. Whatever market you start in, there is a good chance you will still be there 20 years later.

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I'll speak from my limited experience. I've lived in a small city for the past 6 years which is within a couple hours of teh T-14 I attend. Ties are what really matter for this market, and I truly believe that T-14 (especially one near that city/market)+ties carries a ton of cache with that market. Like being from my area was huge in me getting a 1L SA with the small lit firm I'll be at. And I really think that grades are downplayed a tad in that regard, as in, they're not going to hire someone not from that area from some other random T-14 simply because they have better grades (I mean perhaps, if that person can believably explain why they want to be there and not some major market). The person you're more likely competing with is the cream of the crop from the local schools and other T-14's from your area. The real issue I think is twofold however: (1) you need to have a big enough scholarship where a small firm/city salary won't cripple you debt-wise and (2) there really aren't that many positions available, and thus it is sort of a crapshoot in that regard.

t-14 or bust

Thanks for the input. Hypothetically speaking, if I wanted to work at a small firm in a market like Phoenix (and I have ties there), would I be better off (or at least equally well off) going to Duke with a full scholly rather than ASU/UA?

AZ123 wrote:Thanks for the input. Hypothetically speaking, if I wanted to work at a small firm in a market like Phoenix (and I have ties there), would I be better off (or at least equally well off) going to Duke with a full scholly rather than ASU/UA?

There's a decent chance you graduate unemployed from ASU/U of A. But if you would rather work a small firm in Phoenix than anywhere else in the country I'd go to ASU/U of A.