Need to work in Dallas; Need to go to school in Houston Forum

[Liberal Theory]

I'll keep it brief. My fiancée just got into Baylor College of Medicine in Houston (The most prestigious med school in the South). She will be moving there next July. I don't finish my bachelors until December 2018, so I will be joining her in the summer of 2019 in Houston.

That of course means I'll need to go to UHLC. This is probably the law school I've looked into the least; we didn't expect for her to knock her med school admissions out of the park. And we're in it together too deep for us to live apart longer than a year. The snag is that we both HATE Houston and plan to leave asap when we graduate our schools at the same time. The goal is DFW; and where she's going there is no reason she wont find work up there. The problem is my position. I'm going to UH regardless of where I actually get accepted to, but I realize that UH is regional and not many make the jump from Houston to DFW.

I know plenty of people go to schools out of their region they work in, and I don't expect it to be too hard having all my roots in North Texas, but I still am thrown for a loop here. I planned 0% for this scenario it was so unlikely.

If you have experience going to a strong regional Law school in one city and finding work in another, especially in Texas, or know any anecdotes of successful attorneys who have, I would greatly appreciate it!

Edit: I'd sooner go JAG than Biglaw.

[devilblue]

1. I'm not sure where you're getting that Baylor med is the "most prestigious" in the south, but it comes from a world where Duke med and vanderbilt med don't exist.

2. I am not sure I'd call UH a "strong regional" school. Those are more the WUSTL, Vanderbilt, etc.'s of the world.

3. You'll be able to find some job in dallas if you go to UH but it might not be the type of job you want ... looks like their employment data puts them at just about 25% big law placement. Not great odds.

[Liberal Theory]

1. I'm not sure where you're getting that Baylor med is the "most prestigious" in the south, but it comes from a world where Duke med and vanderbilt med don't exist.

2. I am not sure I'd call UH a "strong regional" school. Those are more the WUSTL, Vanderbilt, etc.'s of the world.

3. You'll be able to find some job in dallas if you go to UH but it might not be the type of job you want ... looks like their employment data puts them at just about 25% big law placement. Not great odds.

1)Thanks for catching that, I meant Southwest. And I'm referring to the Primary Care rankings; she wants to actually work with children and stuff like that.

2) Maybe you're right, idk, but both those places dominate their entire state's, not just regions within them. Doesn't Vandy also dominate at least 1 other entire Southern state?

3) I should have clarified; I have no desire for biglaw. It would be the last legal job I would take. (Beats non legal job though; except maybe compliance.)

[Rigo]

What job do you actually want then?

[Rigo]

I still have two years left in UG at my (completely average) state university.

Pulled from your thread this spring.
How about chill out a bit and graduate, get a job in Houston for a couple years, then apply to schools when she's doing her residency (hopefully she gets an Austin position or another T14 city).
Knock out the LSAT in the meantime.

[poptart123]

Congrats to your fiance soon sharing alumnus status at Rand Paul's medical school.

[Liberal Theory]

What job do you actually want then?

Honestly I'm not very ambitious. I have wanted to be an ADA since I was doing Teen Court when I was 15. Public Defender/ ADA is all I can ask for at the end of the day. But I would also be comfortable doing personal law like working at a small/medium firm doing both criminal and civil litigation like divorces, general lawsuits or juvenile criminal cases. Of course nailing a clerkship or AUSA position would be the best case scenario.

And I am going KJD because I've been working 20 hours a week between the same 2 employers since I was 17 and I'm sick of working like an impoverished proletariat. I cannot be fulfilled until I actually am able to perform a meaningful function. And even if I did work while my fiancée goes to school, what am I going to do, wait for law school tuiton to double and mooch off my fiancée's earnings for thee years? No thanks.

[devilblue]

Congrats to your fiance soon sharing alumnus status at Rand Paul's medical school.

Wow, sarcastic AND wrong. A twofer.

[A. Nony Mouse]

2) Maybe you're right, idk, but both those places dominate their entire state's, not just regions within them. Doesn't Vandy also dominate at least 1 other entire Southern state?

Regional = places well in a region of the country including more than one state (not "region within a state"). National > regional > state > city. (Keep in mind lots and lots of states are way smaller than Texas, so "regional" isn't very helpful for inside a state.)

How about chill out a bit and graduate, get a job in Houston for a couple years, then apply to schools when she's doing her residency (hopefully she gets an Austin position or another T14 city).
Knock out the LSAT in the meantime.

This is excellent advice. If you don't want to work in Houston, wait for your fiancee to finish and get a job in DFW and then go to SMU (or go to UT and come home on the weekends).

[UVA2B]

You realistically have two options in ways to approach this that would be wise.

1. Go with your fiancee/eventually wife when you graduate and get a job until she is going through residency match. Insist she focus her residency match on places where you can reach your goals (like SMU/UT). During the time working, study for the LSAT and do everything in your power to make law school as cheap as possible. Her three years of residency could match perfectly with your three years of law school, and you'll be best set up to accomplish your local PD/ADA/small firm goals. Everybody wins. This is undoubtedly the best option if you're thinking rationally and refuse to spend any time apart.

2. Realize you're committed to a life together, so spending a few years apart/only seeing each other on weekends is doable if it's short-term. See option 1 on best law schools for accomplishing your goals. This has the downside of not putting off law school for a few years, which is a positive for any applicant, but at least you're still best setting yourself up for your career. This is a less attractive option on multiple fronts, but it's better than going to UHLC wanting a DFW PD/ADA job and not taking time between UG and law school.

ETA: composite scooped by Rigo and Nony I think

[poptart123]

Congrats to your fiance soon sharing alumnus status at Rand Paul's medical school.

Wow, sarcastic AND wrong. A twofer.

I see the joke went over your head...

[cavalier1138]

What job do you actually want then?

Honestly I'm not very ambitious. I have wanted to be an ADA since I was doing Teen Court when I was 15. Public Defender/ ADA is all I can ask for at the end of the day. But I would also be comfortable doing personal law like working at a small/medium firm doing both criminal and civil litigation like divorces, general lawsuits or juvenile criminal cases. Of course nailing a clerkship or AUSA position would be the best case scenario.

And I am going KJD because I've been working 20 hours a week between the same 2 employers since I was 17 and I'm sick of working like an impoverished proletariat. I cannot be fulfilled until I actually am able to perform a meaningful function. And even if I did work while my fiancée goes to school, what am I going to do, wait for law school tuiton to double and mooch off my fiancée's earnings for thee years? No thanks.

There are so many red flags here that I can't figure out which one to focus on. A few general thoughts:

1. You start out saying that you want to be an ADA. Within one sentence, it's expanded to ADA or PD. By the next sentence, you're considering civil litigation, family law, and juvenile representation. And then by the end, you want to do federal prosecution. I'm not saying you have to know exactly what you want to do, but it definitely sounds like you aren't committed enough to one field to cut off options for yourself. That's also not surprising because...

2. You're young. I know that you're tired of working without performing a "meaningful function" (I strongly recommend talking to junior attorneys to see how meaningful they feel their work is). But you're young. You're rushing this (and it sounds like a good deal of other life choices) because your young brain thinks that you've got it all figured out and that if you don't do these things right now you will literally be too old to function. I know it's really difficult to believe this--your brain is probably shouting that old people always want to betray the confident, got-it-together kids--but trust me, you need some time out of school.

3. No one is saying you should "mooch off" your fiancee. For starters, I assume that she'll be taking out loans. So if anything, people are suggesting that you get a full-time job and help support both of you while she's in med school. Law school isn't going anywhere, and tuition isn't doubling. You stand a far better chance than she does at getting your tuition reduced or eliminated if you take the time to get a good LSAT and build up some work experience (which will also help you mature and figure out what you want to do).

4. You only get to do law school once. Your should not be asking, "Where can I go right now that might work out for me?" You should be asking, "Where do I need to go in order to accomplish my long-term career goals?"

[A. Nony Mouse]

And I am going KJD because I've been working 20 hours a week between the same 2 employers since I was 17 and I'm sick of working like an impoverished proletariat. I cannot be fulfilled until I actually am able to perform a meaningful function. And even if I did work while my fiancée goes to school, what am I going to do, wait for law school tuiton to double and mooch off my fiancée's earnings for thee years? No thanks.

Since you added this after I posted last... no one is saying you have to stay in your current jobs. Get another job. Meaningfulness is found in many possible settings, including in doing what will serve you better in the long run. And frankly it could make more financial sense to wait and go to law school when your fiancé has finished and can support you - at least living expense-wise - because that should reduce your debt, and once you’re married, you’re not fucking mooching off your spouse’s earnings - you’re doing what works financially for the both of you. Reducing your debt is to the benefit of both of you. (Which includes scoring high enough on the LSAT to get scholarships, so whatever else, don’t plan on law school until you achieve that, if you don’t want to “mooch” off her earnings. Paying more than you have to would be another form of “mooching.”)