How necessary is it to come clean about transferring Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 3L who transferred from TT --> CCN, when networking (i.e. college alumni events etc) and when people ask where I went to law school, I usually just say the school I transferred to unless I'm specifically asked a question about 1L or a question where mentioning my 1L school is necessary to comprehensively answer a question. I used to feel that's just the right way to do it, and that proactively mentioning I transferred may strike some as some kind of backhanded modesty. But I'm not sure if I still feel that way. For instance, in the event I do follow up with any one I meet, at this point for purposes of lateraling / going in house in 2-3 years, would they be taken aback if they feel I hid the fact I transferred because I just said "I went to [name of CCN school]"

[QContinuum]

I'm a 3L who transferred from TT --> CCN, when networking (i.e. college alumni events etc) and when people ask where I went to law school, I usually just say the school I transferred to unless I'm specifically asked a question about 1L or a question where mentioning my 1L school is necessary to comprehensively answer a question.

This is absolutely TCR. You spent two-thirds of your law school career at CCN, and your J.D. will be from CCN. Obviously continue to list your 1L school on your resume (it'd be disingenuous to omit it), but absolutely no need to proactively mention it when networking etc.

Congrats on your transfer success, and on your imminent graduation!

would they be taken aback if they feel I hid the fact I transferred because I just said "I went to [name of CCN school]"

Why would they feel that you hid anything? You did indeed "go to CCN." You did indeed graduate from CCN.

[cheaptilts]

It is customary to only list the schools you graduated from on your resume following graduation. It’s normal for law grads to omit the institution(s) they transferred from.

Anyone who needs to know where you spent your 1L presumably will have access to your transcripts.

[AdieuCali]

Obviously continue to list your 1L school on your resume (it'd be disingenuous to omit it)

Is it really disingenuous at this stage though? Certainly for rising 2Ls going through OCI it would be disingenuous to omit where you spent the previous (and only) year of law school. But after that, I assume it would be fine to put this under your education section:

CCN
J.D., 2019

[cheaptilts]

Obviously continue to list your 1L school on your resume (it'd be disingenuous to omit it)

Is it really disingenuous at this stage though? Certainly for rising 2Ls going through OCI it would be disingenuous to omit where you spent the previous (and only) year of law school. But after that, I assume it would be fine to put this under your education section:

CCN
J.D., 2019

Your intuition is correct—or at least the predominant train of thought I think (as well as the accepted TLS position through the years)

[QContinuum]

Obviously continue to list your 1L school on your resume (it'd be disingenuous to omit it)

Is it really disingenuous at this stage though? Certainly for rising 2Ls going through OCI it would be disingenuous to omit where you spent the previous (and only) year of law school. But after that, I assume it would be fine to put this under your education section:

CCN
J.D., 2019

I've seen associates list their 1L schools on their firm website. Presumably they'd only list the higher-ranked school they transferred to if they had a choice about it.

It's a judgment call thing. IMO, I think the cost of listing it on the resume is minimal to nonexistent, so why not just do it?

[cheaptilts]

Obviously continue to list your 1L school on your resume (it'd be disingenuous to omit it)

Is it really disingenuous at this stage though? Certainly for rising 2Ls going through OCI it would be disingenuous to omit where you spent the previous (and only) year of law school. But after that, I assume it would be fine to put this under your education section:

CCN
J.D., 2019

I've seen associates list their 1L schools on their firm website. Presumably they'd only list the higher-ranked school they transferred to if they had a choice about it.

It's a judgment call thing. IMO, I think the cost of listing it on the resume is minimal to nonexistent, so why not just do it?

I, too, see associates list their 1L schools on their firm bios, but rarely. Most transfers I know do not have their previous school on their firm bios. And because it’s commonplace to only list the institution graduated from (both on resumes and on firm websites), you probably look at more firm bios from transfers than you realize.

I agree that the cost of listing it on the resume is minimal to non-existent, but a resume is incredibly valuable real estate. No need for things that don’t matter to most (and no need to draw immediate attention to a thing that may matter for some). Reasonable minds can disagree. I can only recount what my understanding of the norm is for OP

[Transfer2021]

Your resume MUST include your 1L school. Your bio does not include it -- only where your JD is from.

[cheaptilts]

Your resume MUST include your 1L school. Your bio does not include it -- only where your JD is from.

Your post history (and username) suggests that you’re a transfer applicant for this cycle. You haven’t even summered at a firm yet—how would you know what’s common practice and what’s not?

[nixy]

I’ve often seen people say to leave your 1L school on while you’re still in school, then take it off after you’ve graduated.

[Transfer2021]

Your resume MUST include your 1L school. Your bio does not include it -- only where your JD is from.

Your post history (and username) suggests that you’re a transfer applicant for this cycle. You haven’t even summered at a firm yet—how would you know what’s common practice and what’s not?

I've worked 15 years in BigLaw and have asked this question of professionals. Thanks for your inquiry.

[Transfer2021]

Regarding resumes, I think what's posted here is fair: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/admitted-s ... me-advice/

I know plenty of lawyers who transferred after 1L year and do not advertise it (meaning, their firm bio includes only the law school where their degree is from). However the absence of your 1L year on a resume leaves a gap that is inaccurate. Hope this helps.

[BasilHallward]

Your resume MUST include your 1L school. Your bio does not include it -- only where your JD is from.

Your post history (and username) suggests that you’re a transfer applicant for this cycle. You haven’t even summered at a firm yet—how would you know what’s common practice and what’s not?

I've worked 15 years in BigLaw and have asked this question of professionals. Thanks for your inquiry.

I've been out of law school for a year and have inquired with "professionals" and interviewed summers, etc.

Honestly, I've seen some include it. And others did not, who I know were transfers. Frankly, I don't care and think it's a discretionary matter. For example, I don't include the two years I spent at a local college. I transferred to a four-year state school, and all the credits were accepted and my GPA started anew. It's effectively the same deal when transferring from one's 1L school.

EDIT: And to qualify, I take this discretionary stance concerning graduates not current law students.

[nixy]

Regarding resumes, I think what's posted here is fair: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/admitted-s ... me-advice/

I know plenty of lawyers who transferred after 1L year and do not advertise it (meaning, their firm bio includes only the law school where their degree is from). However the absence of your 1L year on a resume leaves a gap that is inaccurate. Hope this helps.

That advice (from Berkeley) does seem to be geared specifically for rising 2Ls though. And resumes don’t have to be comprehensive; in particular, if there isn’t anything to note about 1L year (like no awards or anything specific to that academic year), there wouldn’t be a visible gap.

[QContinuum]

Regarding resumes, I think what's posted here is fair: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/admitted-s ... me-advice/

I know plenty of lawyers who transferred after 1L year and do not advertise it (meaning, their firm bio includes only the law school where their degree is from). However the absence of your 1L year on a resume leaves a gap that is inaccurate. Hope this helps.

That advice (from Berkeley) does seem to be geared specifically for rising 2Ls though. And resumes don’t have to be comprehensive; in particular, if there isn’t anything to note about 1L year (like no awards or anything specific to that academic year), there wouldn’t be a visible gap.

nixy's point is a good one: If a transfer student/graduate lists 1L honors/awards on their resume, then IMO they must list their 1L school, because failing to do so (while still listing the 1L honors) would wrongly suggest that those honors were awarded by their (presumably more prestigious) 2L/3L school.

[janereacher]

The Berkeley advice brings up a good point. If you are transferring to a school without a GPA/grades or class rank, then I can see how it would be beneficial to leave it on a resume even after graduation.