BU 3L procrastinating (as usual) by taking any questions Forum

[ls10]

Hey,

So I used this site a bit when I applied to law schools, but have mostly lurked in the background. Since I've found this site to be helpful, especially when people who are actually currently in law school give their comments/advice, I figured that I would offer to be that person and help anyone who has any questions about BU Law or law school in general. Ask away!

[bees]

Do you have a job lined up? What is your class rank?

[acdisagod]

And how has job placement been among your peers.

[ls10]

Wow, right to the point haha. Yes, I have a job lined up - I'll be clerking for a judge on the Rhode Island State Supreme Court. We actually don't rank after the top 10%, but 3.5 is what most people speculate to be top 1/3 and I am a little below that.

[ls10]

And how has job placement been among your peers.

It's been rough this year compared with past years for sure. I personally know a good number of people who got offers from their law firms in Boston, New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Seattle, and San Diego; but a lot of those people are still worried about offers being rescinded and such (which has happened to people in the Class of 2009). Then there are many others who were "no-offered" after last summer - I actually was one of them; I had a job with a V50 law firm in New York, but they unfortunately only gave 1 offer out to the 8 of us. But, I have been very fortunate and in addition to the clerkship, I actually have an interview for a different mid-sized law firm in New York next week who would defer me for my clerkship year (but I had a connection at the firm).

Many 3Ls were able to interview again this year and find jobs like clerkships (which were very competitive this year) and other government positions. I know a few 3Ls who secured DA positions in New York and Miami this year and state and federal clerkships. But to be honest, there are definitely many more who are still looking. I can't throw out specific numbers because I don't know them and the career office won't know until we graduate, but it's definitely worse this year than ever.

2Ls definitely had a hard time finding firm jobs, but that is happening everywhere. For example, I have a 3L friend going to Cravath this fall and she was one of 100+ summers last summer. This year they cut their summer class to 20. I do not know how many 2Ls were able to secure firm jobs (I am not as close with the 2L class), but I do know some who have offers in Boston and New York. Many others are looking for government positions, as that's the natural fall back after the private sector, but again that's competitive too (for ex, I know a 2L working for the Federal Defender in DC).

All in all, I think we have been able to fare generally well in that people have been able to find things, but not necessarily the big six figure firm job that people may have come to law school for (especially because BU has a reputation for being very firm oriented). But yes, it's been VERY HARD this year. I hope this is helpful without specific numbers.

[kittenmittons]

What is the competition like from HLS guys for the BU UGs?

[09042014]

Does being a Jesuit school have any downsides?

[ls10]

I'm a devout Jehovah's Witness. Do you think that will hurt me at BU?

No, I don't think anyone cares about that. I believe that there is a Christian Legal Society group.

[oneforship]

Is it true that the BC women are objectively better looking than the BU women?

[ls10]

Does being a Jesuit school have any downsides?

We aren't Jesuit, that's BC.

[ls10]

Is it true that the BC women are objectively better looking than the BU women?

I have no idea, I don't know many BC students go to BC events that often.

[chicoalto0649]

Are you going to miss the Tower of Doom?

[kittenmittons]

In all seriousness, what is it like going to school in a downtown setting?

[ls10]

What is the competition like from HLS guys for the BU UGs?

Again, I have no idea...there isn't much interaction between law students and BU UGs. But, something tells me that telling them you're a Harvard Law Student won't be the best pick up line...

[ls10]

Are you going to miss the Tower of Doom?

To be honest, I hated my first year - I came straight from undergrad, transitioning to law school was hard, and I hated Boston; most of my friends from UG went to NY, DC, and SF. But really, over the last two years, I've made amazing friends here and I've really come to love Boston. I don't think I'll ever truly miss the Tower because it is pretty hideous and I am still haunted sometimes by flashbacks of frantic 1L finals studying (I study at cafes near my apartment now), BUT I'll miss law school for sure.

[ls10]

In all seriousness, what is it like going to school in a downtown setting?

I really like it, it's one of the main reasons I applied to BU. I went to UG in a downtown setting and I didn't want to give that up. Most people live a little west of Boston downtown proper, but the T will take me downtown from where I live in Brookline in like 15-20 minutes, depending on where I'm going. People go downtown all the time for shopping, food, bars, Redsox games, Celtics games, etc...it's great.

I also like that we're not directly in the middle of downtown because that would be more distracting and more expensive, although I do know many 3Ls who moved to downtown neighborhoods like Back Bay and Beacon Hill so as to escape some of the dingy parts of Allston/Brighton.

[getmetolawschool]

hi, thanks for doing this! there is a lot of talk on these boards about how bc is a more collegial, friendly school and bu is much more cutthroat/unhappy -- can you comment on that? i am leaning towards bu (and visiting next week to see it for myself!), but i will be moving to boston on my own and so being able to make friends and have a social life is definitely still important to me.

[kittenmittons]

What is the competition like from HLS guys for the BU UGs?

Again, I have no idea...there isn't much interaction between law students and BU UGs. But, something tells me that telling them you're a Harvard Law Student won't be the best pick up line...

I don't know bro, the H-Bomb worked on the Soviets. BU panties probably fall easier than the Iron Curtain

[ExcitedBlutterance]

Can you post a list of firms that attended OCI this year?

[pollaclc]

hi, thanks for doing this! there is a lot of talk on these boards about how bc is a more collegial, friendly school and bu is much more cutthroat/unhappy -- can you comment on that? i am leaning towards bu (and visiting next week to see it for myself!), but i will be moving to boston on my own and so being able to make friends and have a social life is definitely still important to me.

+1

[ls10]

hi, thanks for doing this! there is a lot of talk on these boards about how bc is a more collegial, friendly school and bu is much more cutthroat/unhappy -- can you comment on that? i am leaning towards bu (and visiting next week to see it for myself!), but i will be moving to boston on my own and so being able to make friends and have a social life is definitely still important to me.

Yeah, I noticed that the BC versus BU debates on this board get pretty heated...it's kind of amusing. But for me, to be honest, I can careless what BC, Suffolk, Harvard, or NESL students think about BU. I don't know that many people at BC and I'm not a student there, so I can't comment on their reputation for being friendly and collegial.

As for BU, I have no idea why BU has the reputation for being cutthroat and unhappy. You should definitely visit any school you're considering first before eliminating it, that's what I did. In my experience, BU has been extremely friendly and collegial. No one rips pages out of books, refuses to give you their notes, or hoards outlines. Everyone I've encountered has been very nice and willing to help whenever you ask for it. There may be those more intense gunners, or "classholes" as we like to call them here, but you'll always have those few people at any law school.

As I said earlier, I've made a fantastic group of friends here. We recently had a "100 Days Until Graduation" party and it was very well attended by the 3L class. We have weekly bar reviews and our SGA holds three major parties that almost everyone goes to during orientation (the school sponsors kegs on the patio behind the law school), Halloween, and Law Prom. We also have Legal Follies, which is a "variety show" that most schools call "Law Revue"; it was actually featured on Above The Law last year: --LinkRemoved--

Most people I know are happy here and I think most people would be happy here.

[pollaclc]

also, speaking of "procrastinating as usual," how much of your time do you think you spend studying or trying/pretending to study?

[ls10]

Can you post a list of firms that attended OCI this year?

I actually have no idea who attended OCI this year. 3Ls have a different career services Symplicity page than 2Ls, so in the fall we could not see any firms interviewing only 2Ls. As for 3Ls, this fall I remember about 20 or 25 firms listed that interviewed 3Ls only, but don't have their names because fall OCI is no longer listed on our Symplicity.

I do know that the number of firms was down this year compared to last year, but I don't have a specific number or percentage.

[ls10]

What is the competition like from HLS guys for the BU UGs?

Again, I have no idea...there isn't much interaction between law students and BU UGs. But, something tells me that telling them you're a Harvard Law Student won't be the best pick up line...

I don't know bro, the H-Bomb worked on the Soviets. BU panties probably fall easier than the Iron Curtain

LOL...I knew a couple of people who went to schools in the Boston-area for UG and I will say that according to them between Harvard, BC, BU, and MIT, BU panties will always fall first.

[oneforship]

What is the competition like from HLS guys for the BU UGs?

Again, I have no idea...there isn't much interaction between law students and BU UGs. But, something tells me that telling them you're a Harvard Law Student won't be the best pick up line...

I don't know bro, the H-Bomb worked on the Soviets. BU panties probably fall easier than the Iron Curtain

LOL...I knew a couple of people who went to schools in the Boston-area for UG and I will say that according to them between Harvard, BC, BU, and MIT, BU panties will always fall first.

Would you say you were able to take advantage of this during your time there? Or was the workload too heavy to have any fun?