Hastings Forum

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greg737

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Hastings

Post by greg737 » Tue Apr 05, 2011 6:59 pm

So, Hastings seems to get killed on these boards. I've read in some of the discussions on which school people should attend that many people don't suggest going there for whatever reason (the nasty area, bad job prospects, the cost).

But, for those who are there, how do you feel about the potential job market coming out of Hastings? Do most people get paying jobs in the summer? I'd love to know as I'm considering there and have been accepted.

Thanks.

beaniew

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Re: Hastings

Post by beaniew » Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:04 pm

I went there for 1L before transferring. I really loved my experience there. Educationally, its just as good as my current school. The job market is a little tough, but if you're at the top, and statistically you won't be, all options are on the table.

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Lasers

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Re: Hastings

Post by Lasers » Wed Apr 06, 2011 3:36 am

the only reason it gets killed on the boards is because it's been stagnant in the late 30's/early 40's in the us news rankings. the rankings play a big difference in a school's perception on these boards.

job prospects have taken a huge hit looking at the charts compared to a few years ago, but most schools have as well. its employment prospects seem to be pretty much identical to uc davis (perhaps even better in many respects looking at the charts) despite the discrepancy in rank.

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Lasers

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Re: Hastings

Post by Lasers » Wed Apr 06, 2011 3:37 am

beaniew wrote:I went there for 1L before transferring. I really loved my experience there. Educationally, its just as good as my current school. The job market is a little tough, but if you're at the top, and statistically you won't be, all options are on the table.
where did you transfer to?

greg737

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Re: Hastings

Post by greg737 » Thu Apr 07, 2011 3:12 am

For those who are there or graduated.. how well does Hastings place in the Los Angeles/Southern California market? Is it comparable -- or even better than -- the second-tier LA schools like Pepperdine or Loyola? Or does going to Hastings pretty much mean you're going to be working in the Bay Area?

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drdolittle

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Re: Hastings

Post by drdolittle » Thu Apr 07, 2011 4:01 am

greg737 wrote:For those who are there or graduated.. how well does Hastings place in the Los Angeles/Southern California market? Is it comparable -- or even better than -- the second-tier LA schools like Pepperdine or Loyola? Or does going to Hastings pretty much mean you're going to be working in the Bay Area?
Well, almost certainly better than any of the local schools other than UCLA and USC. But you can check on this yourself. Just look up various LA/Socal firm branch offices and search where their associates/partners went to law school. This won't tell you everything, but it should give you a general idea.

There are many students at Hastings from Socal who intend to go back. I'm guessing a good 30% of the student pop is originally from down there. And LA/Socal's a much larger legal market than SFBA anyway, so a number of the locals will end up there too, most likely. I know some 1Ls who are from the LA/OC area and are happily heading back for summer jobs/internships.

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Re: Hastings

Post by greg737 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:30 am

OK, another question, and this one may be silly (or at least not rankings or academically relatated), but how is it living in the Tower? I've heard from some people it's kind of like the dorms again, which could be a neat atmosphere.

As far as food goes, though, (these, clearly, are important concerns), is there a grocery store that's within walking distance? Or how is the food at the law school? I don't know if I could deal with not being able to go on a late night jack in the box run just down the street..

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drdolittle

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Re: Hastings

Post by drdolittle » Wed Apr 20, 2011 4:41 am

greg737 wrote:OK, another question, and this one may be silly (or at least not rankings or academically relatated), but how is it living in the Tower? I've heard from some people it's kind of like the dorms again, which could be a neat atmosphere.

As far as food goes, though, (these, clearly, are important concerns), is there a grocery store that's within walking distance? Or how is the food at the law school? I don't know if I could deal with not being able to go on a late night jack in the box run just down the street..
Tower's a nice mix of dorm and apartment living. It's surprisingly quiet at all times, but there are occasional get togethers and it has common areas for socializing (pool table, table tennis, TV, etc.).

For grocery shopping, Trader Joe's is about a 15 min walk away, Safeway about the same, shorter with public transit. Whole Foods is a good 20 min walk. There's some fast food place (BK?) just a block away and there are a lot of cheap restaurants and take out places around campus. There's a convenience store and a nice coffee shop right next to the Tower too.

Imo, Tower living's the way to go for 1L at least, unless you're from the the area and/or can live with local family/friends instead.

amissionsix

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Re: Hastings

Post by amissionsix » Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:06 pm

I've noticed the trend on these boards to somewhat bash Hastings as well. But I realized it is only a few students out of over 1,000 at the school. So I've tried to take what they say with a grain of salt.

And regarding Los Angeles, when I was at the USC admitted students day last week, I spoke to a couple 3L's who mentioned that students outside of the top 10% were having trouble getting jobs at the big firms. I don't think that's a knock on USC, but more of an effect of the economy right now. It just seems that the Hastings students are more vocal about it on these boards.

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Re: Hastings

Post by bk1 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:08 pm

Hastings gets bashed because it has poor job prospects for an exorbitant price and it tends to be stingy with money. These things aren't really the school's fault per se (blame the CA economy and CA budget), but they are what they are.

There are schools in other locations that give far better prospects for far less money to people with the same stats.

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Re: Hastings

Post by drdolittle » Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:13 pm

bk187 wrote:Hastings gets bashed because it has poor job prospects for an exorbitant price and it tends to be stingy with money. These things aren't really the school's fault per se (blame the CA economy and CA budget), but they are what they are.

There are schools in other locations that give far better prospects for far less money to people with the same stats.
Yeah, but unfortunately nowhere in CA.

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Re: Hastings

Post by bk1 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:15 pm

drdolittle wrote:Yeah, but unfortunately nowhere in CA.
True. But even as a lifelong Bay Area resident who really would like to return, I can't rationally justify paying double at Hastings what I would at comparable school elsewhere. I most likely will have to give up my hopes of returning to CA quickly.

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Re: Hastings

Post by amissionsix » Wed Apr 20, 2011 2:44 pm

I'm just speaking for myself, but better prospects in another state will not get me to leave CA. I understand the reality of breaking into the Bay Area legal market, but I'm not about to give up before I even start law school. It also helps that Hastings was less stingy with money in my case.

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Lasers

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Re: Hastings

Post by Lasers » Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:08 pm

i don't know CA is that impenetrable . if you're open to the entire state, rather than just the bay area, then it's not as difficult from what i can tell.

for me, i prefer the bay area but am open to all of southern california.

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Re: Hastings

Post by bk1 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 3:42 pm

Lasers wrote:i don't know CA is that impenetrable . if you're open to the entire state, rather than just the bay area, then it's not as difficult from what i can tell.

for me, i prefer the bay area but am open to all of southern california.
While SoCal isn't the festering pit of contract attorneys that NorCal is, job prospects are still decidedly worse than most other places.

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Re: Hastings

Post by amissionsix » Wed Apr 20, 2011 5:36 pm

bk187 wrote:
While SoCal isn't the festering pit of contract attorneys that NorCal is, job prospects are still decidedly worse than most other places.
What "other places" are you referencing? Just curious.

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Re: Hastings

Post by bk1 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 5:47 pm

amissionsix wrote:
bk187 wrote:
While SoCal isn't the festering pit of contract attorneys that NorCal is, job prospects are still decidedly worse than most other places.
What "other places" are you referencing? Just curious.
Anywhere else other than the south and maybe PNW seems better off in regards to available jobs compared to number of grads (northeast, midwest, mid atlantic).

The reason I say this is that if you look at placement of CA schools compared to schools of similar caliber that aren't in CA (whether it is UCLA/USC vs UT/Vandy, Davis/Hastings vs BC/WUSTL/Illinois/etc, or Loyola/Pepperdine/USF/etc vs T2's), those at the bottom of the class in CA seem to be doing much worse than those at the bottom of the class in other places.

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Re: Hastings

Post by amissionsix » Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:52 pm

bk187 wrote:
Anywhere else other than the south and maybe PNW seems better off in regards to available jobs compared to number of grads (northeast, midwest, mid atlantic).

The reason I say this is that if you look at placement of CA schools compared to schools of similar caliber that aren't in CA (whether it is UCLA/USC vs UT/Vandy, Davis/Hastings vs BC/WUSTL/Illinois/etc, or Loyola/Pepperdine/USF/etc vs T2's), those at the bottom of the class in CA seem to be doing much worse than those at the bottom of the class in other places.
I definitely agree that those towards the bottom of the class in CA schools are in for a tough job search. I guess it's somewhat of a gamble and maybe especially so in San Francisco, but it would be hard for me to leave CA before I even start school. No one knows for sure what the economy will look like down the road (unfortunately our OCI will be in only 16 months).

I guess I have faith in myself that I will figure out how to make it work here. People also told me I wouldn't find a job in finance in 2008 and I was able to pull it off. If there wasn't already enough incentive to do well your first year, this economy sure gives it.

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Re: Hastings

Post by Borhas » Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:10 pm

By the time I graduate I would have paid 3x more to go to UCH than to George Mason... but I had several reasons (family, culture, dislike of NoVa/DC) to want to work in CA in general and some specific to my career interest (public defender salaries in VA are significantly lower than CA)

IBR + LRAP will save me from soul crushing debt, but I do have a high sense of self-worth (read: "I'm a special snowflake") so I don't think I'll end up jobless doing contract attorney work, I think I'll get a job as a PD, in the worst case I'd be willing to work in VA as well, but I don't foresee myself just flat out not being to work as a public defender w/in 9 mos of graduating... so debt doesn't worry me at all.

However, this strategy is pretty risky... but fuck it, the G-man is paying my loans, so why not live it up in the pinnacle of Western civilization? (as much as a law student can live it up...)
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Re: Hastings

Post by flexityflex86 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:13 pm

bk187 wrote:
amissionsix wrote:
bk187 wrote:
While SoCal isn't the festering pit of contract attorneys that NorCal is, job prospects are still decidedly worse than most other places.
What "other places" are you referencing? Just curious.
Anywhere else other than the south and maybe PNW seems better off in regards to available jobs compared to number of grads (northeast, midwest, mid atlantic).

The reason I say this is that if you look at placement of CA schools compared to schools of similar caliber that aren't in CA (whether it is UCLA/USC vs UT/Vandy, Davis/Hastings vs BC/WUSTL/Illinois/etc, or Loyola/Pepperdine/USF/etc vs T2's), those at the bottom of the class in CA seem to be doing much worse than those at the bottom of the class in other places.
is it possible this is influenced by the west coast "laid back" mentality more than the particular legal market? people on the west coast seemed very chilled out in my short time there, which might mean they hustle less than those on the east coast.

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Re: Hastings

Post by bk1 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 7:14 pm

flexityflex86 wrote:is it possible this is influenced by the west coast "laid back" mentality more than the particular legal market? people on the west coast seemed very chilled out in my short time there, which might mean they hustle less than those on the east coast.
It makes no sense that grads of these schools are intentionally trying to get part time work rather than full time work.

The jobs just aren't there.

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Re: Hastings

Post by RadMobile » Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:36 pm

For what it's worth, I've really enjoyed my time at Hastings. The education is top notch. Also, even though I think the school exaggerates the benefits of Hastings' location, for public interest folks, you couldn't ask for a better location.

Classmates are pretty cool. Everyone is generally pretty helpful. One thing that kinda gets on my nerves is the whole, "I finished all of my outlines and have taken 15 practice tests, how about you??"

My biggest gripe about Hastings is that sometimes it feels like a shark tank. Whenever there is a limited resource, EVERYONE tries to snatch it up as fast as possible (perhaps this is just human nature) but still, it is really irritating. This happens with any limited resource on campus, whether it be free food, career services appointments, pro bono opportunities, networking opportunities with limited space, etc... It could very well be that this is just human nature and I need to stop being so idealistic and just fight for the limited resources like everyone else (Darwinism right?).

Apart from its flaws, Hastings really is a great place, especially if you are interested in public interest. As others have said, it gets a bad wrap on TLS because you've got 20 year old dweebs who pray to US News every night.

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Re: Hastings

Post by mnolen » Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:41 pm

RadMobile wrote:For what it's worth, I've really enjoyed my time at Hastings. The education is top notch. Also, even though I think the school exaggerates the benefits of Hastings' location, for public interest folks, you couldn't ask for a better location.

Classmates are pretty cool. Everyone is generally pretty helpful. One thing that kinda gets on my nerves is the whole, "I finished all of my outlines and have taken 15 practice tests, how about you??"

My biggest gripe about Hastings is that sometimes it feels like a shark tank. Whenever there is a limited resource, EVERYONE tries to snatch it up as fast as possible (perhaps this is just human nature) but still, it is really irritating. This happens with any limited resource on campus, whether it be free food, career services appointments, pro bono opportunities, networking opportunities with limited space, etc... It could very well be that this is just human nature and I need to stop being so idealistic and just fight for the limited resources like everyone else (Darwinism right?).

Apart from its flaws, Hastings really is a great place, especially if you are interested in public interest. As others have said, it gets a bad wrap on TLS because you've got 20 year old dweebs who pray to US News every night.
I'm guessing you were at brunch on the beach? I have NEVER seen food disappear that quickly before.

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Re: Hastings

Post by RadMobile » Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:46 pm

mnolen wrote:I'm guessing you were at brunch on the beach? I have NEVER seen food disappear that quickly before.
Haha! Yep. That was crazy. I ended up munching on a piece of cardboard cliff bar

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Re: Hastings

Post by Lasers » Thu Apr 21, 2011 1:36 am

RadMobile wrote: My biggest gripe about Hastings is that sometimes it feels like a shark tank. Whenever there is a limited resource, EVERYONE tries to snatch it up as fast as possible (perhaps this is just human nature) but still, it is really irritating. This happens with any limited resource on campus, whether it be free food, career services appointments, pro bono opportunities, networking opportunities with limited space, etc... It could very well be that this is just human nature and I need to stop being so idealistic and just fight for the limited resources like everyone else (Darwinism right?).
i don't know what you expect, though? would you prefer for people to sort of slowly stumble towards "limited resources"? i mean, that doesn't seem to be exclusive to hastings at all.

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