Oregon 3L Taking Questions Forum

[DCDuck]

The semester has gotten off to a very slow start for me. I'm available to answer questions about the University of Oregon School of Law if anyone has any questions!

[Ginj]

How's job placement looking?

[DCDuck]

Better for the 2L class than for mine. A couple of people from my class have already secured post-grad employment, but they are definitely the minority (firms/clerkships). The job search is pretty tough. OCI is not very good at Oregon, so most people need to find work through other avenues. Chatter is hopeful for the 1 and 2L classes, less-so for my class (and last year's) overall. Also, the Oregon legal market has been struggling, but it looks like it might be rebounding.

I hear lots of complaints about our career services office, which is going through some changes, hopefully for the better.

[DCDuck]

Also, finding even summer work has been so difficult for some people in my class that they took classes both summers and will be graduating in December. (Law school in 2 1/2 years.) To be fair, some of them had externships or part-time work so they took classes and got some experience over the summers.

The school also has several clinics (Domestic Violence, Prosecution, Defense, Small Business, etc.) which students can take over their 2L summer.

[McLusky]

Is having a car a necessity in Eugene?

[DCDuck]

I have friends who get by without cars and use busses and bikes. It's doable, but a car makes life a lot easier, at least for me. Most people have cars. A lot of people get externships or clinics outside of Eugene and they need to commute. There's also a lot to see in the surrounding areas and having a car makes it a lot easier to escape to the beach or mountains for an afternoon if you need a break.

[Bodhi_mind]

What are your plans after graduation? What do you think of the Ducks football uniforms?

[DCDuck]

I'm lucky enough to have gotten a job offer at a firm on the east coast. I love the ducks, but I miss the days when there were only two colors or uniform: green and yellow. Now we have 30 different shades of green, charcoal, grey, black, white, neon. It's too much. But I love Uncle Phil and if the ducks love their plethora of uniforms, then I am happy for them.

[MrAnon]

How is the job search for 1Ls and 2Ls even comparable to 3Ls? 3Ls are looking for permanent employment. 1ls/2ls are looking for summer jobs, many of which are unpaid. Of course they are finding them.

[Bodhi_mind]

I'm lucky enough to have gotten a job offer at a firm on the east coast. I love the ducks, but I miss the days when there were only two colors or uniform: green and yellow. Now we have 30 different shades of green, charcoal, grey, black, white, neon. It's too much. But I love Uncle Phil and if the ducks love their plethora of uniforms, then I am happy for them.

Congrats on the job offer. How'd you pull that? And I love all of the new ducks uniforms, including the neon/grey/charcoal/whatever. I think they look fantastic

[Richie Tenenbaum]

How is the job search for 1Ls and 2Ls even comparable to 3Ls? 3Ls are looking for permanent employment. 1ls/2ls are looking for summer jobs, many of which are unpaid. Of course they are finding them.

...2L summer is pretty important for biglaw/midlaw.

[IAFG]

I have friends who get by without cars and use busses and bikes. It's doable, but a car makes life a lot easier, at least for me. Most people have cars. A lot of people get externships or clinics outside of Eugene and they need to commute. There's also a lot to see in the surrounding areas and having a car makes it a lot easier to escape to the beach or mountains for an afternoon if you need a break.

I was born in Eugene and the bus system is very good and there's no reason you can't rely on it... that said, it's not a compact city at all. I prefer having a car there even though I've survives both ways.

[bigtexmex]

I'm lucky enough to have gotten a job offer at a firm on the east coast. I love the ducks, but I miss the days when there were only two colors or uniform: green and yellow. Now we have 30 different shades of green, charcoal, grey, black, white, neon. It's too much. But I love Uncle Phil and if the ducks love their plethora of uniforms, then I am happy for them.

Seriously. Call me old fashioned, but I like classic college unis. The new Ducks unis can sometimes be an eyesore for me.

Anyway, how are job prospects outside of Oregon (say Washington or Northern Cali)?

[DCDuck]

Oregon's reach gets weaker the farther away you get, but extends pretty well to Nor Cal, Washington and Idaho, especially if you have ties. The farther away you go, the harder it will be to get a job, but still possible. You'll have to try harder to get those jobs because the school will be less helpful, very few out-of-state employers actively recruit at the school, and it is harder to network. It's definitely still possible, and will be necessary for some students, because the Oregon legal market, like most others, is overly saturated and very small. (This will likely be true for most regional schools, not just Oregon).

[DebtandTaxes]

Everyday it seems like there is a lot going on during lunch, do you think it is worth it, from a networking standpoint that is, to attend these events? Obviously networking is very important and I would hate to miss out on valuable opportunities, even still I am wondering if going to these events is worth an hour of my day. Have you had any luck with meeting local attorneys and making actually useful contacts during these events or is it just a chance to get free pizza/waste an hour. Thanks.

[DCDuck]

Free pizza. The lunch talks are not usually the best for networking, unless there is a specific speaker/topic that you are interested in. For networking, the moot court competitions usually have local attorneys as judges, so not only would you get to meet them, but you would get to show off some of your skills. The after school events, bar/CLE, and job fairs (particularly diversity if you qualify) are generally better networking opportunities than the lunch talks. Go to lunch talks if you are interested in the subject or the food, but not if you are just going for networking.

Also, if there is a local attorney with a practice you are interested in learning more about, there's really no harm in emailing them asking to take them out for coffee to hear about their practice and how they got there.

[llachans]

How is the LGBT community on campus? I assume it's pretty LGBT friendly because of the area it's located in. Is the community visible on campus? Do you know if there's an OutLaw group or any gay bars in the area?

More generally, how is the nightlife there?

Also, if it's not too much trouble, is it possible you could post a picture of the campus?

Thanks so much!

[llachans]

Bump.

Also wondering about job markets as far as the outlook for prosecutors goes.

[DCDuck]

I was hoping another OLaw student might jump in to answer those questions, but alas. . .

We have an active OUTlaws group here. The law school is welcoming to gay students. The only complaints I have heard from my gay friends is that, while the community is nice and welcomed, it is pretty small. It's a small school in a small town. Like most places, there is the occasional problem in the community or on the undergrad campus, but it is not bad for a town of this size. Last I heard, there was at least one gay bar in town, and many other bars have "GLBTQ" nights. There is also the occasional "queer grad student mixer" and queer prom. Every year the school sends a handful of students to Lavender Law Career Fair, which I recommend attending no matter where you end up going.

Nightlife, in general, exists, but is small. There are a handful of bars in different parts of town. You can go out and let loose, but the nightlife here is not super distracting. That is one of the reasons I came back to go to law school here rather than in a more urban area--fewer distractions. It's there when you want it, but the nightlife should not be a determining factor in your decision to come here. It does the job, but is nothing to write home about. No fancy clubs, just casual local bars.

As for prosecution career prospects, I'm just going to tell it to you straight: It's tough out there. We have a very active Prosecution clinic that allows students to actually argue misdemeanor trials and assist with felony trials, as well as go on police ride alongs, and the advanced students can even make some charging decisions. Unfortunately, most of the DA offices around here (and I believe most places) are on a hiring freeze. Lots of recent graduates continue to "work" at the DAs office for free to get experience and hope that when they do decide they need to hire someone, it is them. There is the occasional DA job posting, but those jobs, like all others these days, are highly competitive.

As for pictures, I am not going to post any, but you can take a look at the website, http://www.law.uoregon.edu. We have a single, large, attractive, relatively new brick building on the edge of campus across from Hayward Field (the famous track, and home to the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Track trials). Campus is green and lovely. It is a couple of blocks from the river, and depending on where you live, you can get to school by a lovely bike ride along the river. It's not the nicest law campus in the country, but it's pretty nice and I have no complaints about that aspect of the school.

[llachans]

I was hoping another OLaw student might jump in to answer those questions, but alas. . .

We have an active OUTlaws group here. The law school is welcoming to gay students. The only complaints I have heard from my gay friends is that, while the community is nice and welcomed, it is pretty small. It's a small school in a small town. Like most places, there is the occasional problem in the community or on the undergrad campus, but it is not bad for a town of this size. Last I heard, there was at least one gay bar in town, and many other bars have "GLBTQ" nights. There is also the occasional "queer grad student mixer" and queer prom. Every year the school sends a handful of students to Lavender Law Career Fair, which I recommend attending no matter where you end up going.

Nightlife, in general, exists, but is small. There are a handful of bars in different parts of town. You can go out and let loose, but the nightlife here is not super distracting. That is one of the reasons I came back to go to law school here rather than in a more urban area--fewer distractions. It's there when you want it, but the nightlife should not be a determining factor in your decision to come here. It does the job, but is nothing to write home about. No fancy clubs, just casual local bars.

As for prosecution career prospects, I'm just going to tell it to you straight: It's tough out there. We have a very active Prosecution clinic that allows students to actually argue misdemeanor trials and assist with felony trials, as well as go on police ride alongs, and the advanced students can even make some charging decisions. Unfortunately, most of the DA offices around here (and I believe most places) are on a hiring freeze. Lots of recent graduates continue to "work" at the DAs office for free to get experience and hope that when they do decide they need to hire someone, it is them. There is the occasional DA job posting, but those jobs, like all others these days, are highly competitive.

As for pictures, I am not going to post any, but you can take a look at the website, http://www.law.uoregon.edu. We have a single, large, attractive, relatively new brick building on the edge of campus across from Hayward Field (the famous track, and home to the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Track trials). Campus is green and lovely. It is a couple of blocks from the river, and depending on where you live, you can get to school by a lovely bike ride along the river. It's not the nicest law campus in the country, but it's pretty nice and I have no complaints about that aspect of the school.

Thank you so much for giving me your input! It's been super helpful and I definitely have some things to think about now. Your input on the DA job prospects are depressing though! I was really enjoying what I'd heard about Oregon until that!

[DCDuck]

You'll probably find a similar situation for Prosecution employment at pretty much every similarly-ranked school. Sorry! :/

Glad I could be helpful, though!

[llachans]

Is there a noticeable employment difference between those that have strong ties to Oregon and those that chose to relocate there or does TLS inflate the importance of regional ties?

[DCDuck]

Ties certainly help, but to be honest, the legal market is so hard to break into anywhere, there doesn't seem to be a trend in employment between people with ties and those without. I have the strongest ties you can get to the Oregon legal market and top grades and still struck out in Oregon (landed a job on the East Coast, go figure). That said, I know a couple of people who were not from Oregon and got jobs in Oregon.

Lack of ties can be overcome with a compelling answer for "why Oregon," excellent grades, and good networking while you are here. Prior work experience seems to have helped people more than ties. But even then, luck is still one of the most important things for getting a job.

[llachans]

Ties certainly help, but to be honest, the legal market is so hard to break into anywhere, there doesn't seem to be a trend in employment between people with ties and those without. I have the strongest ties you can get to the Oregon legal market and top grades and still struck out in Oregon (landed a job on the East Coast, go figure). That said, I know a couple of people who were not from Oregon and got jobs in Oregon.

Lack of ties can be overcome with a compelling answer for "why Oregon," excellent grades, and good networking while you are here. Prior work experience seems to have helped people more than ties. But even then, luck is still one of the most important things for getting a job.

Thank you!!! This is exactly what I was hoping to hear : ) I understand that the job market is unpredictable but hoping my lack of ties wouldn't completely discount me from getting a job. Good to hear!

[atcushman]

How far of a drive is it to Portland? It looks like to far to commute so how hard is it to make connections and network with the portland firms? I dont know much about Eugene, but I cant imagine it having a large legal market does this make it hard to find externships and other opportunities? Does L&C really "dominate" the Portland market? How do you guys feel about L&C? I really like UofO but I am worried about the opportunities offered by its location I have been offered money at Willamete wich seems like it is better situated being in the state capital and Seattle U which is in the heart of the Washington legal market. I am just nervouse about choosing a school based on rank and realizing it does not have as many opportuinities? Ha ha ha I am visiting the area and some schools later this month I guess that will answer some questions but thought you guys might be able to help...thanks