Wake Law Students taking Questions!!! Forum

[NCtoDC]

According to NALP, there are approximately 69 students on Wake's Law Review, 51 on the Intellectual Property Journal, and then they don't list anything for the Law & Policy Journal (probably because it's pretty new, IIRC).
Anyone have an idea of roughly how many students total are involved in the Law & Policy Journal? Also, are those other two numbers relatively accurate?

Thanks

I don't know the answer to your question specifically, but when I visited, my tour guide said that basically anyone who wanted to be on law review had the chance. Not exactly sure what was meant by that, but he said that there were only a few students that weren't on it that he knew and that was because they didn't want to be.

That statement is utterly untrue. Law Review is very competitive...the only thing he could have meant is that the opportunity is there for anyone to pursue. As for the other two journals, you should check each respective website for all information you need. For reference, here is the Law and Policy Journal's site: http://lawpolicyjournal.law.wfu.edu/masthead/ .

I think he was referencing the chance to work on any journal, secondary or not. I thought it sounded strange when he said it too.

[lamentable]

From my visit to Wake I got the sense that there is a lot of new developments occurring at the law school. There seemed to be a lot of new clinics and a new journal (Law and Policy). Additionally, the externship in D.C. just got started. If this is all correct, does any one feel like it takes away from the depth of the school? Or that the opportunities are not well developed due to the newness of it all?

I liked Wake, just for the record. I could see myself there in the fall, but some of these thoughts have made me hesitant.

[placencia]

The clinics are actively being developed because the ABA has made a not so subtle statement in recent years that clinics are good. Practical experience is good. Thus, law schools (not just Wake) are responding. I imagine that as time progresses, they will develop them further, but with 6 clinics, and each one taking about 15 students, that is probably fine for now (as 1Ls don't participate, and that really just leaves about 300 students for the rest of them).

It's about providing quality in what is done, and every clinic now does a very solid job of that. I think rather than taking away from the depth of the school, it provides greater depth, because you actually have the chance to get hands on experience in a field before you decide to commit your life to it. Books and cases can only teach so much. For example, the Appellate Advocacy Clinic regularly argues before the N.C. Court of Appeals, as a student did in October.

As for the journal issue, again, just do the math. There are only about 460 kids at the school, give or take, which means a third or so are on the three journals. That is fairly good odds for being on one of them, but the other thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn't be on the IP journal unless you have some degree of focus and experience in IP, so that changes the metric a little bit.

[boom_cs]

I applied in early February and got accepted this week. Hopefully I get a scholarship so that it makes it about the same price as NC.

For those who got scholarships with their acceptance did it come via email or with the acceptance letter in the mail?

[NCtoDC]

I applied in early February and got accepted this week. Hopefully I get a scholarship so that it makes it about the same price as NC.

For those who got scholarships with their acceptance did it come via email or with the acceptance letter in the mail?

This is the better thread for your question http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... start=1250

To answer your question, however, apparently Wake has given out all their money right now. I was accepted 1/31 and haven't received anything.

[Margo1020]

As for the journal issue, again, just do the math. There are only about 460 kids at the school, give or take, which means a third or so are on the three journals. That is fairly good odds for being on one of them, but the other thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn't be on the IP journal unless you have some degree of focus and experience in IP, so that changes the metric a little bit.

Just some additional info on journals:
The IP Journal is now the Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law (as of 2010-2011 year). The business addition really broadens the journal's scope. I believe the top 20% of students grade on to the Business and IP journal and the rest are chosen from the writing competition pool. Law Review takes the top 10% of students and then uses the writing competition pool. I think Law and Policy just requires an essay about why you're interested.

[whenpigsfly]

I think Law and Policy just requires an essay about why you're interested.

This was only the case for the current 3L class, who were chosen through an application process their 2L year by the founders of the Journal/board. Now, JLP participates in the same writing competition as Law Review and IPLJ, where you draft a note and submit bluebooking exercises.

[mez06]

How far deep into the class would you say firms are hiring via OCI? The Charlottee/Raleigh firms? A bit of straight talk would be appreciated...

[PirateCap'n]

How far deep into the class would you say firms are hiring via OCI? The Charlottee/Raleigh firms? A bit of straight talk would be appreciated...

For 1L OCI, it seemed like most of the interviews went to folks in the top 25-30% of the class, and most of those firms were in the Charlotte, Winston Salem, or Raleigh areas. I don't know how the hiring went after all of those interviews, but I guess those folks at least had the opportunity to impress if nothing else. I know folks near the bottom of the class who have jobs from networking, mass mailing, etc., so it seems that there are at least some jobs out there if you look hard enough (and I mean really hard at times). Overall, it seemed like the 1L OCI was pretty good for the economy (especially compared to other schools who don't even have 1L OCI). I can't help too much with info on 2L OCI, but I figured I would offer what I could. Hope that's somewhat helpful.

[Nicholasnickynic]

Dunno if this has been said yet, but for those of you interest in big law, for the most recent numbers...


Wake Forest= 15% NLJ 250
UNC =11% NLJ 250.

This is an even bigger gap than last year.

Wootsies!

[Nicholasnickynic]

How far deep into the class would you say firms are hiring via OCI? The Charlottee/Raleigh firms? A bit of straight talk would be appreciated...

For 1L OCI, it seemed like most of the interviews went to folks in the top 25-30% of the class, and most of those firms were in the Charlotte, Winston Salem, or Raleigh areas. I don't know how the hiring went after all of those interviews, but I guess those folks at least had the opportunity to impress if nothing else. I know folks near the bottom of the class who have jobs from networking, mass mailing, etc., so it seems that there are at least some jobs out there if you look hard enough (and I mean really hard at times). Overall, it seemed like the 1L OCI was pretty good for the economy (especially compared to other schools who don't even have 1L OCI). I can't help too much with info on 2L OCI, but I figured I would offer what I could. Hope that's somewhat helpful.

Mostly top 25%-30%, but I would heavily qualify that statement.

I'm 20%. I didn't get an interview from a small firm I bid on. I know someone in top 60% who did.

Womble Carlyse = Biggest North Carolina based law firm.
I know someone between 15-30% mark (not sure exactly) got an interview with them at OCI because his wake-forest appointed mentor was a partner there. Meanwhile, I know a top 10%er who didn't get an interview with them.

I did interview with a small firm and a big firm, and I know someone hovering close to 10% who got interviewed by neither of them.

All this being said, the people at the very top got tons of interviews, while the people at the bottom struggled. However, at least it wasn't solely on grades.
^.^

[mez06]

Hey appreciate the OCI info!

[Nicholasnickynic]

Hey appreciate the OCI info!

No problem!

If you have any other questions (like why I chose this over other schools with similar ranks) I'd be happy to answer.

[eminem]

Why did you choose this over schools with similar rank?

[Nicholasnickynic]

Why did you choose this over schools with similar rank?

Sure thing.

1. If you are trying to be a NC Baller, wake forest is the superior choice.

In 2009, Wake Forest placed about 18% of their students in NLJ 250 Firms (a rough approximation of big law- about 90% of these firms pay 100k +). UNC placed about 16%. (Not a big difference, but wait for it .

In 2009, Wake Forest beat UNC in the number of prestigious federal clerkships, raw number-wise, despite being about half the size of UNC. Percentage-wise we creamed them.

In 2010, Wake Forest NLJ 250 - 15% (this is people who did 2L OCI when market crashed, so these numbers are lower than 09 all across the board). UNC= 11%. Thats almost 50% more... thats giant.

Clerkship numbers for 2010 not in yet.

P.S.- UGA =10%. So yeah, Hot 'Lanta is not so hot anymore.

2. Dominance within its market

If you finish top 10% at wake, you are one of the most competitve students looking for jobs in the NC market. You are probably slightly better off than UNC. While Duke is better, only a minority of there students stay in NC. So, if you are at the top of your class at wake, you have virtually noone who is in a better position than you.

Lets say you go to cardozo. You are in the top 10%. There are still tons and tons of people that are more attractive candidates than you for NYC (lets start with all of the t-14, including top ten percenters, as well as schools like BU). Even if you rock it, you are still not king of the pond.

OR ...

George Mason... even if you own it, there are about a million schools in DC with better ranking and placement, not to mention the t-14ers going there.

And, imagine if you only get median at GM or Cardozo.... you are screwed.


Simply put, wake is dominant in its market, and for many people, at a reasonable price. Not many schools in Wake's range can say the same thing.

But yeah, thats why I took wake over UNC/GM/DOZO

3. Oh... and I haven't even gotten into the mobility..
Ill edit this later on... But basically wake destroys other schools in its rank re: mobility. I chose wake over UGA because, according to a UGA admissions rep, "if you want to work outside Atlanta, you need to tell that to OCS when you first get here so we can work on it." ... Not to mention the recent 15-10% slaughter in NLJ 250 placement (although Wake was only winning by a bit when I applied).

..

[mez06]

Yeah can you speak to the mobility of the degree? By checking out NALP, I didn't see many firms that were outside of NC so I'm curious about a students standpoint on that...thanks!

[Nicholasnickynic]

Yeah can you speak to the mobility of the degree? By checking out NALP, I didn't see many firms that were outside of NC so I'm curious about a students standpoint on that...thanks!

I'll go into more detail later on. Gotta work on a 16 pager. Wake should pay me commission!

[leidice]

Yeah can you speak to the mobility of the degree? By checking out NALP, I didn't see many firms that were outside of NC so I'm curious about a students standpoint on that...thanks!

I'll go into more detail later on. Gotta work on a 16 pager. Wake should pay me commission!

Thanks, I would like to know this too! More specifically, can you speak at all about the Fl market opportunities from Wake?

Also, I have read that W-S is a pretty small town. I'm not looking for a large city environment like NY, DC, or even Tampa, but what is the availability of bars and clubs in the area? Is there a Costco, Target, Jimmy Johns, .... ? I think I read that lots of restaurants close at 9pm.. but if I were hungry later on at night and wanted to order a pizza after midnight, is this possible? Basically, how typical-college-student friendly is the area?

[boom_cs]

I grew up in Winston so I can speak about the area.

W-S is a town of a little more than 200,000 and it has what you asked about and most every chain store you would expect. One problem is that a lot of the stuff is about 15 minutes away from campus but you can get there rather easily.

As for the nightlife, I cannot speak of it as a student but there are some bars that are cool but it is far from a college town. Bars are usually far apart so there is little bar hopping like Chapel Hill. I've heard from friends there that you can have a good time when you want to.

[leidice]

I grew up in Winston so I can speak about the area.

W-S is a town of a little more than 200,000 and it has what you asked about and most every chain store you would expect. One problem is that a lot of the stuff is about 15 minutes away from campus but you can get there rather easily.

As for the nightlife, I cannot speak of it as a student but there are some bars that are cool but it is far from a college town. Bars are usually far apart so there is little bar hopping like Chapel Hill. I've heard from friends there that you can have a good time when you want to.

Yay that's good to hear!

[Nicholasnickynic]

I grew up in Winston so I can speak about the area.

W-S is a town of a little more than 200,000 and it has what you asked about and most every chain store you would expect. One problem is that a lot of the stuff is about 15 minutes away from campus but you can get there rather easily.

As for the nightlife, I cannot speak of it as a student but there are some bars that are cool but it is far from a college town. Bars are usually far apart so there is little bar hopping like Chapel Hill. I've heard from friends there that you can have a good time when you want to.

4th street. There is literally one street you can bar hop on 4th street. In fact, if you come here at night, I highly recommend the bars and restaurants of 4th street. There are a few good ones on trade street, and another one downtown, but definitly the most night life is on that street.

[tstyler98]

Yeah can you speak to the mobility of the degree? By checking out NALP, I didn't see many firms that were outside of NC so I'm curious about a students standpoint on that...thanks!

I'll go into more detail later on. Gotta work on a 16 pager. Wake should pay me commission!

Thanks, I would like to know this too! More specifically, can you speak at all about the Fl market opportunities from Wake?

Also, I have read that W-S is a pretty small town. I'm not looking for a large city environment like NY, DC, or even Tampa, but what is the availability of bars and clubs in the area? Is there a Costco, Target, Jimmy Johns, .... ? I think I read that lots of restaurants close at 9pm.. but if I were hungry later on at night and wanted to order a pizza after midnight, is this possible? Basically, how typical-college-student friendly is the area?

As already mentioned, there is pretty much every chain represented here. Jimmy John's (there are at least 3 in W-S), Chipotle, Target, Walmart, etc. I'd say you can get to pretty much everything in 15 minutes or less. A lot of places downtown close early, but many stay open later on the weekends. Closer to campus, there are things open late. For example, there's a great place called "Jimmy The Greek" that is open all night Thursday-Saturday. And there is also "Cookout," which is a fast food place that has pretty good late night drunk food (I think all the ones here are drive-thru only). It's a college area, so there are always things that stay open late to cater to the college kids.

There are a bunch of bars. I've been to some, although not all. I think there are places for everyone. The Student Bar does "Bar Review" each Thursday, so you can easily check out various bars that way. It doesn't take long to find a few that you really like.

I grew up in a small town, but lived in DC for 5 years...and I like Winston. It has lots to offer without having the high cost and the traffic.

[leidice]

Great! Thanks for all the help!

[lishi]

For the DC externship, look to page 14 of this thread. WhenPigsFly is in that program now, and I feel comfortable enough with her to say that if you have any questions about it you can pm her. But from what I see, almost all of my friends (except 2, possibly 3) will be in DC after graduation

[NCtoDC]

For the DC externship, look to page 14 of this thread. WhenPigsFly is in that program now, and I feel comfortable enough with her to say that if you have any questions about it you can pm her. But from what I see, almost all of my friends (except 2, possibly 3) will be in DC after graduation

"In DC" as in they have a job lined up?