Fordham or UT Austin Forum

[mz253]

one more thing, if i want to do international business/finance law, NYC must be much better than TX right? I feel most TX firms deal with TX companies?

I heard from a lawyer not long ago that deal size really matters in how much you get paid. I'm assuming that if a transaction is international and it's handled by a biglaw firm, it must be big, if nor enormous?

Um...In the United States, the city of Houston has the second highest number of fortune 500 companies (NYC has the most). So, I believe it is safe to say that TX firms deal with all forms of companies.

OP - if you want to go to Fordham, go to Fordham. But for the purposes of employment, Fordham isn't better than UT.

As to your other statement, your pay is based off of what the firm told you it was going to pay you, and there are plenty of smaller international transactions that are handled by larger firms.

Oh, don't please don't misunderstand me. Personally, I like UT better than Fordham. It's just that my college friends who are at Fordham now told me that Fordham may be better than Cornell for NYC. So that really gets me to start this discussion.

[paratactical]

You should talk to people who go to both schools. I know there are people at each on TLS. See how they feel about employment prospects and the school.

[dooood]

one more thing, if i want to do international business/finance law, NYC must be much better than TX right? I feel most TX firms deal with TX companies?

I heard from a lawyer not long ago that deal size really matters in how much you get paid. I'm assuming that if a transaction is international and it's handled by a biglaw firm, it must be big, if nor enormous?

Um...In the United States, the city of Houston has the second highest number of fortune 500 companies (NYC has the most). So, I believe it is safe to say that TX firms deal with all forms of companies.

OP - if you want to go to Fordham, go to Fordham. But for the purposes of employment, Fordham isn't better than UT.

As to your other statement, your pay is based off of what the firm told you it was going to pay you, and there are plenty of smaller international transactions that are handled by larger firms.

Oh, don't please don't misunderstand me. Personally, I like UT better than Fordham. It's just that my college friends who are at Fordham now told me that Fordham may be better than Cornell for NYC. So that really gets me to start this discussion.

Your college friends are delusional. Cornell kicks Fordham's ass in NYC, especially recently.
OP, given your goals I would go to UT

[aliarrow]

I'd personally advise you not to go to law school.

You seem to be doing it solely for money, and you're going to be in for a huge disappointment.

[mz253]

I'd personally advise you not to go to law school.

You seem to be doing it solely for money, and you're going to be in for a huge disappointment.

nah, just for the first couple of years, try to get back the investment. hope you understand.

[bgdddymtty]

The real question here is, which is more important, all the NYC stuff or the money?

If money, and by that you mean your actual disposable income rather than the gross salary number, this is a no-brainer. If you look at $160K in NYC vs. $145K in TX, you'd take home less money in NYC based on state and city income taxes alone! Factor in the actual cost of living, and $160K in NYC is worth less than $80K in TX. Sure, NYC bonuses will be bigger, but you'd have to make partner before you ended up financially better off there than in TX.

[mz253]

The real question here is, which is more important, all the NYC stuff or the money?

If money, and by that you mean your actual disposable income rather than the gross salary number, this is a no-brainer. If you look at $160K in NYC vs. $145K in TX, you'd take home less money in NYC based on state and city income taxes alone! Factor in the actual cost of living, and $160K in NYC is worth less than $80K in TX. Sure, NYC bonuses will be bigger, but you'd have to make partner before you ended up financially better off there than in TX.

I think you raise a very good point. My goal is to get back my law school investment asap so getting a smaller paycheck in TX may end up saving more.

[Aberzombie1892]

The real question here is, which is more important, all the NYC stuff or the money?

If money, and by that you mean your actual disposable income rather than the gross salary number, this is a no-brainer. If you look at $160K in NYC vs. $145K in TX, you'd take home less money in NYC based on state and city income taxes alone! Factor in the actual cost of living, and $160K in NYC is worth less than $80K in TX. Sure, NYC bonuses will be bigger, but you'd have to make partner before you ended up financially better off there than in TX.

I think you raise a very good point. My goal is to get back my law school investment asap so getting a smaller paycheck in TX may end up saving more.

Big law/mid law salaries in TX (at least in Houston, Dallas, and Austin) mirror NYC salaries. $160K.

[aliarrow]

The real question here is, which is more important, all the NYC stuff or the money?

If money, and by that you mean your actual disposable income rather than the gross salary number, this is a no-brainer. If you look at $160K in NYC vs. $145K in TX, you'd take home less money in NYC based on state and city income taxes alone! Factor in the actual cost of living, and $160K in NYC is worth less than $80K in TX. Sure, NYC bonuses will be bigger, but you'd have to make partner before you ended up financially better off there than in TX.

I think you raise a very good point. My goal is to get back my law school investment asap so getting a smaller paycheck in TX may end up saving more.

You'll end up with much more take home money from Texas. If you don't have any location preference, just go to UT.

[mz253]

The real question here is, which is more important, all the NYC stuff or the money?

If money, and by that you mean your actual disposable income rather than the gross salary number, this is a no-brainer. If you look at $160K in NYC vs. $145K in TX, you'd take home less money in NYC based on state and city income taxes alone! Factor in the actual cost of living, and $160K in NYC is worth less than $80K in TX. Sure, NYC bonuses will be bigger, but you'd have to make partner before you ended up financially better off there than in TX.

I think you raise a very good point. My goal is to get back my law school investment asap so getting a smaller paycheck in TX may end up saving more.

Big law/mid law salaries in TX (at least in Houston, Dallas, and Austin) mirror NYC salaries. $160K.

what do you mean by "mirror?" same size pay check? or same size after tax?

[bgdddymtty]

The real question here is, which is more important, all the NYC stuff or the money?

If money, and by that you mean your actual disposable income rather than the gross salary number, this is a no-brainer. If you look at $160K in NYC vs. $145K in TX, you'd take home less money in NYC based on state and city income taxes alone! Factor in the actual cost of living, and $160K in NYC is worth less than $80K in TX. Sure, NYC bonuses will be bigger, but you'd have to make partner before you ended up financially better off there than in TX.

I think you raise a very good point. My goal is to get back my law school investment asap so getting a smaller paycheck in TX may end up saving more.

Big law/mid law salaries in TX (at least in Houston, Dallas, and Austin) mirror NYC salaries. $160K.

what do you mean by "mirror?" same size pay check? or same size after tax?

Same gross starting salary (i.e., way more after taxes). For whatever reason, alreadybored.com is down, but here's the cached version (LinkRemoved) of their Dallas salaries page. Not everyone pays $160K, but most firms do.

[DoubleChecks]

Same gross starting salary (i.e., way more after taxes). For whatever reason, alreadybored.com is down, but here's the cached version (LinkRemoved) of their Dallas salaries page. Not everyone pays $160K, but most firms do.

yeah, TX biglaw pay $160k.