Transfer or stay Forum

[lane]

Thanks for the reply.

On the school: I marinated on some of the advice on the forum and just explored the possibility of transferring to NU a little bit more. On its face, it seems like an extra semester (+ opportunity loss studying for the bat), and the associated debt that would come from transferring to NU would probably not be worth it, but I wanted to field the question to see if anyone else felt differently because the general trend from the feedback was that transferring to a school below the T-14 would probably not be worth it. I could probably make the logistics happen, so I was just exploring the idea and seeking feedback.

On the job: Honestly, I should have put DOJ in my first posting. I'm interested in both employment/labor law and criminal law. Although I thought I had always gravitated towards the prosecutor side of things, I'm working on the "dark side" as a JAG intern this summer and find it pretty interesting. That said, defending servicemembers is probably a lot different than defending the sort of folks the FPD defends. So, when measuring my inclinations against the general public, rather than just the military legal community, I still probably lean more towards the prosecutor side. Accordingly, I'm interested in whether/how much school would influence future job opportunities with the DOJ.

Thanks!

Former Marine here. Semper Fi. In your situation, I would recommend not transferring since you already have the JAG position lined up (assuming that's what you really want to do). I want to do JAG as well, but chose to go to NU because I wanted to keep all of my options open. Your experience as a JAG will take you a long ways, particularly if you stay in till retirement. In regards to NU, they will only count your first year credits because you would have to complete your 2L and 3L there to receive your JD from them.

On a side note, keep in mind that USMC JAG officers are a bit different from other branches. As with any Marine, you will be a rifleman first and and your occupational specialty second. Nothing wrong with that mindset, but just realize that you will not JUST be a lawyer in the military. You will be a Marine working as a lawyer.

[Runner2008]

Thanks for the reply.

On the school: I marinated on some of the advice on the forum and just explored the possibility of transferring to NU a little bit more. On its face, it seems like an extra semester (+ opportunity loss studying for the bat), and the associated debt that would come from transferring to NU would probably not be worth it, but I wanted to field the question to see if anyone else felt differently because the general trend from the feedback was that transferring to a school below the T-14 would probably not be worth it. I could probably make the logistics happen, so I was just exploring the idea and seeking feedback.

On the job: Honestly, I should have put DOJ in my first posting. I'm interested in both employment/labor law and criminal law. Although I thought I had always gravitated towards the prosecutor side of things, I'm working on the "dark side" as a JAG intern this summer and find it pretty interesting. That said, defending servicemembers is probably a lot different than defending the sort of folks the FPD defends. So, when measuring my inclinations against the general public, rather than just the military legal community, I still probably lean more towards the prosecutor side. Accordingly, I'm interested in whether/how much school would influence future job opportunities with the DOJ.

Thanks!

Former Marine here. Semper Fi. In your situation, I would recommend not transferring since you already have the JAG position lined up (assuming that's what you really want to do). I want to do JAG as well, but chose to go to NU because I wanted to keep all of my options open. Your experience as a JAG will take you a long ways, particularly if you stay in till retirement. In regards to NU, they will only count your first year credits because you would have to complete your 2L and 3L there to receive your JD from them.

On a side note, keep in mind that USMC JAG officers are a bit different from other branches. As with any Marine, you will be a rifleman first and and your occupational specialty second. Nothing wrong with that mindset, but just realize that you will not JUST be a lawyer in the military. You will be a Marine working as a lawyer.

Thanks. I've actually been in the Marines for a few years, so I'm pretty familiar with the culture. I'm interested if anyone else has a perspective on this from the DOJ side (i.e. transitioning from T3 + JAG to DOJ). The debt that I would incur at NU would still be intimidating (we're talking an additional 80k at sticker for two whole years), but I'd be willing to entertain it if its going to open a lot more doors that would otherwise be shut on me coming from a T3 school. The reason I'm asking about transitioning now is because while JAG offers great training and grassroots trial experience right off the bat, as you gain rank you migrate out of the courtroom more and more and become much more of a generalist-manager than specialized attorney. Because I am far more interested in the latter and feel like fed jobs probably offer greater opportunities to specialize, I want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to facilitate that (I'm interning at JAG office now and much of this has revealed itself over the last three weeks after talking with the attorneys). Any input appreciated!

[POTUSorSCOTUS]

There is no benefit in transferring to a regional school... you are top 5%, keep it

I'd urge you to transfer to T14 regardless of "family issues"