Top Law Schools

If you know 100% that you want to practice in CA (the Bay Area to be specific), would Stanford be a better choice than Harvard or would they be more or less equal (assuming all else is equal)?

btw, I have not yet been admitted to Stanford--I am posting this at the request of one of my roomates who has been accepted to both.

thanks in advance

jayzon wrote:Your roommate will be very, very fine at either school. Now shut up.

LOL

sfdreaming09 wrote:If you know 100% that you want to practice in CA (the Bay Area to be specific), would Stanford be a better choice than Harvard or would they be more or less equal (assuming all else is equal)?

btw, I have not yet been admitted to Stanford--I am posting this at the request of one of my roomates who has been accepted to both.

thanks in advance

stanford. its warmer. and he/she won't have to spend the rest of his/her life making people feel awkward by saying he/she went to harvard.

I predict a thread of fail.

TLS, make my prediction true.

Did your roommate check to see if they might be able to get $$$ at UC Hastings - could save some cash...

ruleser wrote:Did your roommate check to see if they might be able to get $$$ at UC Hastings - could save some cash...

Also check UC Davis. Youre friend doesnt deserve either if they really need to come to this board for the info.

ogman05 wrote:

ruleser wrote:Did your roommate check to see if they might be able to get $$$ at UC Hastings - could save some cash...

Also check UC Davis. Youre friend doesnt deserve either if they really need to come to this board for the info.

what an awful sequel. nearly ruined the original boondock for me.

Yes, Stanford would be better b/c you wouldn't have to sell firms on why you want to be in their location (i.e. why a HLS guy wants to work in SF)
....but in the end its what you like more H or S....you really can't go wrong

I've seen a couple horror stories at harvard, and it seems CA can be a little tricky. I honestly think Stanford is going to give you the guarantee of the job you want in the Bay Area where Harvard gives something slightly less than a guarantee (though still great). That is the way I'm leaning, anyway. Be one of 180.

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Thanks to all those who offered their advice. My roommate is literally 100% sure that she wants to work in SF after graduation (she’s lived in several other big cities, including NYC and Chicago, but she says that she cant see herself anywhere other than SF after moving here a couple years ago).

She’s currently working at a law firm in the city and all the attorneys there are telling her that she’d be crazy to choose Stanford over Harvard, but the firm she works at is fairly small (~25 attorneys, so obviously not a huge sample size) and is filled with lawyers who attended bottom Tier 2 schools (mostly from USF, Golden Gate, Loyola, Santa Clara), so she thinks that they may not be terribly familiar with how upper echelon firms view the difference between the two schools…basically, she thinks that, because the attorneys at her firm know fairly little about elite schools/firms, they take the layperson’s perspective and immediately tell her to go to Harvard.

So she’s wondering whether anybody here has actually researched the issue and know whether it would be easier to get into the top SF firms from Stanford over Harvard, or, alternatively, if Harvard grads are preferred to Stanford grads.

She obviously realizes that both are excellent schools and that her employment prospects coming out of either would be fantastic, but she’s just wondering whether one school would give her a bit more of an edge.

Stanford, but she can't go wrong with either really.

http://www.myharvardlawyer.us/eugene_action.html

Perhaps you should get Eugene's opinion on which school is the best school.

Or, ask here http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thr ... forum_id=2 about how Harvard is an undeniable golden ticket.

Harvard is an incredible school. It just can't guarantee the success of all 550 of its students. If it had only 400 students, it would place every single one of them. If it had 200, every student there would be undeniable for any job they wanted, scotus excepted. Unfortunately, your "roommate" will be one of a couple hundred people trying for the same california jobs (those presented to her at the on-site interviews) from Harvard. Wouldn't you rather be one of only 80 competing for the same jobs? Wouldn't you rather have the edge of being located in the market you are trying for? I don't see how it makes any sense to take the risk (and there is some risk, despite "national reach") of going all the way across the US just to try and come back.

Would you choose Stanford over Harvard if you were interested in the Boston area? I don't see why this is even in question.

Stanford, if only for the networking connections she would make during her 3 years in school. At HLS, those connections on the West Coast are less likely.

I think any tiny difference in employment prospect is outweighed by the much larger differences in "feel" of the two schools. She should visit and pick where she will be happier and get a better education.

I'd do Stanford simply on location. Not having to move all the time, being able to network with people? Sort of hands down, unless she really wants a 'go-away-to-school' experience. Probably fine either place. Wish I had such a pyrrhic choice.

Edit: The only way this would be complicated is if she wants to be in politics at a later date.

How was the game, sfdreaming?

crackberry wrote:How was the game, sfdreaming?

Disappointed that OK came out on top, but it was def an exciting game. I was majorly surprised by the unexpectedly large Stanford turnout…definitely didn’t expect to see that many Stanford fans. Even with Gerhart declaraing for the draft, with Luck healthy next year, I think Stanford’s gonna come up pretty big.

Thanks again for the responses.

She’s kind of leaning toward Harvard right now because she thinks that SF employment prospects coming out of Harvard would be just as good, if not better, than that coming out of Stanford, and because, although she wouldn’t admit it, of Harvard’s reputation (among laypeople).

Based on all the research that I’ve personally done, it seems like going to Stanford would probably be the marginally better choice, but she doesn’t seem to be convinced.

Anybody else have any opinion/info?

I thought the people who got accepted to Stanford and Harvard could answer these questions themselves...man has my belief system been shaken!

Edit: to say I'm just jealous

Yimbeezy wrote:I'd do Stanford simply on location. Not having to move all the time, being able to network with people? Sort of hands down, unless she really wants a 'go-away-to-school' experience. Probably fine either place. Wish I had such a pyrrhic choice.

Edit: The only way this would be complicated is if she wants to be in politics at a later date.

Please elaborate. Is this b/c of Harvard's legendary political prowess? Or odd residency requirements in CA that would tip the scales in Stanford's favor?

mochafury wrote:

Yimbeezy wrote:I'd do Stanford simply on location. Not having to move all the time, being able to network with people? Sort of hands down, unless she really wants a 'go-away-to-school' experience. Probably fine either place. Wish I had such a pyrrhic choice.

Edit: The only way this would be complicated is if she wants to be in politics at a later date.

Please elaborate. Is this b/c of Harvard's legendary political prowess? Or odd residency requirements in CA that would tip the scales in Stanford's favor?

The political comment was b/c of Harvard's ridiculous history in the Federal gov't. (See: Obama et al.)

But if she wants to be in the Bay Area and intends on being in Cali indefinitely, I think Stanford wins due to its Cali connects (and I'm not talking about semi-legal establishments in Oakland).

Honestly, though, it's like trying to decide between the goose with the golden egg and the fountain of youth.

sfdreaming09 wrote:

crackberry wrote:How was the game, sfdreaming?

Disappointed that OK came out on top, but it was def an exciting game. I was majorly surprised by the unexpectedly large Stanford turnout…definitely didn’t expect to see that many Stanford fans. Even with Gerhart declaraing for the draft, with Luck healthy next year, I think Stanford’s gonna come up pretty big.

Yeah I think we'll be alright. Luck's a great prospect and as long as we can give him some protection, he's dangerous with the ball. I don't expect to win the Pac 10 next year, but I'd be disappointed if we don't make another bowl.

Haribo wrote:I think any tiny difference in employment prospect is outweighed by the much larger differences in "feel" of the two schools. She should visit and pick where she will be happier and get a better education.

Seriously this is your answer. Both schools will place equally well in San Francisco, which is to say that if she does well enough, she will have her pick of jobs. She should visit each school and decide based off of that. It's that simple.

sfdreaming09 wrote:Thanks to all those who offered their advice. My roommate is literally 100% sure that she wants to work in SF after graduation (she’s lived in several other big cities, including NYC and Chicago, but she says that she cant see herself anywhere other than SF after moving here a couple years ago).

She’s currently working at a law firm in the city and all the attorneys there are telling her that she’d be crazy to choose Stanford over Harvard, but the firm she works at is fairly small (~25 attorneys, so obviously not a huge sample size) and is filled with lawyers who attended bottom Tier 2 schools (mostly from USF, Golden Gate, Loyola, Santa Clara), so she thinks that they may not be terribly familiar with how upper echelon firms view the difference between the two schools…basically, she thinks that, because the attorneys at her firm know fairly little about elite schools/firms, they take the layperson’s perspective and immediately tell her to go to Harvard.

So she’s wondering whether anybody here has actually researched the issue and know whether it would be easier to get into the top SF firms from Stanford over Harvard, or, alternatively, if Harvard grads are preferred to Stanford grads.

She obviously realizes that both are excellent schools and that her employment prospects coming out of either would be fantastic, but she’s just wondering whether one school would give her a bit more of an edge.

It's funny I've heard multiple lawyers/people in the legal field say this, but on TLS everyone says either "go to Stanford" or "they are the same". I wonder what's causing that. To make matters worse, in your situation these are lawyers in California saying this.