Lewis & Clark or Oregon Forum

[KraftEZ]

Oregon in-state applicant.

Both schools are very close together in most rankings.

I haven't fully decided what field of law to do and hope that due course of law school will help me make my decision.

I have little to no scholarship in either school. Money is not an issue for me, fortunately.

My goal is to work in the Portland Metro area OR California. With that said, I still can't choose between either school as they carry roughly the same job placement in Oregon, with L&C probably edging out Oregon in Portland.

I'm not sure how either school does in California job placement. I am leaning towards L&C because it is located in Portland, but if Oregon does better in California I might reconsider.

[General Tso]

http://californiabar.globl.org/report.p ... 0&g=2&pp=5

In terms of absolute number of lawyers, Oregon is #49 among CA law schools while L&C is #59. It would be better if you could adjust for the size of the school.

Personally I don't think either school will get you a job in CA unless your grades or great. Maybe after several years' work experience in OR you could work at a smaller CA firm. But it's clear that you shouldn't choose based on CA reputation -- neither school has much of one.

[KraftEZ]

Well I suspected as much and thanks for the link.

I'm not really pushing for great California placement, it just would be good to see how much a reach one school has over the other.

I'm more interested in the Portland Metro area.

[General Tso]

Well I suspected as much and thanks for the link.

I'm not really pushing for great California placement, it just would be good to see how much a reach one school has over the other.

I'm more interested in the Portland Metro area.

def. go with L&C then, if money is no issue. it's a better school than Oregon anyway.

[KraftEZ]

Wow the poll is a lot more lopsided than I expected.

[Dignan]

Wow the poll is a lot more lopsided than I expected.

Well, you said that you wanted to work in Portland. And I'm assuming that you like Portland (I'd certainly prefer Portland to Eugene for law school). Given your preference of location, and given that U of O isn't a better school than L&C, this is an easy call. If you were talking about L&C over U of W or Hastings, then the poll results would look a lot different.

[zermatt1]

I met with a Lewis and Clark law graduate this week, because I had the same question as you. I am deciding between Lewis and Clark vs Oregon with scholarship and I want to live in Portland forever. He said that you will have a much better advantage in the Portland job market by going to Lewis and Clark.

[bluelilyleif]

Hey--I hope you all won't mind a slight change in topic?

I am considering Lewis and Clark, because eventually I want to settle West, but have been admitted to U of Maryland--what would you do in this situation? (I live in MD), but don't think I want to live there forever.

In response to the original topic, I say Lewis and Clark.

[General Tso]

Hey--I hope you all won't mind a slight change in topic?

I am considering Lewis and Clark, because eventually I want to settle West, but have been admitted to U of Maryland--what would you do in this situation? (I live in MD), but don't think I want to live there forever.

In response to the original topic, I say Lewis and Clark.

I think it would be a terrible idea to attend school in MD if you plan to work on the west coast. There is no significant difference in the rankings between MD and L&C. Is there a big cost advantage? If you are saving 15 or 20k total by choosing MD it probably is not worth it in the long run.

The only schools that have true national reach are the T14, maybe T20. And you have to understand that the small markets in Seattle, Denver, and Portland are generally considered highly insular, meaning they don't usually look kindly on outsiders. Hell you will have a hard time even in CA if you didn't attend a CA law school or T20.

[Dignan]

Hey--I hope you all won't mind a slight change in topic?

I am considering Lewis and Clark, because eventually I want to settle West, but have been admitted to U of Maryland--what would you do in this situation? (I live in MD), but don't think I want to live there forever.

It depends on what you mean by the West. If you are certain that you want to live and work in Oregon, then I'd pick L&C over U of M, even if it's going to cost more go attend the latter. But if you're interested in, say, California, then I suggest going to whichever school is cheaper. I really doubt that a California firm is going to look more highly on a L&C grad than a U of M grad.

[General Tso]

Hey--I hope you all won't mind a slight change in topic?

I am considering Lewis and Clark, because eventually I want to settle West, but have been admitted to U of Maryland--what would you do in this situation? (I live in MD), but don't think I want to live there forever.

It depends on what you mean by the West. If you are certain that you want to live and work in Oregon, then I'd pick L&C over U of M, even if it's going to cost more go attend the latter. But if you're interested in, say, California, then I suggest going to whichever school is cheaper. I really doubt that a California firm is going to look more highly on a L&C grad than a U of M grad.

There is a Stanford student on TLS who has been getting grilled about his commitment to living and working in CA long term. If employers are worried about Stanford students being flight risks, how will they look at a U of MD grad?

[Dignan]

Hey--I hope you all won't mind a slight change in topic?

I am considering Lewis and Clark, because eventually I want to settle West, but have been admitted to U of Maryland--what would you do in this situation? (I live in MD), but don't think I want to live there forever.

It depends on what you mean by the West. If you are certain that you want to live and work in Oregon, then I'd pick L&C over U of M, even if it's going to cost more go attend the latter. But if you're interested in, say, California, then I suggest going to whichever school is cheaper. I really doubt that a California firm is going to look more highly on a L&C grad than a U of M grad.

There is a Stanford student on TLS who has been getting grilled about his commitment to living and working in CA long term. If employers are worried about Stanford students being flight risks, how will they look at a U of MD grad?

Uhhh...they'd probably see them as someone who really wants to live and work in California. I'm afraid I don't understand your point.

[General Tso]

Hey--I hope you all won't mind a slight change in topic?

I am considering Lewis and Clark, because eventually I want to settle West, but have been admitted to U of Maryland--what would you do in this situation? (I live in MD), but don't think I want to live there forever.

It depends on what you mean by the West. If you are certain that you want to live and work in Oregon, then I'd pick L&C over U of M, even if it's going to cost more go attend the latter. But if you're interested in, say, California, then I suggest going to whichever school is cheaper. I really doubt that a California firm is going to look more highly on a L&C grad than a U of M grad.

There is a Stanford student on TLS who has been getting grilled about his commitment to living and working in CA long term. If employers are worried about Stanford students being flight risks, how will they look at a U of MD grad?

Uhhh...they'd probably see them as someone who really wants to live and work in California. I'm afraid I don't understand your point.

As far as I can tell, legal employers in CA are paranoid about people not being committed to living here. Being an outsider myself, I can understand why. Taxes are high, COL is extremely high, and legal salaries are roughly the same as other major markets like Chicago and NYC.

Apparently, experience tells firms that many people like the idea of CA, come here for a few years, and then want to move back east or whatever. I assume that employers have similar feelings in insular markets like Portland/Denver/Seattle.

[Dignan]

It depends on what you mean by the West. If you are certain that you want to live and work in Oregon, then I'd pick L&C over U of M, even if it's going to cost more go attend the latter. But if you're interested in, say, California, then I suggest going to whichever school is cheaper. I really doubt that a California firm is going to look more highly on a L&C grad than a U of M grad.

There is a Stanford student on TLS who has been getting grilled about his commitment to living and working in CA long term. If employers are worried about Stanford students being flight risks, how will they look at a U of MD grad?

Uhhh...they'd probably see them as someone who really wants to live and work in California. I'm afraid I don't understand your point.

As far as I can tell, legal employers in CA are paranoid about people not being committed to living here. Being an outsider myself, I can understand why. Taxes are high, COL is extremely high, and legal salaries are roughly the same as other major markets like Chicago and NYC.

Apparently, experience tells firms that many people like the idea of CA, come here for a few years, and then want to move back east or whatever. I assume that employers have similar feelings in insular markets like Portland/Denver/Seattle.

I see. I think I was thrown off by the Stanford example. A Stanford grad has more mobility than anyone outside of graduates of Harvard and Yale, so it makes sense for a firm to be worried about flight. The Stanford grad can easily hop to Chicago, NY, or DC if they choose. A lower T1 East Coast grad who is choosing California, on the other hand, is going out of their way to look for a job in a market that is not favorable to them, so they must be interested in living in California.

In any case, my initial point still stands: A U of M grad is not going to be disadvantaged, relative to a Lewis and Clark grad, in finding a job in California. If California is the goal, then the OP should be trying to get into Davis or Hastings. If her numbers are good enough to get into U of M, then she should have a shot of getting accepted by at least one of those schools. But if she can't get into a decent Cali school, I'd pick U of M over L&C because of the lower cost of attendance. (Again, assuming that a job in California is the goal.)

[bluelilyleif]

Thanks for your discussion. I don't have a specific location in mind really. I am actually thinking Seattle. I applied there too. Maryland will be a lot cheaper.

[limpbonnar]

I'm in a similar situation.

I've been accepted to both schools. L&C offered no scholarships. Oregon has offered me $4000 a year.

But money is important to me. I also want to practice in Portland once I graduate, but the sticker price on L&C will be almost twice as much as Oregon w/ the scholarship after three years.

Is it worth going to L&C for the extra debt to have a upper hand in a Portland based career? Will Oregon be able to offer me the same opportunities at Portland?

[General Tso]

I'm in a similar situation.

I've been accepted to both schools. L&C offered no scholarships. Oregon has offered me $4000 a year.

But money is important to me. I also want to practice in Portland once I graduate, but the sticker price on L&C will be almost twice as much as Oregon w/ the scholarship after three years.

Is it worth going to L&C for the extra debt to have a upper hand in a Portland based career? Will Oregon be able to offer me the same opportunities at Portland?

Oregon wins for you. If the OP had been cost/debt-sensitive I would have told him to take Oregon.

[limpbonnar]

Thx for the reply.

I've done some research and found lots of different information that shows that UofO is seriously underrated. It has the same job placement opportunity as L&C for nearly $10,000 a year less. And while L&C has much better specialty programs such as environmental, UofO seems to be more well rounded (also top ten in dispute resolution, legal writing, environmental).

[General Tso]

Thx for the reply.

I've done some research and found lots of different information that shows that UofO is seriously underrated. It has the same job placement opportunity as L&C for nearly $10,000 a year less. And while L&C has much better specialty programs such as environmental, UofO seems to be more well rounded (also top ten in dispute resolution, legal writing, environmental).

Well L&C does have a few advantages...most of all that students can easily work at a firm or extern in Portland during the semester. But if you are cost sensitive this probably isnt a strong enough reason to pass on Oregon.

[SamSeaborn2016]

Thx for the reply.

I've done some research and found lots of different information that shows that UofO is seriously underrated. It has the same job placement opportunity as L&C for nearly $10,000 a year less. And while L&C has much better specialty programs such as environmental, UofO seems to be more well rounded (also top ten in dispute resolution, legal writing, environmental).

Well L&C does have a few advantages...most of all that students can easily work at a firm or extern in Portland during the semester. But if you are cost sensitive this probably isnt a strong enough reason to pass on Oregon.

I'm in the L&C vs. Oregon boat as well. The difference in price is large but the convenience and accessability of the Portland legal world is hard to pass up. I'm still wavering. I've asked Lewis and Clark to consider throwing some scholarship money my way but I'm not holding my breath. le sigh

[kswiss]

Have you been to both? From what I hear, L&C has an edge but it isn't significant. I visited both and I liked the vibe at UofO more. That said, its the difference between living in an urban area and a college town. I figure law school is going to be pretty stressful, and I would prefer less distraction. But I'm married with 2 young kids, so that plays a big part for me. I can afford to rent/buy a decent sized house in Eugene, where I would only be able to afford a small apartment near L&C.

Pair that with cheaper tuition and a pac-10 football team and it looks promising for UofO for me, even with their tiny scholly.

I think that the choice between those two schools is actually enviable, because they are so similar in rank/placement that you can make the decision based on "soft factors" if you will (price being a huge one.)

[SamSeaborn2016]

Have you been to both? From what I hear, L&C has an edge but it isn't significant. I visited both and I liked the vibe at UofO more. That said, its the difference between living in an urban area and a college town. I figure law school is going to be pretty stressful, and I would prefer less distraction. But I'm married with 2 young kids, so that plays a big part for me. I can afford to rent/buy a decent sized house in Eugene, where I would only be able to afford a small apartment near L&C.

Pair that with cheaper tuition and a pac-10 football team and it looks promising for UofO for me, even with their tiny scholly.

I think that the choice between those two schools is actually enviable, because they are so similar in rank/placement that you can make the decision based on "soft factors" if you will (price being a huge one.)

I went to UO for undergrad so I know I could be quite comfortable there. I live in the Portland area now and have a sweet housing arrangement ($350/month including utilities) so I'd also be quite comfy staying where I'm at. I'm going to wait a bit and see how the admitted students' activities pan out and also if Lewis and Clark can find a little money for me.