Top Law Schools

ok so I basically blanketed schools from 20s-40s (and a few NYC/NJ area schools). I am a new jersey resident and I would like to work in NYC for personal reasons and also the professional opportunities (and poss. would not be opposed to work in DC as well). I am not totally sure which field of law I want to go into after school but I have an interest in government work or maybe corporate if the opportunity presented itself. I have secured the following acceptances:

American
UC Boulder
Wake Forest
Temple (w/ $)
Seton Hall (W/ $$)
Rutgers (w/ $$ plus cheap instate tuition)
Ohio State
Fordham Evening Division

I also remain on 5 waitlists (Washington and Lee, UC Davis, William and Mary, George Mason, and University of British Columbia)


I am strongly leaning towards Fordham PT and will probably deposit there shortly. Obviously I am terrified of paying sticker there and its a major concern for me. I also have apprx 25k in undergrad debt. I will def. be switching over to Full Time after the first year to cut costs in the 4th years living expenses.

Given my goals of working in the northeast (preferrably NYC), is Fordham my best option here? Occasionally when I get really scared about the debt burden I consider going to Rutgers for a quarter of the price, or going to Wake Forest which I have heard some surprisingly positive things about from lawyers working in NJ and a lawyer working big law in NYC.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks I really appreciate it.

Fordham will land you better jobs, its in the top 10 of big law firm placement in the entirety of the United States. Don't waste it- go there and screw the other schools. Debt sucks but as a lawyer eventually you will make it back, just like everyone else.

I can't offer any insight other than to state the obvious that Fordham Law part time offers a great opportunity to work part-time in a NYC law firm.
I did, however, recently tour the Univ. of Colorado Law School & recall reading that securing employment outside of the Rocky Mountain Region is quite difficult for Colorado Law grads.

Why did you apply to the University of British Columbia Law School if you intend to practice in the U.S.?

CanadianWolf wrote:Why did you apply to the University of British Columbia Law School if you intend to practice in the U.S.?

I did my undergrad there and I have this underlying attachment to Vancouver that I find hard to let go of. Also they do place some grads in NYC (or atleast did before ITE). You can take the NY Bar with a canadian degree. Not saying its a good idea but it is possible.

Still I think NYC is where I want to start my career

anyone else?

GermX wrote:Fordham will land you better jobs, its in the top 10 of big law firm placement in the entirety of the United States.

No, it's not top 10 in biglaw placement. Not by a long shot.

That being said, it all but certainly does have the highest odds of getting biglaw of the schools you listed. It's a gamble though... if you make top ~20% at Fordham you'll be golden, if you fail to, you'll still get to have an enjoyable career as a lawyer but the prospects of it enabling upward socio-economic mobility will be quite dim.

Just imagine the 150k you'll save by avoiding Fordham for Rutgers. That's a nice boat to go putzing around the Hudson in.

Socio-economic upward mobility in the field of law is a nice pipe-dream. You'll likely work your ass off for 5 years in Big Law (if you make it that far) to pay off SOME of your Fordham debt before being let go or washing out to some boutique or government job. (Do Fordham grads get partner?)

Impermanence baby!

erniesto wrote:Just imagine the 150k you'll save by avoiding Fordham for Rutgers. That's a nice boat to go putzing around the Hudson in.

Socio-economic upward mobility in the field of law is a nice pipe-dream. You'll likely work your ass off for 5 years in Big Law (if you make it that far) to pay off SOME of your Fordham debt before being let go or washing out to some boutique or government job. (Do Fordham grads get partner?)

Impermanence baby!

thanks for the thoughts erniesto. haha yea that would be a nice boat wouldnt't it?

Thing is that I am interested in getting into government work eventually anyways so I would be perfectly happy to luck out and get big law and after a few years and some decent debt repayment, switch over to gov't work.

anyone?

Since you want NYC, eliminate everything except for Rutgers and Fordham PT (you can eliminate Seton Hall because, even with $, it's likely more expensive than Rutgers). If you do Fordham PT, do you have a PT job that you could use to mitigate some of the debt? Otherwise, I personally don't know if Fordham is worth $200k more than Rutgers. My gut on this says probably not, but you also have to be willing to work in North NJ if NYC doesn't pan out.

fordham will give you the best job opportunities, especially in NYC.

GermX wrote:Fordham will land you better jobs, its in the top 10 of big law firm placement in the entirety of the United States. Don't waste it- go there and screw the other schools. Debt sucks but as a lawyer eventually you will make it back, just like everyone else.

Fordham was 22nd in 2009 nlj placement with about 29% of graduates making it into 'biglaw' firms.

Also, the second sentence is horrible advice.

If that's Rutgers-Newark, go there. If it's Rutgers-Camden, go to Fordham if you're okay with the debt.

TipTravHoot wrote:If that's Rutgers-Newark, go there. If it's Rutgers-Camden, go to Fordham if you're okay with the debt.

sorry i should clarify - Rutgers Newark (The Rutgers preferred for people in NYC/Northern Jersey) is the one I am accepted in.