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I'm looking at two regional schools at this point.

One is in my home region that I'd like to ultimately come back to one day, but wouldn't necessarily mind leaving for a decade or so. (U of Richmond / Viriginia & DC)

The other is in a far away region, but I definitely wouldn't mind moving to for a long while. (Seattle U / Northwest)

My question is: Do yall think going to Seattle U will seal my fate in the Northwest forever?

Ten years in is not the right time to be lateraling. You will have (hopefully) built up a book of business by then. A non-portable book of business.

No, it won't seal your fate forever. As you acquire more work experience it will over shadow your degree and you can make a lateral move back home. One word of caution though, I'm from the northwest and the University of Washington clearly reigns supreme. With that being said, I know a couple of seattleU grads that are doing quite well for themselves, albeit private practice. Work hard, get good grades, and make connections to line up that all important first job and you'll be fine.

Christ, this is why this site irritates me sometime.

After 10 years of practicing, if you want to move, it will be about the quality of your work, not where you went to school.

steven3579 wrote:No, it won't seal your fate forever. As you acquire more work experience it will over shadow your degree and you can make a lateral move back home. One word of caution though, I'm from the northwest and the University of Washington clearly reigns supreme. With that being said, I know a couple of seattleU grads that are doing quite well for themselves, albeit private practice. Work hard, get good grades, and make connections to line up that all important first job and you'll be fine.

Yea, I understand that "U Dub" is the best here. But U of Richmond isn't the best in it's region either so that element of the decision seems to cancel itself out right?

kalvano wrote:Christ, this is why this site irritates me sometime.

After 10 years of practicing, if you want to move, it will be about the quality of your work, not where you went to school.

Thanks for the pointed advice, unfortunately I havent had the experience of practicing for 10 years, so I wouldn't have really known that.

oberlin08 wrote:

kalvano wrote:Christ, this is why this site irritates me sometime.

After 10 years of practicing, if you want to move, it will be about the quality of your work, not where you went to school.

Thanks for the pointed advice, unfortunately I havent had the experience of practicing for 10 years, so I wouldn't have really known that.

I wasn't irritated at you. It's the people on the site who tell you it's either T14 or you're stuck wherever you go for the rest of your life.

kalvano wrote:Christ, this is why this site irritates me sometime.

After 10 years of practicing, if you want to move, it will be about the quality of your work, not where you went to school.

This doesn't change the fact that ten years into your private law practice (assuming this is what OP is planning) is a bad time to be making a move to a completely different market.

And how do you show new employers the "quality of your work?" If we're talking about someone looking to enter the partnership of a firm, the quality of your work = your book of business, which you can't transport from Seattle to Virginia.

JSUVA2012 wrote:

kalvano wrote:Christ, this is why this site irritates me sometime.

After 10 years of practicing, if you want to move, it will be about the quality of your work, not where you went to school.

This doesn't change the fact that ten years into your private law practice (assuming this is what OP is planning) is a bad time to be making a move to a completely different market.

And how do you show new employers the "quality of your work?" If we're talking about someone looking to enter the partnership of a firm, the quality of your work = your book of business, which you can't transport from Seattle to Virginia.

There's never a good time to move, but going to a regional school does not lock you in to that market forever.

Whether or not it's a good idea to pack up and move is debatable, but you certainly can do it if you wish.

JSUVA2012 wrote:Ten years in is not the right time to be lateraling. You will have (hopefully) built up a book of business by then. A non-portable book of business.

This is credited.

The legal field depends a lot on relationships. By moving across the country, you lose those relationships.

I recommend picking your desired location and sticking with it. If you want to practice in Virginia in the long-term, then I would start there. That doesn't necessarily mean you have to go to school in Virginia. But you will develop a lot of relationships while in school. I would recommend going to school in your desired region unless it's significantly cheaper to go to school elsewhere or you have other good reasons for wanting to go to school elsewhere.

You do realize that you can't just get up and move right because of the state bars? Are you planning to take the bar in both states as soon as you graduate?

kalvano wrote:
There's never a good time to move, but going to a regional school does not lock you in to that market forever.

Whether or not it's a good idea to pack up and move is debatable, but you certainly can do it if you wish.

But whether or not it's a good idea will end up being super important to us in ten years. And it's obvious OP is really just asking about the wisdom of the move anyway; of course no one is physically bound to remain where they first practice.

Your comments suggest you're speaking more from a position of insecurity about your school choice (non-T14 I presume?) than a position of having even a speck of knowledge.

rmend wrote:You do realize that you can't just get up and move right because of the state bars? Are you planning to take the bar in both states as soon as you graduate?

In VA you can be admitted on motion after practicing for five years.

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EDIT: Chart 8, for easier navigation of the document.

I think there are 29 states with reciprocity agreements that allow for admission on motion.

JSUVA2012 wrote:

kalvano wrote:
There's never a good time to move, but going to a regional school does not lock you in to that market forever.

Whether or not it's a good idea to pack up and move is debatable, but you certainly can do it if you wish.

But whether or not it's a good idea will end up being super important to us in ten years. And it's obvious OP is really just asking about the wisdom of the move anyway; of course no one is physically bound to remain where they first practice.

Your comments suggest you're speaking more from a position of insecurity about your school choice (non-T14 I presume?) than a position of having even a speck of knowledge.

Sounds like you guys are arguing slightly different things.

Can we agree it's easier to start out practicing in one area, and as the years progress, it generally becomes more difficult to obtain comparative employment/partnership on the other side of the country?

But also, it is certainly not true that a "regional school seal your future." So to answer the OP's question, the name of your school will not be what seals your future. But the longer you stay in one location = the harder it will be to move.

ggocat wrote:the name of your school will not be what seals your future. But the longer you stay in one location = the harder it will be to move.

Yep. Obviously it will help to have a national, brand name J.D. when looking to make a move across the country, but it's much more the fact that you've already dropped the career anchor in one location that makes moving difficult.

JSUVA2012 wrote:

ggocat wrote:the name of your school will not be what seals your future. But the longer you stay in one location = the harder it will be to move.

Yep. Obviously it will help to have a national, brand name J.D. when looking to make a move across the country, but it's much more the fact that you've already dropped the career anchor in one location that makes moving difficult.

+1 I agree with this. I would recommend interning in the location you want to live/ work afterwards. Get a paralegal/ clerk bitch starting job in your 0L summer, or do your summer internships in virginia. I know people that have/ are doing this. I also know 3L's that got jobs out of their regions as a result of doig this (I do not know their ranks).

It is all about connections.

I think the "sorta" answer is reasonable, but downplays just how devastating moving can be for private practice lawyers. Though it's possible, you really CAN'T move later in your career. The "it gets harder" threshold that has been mentioned falls off a cliff. In 10 years, even if you don't have a family, you'd be starting from ground zero. People don't do that. They can't.

If you're in big/mid-law, then it's different. Lateraling is much more of a possibility. Same for gov't/PI work.

JSUVA2012 wrote:Your comments suggest you're speaking more from a position of insecurity about your school choice (non-T14 I presume?) than a position of having even a speck of knowledge.

My comments?

They aren't my comments. They are the comments of practicing lawyers in the area in which I live.

+1 for douchiness, though.

kalvano wrote:

JSUVA2012 wrote:Your comments suggest you're speaking more from a position of insecurity about your school choice (non-T14 I presume?) than a position of having even a speck of knowledge.

My comments?

They aren't my comments. They are the comments of practicing lawyers in the area in which I live.

+1 for douchiness, though.

Hey, what douchiness? BigLaw partners were posting for me. They must be the douchey ones.

JSUVA2012 wrote:

kalvano wrote:

JSUVA2012 wrote:Your comments suggest you're speaking more from a position of insecurity about your school choice (non-T14 I presume?) than a position of having even a speck of knowledge.

My comments?

They aren't my comments. They are the comments of practicing lawyers in the area in which I live.

+1 for douchiness, though.

Hey, what douchiness? BigLaw partners were posting for me. They must be the douchey ones.

Sounds like you fit right in with them.

kalvano wrote:

JSUVA2012 wrote:

kalvano wrote:

JSUVA2012 wrote:Your comments suggest you're speaking more from a position of insecurity about your school choice (non-T14 I presume?) than a position of having even a speck of knowledge.

My comments?

They aren't my comments. They are the comments of practicing lawyers in the area in which I live.

+1 for douchiness, though.

Hey, what douchiness? BigLaw partners were posting for me. They must be the douchey ones.

Sounds like you fit right in with them.

How do you know anything about me? I'm just a go-between, relaying the comments of others. I am therefore protected from anyone inferring something from my comments on TLS.

Action Jackson wrote:I think the "sorta" answer is reasonable, but downplays just how devastating moving can be for private practice lawyers. Though it's possible, you really CAN'T move later in your career. The "it gets harder" threshold that has been mentioned falls off a cliff. In 10 years, even if you don't have a family, you'd be starting from ground zero. People don't do that. They can't.

If you're in big/mid-law, then it's different. Lateraling is much more of a possibility. Same for gov't/PI work.

yeah moving a private practice just does not work.

It would seem to me that you can do this but 10 years is too long to remain in one area and then up and decide to move. If you were to go to Seattle and practice for 3-5 years you perhaps would have an easier time making a move back East.

I'm not an attorney so I can't speak with too much authority but from what I have read after 3-5 years you are still at the associate level. You have a lot of practical skills that are portable and, granted you have excelled, are in a position to be able to move without facing the kinds of challenges that a partner-level attorney would face.

So if you want the change of scenery, it would be best, I think, to practice for no more than 5 years. After that you would see the curve get drastically steeper in terms of the difficulty in moving across the country.

Am I way off base with this guys?

JSUVA2012 wrote:How do you know anything about me? I'm just a go-between, relaying the comments of others. I am therefore protected from anyone inferring something from my comments on TLS.

I don't know anything about you, I am just making unwarranted assumptions based off what you post.

And in your posts, you sound like an arrogant fuckbag douchenozzle.

Just my opinion, though.