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I want to eventually live in Seattle, but I currently live in SoCal. I've been accepted to Loyola PT for this fall with no $. I didn't apply to Seattle U and if I chose them I would probably apply for FA 2011. I want to land Gov't work, preferably in a DA Office. I know Loyola LA has a great reputation in LA and starting pay for ADA in SoCal is significantly more than in Seattle (70k/year vs. 50k/year). Also the market in SoCal is huge, with Orange County, San Diego County, LA County, and San Bernardino County.

Should I stay here, graduate at Loyola and try to land an ADA job, then work for a few years and try to transfer to the State of WA?


Also, regarding PT programs, how is that looked upon by employers? I figure it gives me a chance to find a good externship during the year and then an internship during the summers. It would also give me an extra year to intern/extern. Am I wrong in assuming that PT isn't all that bad?

Thanks for your help.

Seattle is a really tight-knit legal community so if you know that you want to live in Seattle, and you don't already have connections in the legal field in Seattle, you should definitely either go to UW or Seattle U. Loyola does not have much of a reputation here.

Based on the information sessions at Seattle U, it seems that a lot of their grads work in the DAs office here in Seattle and there are students who work during the summer or in externship programs for the DA.

Hope this helps!

Thanks, that does help, but I do have one last question:

How much competition does one face when applying for an ADA position? More specifically, of I went to law school and did everything
I could to get a position, would I get one or would I be competing against 30 peers for one position?

B

If you want to live in Seattle I would go to Seattle U or UW and not waste your time at Loyola first. I've lived in SoCal my entire life and yes, Loyola has a great rep in So Cal, but thats pretty much it. Out of LA/OC/SD, it will be VERY difficult to find a job. My opinion would be to start where you want to end up and not necessarily count on the ability to transfer.

Just my opinion, hth.