Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas. Forum

[Solerpower]

I'm wondering, based upon pure employment potential, what the best law school from my "wishes" is.

I DO NOT wish to practice is NYC or D.C. or anywhere cold for that matter.

In no specific order, Atlanta, Houston, and Dallas are my top 3 (COL means a lot to me).

Florida and California are possibilities, but not near the level of my top 3.

Which school is the best for the top 3.

Columbia, Michigan, Virginia, Duke, Texas, Cornell, Vanderbilt?

[KMaine]

My instincts would be: Duke, Texas, Vanderbilt. Not based on much, but if I had the choice, that is where I would go. If certain you want TX, I would probably go with Texas, all else being equal.

[Solerpower]

My instincts would be: Duke, Texas, Vanderbilt. Not based on much, but if I had the choice, that is where I would go. If certain you want TX, I would probably go with Texas, all else being equal.

I've heard that Virginia basically owns Atlanta and has some solid Texas reach. Any reason you chose to not include it.

[Solerpower]

What's UVA's reach in Texas and what's UT's reach in Atlanta?

[merichard87]

Emory obviously controls the Atlanta market and UVA and Duke place pretty well.

For the Texas market definitely Texas, Duke and UVA again and then SMU for Dallas and UofH for Houston.

Vandy is good for the south and parts of the midwest as well.

WUSTL is good for the midwest and could possible get you into a Texas market.

[Esc]

UVA will have better reach to Texas than UT will to Atlanta. But I'd say your decision should probably come down to how much money each school is offering.

[Solerpower]

Emory obviously controls the Atlanta market and UVA and Duke place pretty well.

For the Texas market definitely Texas, Duke and UVA again and then SMU for Dallas and UofH for Houston.

Vandy is good for the south and parts of the midwest as well.

WUSTL is good for the midwest and could possible get you into a Texas market.

Right, I understand that certain schools do well in certain markets.

What i'm asking is which school places well in BOTH Texas and Atlanta.

Duke and UVA?

[Solerpower]

UVA will have better reach to Texas than UT will to Atlanta. But I'd say your decision should probably come down to how much money each school is offering.

I'm a New Yorker. I have zero ties to Texas. How well does UVA place a person like me in Texas and how well do I have to do at UVA to place well?

[mcflooter06]

UVA will have better reach to Texas than UT will to Atlanta. But I'd say your decision should probably come down to how much money each school is offering.

I'm a New Yorker. I have zero ties to Texas. How well does UVA place a person like me in Texas and how well do I have to do at UVA to place well?

Texas (the state) likes ties to the state, which you do not have. If you desire to work in Texas, I believe you would be best served by going to school in Texas, and not UVA, etc.

[MidlawMyth]

If you have Texas ties go to Columbia.

[Solerpower]

If you have Texas ties go to Columbia.

and no Texas ties plus a desire to go to Atlanta?

[Solerpower]

UVA will have better reach to Texas than UT will to Atlanta. But I'd say your decision should probably come down to how much money each school is offering.

I'm a New Yorker. I have zero ties to Texas. How well does UVA place a person like me in Texas and how well do I have to do at UVA to place well?

Texas (the state) likes ties to the state, which you do not have. If you desire to work in Texas, I believe you would be best served by going to school in Texas, and not UVA, etc.

Where does one have to place percentage wise at UT in order to get BIGLAW in Houston and/or Dallas. Also, how does a median and slightly below median student do at UT, placement wise.

[Esc]

UVA will have better reach to Texas than UT will to Atlanta. But I'd say your decision should probably come down to how much money each school is offering.

I'm a New Yorker. I have zero ties to Texas. How well does UVA place a person like me in Texas and how well do I have to do at UVA to place well?

Yeah if you have no ties to Texas than you'd better go to UT if you want a realistic shot at Dallas or Houston. Lots of Texans go to UVA and come back afterwards, but if you ain't from here, you're going to have a real hard time getting to Texas from UVA.

Pre-ITE, word was that ~top 50-60% at UT was good for Texas Biglaw. What the statistics are now I have no clue, but substantially worse than that I'd reckon. My best guess is that if you're at median you'll get a decent job, but there's a good chance it won't be Biglaw.

[Solerpower]

UVA will have better reach to Texas than UT will to Atlanta. But I'd say your decision should probably come down to how much money each school is offering.

I'm a New Yorker. I have zero ties to Texas. How well does UVA place a person like me in Texas and how well do I have to do at UVA to place well?

Yeah if you have no ties to Texas than you'd better go to UT if you want a realistic shot at Dallas or Houston. Lots of Texans go to UVA and come back afterwards, but if you ain't from here, you're going to have a real hard time getting to Texas from UVA.

Pre-ITE, word was that ~top 50-60% at UT was good for Texas Biglaw. What the statistics are now I have no clue, but substantially worse than that I'd reckon. My best guess is that if you're at median you'll get a decent job, but there's a good chance it won't be Biglaw.

You are awesome!! Thanks for the info!

What do you mean by decent job. I don't mean to sound dumb, but do you mean $100,000 starting or something similar. If you could just explain what you believe median will get you ITE, that would be fantastic!

[eandy]

Emory obviously controls the Atlanta market and UVA and Duke place pretty well.

Actually, you are obviously wrong. Emory and UGA are on equal footing in Atlanta. Saying that Emory "controls" the Atlanta market is incorrect.

[Grizz]

Emory obviously controls the Atlanta market and UVA and Duke place pretty well.

Not really.

In a very general sense, Duke/UVA > Vandy > Emory > UGA.

[Esc]

UVA will have better reach to Texas than UT will to Atlanta. But I'd say your decision should probably come down to how much money each school is offering.

I'm a New Yorker. I have zero ties to Texas. How well does UVA place a person like me in Texas and how well do I have to do at UVA to place well?

Yeah if you have no ties to Texas than you'd better go to UT if you want a realistic shot at Dallas or Houston. Lots of Texans go to UVA and come back afterwards, but if you ain't from here, you're going to have a real hard time getting to Texas from UVA.

Pre-ITE, word was that ~top 50-60% at UT was good for Texas Biglaw. What the statistics are now I have no clue, but substantially worse than that I'd reckon. My best guess is that if you're at median you'll get a decent job, but there's a good chance it won't be Biglaw.

You are awesome!! Thanks for the info!

What do you mean by decent job. I don't mean to sound dumb, but do you mean $100,000 starting or something similar. If you could just explain what you believe median will get you ITE, that would be fantastic!

Decent means any permanent (non-contract) position that isn't Biglaw, which is about as much as anyone can hope for ITE, where you have unemployed T14 grads and people fighting over contract doc review work. That's all I know...though I highly doubt many people are getting $100k starting salaries. Conventional wisdom is that if you don't get Biglaw, most jobs start at between 40k and 60k, since not many midsize firms hire fresh graduates.

[MoS]

Texas will get you a good job in Houston or Dallas. I don't think they have much reach in Atlanta. Duke isn't bad for Dallas, I don't know about Houston, I imagine it does well in Atalanta. But really the only schools I would say that really out do Texas for jobs in Dallas and Houston are Harvard and Yale.

[kalvano]

Just go to Harvard.

[Solerpower]

Decent means any permanent (non-contract) position that isn't Biglaw, which is about as much as anyone can hope for ITE, where you have unemployed T14 grads and people fighting over contract doc review work. That's all I know...though I highly doubt many people are getting $100k starting salaries. Conventional wisdom is that if you don't get Biglaw, most jobs start at between 40k and 60k, since not many midsize firms hire fresh graduates.

So basically, ITE, median will get you a 40-60k job. Above gives you a solid chance at BIGLAW?

[Esc]

I'd really rather not state those as conclusions - just as (conservative) guesses. The market is crazy right now, and we have no idea what OCI will be like (though rumor says it will be better than last year). We, like everyone else, are flying in the dark right now. No one really knows in advance what employment will be like.

[Solerpower]

I'd really rather not state those as conclusions - just as (conservative) guesses. The market is crazy right now, and we have no idea what OCI will be like (though rumor says it will be better than last year). We, like everyone else, are flying in the dark right now. No one really knows in advance what employment will be like.

Is Texas unanimously considered equal to Harvard in the state of Texas?

[Esc]

I'd really rather not state those as conclusions - just as (conservative) guesses. The market is crazy right now, and we have no idea what OCI will be like (though rumor says it will be better than last year). We, like everyone else, are flying in the dark right now. No one really knows in advance what employment will be like.

Is Texas unanimously considered equal to Harvard in the state of Texas?

Weird question. There are some firms that are very UT-centric, and pretty much all Texas firms will hire heavily from UT. It doesn't mean that you will have attorneys dissing Harvard in favor of Texas.

[Solerpower]

I'd really rather not state those as conclusions - just as (conservative) guesses. The market is crazy right now, and we have no idea what OCI will be like (though rumor says it will be better than last year). We, like everyone else, are flying in the dark right now. No one really knows in advance what employment will be like.

Is Texas unanimously considered equal to Harvard in the state of Texas?

Weird question. There are some firms that are very UT-centric, and pretty much all Texas firms will hire heavily from UT. It doesn't mean that you will have attorneys dissing Harvard in favor of Texas.

I don't necessarily mean in terms of reputation. I'm really just trying to get a feel for how good UT is. I believe I want to live in Texas, everything seems to be excellent.

What I'm trying to figure out is if UT is the best option. I've read on this forum that BERKLEY is better than UT because fewer grads want Texas and therefore it's the way to go, if you can get it.

I have no Texas ties and i'm really just trying to decided if Texas is the school that I want to attend.

You could send me a PM if you would prefer, but if you could speak to whether or not Texas is a better option than the T14, excluding HYS.

[Esc]

Generally its always going to be easier to get a job in a location where you have personal ties. Conventional wisdom is that Texas is especially hard to get into without personal ties to the state. T14 will work great for a Texan who wants to go back to Texas, but not so well if you aren't from the state.

IE: As a New Yorker, if you went to Columbia and then applied for Texas Biglaw, you wouldn't have your interviewer doubting your competence, but you'd have a big problem overcoming the impression that you were viewing Texas Biglaw as a safety 'cause you couldn't get a job in NYC. Its not like its an insurmountable problem (IE getting a 1L summer job in Texas would be more than enough to show you were serious about the state) , but its something you wouldn't have to worry about if you went to UT.