Atlanta market Forum

[thedude221]

Hey, I'm an undergrad going into my last year and expect to have a gpa in the 3.95-3.98 range along with a 169 LSAT. I think I would either like to do firm work in the Atlanta area or do something in the public sector. what law schools should i be looking at?

[thickfreakness]

Duke.

/thread

[JusticeHarlan]

Duke.

/thread

Or Vandy with $$$.

[DaveBear07]

No love for Emory with $$$?

[eandy]

Duke.

/thread

wtf.

In Atlanta, UVA > Duke.

When I think of Atlanta firms, I say (and this is personal opinion) HY>>>>>UVA>Duke>>>Vanderbilt>>Emory/UGA>>>>>>local TTTs

[jdhonest]

May I suggest Nova Southeastern or Barry Law.

[ggocat]

1. H/Y/S
2. Vandy with full ride and $5k/year living stipend. http://law.vanderbilt.edu/prospective-s ... index.aspx
3. UVA
4. Emory with full ride and $3K/year living stipend. http://www.law.emory.edu/admission/admi ... ition.html
5. Duke.
6. UGA with full ride.

Not necessarily in that order, but close to it, depending on your career goals and tolerance for debt.

Good luck.

[ze2151]

OP- you are exactly as informed about your question as you were before you read these inane responses.

[eandy]

Sort of a thread hijack but relevant. In my mind, Duke grads don't really work in Atlanta as much as in Washington/NYC. Is that right or am I misguided? When I think of Atlanta market schools, Duke doesn't really pop in my head (hence the edit in my last post).

[thickfreakness]

Sort of a thread hijack but relevant. In my mind, Duke grads don't really work in Atlanta as much as in Washington/NYC. Is that right or am I misguided? When I think of Atlanta market schools, Duke doesn't really pop in my head (hence the edit in my last post).

Not really sure. I just felt like doing a little bit of goofy trolling. I think that any east coast T14 is going to have great placement in Atlanta, and then Vanderbilt will be strong as well. After that, Emory and UGA are your best bets. This is just from a pure placement perspective, obviously if Atlanta's your goal taking a large scholarship at Vanderbilt over small/no scholarship at a T14 not named Harvard or Yale is probably a safe choice.

[thedude221]

Would University of Chicago preclude me from going into the Atlanta market?

[ArthurEdens]

UVA, Duke, Vanderbilt, Emory, Georgia. I would be inclined to lean toward Vanderbilt, provided that they offered $$$. Be sure to apply for the Woodruff at Emory (full tuition + stipend).

[20160810]

Duke.

/thread

wtf.

In Atlanta, UVA > Duke.

When I think of Atlanta firms, I say (and this is personal opinion) HY>>>>>UVA>Duke>>>Vanderbilt>>Emory/UGA>>>>>>local TTTs

Subtle UGA trolling.

[ze2151]

UVA, Duke, Vanderbilt, Emory, Georgia. I would be inclined to lean toward Vanderbilt, provided that they offered $$$. Be sure to apply for the Woodruff at Emory (full tuition + stipend).

no offense to OP, but i doubt those numbers would be very competitive for the Woodruff. Good money at Emory, definitely, but the Woodruff is a pretty big deal (OP- if you do get the Woodruff, that would change the unwritten hiring order that a lot of people on this thread are putting out there. the Woodruff name is impressive down here. i'm not saying it would put you on equal footing to a similarly ranked uva grad, but woodruff fellow looks great on a c.v. that said, of late, the fellowships have gone to more "do-gooder" types and less to people who want the big firm job (not saying that big firm folks aren't do-gooders, just not in the sense of making it a career).

[keg411]

Would University of Chicago preclude me from going into the Atlanta market?

No.

[jamaicanjynx]

UVA, Duke, Vanderbilt, Emory, Georgia. I would be inclined to lean toward Vanderbilt, provided that they offered $$$. Be sure to apply for the Woodruff at Emory (full tuition + stipend).

no offense to OP, but i doubt those numbers would be very competitive for the Woodruff. Good money at Emory, definitely, but the Woodruff is a pretty big deal (OP- if you do get the Woodruff, that would change the unwritten hiring order that a lot of people on this thread are putting out there. the Woodruff name is impressive down here. i'm not saying it would put you on equal footing to a similarly ranked uva grad, but woodruff fellow looks great on a c.v. that said, of late, the fellowships have gone to more "do-gooder" types and less to people who want the big firm job (not saying that big firm folks aren't do-gooders, just not in the sense of making it a career).

I disagree w/ the bolded portion. The LSAT is towards the lower end but could still be competitive depending on how good OP's softs and recs are.

[ze2151]

UVA, Duke, Vanderbilt, Emory, Georgia. I would be inclined to lean toward Vanderbilt, provided that they offered $$$. Be sure to apply for the Woodruff at Emory (full tuition + stipend).

no offense to OP, but i doubt those numbers would be very competitive for the Woodruff. Good money at Emory, definitely, but the Woodruff is a pretty big deal (OP- if you do get the Woodruff, that would change the unwritten hiring order that a lot of people on this thread are putting out there. the Woodruff name is impressive down here. i'm not saying it would put you on equal footing to a similarly ranked uva grad, but woodruff fellow looks great on a c.v. that said, of late, the fellowships have gone to more "do-gooder" types and less to people who want the big firm job (not saying that big firm folks aren't do-gooders, just not in the sense of making it a career).

I disagree w/ the bolded portion. The LSAT is towards the lower end but could still be competitive depending on how good OP's softs and recs are.

Jamaicanjynx- do you have first hand knowledge that this would be the case? I mean, if OP invented a car that runs on water or cured halitosis or something, that may be so. But a Woodruff with an LSAT below 170 would not be likely in my opinion. When I was working toward going to Emory, the professor (now mentor) I was in contact with told me sub 170 would not be very competitive. OP, and this is good advice no matter where you go, get a 170.

[sdv]

OP- you are exactly as informed about your question as you were before you read these inane responses.

This. I might be blowing the minds of the majority of TLS here, but in the south in general the difference between UVA/Duke/Vandy as far as name recognition goes is going to be negligible. The reaction is "oh, that's an elite school", but the jobs one is interviewing for will be won or lost based on GPA and the person him/herself. A particular student is probably going to end up with the same opportunities in general (and in Atlanta specifically, since thats what the thread is about) whether they choose to attend Duke or Vandy, for instance, because the schools have a similar prestige level. So as far as Atlanta goes,

Option 1: attend a national university that places throughout the country. Any one will do. The 3 that will definitely have Atlanta firms at OCI, though, are UVA, Duke, and Vandy. It would be dumb to make a decision based on rank between those 3; money, feel, and location should be much more important considerations, rank only coming into play if all else is absolutely equal.

Option 2: If one can't get into a national university, one would want to target the best regional schools that service the region in which they want to practice, meaning Emory/UGA. Their placement in Atlanta is similar, so I'm not sure how Emory would be worth the expense, but to each his own.

Option 3: T1 southern schools - Alabama, Florida, UNC and Tulane are all respected southern law schools that should be able to place in the unofficial capital of the south.

Option 4: if options 1-3 are unattainable, ehhhhhhhhhh. In that case, don't venture out of the state for law school.

[jamaicanjynx]

Firsthand knowledge that the LSAT score doesn't automatically exclude OP from Woodruff consideration? Yes. Though, after re-reading your previous post, I guess you may be right in saying he wouldn't be 'very competitive' (RC Fail on my part, I read it as 'There's no way he'll get a Woodruff). I get the sense that the Woodruff selection process is A LOT more holistic than most applicants realize.

That being said, if the prof knows the LSATs of all the finalists then that trumps my perception, clearly.

[Grizz]

Option 1: attend a national university that places throughout the country. Any one will do. The 3 that will definitely have Atlanta firms at OCI, though, are UVA, Duke, and Vandy. It would be dumb to make a decision based on rank between those 3; money, feel, and location should be much more important considerations, rank only coming into play if all else is absolutely equal.

Largely agree. In general, UVA/Duke>Vandy, but it all comes down to money, what other markets you want, etc. We don't know too much about other elite schools because there's simply not that much info to go on.

Caveat: If you don't have ATL connections, get some. I've heard anecdotally that the market can get provincial.

Option 2: If one can't get into a national university, one would want to target the best regional schools that service the region in which they want to practice, meaning Emory/UGA. Their placement in Atlanta is similar, so I'm not sure how Emory would be worth the expense, but to each his own.

In re UGA vs. Emory, the opinions on TLS varies wildly, all the way from UGA>Emory, UGA=Emory, and UGA<Emory. I am inclined to go with Emory>UGA. From straight numbers at firms, it may seem that UGA>Emory, but the best of Emory tends to leave, whereas the best of UGA sticks around. Though certain firms may have specific biases, in general, Emory is more prestigious. But it's not like the UGA kids are just picking up the leavings of other. Then again, it all comes down to money. Don't go to Emory at sticker. But if Emory and UGA are close in price, I'd do Emory.

Option 3: T1 southern schools - Alabama, Florida, UNC and Tulane are all respected southern law schools that should be able to place in the unofficial capital of the south.

Connections are important, however.

[Rand M.]

Would University of Chicago preclude me from going into the Atlanta market?

No.

[im_blue]

OP- you are exactly as informed about your question as you were before you read these inane responses.

This. I might be blowing the minds of the majority of TLS here, but in the south in general the difference between UVA/Duke/Vandy as far as name recognition goes is going to be negligible. The reaction is "oh, that's an elite school", but the jobs one is interviewing for will be won or lost based on GPA and the person him/herself. A particular student is probably going to end up with the same opportunities in general (and in Atlanta specifically, since thats what the thread is about) whether they choose to attend Duke or Vandy, for instance, because the schools have a similar prestige level. So as far as Atlanta goes,

Option 1: attend a national university that places throughout the country. Any one will do. The 3 that will definitely have Atlanta firms at OCI, though, are UVA, Duke, and Vandy. It would be dumb to make a decision based on rank between those 3; money, feel, and location should be much more important considerations, rank only coming into play if all else is absolutely equal.

Option 2: If one can't get into a national university, one would want to target the best regional schools that service the region in which they want to practice, meaning Emory/UGA. Their placement in Atlanta is similar, so I'm not sure how Emory would be worth the expense, but to each his own.

Option 3: T1 southern schools - Alabama, Florida, UNC and Tulane are all respected southern law schools that should be able to place in the unofficial capital of the south.

Option 4: if options 1-3 are unattainable, ehhhhhhhhhh. In that case, don't venture out of the state for law school.

Egregious Vandy trolling!

[ze2151]

jamaicanjynx- you are 100 pct right that the woodruff selection process is very holistic. however, from what i can see and from the folks i met, emory can afford to be pretty picky when it is selecting finalists, to the point that a 170 is pretty important. that said, op should not refrain from applying if he/she scores 169.

[sdv]

In general, UVA/Duke>Vandy, but it all comes down to money, what other markets you want, etc. We don't know too much about other elite schools because there's simply not that much info to go on.

If you're going to differentiate between them, I'd put the > sign between UVA and Duke rather than Duke and Vandy based on the impressions of the Southern lawyers I know, but we may have had different experiences. I stand by the philosophical argument, though, that if you're choosing between these schools, and there are no personal factors coming into play (family location, etc) you're going to perform at about the same level at all 3 places, and the name of one of these schools versus another isn't going to swing you in one direction or the other in terms of getting a job (save some sort of alumni connection, etc).