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Is attending Emory considered enough of a "connection" to break into the Atlanta legal market?

Yes.

Maybe not. You will be a flight risk + ATL is a small market.

Ties are what you make of them. If you can't find a way to convince an interviewer that your decision to come to the school was a signal of your commitment to the area, then it's not enough.

Too bad. I was even under the impression that Duke was the best route to Atlanta. Sounds like that would be even harder.

Alright, a fee waiver is a fee waiver. I'll apply to Emory and, if they give me significant money after the December LSAT comes in, then maybe I'll consider it.

niederbomb wrote:Too bad. I was even under the impression that Duke was the best route to Atlanta. Sounds like that would be even harder.

Alright, a fee waiver is a fee waiver. I'll apply to Emory and, if they give me significant money after the December LSAT comes in, then maybe I'll consider it.

UVA's what people generally think of as the best route to Atlanta.

rad law wrote:

niederbomb wrote:Too bad. I was even under the impression that Duke was the best route to Atlanta. Sounds like that would be even harder.

Alright, a fee waiver is a fee waiver. I'll apply to Emory and, if they give me significant money after the December LSAT comes in, then maybe I'll consider it.

UVA's what people generally think of as the best route to Atlanta.

Even without ties to the city?

im_blue wrote:

rad law wrote:

niederbomb wrote:Too bad. I was even under the impression that Duke was the best route to Atlanta. Sounds like that would be even harder.

Alright, a fee waiver is a fee waiver. I'll apply to Emory and, if they give me significant money after the December LSAT comes in, then maybe I'll consider it.

UVA's what people generally think of as the best route to Atlanta.

Even without ties to the city?

Probably not, but hey, just come up for a compelling reason for why you want to be there. If you're Southern, this might not be too hard. If you're not, then it will likely be harder.

there are things you can do to make yourself more attractive to local firms. join the lamar inn. contact local alumni doing things you find interesting. got a spouse or significant other? does he/she have a stable job in the region? that's a good sign. do volunteer work in the area. join a church/synagogue/mosque/humanist club.

i truly believe that living in/near the market in which you wish to practice is a tremendous leg up, especially with regard to smaller firms made up of alumni/ae.

if you have specific emory questions, please feel free to pm.

the best ways to break into the Atlanta market:

1. Yale
2. Harvard
3. UVA
4. Duke
5. Vanderbilt (other T-14 with ties will fit somewhere around these top 5)

6. Emory

Atlanta is small enough that ties are nice, but big enough that they aren't essential. ELJ + great grades from Emory make you a very good shot at the biglaw market.

The funny thing about Emory is that it carries it's reputation well to New York and throughout the Southeast. Part of that is because the vast majority of kids that go to Emory are out of state and self select back out of state. But the reputation isn't as good as the aforementioned schools. I guess you could think of it as a poor man's Vanderbilt.

Search for the threads about Emory's OCI. Disaster.

skoobily doobily wrote:the best ways to break into the Atlanta market:

1. Yale
2. Harvard
3. UVA
4. Duke
5. Vanderbilt (other T-14 with ties will fit somewhere around these top 5)

6. Emory

Atlanta is small enough that ties are nice, but big enough that they aren't essential. ELJ + great grades from Emory make you a very good shot at the biglaw market.

The funny thing about Emory is that it carries it's reputation well to New York and throughout the Southeast. Part of that is because the vast majority of kids that go to Emory are out of state and self select back out of state. But the reputation isn't as good as the aforementioned schools. I guess you could think of it as a poor man's Vanderbilt.

lolz

Desert Fox wrote:Search for the threads about Emory's OCI. Disaster.

Every time I hear someone mention Emory those threads are all I can picture.

2014 wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:Search for the threads about Emory's OCI. Disaster.

Every time I hear someone mention Emory those threads are all I can picture.

Which is sad, because all of that speculation is incredibly misleading and unfounded.

The Atlanta legal market is fucked. Stay away.

rayiner wrote:

The Atlanta legal market is fucked. Stay away.

Interesting. The TLS profile for Emory seemed to say otherwise. But if you're right, then Atlanta should be another region I cross out.

niederbomb wrote:rayiner wrote:

The Atlanta legal market is fucked. Stay away.

Interesting. The TLS profile for Emory seemed to say otherwise. But if you're right, then Atlanta should be another region I cross out.

Don't just blindly cross it out. That's dumb. There are jerbs, but understand that it's competitive, and it's ATL, so they're gonna want connections or ties. If you've got good grades from a good school and the connections, it may not be a bad idea. But for most people, relying solely on ATL is probably a bad idea.

Focusing solely on one market is stupid period, regardless of which market it is.

Aqualibrium wrote:Focusing solely on one market is stupid period, regardless of which market it is.

Splitting your bids at OCI might be disastrous.

Desert Fox wrote:

Aqualibrium wrote:Focusing solely on one market is stupid period, regardless of which market it is.

Splitting your bids at OCI might be disastrous.

Very few schools give you the ability to truly split your bids. By that I mean, there really are only 20 or so schools that have a large AND geographically diverse selection of employers at OCI.

With that said, I'll agree that at those schools' OCI, it may be a safer bet to only target the healthier markets. OCI isn't the only way to get a job though. I'm a big advocate of exhausting every option, whether it's job fairs, networking, targeted mailers, etc... An effective job search starts months before OCI ever begins, and should span several markets.

If you want to work in Atlanta, the University of Georgia might be a better bet than Emory. The university has a much better atmosphere and if you have decent gpa/lsat you should get in state tuition (~14k a year) which as good as any scholarship outside of full tuition at emory.

tomcox10 wrote:If you want to work in Atlanta, the University of Georgia might be a better bet than Emory. The university has a much better atmosphere and if you have decent gpa/lsat you should get in state tuition (~14k a year) which as good as any scholarship outside of full tuition at emory.

On the other hand, if ATL doesn't work out, enjoy Macon/Augusta/Albany/Columbus/Valdosta.

rad law wrote:

tomcox10 wrote:If you want to work in Atlanta, the University of Georgia might be a better bet than Emory. The university has a much better atmosphere and if you have decent gpa/lsat you should get in state tuition (~14k a year) which as good as any scholarship outside of full tuition at emory.

On the other hand, if ATL doesn't work out, enjoy Macon/Augusta/Albany/Columbus/Valdosta.

LOL exactly what I was thinking.