Legal Markets: NYC v. Florida Forum

[Justathought]

Just want to hear general thoughts on the NYC and Florida markets. Right now, my best option in NYC is Rutgers. Miami would be my best choice in Florida. I have some other options too, but not thrilled with them at the moment. Still waiting on a few reaches, but to be honest, they don't seem to place better in NYC than Rutgers, so I'd likely go there over my reaches.

Drawn to Miami for two reasons. First, the quality of life would be great for me. Second, when compared to Rutgers in NYC, its more of a "top dog" in Florida, only second to UF.

Let's keep money out of the equation for the moment, I'm not in the habit of throwing money away, and I will of course, very carefully weigh the COA at Miami, since they are apparently out of money. However, I can pay for school without loans, so I would like to hear opinions on entering S. Florida from Miami and NYC from Rutgers. In particular, is the S. Florida market just too small?

[FeelTheHeat]

Just want to hear general thoughts on the NYC and Florida markets. Right now, my best option in NYC is Rutgers. Miami would be my best choice in Florida. I have some other options too, but not thrilled with them at the moment. Still waiting on a few reaches, but to be honest, they don't seem to place better in NYC than Rutgers, so I'd likely go there over my reaches.

Drawn to Miami for two reasons. First, the quality of life would be great for me. Second, when compared to Rutgers in NYC, its more of a "top dog" in Florida, only second to UF.

Let's keep money out of the equation for the moment, I'm not in the habit of throwing money away, and I will of course, very carefully weigh the COA at Miami, since they are apparently out of money. However, I can pay for school without loans, so I would like to hear opinions on entering S. Florida from Miami and NYC from Rutgers. In particular, is the S. Florida market just too small?

Second to UF how?

[Justathought]

Just want to hear general thoughts on the NYC and Florida markets. Right now, my best option in NYC is Rutgers. Miami would be my best choice in Florida. I have some other options too, but not thrilled with them at the moment. Still waiting on a few reaches, but to be honest, they don't seem to place better in NYC than Rutgers, so I'd likely go there over my reaches.

Drawn to Miami for two reasons. First, the quality of life would be great for me. Second, when compared to Rutgers in NYC, its more of a "top dog" in Florida, only second to UF.

Let's keep money out of the equation for the moment, I'm not in the habit of throwing money away, and I will of course, very carefully weigh the COA at Miami, since they are apparently out of money. However, I can pay for school without loans, so I would like to hear opinions on entering S. Florida from Miami and NYC from Rutgers. In particular, is the S. Florida market just too small?

Second to UF how?

Well I don't even know/think that's true. However, I've heard it said a few times. Either way.

[kwais]

I think FSU would take issue with your rankings, however, I do think that your point about Miami's stature in FL is important. There are a handful of S. Florida firms that really love the hurricanes. NYC market is way bigger but obviously Rutgers is not in front of the line. I say go with long-term geographic preferences.

[rman1201]

Money aside, Miami seems like the best option to actually land something. All the major firms in the Miami area recruit there and it doesn't have nearly as much competition as Rutgers will (though the FL legal market is horrid right now).

But you'll probably get blasted here for Miami at sticker (or even with a scholly), but if you're paying cash and don't risk being engulfed in debt then go for it.

(Financially, Rutgers would be much better, I think you can qualify for in-state after the first year)

[FeelTheHeat]

If money is out of the equation, the main question will be where do you wish to spend the next 30 years. Your chances of working in Florida with a Rutgers degree is minuscule at best, and vice versa with a Miami degree.

[Justathought]

Money aside, Miami seems like the best option to actually land something. All the major firms in the Miami area recruit there and it doesn't have nearly as much competition as Rutgers will (though the FL legal market is horrid right now).

But you'll probably get blasted here for Miami at sticker (or even with a scholly), but if you're paying cash and don't risk being engulfed in debt then go for it.

(Financially, Rutgers would be much better, I think you can qualify for in-state after the first year)

Yeah, Rutgers would certainly be cheaper, and that's something to consider. If I got nothing at Miami, which seems likely, Rutgers would be half the cost. However, I'm a 30 year old guy who was fortunate in my previous career, so I can pay for school either way. I'm interested in transactional law(Miami seems pretty solid for this type of work), and failing that maybe something in public interest, even JAG - though I know that's competitive.

My major concern is the size of the S. Florida market. It seems that if you don't land an elite position, you might end up doing personal injury. At which point I would again hate what I do for a living.

[Justathought]

BTW: With all this being said, I'm still leaning heavily toward Rutgers. Because it is cheaper and because it does have access, even if limited, to the biggest market. I'm just wondering if Miami's dominate position in S. Florida is really enough to warrant serious consideration. Also, yeah, I probably would enjoy living in Miami more than NYC.

[FeelTheHeat]

BTW: With all this being said, I'm still leaning heavily toward Rutgers. Because it is cheaper and because it does have access, even if limited, to the biggest market. I'm just wondering if Miami's dominate position in S. Florida is really enough to warrant serious consideration. Also, yeah, I probably would enjoy living in Miami more than NYC.

Its not dominate. With regards to south Florida, consensus on boards and what I've seen throughout my internship is that UF is top, then FSU and Miami, and you also have competition from FIU, St. Thomas, and Nova. Not to say they are powerhouses, but they too have students that will finish at the top of the class and take jobs. You have had no luck getting into UF or FSU and getting instate tuition after a year? Save you tens of thousands of dollars.

[Justathought]

BTW: With all this being said, I'm still leaning heavily toward Rutgers. Because it is cheaper and because it does have access, even if limited, to the biggest market. I'm just wondering if Miami's dominate position in S. Florida is really enough to warrant serious consideration. Also, yeah, I probably would enjoy living in Miami more than NYC.

Its not dominate. With regards to south Florida, consensus on boards and what I've seen throughout my internship is that UF is top, then FSU and Miami, and you also have competition from FIU, St. Thomas, and Nova. Not to say they are powerhouses, but they too have students that will finish at the top of the class and take jobs. You have had no luck getting into UF or FSU and getting instate tuition after a year? Save you tens of thousands of dollars.

Well that last quote was in reference to S. Florida only. I swear, I'm already confused with this state! As to the latter half of your question: Didn't apply. Figured Florida was a no-go with my GPA, and FSU just wasn't that appealing at the time. Now that I am looking into Florida, it is...

Anyway, can we agree that Miami is among the best choices for the S. Florida legal market? If so, I'm interested in the pros and cons of this market.

Edit: Also, since you're screwed at median from either of these two schools, as is the case with most non-14 schools, let's assume top 1/3. I think you're in a relatively decent spot from Rutgers. What about from Miami?

[MrAnon]

Miami hands down.

[TheFactor]

BTW: With all this being said, I'm still leaning heavily toward Rutgers. Because it is cheaper and because it does have access, even if limited, to the biggest market. I'm just wondering if Miami's dominate position in S. Florida is really enough to warrant serious consideration. Also, yeah, I probably would enjoy living in Miami more than NYC.

Its not dominate. With regards to south Florida, consensus on boards and what I've seen throughout my internship is that UF is top, then FSU and Miami, and you also have competition from FIU, St. Thomas, and Nova. Not to say they are powerhouses, but they too have students that will finish at the top of the class and take jobs. You have had no luck getting into UF or FSU and getting instate tuition after a year? Save you tens of thousands of dollars.

This. You'll also have to compete with T14/Vandy/Texas grads with ties.

[98234872348]

Yeah, Rutgers would certainly be cheaper, and that's something to consider. If I got nothing at Miami, which seems likely, Rutgers would be half the cost. However, I'm a 30 year old guy who was fortunate in my previous career, so I can pay for school either way. I'm interested in transactional law(Miami seems pretty solid for this type of work), and failing that maybe something in public interest, even JAG - though I know that's competitive.

My major concern is the size of the S. Florida market. It seems that if you don't land an elite position, you might end up doing personal injury. At which point I would again hate what I do for a living.

If you want to do transactional law neither of these schools are viable options. Only the top students at UM (top 5-10%) have a shot at getting a good transactional job, and, while I don't know much about Rutgers, the figures out of that school are likely substantially similar. Also realize that Miami does NOT have a very large transactional market (the Miami market is mainly centralized around litigation) whereas NYC has the largest transactional market in the country.

If you are dead set on transactional law, I would recommend trying to get into better schools. If you want to roll the dice, realize that if you do not excel your first year, you will likely be shut out from this sort of opportunity (of course, there are outliers, but I wouldn't bet on being an exception to the rule).

[Fred_McGriff]

Take your talents to South Beach. Better quality of life, better shot of not being stranded in Jersey, great campus, and probably better job opportunities.

[Justathought]

Thanks for all the replies thus far folks; its very much appreciated. Keep em coming, this thread is a small part of my effort at due diligence.