Which School to Go to for Big Law? Forum

[echamberlin8]

My goal is to get into a big law firm in NYC. I haven't taken the LSAT yet. Planning to in June, and if I don't get a 170, doing it again in October. My GPA is a 3.73. I graduated in '09, and have worked at a government contracting company, and now work at a big DC law firm.

I'm aware that Columbia and NYU are my two best options for getting into NYC big law. That is why my goal is at least a 170 on the LSAT. If I don't get into those, I know Cornell is another option. And possibly University of Pennsylvania. Are there any other good options outside of T6 for NYC big law other than Cornell and UPenn?

[Bronck]

Yes.... Did you search this forum at all? The T13 in general should give you a solid shot...

[echamberlin8]

I have indeed searched this forum before. I thought that would be the case, but there seems to be a lot of pessimism about getting a job in NYC big law unless you want to specific schools that tap into that market, even if they are T14 (or 13, as you say). For instance, a lot of people seem to doubt that a school like UVA or Duke would be able to feed into a big NYC firm unless you were like top 10% of your class.

Still, that is rather comforting to know that in general the top 13 or so schools can get one a job at NYC big law. I am much more confident that I can get into a T13 school than I am that I can get into NYU (probably need a 172) or Columbia (probably need a 173).

[bobbyh1919]

For instance, a lot of people seem to doubt that a school like UVA or Duke would be able to feed into a big NYC firm unless you were like top 10% of your class.

I don't think anyone thinks this.

[Bronck]

I have indeed searched this forum before. I thought that would be the case, but there seems to be a lot of pessimism about getting a job in NYC big law unless you want to specific schools that tap into that market, even if they are T14 (or 13, as you say). For instance, a lot of people seem to doubt that a school like UVA or Duke would be able to feed into a big NYC firm unless you were like top 10% of your class.

I've never seen anyone say this before.......

ETA: Scooped

[JusticeHarlan]

For instance, a lot of people seem to doubt that a school like UVA or Duke would be able to feed into a big NYC firm unless you were like top 10% of your class.

I'd love to see you link to "a lot" of people saying you need to be top 10% at those schools to get NYC biglaw jobs.

FWIW, the worst numbers in recent years were this past year's graduating class, and while they're not just NYC, it's a good proxy: http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... slreturn=1
Draw your own conclusions.

[timbs4339]

I have indeed searched this forum before. I thought that would be the case, but there seems to be a lot of pessimism about getting a job in NYC big law unless you want to specific schools that tap into that market, even if they are T14 (or 13, as you say). For instance, a lot of people seem to doubt that a school like UVA or Duke would be able to feed into a big NYC firm unless you were like top 10% of your class.

Still, that is rather comforting to know that in general the top 13 or so schools can get one a job at NYC big law. I am much more confident that I can get into a T13 school than I am that I can get into NYU (probably need a 172) or Columbia (probably need a 173).

lol no way. If anything NYC is easier to feed into that other markets because there are so many jobs.

Head to the legal employment forum and check out some of the OCI threads (around August/September) to get a better idea. People will post pretty detailed info about their callbacks/offers and grades.

[echamberlin8]

Hmm...yeah, I didn't have any specific quotes to back me up here. I just recall people being like, "[This or that school] isn't truly national," and that you needed a school like the ones I listed initially to get into NYC big law unless you had an exceptionally high class rank. That is somewhat comforting to know. I was thinking that unless I get into Cornell or NYU or Columbia, I was just going to wait another year and try again in the 2013 cycle.

Yes, I imagine NYC does have the biggest job market for law in the country. I will check out the OCI forum.

[Indifferent]

Come back when you have an LSAT score. Speculating about what hypothetical schools you'll get into waste of time.

[echamberlin8]

Come back when you have an LSAT score. Speculating about what hypothetical schools you'll get into waste of time.

Fair enough.

[dingbat]

Come back when you have an LSAT score. Speculating about what hypothetical schools you'll get into waste of time.

This.

Yes, Columbia and NYU are your best bets.
Yes, many of the T14 are (somewhat) regional
But that's only part of the story. A lot of the regional aspects of the T14 us a matter of self-selection.
There are also schools outise the T14 that place well in NYC big law.

Once you get your score, it's possible to have a real discussion
(for example, if your score is too low, youll want to know the pros and cons of some of the secondary schools that feed into that market, or what opportunities good non-ny regional schools might provide)

[Bronck]

Come back when you have an LSAT score. Speculating about what hypothetical schools you'll get into waste of time.

This.

Yes, Columbia and NYU are your best bets.
Yes, many of the T14 are (somewhat) regional
But that's only part of the story. A lot of the regional aspects of the T14 us a matter of self-selection.
There are also schools outise the T14 that place well in NYC big law.

Once you get your score, it's possible to have a real discussion
(for example, if your score is too low, youll want to know the pros and cons of some of the secondary schools that feed into that market, or what opportunities good non-ny regional schools might provide)

Depends on what you mean by "well"...

[echamberlin8]

Come back when you have an LSAT score. Speculating about what hypothetical schools you'll get into waste of time.

This.

Yes, Columbia and NYU are your best bets.
Yes, many of the T14 are (somewhat) regional
But that's only part of the story. A lot of the regional aspects of the T14 us a matter of self-selection.
There are also schools outise the T14 that place well in NYC big law.

Once you get your score, it's possible to have a real discussion
(for example, if your score is too low, youll want to know the pros and cons of some of the secondary schools that feed into that market, or what opportunities good non-ny regional schools might provide)

Depends on what you mean by "well"...

I'd be very curious as to what schools those are. I'm going to assume that Fordham is one of them.

[20160810]

Don't post in this forum without an LSAT score, we can't help you yet.