Mich v. Duke v. USC for Practicing in CA Forum

[drizzle12]

I want to end up practicing in a large metropolitan area (NY, DC, Chi, LA, etc.) and my main goal is BigLaw, at least for a number of years after leaving law school.

Duke seems to place a significant amount of graduates in NY and DC. Mich seems to place decently in a number of areas. USC seems to be California overwhelmingly. I am wondering if anybody has any insight into how well Duke/Mich places in Cali. I think ideally I would like to end up in SoCal but I don't have significant ties there and am not from the area. I am narrowing my decision down to Duke, Michigan, and USC as of right now. I would like to end up taking out <$100,000 in loans which is currently possible from both Duke (barely) and USC given scholarship money.

Common knowledge seems to be go to USC or UCLA if you want SoCal, especially with no ties. However I don't want to pass up going to a the best school in terms of personal fit and prestige/opportunities. Main is goal is to get A job, SoCal certainly isn't a deal breaker.

Any insight is appreciated. Thanks in advance TLS!

[romothesavior]

Moar info needed.

[20160810]

Assuming equal costs, I'd say Michigan. USC at sticker is a bad choice relative to either Michigan or Duke, no matter where you want to work. If you're from CA, it will make the process much easier for you, but if you go to Mich or Duke you're going to need to bid mainly on LA (easiest CA market to get into from non-CA schools, SF is... less easy, and San Diego basically doesn't have a legal market.)

[drizzle12]

Thanks for the responses! Though I'm still negotiating, scholarships are as follows:

USC: $35,000/year
Duke: $27,000/year
Michigan: $5,000/year

I'm from the Midwest and, like I said, ideally I would like to get BigLaw in SoCal (Los Angeles is fine). I'd like to keep my debt to a minimum. Hoping to negotiate so Duke and USC will cost me less than $100,000 to attend. Michigan didn't originally give me a scholly and just sent me the 5K offer today so that is essentially sticker price. Does this help?

[071816]

I don't know anything about Duke's placement in CA but that's a lot of money at USC. That would be hard for me to pass up. Duke and Michigan will give you more geographic leeway overall, but I would personally go with usc here because that's a lot of money and you seem to be leaning pretty heavily towards ending up on the west coast anyway.

[romothesavior]

I don't know anything about Duke's placement in CA but that's a lot of money at USC. That would be hard for me to pass up. Duke and Michigan will give you more geographic leeway overall, but I would personally go with usc here because that's a lot of money and you seem to be leaning pretty heavily towards ending up on the west coast anyway.

I agree. USC is no T14, but it has solid placement and you're looking at a huge scholarship there.

[buckilaw]

Eh. You said you are from the Midwest, why do you want to practice in California? Coming from Duke, Michigan or even USC you might have a hard time getting a CA job if you have no ties.

That said, I think your best option would be to go to Duke because it gives you the best mix of financial aid and job opportunities. Though you should also really consider looking at other legal markets, namely NYC.

I recommended Duke..../shudder.

[bdubs]

USC: $35,000/year

I'm from the Midwest and, like I said, ideally I would like to get BigLaw in SoCal (Los Angeles is fine).

Those two pieces of information make the non-CA schools completely irrelevant. Unless, as other posters have said your commitment to CA would yield to a general desire to get a job.

[20160810]

Thanks for the responses! Though I'm still negotiating, scholarships are as follows:

USC: $35,000/year
Duke: $27,000/year
Michigan: $5,000/year

I'm from the Midwest and, like I said, ideally I would like to get BigLaw in SoCal (Los Angeles is fine). I'd like to keep my debt to a minimum. Hoping to negotiate so Duke and USC will cost me less than $100,000 to attend. Michigan didn't originally give me a scholly and just sent me the 5K offer today so that is essentially sticker price. Does this help?

If it were me? Duke hands down.

[071816]

I think Duke is probably the safest out of the three options. Pick Duke if you value getting a job most (although this job may not be in CA) and pick USC if what you care about most is being in CA. Michigan is definitely out.

[romothesavior]

I think Duke is probably the safest out of the three options. Pick Duke if you value getting a job most (although this job may not be in CA) and pick USC if what you care about most is being in CA. Michigan is definitely out.

I think this is correct on all counts. Toss out Michigan, go to Duke if you just want a job, and go to USC if you want to wind up in CA above all else. Though really, USC is a solid school. UCLA/USC are like the Vandys of the west coast, and they are clearly a cut above the T20-30 schools for firm placement.