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Hello all,

My law school decision making process has come to a grinding halt: I am currently choosing between Berkeley and Columbia, and in my mind the two schools are completely tied up!

In the long run I can see myself either doing IP Lit at a law firm or IP strategy/licensing/right's management in-house. Also, I will probably want to eventually settle down in California.

Financially the two are a wash. Furthermore, due to my previous work experience, I am fortunate enough to already have a post-law school job guaranteed (or as guaranteed as any job offer in writing can be) that I would only abandoned for truly elite opportunities (e.g., clerking at the district/CAFC level, elite litigation firms). So normal factors that should influence this decision (COA, chances of getting BigLaw) don't really come into play. I also have a unique personal situation: if I go to Berkeley, I will be forced to live in SF and commute to school via BART, while, if I go to Columbia, I will be able to live in the Upper West Side. I think that, because of that, I may get a bit more out of law school/attend more networking events/have a better QoL at Columbia.

Other factors:
I think it would be exciting to live in NYC for a couple of year and the prestige whore in me likes the Columbia name. At the same time, I went to undergrad in CA and the majority of my friends stuck around the Bay Area, I am a fan of Berkeley's HH/H/P grading and extensive patent curriculum, and I think that having Berkeley on my resume may be more beneficial to my long term career.

Any thoughts on this choice? Some of my more specific questions are:
How much should I discount Berkeley because of the inevitable ~40 minute commute?
Which one will provide me better opporunities and/or a better network in the long run?
Which one will give me a better shot at top litigation firms (e.g., Irell) or high end clerkships (ideally CAFC)?

Thanks!

With a guaranteed job it behooves you even more than usual to go to whichever is cheaper, especially if Berk COL is covered. Your chances of getting a clerkship from either school are roughly equivalent (low) and would require basically the same great grades at either.

From what I hear, the degrees are very portable. Even more so if you have ties to CA, which, you do. So if you think NYC would e fun to live in for a while, and believe me it is, then Columbia is never a bad way to go. That said, I gotta say most everyone I know is going to New York, and the people who aren't it's a little bit more of an effort just because during OCI and networking events, there's obviously a lot of new york represented. But the big firms will let you go to their CA offices, so whatever. Honestly I think that UC Berkeley's general prestige/rankings/trend is not as impressive as Columbia's. Plus, this is New freakin York. I don't know anything about Berkeley, I guess it's sort of San Francisco which I hear is cool, but how are you gonna compare NYC with what I understand to be essentially oakland. And this is coming from someone who is from not the nicest place either. There's something for everyone in New York, and while I thought I'd be back in CA, being here the last couple years convinced me otherwise. So branch out, and see it for yourself, is my advice. And if you hate it, you have the ties to make it back.

Berkeley since you want CA and have a job lined up, though I don't understand how you could be "forced" to live in SF and commute via BART. The elite opportunities from both schools are rare enough that it is a nonfactor.

a) do you have a hard science background?

b) come to CLS because we need people for the IP moot court that is starting up next year.

bk187 wrote:Berkeley since you want CA and have a job lined up, though I don't understand how you could be "forced" to live in SF and commute via BART. The elite opportunities from both schools are rare enough that it is a nonfactor.

I'm thinking OP's parents live in CA and are putting a "live at home" clause on them financing his education?

What happened at Davis/Hastings and USF? If you have a guaranteed job you are going back to unless you get an elite clerkship - lit boutique (which you have sub 10% chance of), you should go for free somewhere else.

camelcrema wrote:a) do you have a hard science background?

b) come to CLS because we need people for the IP moot court that is starting up next year.

Lol. Way to be subtle.

It seems like it would be insanity to pick Columbia over Berkeley when you want IP in CA.

In IP, the specialty rankings actually kind of matter. Not that I'd choose GW over Columbia, but Berkeley is a huge deal in IP, it's just a little bit less prestigious than Columbia, and it's in the home market. Berkeley all the way. No doubt.

camelcrema wrote:a) do you have a hard science background?

b) come to CLS because we need people for the IP moot court that is starting up next year.

Do we know each other? (Sorry to hijack)

piccolittle wrote:

camelcrema wrote:a) do you have a hard science background?

b) come to CLS because we need people for the IP moot court that is starting up next year.

Do we know each other? (Sorry to hijack)

IRL TLS meetings never end well.

Berkeley if you want to do IP in Cali. You'd be marketable over here in NY anyway. Sure, sounds like you're rich enough to afford a place on the upper west side, but you'd be going to school in Harlem. People die there. (plus, I wanna do IP in NYC so ... go away!)

.

Thank you all for the feedback!

A couple of things to note/questions to answer:

I am "forced" to live in SF insofar that my older brother lives there and has offered me his guest room rent free for the duration of law school (in exchange for babysitting his kids as needed). Without this arrangement Columbia would actually be cheaper due to scholarship money (I have scholarships at each, and already tried negotiating with both but to no avail). I honestly don't mind living with him + I am not worried about getting kicked out halfway through law school, but am concerned regarding the commute.

I did have the option of attending Hastings for less than either Berkeley and Columbia, but thanks to scholarship money and savings I accumulated from working before, throughout, and after college + grad school, I am actually in a position to graduate from Columbia or Berkeley debt free (well, less than 20k in debt anyways). While I could save ~$100k by going to Hastings, I made the (painful) decision that I was willing to spend that on my personal brand.

sky7 wrote:

piccolittle wrote:

camelcrema wrote:a) do you have a hard science background?

b) come to CLS because we need people for the IP moot court that is starting up next year.

Do we know each other? (Sorry to hijack)

IRL TLS meetings never end well.

A shocking number end up in sex. So yes, they never end well.

Desert Fox wrote:

sky7 wrote:

piccolittle wrote:

camelcrema wrote:a) do you have a hard science background?

b) come to CLS because we need people for the IP moot court that is starting up next year.

Do we know each other? (Sorry to hijack)

IRL TLS meetings never end well.

A shocking number end up in sex. So yes, they never end well.

If that's the case then they may not end well but the means to that end sounds pretty damn enjoyable.


OP, did you get a chance to visit both schools?

der_rechtsanwalt wrote:Thank you all for the feedback!

A couple of things to note/questions to answer:

I am "forced" to live in SF insofar that my older brother lives there and has offered me his guest room rent free for the duration of law school (in exchange for babysitting his kids as needed). Without this arrangement Columbia would actually be cheaper due to scholarship money (I have scholarships at each, and already tried negotiating with both but to no avail). I honestly don't mind living with him + I am not worried about getting kicked out halfway through law school, but am concerned regarding the commute.

I did have the option of attending Hastings for less than either Berkeley and Columbia, but thanks to scholarship money and savings I accumulated from working before, throughout, and after college + grad school, I am actually in a position to graduate from Columbia or Berkeley debt free (well, less than 20k in debt anyways). While I could save ~$100k by going to Hastings, I made the (painful) decision that I was willing to spend that on my personal brand.

Under no circumstances should you be doing Hastings over Boalt or Columbia. How was that even a consideration? Come to Columbia man. Done.