Least Portable T-14 Law Degree Forum

[bizzybone1313]

On this site, I have read a lot of conflicting information as to which T-14 law degree is the least portable. A lot of people seem to think it is Cornell or Georgetown. At the end of the day, Cornell is an Ivy League law school and Georgetown has a lot of lay prestige, so I do not know if this is necessarily true. My goal is to practice in Colorado no matter what. I do not know if Cornell, Georgetown or a certain other T-14 will get me there. I left YHSC off the poll, because the poll only allows 10 items and they are all said to be very portable. Please vote and explain accordingly.

[IAFG]

Your connections to Colorado are what will get you a job in Colorado (or prevent you from getting a job in Colorado).

Additionally, there are something like 40 SA gigs in the whole state. If being in Colorado is your end-all, be-all, law might not be the profession for you.

[bizzybone1313]

Moderators, can you please move my thread to the appropriate forum? I messed up and put under the LSAT Prep and Discussion Forum. Thanks.

[BlaqBella]

Your connections to Colorado are what will get you a job in Colorado (or prevent you from getting a job in Colorado).

Additionally, there are something like 40 SA gigs in the whole state. If being in Colorado is your end-all, be-all, law might not be the profession for you.

That's assuming OP wants BIGLAW/law firm route. He/she may not.

OP, my vote is for Georgetown. It's become quite the factory mill of JDs with over 2,500 students. Competition for job offers must be fierce with those kind of numbers.

But why the question? Are you also looking at applying to law schools local to Colorado?

[bizzybone1313]

Your connections to Colorado are what will get you a job in Colorado (or prevent you from getting a job in Colorado).

Additionally, there are something like 40 SA gigs in the whole state. If being in Colorado is your end-all, be-all, law might not be the profession for you.

I am originally from Texas. I wouldn't be seen as a flight risk, because Texas is so close to Colorado, correct? The funny part is it would take me less hours to drive to Colorado from west Texas than to drive clear accross the state to somewhere like Houston. Doesn't your 40 SA number only include Big Law? What about prosecutor jobs, academia and mid-law?

[dextermorgan]

Your connections to Colorado are what will get you a job in Colorado (or prevent you from getting a job in Colorado).

Additionally, there are something like 40 SA gigs in the whole state. If being in Colorado is your end-all, be-all, law might not be the profession for you.

I am originally from Texas. I wouldn't be seen as a flight risk, because Texas is so close to Colorado, correct? The funny part is it would take me less hours to drive to Colorado from west Texas than to drive clear accross the state to somewhere like Houston. Doesn't your 40 SA number only include Big Law? What about prosecutor jobs, academia and mid-law?

What are your ties to Colorado?

[IAFG]

Your connections to Colorado are what will get you a job in Colorado (or prevent you from getting a job in Colorado).

Additionally, there are something like 40 SA gigs in the whole state. If being in Colorado is your end-all, be-all, law might not be the profession for you.

I am originally from Texas. I wouldn't be seen as a flight risk, because Texas is so close to Colorado, correct? The funny part is it would take me less hours to drive to Colorado from west Texas than to drive clear accross the state to somewhere like Houston. Doesn't your 40 SA number only include Big Law? What about prosecutor jobs, academia and mid-law?

I don't know whether your TX ties would suffice. Did you go to a TX undergrad? I would search around firm websites for alums from your UG and find out what they think. It's your start to networking combined with more valuable info than TLS can provide.

I pulled that number from NALP, and it's almost exclusively large and midlaw firms who hire summers (which is probably the vast majority of market and near-market paying jobs in CO, e.g. jobs that can service T14 debt). An SA is a summer associate job, so by definition not prosecution or anything PI. Academia jobs are too rare to really impact your decision in terms of raw numbers.

[IAFG]

Your connections to Colorado are what will get you a job in Colorado (or prevent you from getting a job in Colorado).

Additionally, there are something like 40 SA gigs in the whole state. If being in Colorado is your end-all, be-all, law might not be the profession for you.

That's assuming OP wants BIGLAW/law firm route. He/she may not.

OP, my vote is for Georgetown. It's become quite the factory mill of JDs with over 2,500 students. Competition for job offers must be fierce with those kind of numbers.

But why the question? Are you also looking at applying to law schools local to Colorado?

I made no such assumption.

[vanwinkle]

Moderators, can you please move my thread to the appropriate forum? I messed up and put under the LSAT Prep and Discussion Forum. Thanks.

Moved.

[bizzybone1313]

I don't know whether your TX ties would suffice. Did you go to a TX undergrad? I would search around firm websites for alums from your UG and find out what they think. It's your start to networking combined with more valuable info than TLS can provide.

Your connections to Colorado are what will get you a job in Colorado (or prevent you from getting a job in Colorado).

Additionally, there are something like 40 SA gigs in the whole state. If being in Colorado is your end-all, be-all, law might not be the profession for you.

That's assuming OP wants BIGLAW/law firm route. He/she may not.

OP, my vote is for Georgetown. It's become quite the factory mill of JDs with over 2,500 students. Competition for job offers must be fierce with those kind of numbers.

But why the question? Are you also looking at applying to law schools local to Colorado?

I am applying to the T-14 + UT-Austin. I am originally from the northwestern part of Texas, which puts me about a 6-7 hour drive from Denver. I went to undergrad in Texas. I do not have any ties to Colorado at the moment, but I was thinking I could make it there based on my Texas undergrad school and Colorado generally being very close to where I am originally from. What if I did some kind of 1L summer gig in Colorado? That will help a lot, correct?

[BlaqBella]

Your connections to Colorado are what will get you a job in Colorado (or prevent you from getting a job in Colorado).

Additionally, there are something like 40 SA gigs in the whole state. If being in Colorado is your end-all, be-all, law might not be the profession for you.

That's assuming OP wants BIGLAW/law firm route. He/she may not.

OP, my vote is for Georgetown. It's become quite the factory mill of JDs with over 2,500 students. Competition for job offers must be fierce with those kind of numbers.

But why the question? Are you also looking at applying to law schools local to Colorado?

I made no such assumption.

By noting the # of SA gigs you are assuming OP wants BIGLAW/law firm (the only place of employment where SA applies)...which OP may not want.

You're also assuming OP will be graduating with debt if he or she attends a T14. This may not be the case, especially given that OP is a URM with a 3.7 GPA and a potentially decent LSAT score. OP may very well be looking at a full-ride to attend a T14.

A whole lot of assumptions are being thrown around by you.

[BlaqBella]

OP, just to put things in perspective, read the below:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... o#p5789017

It's a tough market to crack unless you have major ties (in Denver, at least). If you really desire working in Colorado, then it may be best to attend law school in the state

OR

Attend a T-14 (preferably HYS) and seek employment with a law firm with a satellite office in the state.


Graduating from HYS may help open up more doors for you in the region.

[bizzybone1313]

OP, just to put things in perspective, read the below:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... o#p5789017

It's a tough market to crack unless you have major ties (in Denver, at least). If you really desire working in Colorado, then it may be best to attend law school in the state

OR

Attend a T-14 (preferably HYS) and seek employment with a law firm with a satellite office in the state.

Graduating from HYS may help open up more doors for you in the region.

Yeah...I have read a bunch of other threads saying Colorado is a tough nut to crack. I am one of those people that does not want to be in a major expensive city, such as Chicago or NYC. Living in NYC or Chicago is just a bunch of money down the drain in COL costs the way I see it. If I cannot crack Colorado, I will settle for Texas but won't be very happy about it. If I end up in Texas, I am going to lateral to Colorado as soon as possible.

[moonman157]

OP, just to put things in perspective, read the below:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... o#p5789017

It's a tough market to crack unless you have major ties (in Denver, at least). If you really desire working in Colorado, then it may be best to attend law school in the state

OR

Attend a T-14 (preferably HYS) and seek employment with a law firm with a satellite office in the state.

Graduating from HYS may help open up more doors for you in the region.

Yeah...I have read a bunch of other threads saying Colorado is a tough nut to crack. I am one of those people that does not want to be in a major expensive city, such as Chicago or NYC. Living in NYC or Chicago is just a bunch of money down the drain in COL costs the way I see it. If I cannot crack Colorado, I will settle for Texas but won't be very happy about it. If I end up in Texas, I am going to lateral to Colorado as soon as possible.

If you're that against a T14 then you should definitely not go to a T14, or at least not without a very substantial scholarship.

[BlaqBella]

OP, just to put things in perspective, read the below:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... o#p5789017

It's a tough market to crack unless you have major ties (in Denver, at least). If you really desire working in Colorado, then it may be best to attend law school in the state

OR

Attend a T-14 (preferably HYS) and seek employment with a law firm with a satellite office in the state.

Graduating from HYS may help open up more doors for you in the region.

Yeah...I have read a bunch of other threads saying Colorado is a tough nut to crack. I am one of those people that does not want to be in a major expensive city, such as Chicago or NYC. Living in NYC or Chicago is just a bunch of money down the drain in COL costs the way I see it. If I cannot crack Colorado, I will settle for Texas but won't be very happy about it. If I end up in Texas, I am going to lateral to Colorado as soon as possible.

What sector of the law are you interested in ?

FYI, if there is any T14 that may best help you get to CO its HY or S. I don't Texas would open those doors.

Colorado must be real special to you. I should visit, lol.

[bizzybone1313]

OP, just to put things in perspective, read the below:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... o#p5789017

It's a tough market to crack unless you have major ties (in Denver, at least). If you really desire working in Colorado, then it may be best to attend law school in the state

OR

Attend a T-14 (preferably HYS) and seek employment with a law firm with a satellite office in the state.

Graduating from HYS may help open up more doors for you in the region.

Yeah...I have read a bunch of other threads saying Colorado is a tough nut to crack. I am one of those people that does not want to be in a major expensive city, such as Chicago or NYC. Living in NYC or Chicago is just a bunch of money down the drain in COL costs the way I see it. If I cannot crack Colorado, I will settle for Texas but won't be very happy about it. If I end up in Texas, I am going to lateral to Colorado as soon as possible.

If you're that against a T14 then you should definitely not go to a T14, or at least not without a very substantial scholarship.

There is plenty of work down here. I know a lot of the Big Law jobs are concentrated in major cities like Chicago and NYC, but Texas has a lot of big cities though (San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, etc.). Surely I could get some SA offers somewhere in Colorado or Texas. Right?

[bizzybone1313]

OP, just to put things in perspective, read the below:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... o#p5789017

It's a tough market to crack unless you have major ties (in Denver, at least). If you really desire working in Colorado, then it may be best to attend law school in the state

OR

Attend a T-14 (preferably HYS) and seek employment with a law firm with a satellite office in the state.

Graduating from HYS may help open up more doors for you in the region.

Yeah...I have read a bunch of other threads saying Colorado is a tough nut to crack. I am one of those people that does not want to be in a major expensive city, such as Chicago or NYC. Living in NYC or Chicago is just a bunch of money down the drain in COL costs the way I see it. If I cannot crack Colorado, I will settle for Texas but won't be very happy about it. If I end up in Texas, I am going to lateral to Colorado as soon as possible.

What sector of the law are you interested in ?

FYI, if there is any T14 that may best help you get to CO its HY or S. I don't Texas would open those doors.

Colorado must be real special to you. I should visit, lol.

I want to practice civil rights, immigration or plantiff side employment law. My undergrad degree and WE makes me a shoe in for energy law though. If I cannot get civil rights, immigration or employment law, I will settle for an energy law gig. Colorado is very important for my future career ambitions. I cannot do it in Texas.

[IAFG]

By noting the # of SA gigs you are assuming OP wants BIGLAW/law firm (the only place of employment where SA applies)...which OP may not want.

You're also assuming OP will be graduating with debt if he or she attends a T14. This may not be the case, especially given that OP is a URM with a 3.7 GPA and a potentially decent LSAT score. OP may very well be looking at a full-ride to attend a T14.

A whole lot of assumptions are being thrown around by you.

You're such a silly girl.

Noting the number of SAs is a great metric of the size of the legal industry, particularly in the "second hump" of bimodal salaries. Everyone knows PI jobs are scarce and its risky to go to law school assuming you'll get one right out of school, so again, looking at SA jobs makes sense.

If a person values being in a state with a tiny legal market over everything else, or geographic flexibility generally, going into law is something to think carefully about, which is exactly what I said. OP goes on to say that he doesn't want to live in expensive, large cities. Another reason to step back and think about not doing law.

You're the one making bad assumptions. Per usual.

[moonman157]

OP, just to put things in perspective, read the below:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... o#p5789017

It's a tough market to crack unless you have major ties (in Denver, at least). If you really desire working in Colorado, then it may be best to attend law school in the state

OR

Attend a T-14 (preferably HYS) and seek employment with a law firm with a satellite office in the state.

Graduating from HYS may help open up more doors for you in the region.

Yeah...I have read a bunch of other threads saying Colorado is a tough nut to crack. I am one of those people that does not want to be in a major expensive city, such as Chicago or NYC. Living in NYC or Chicago is just a bunch of money down the drain in COL costs the way I see it. If I cannot crack Colorado, I will settle for Texas but won't be very happy about it. If I end up in Texas, I am going to lateral to Colorado as soon as possible.

If you're that against a T14 then you should definitely not go to a T14, or at least not without a very substantial scholarship.

There is plenty of work down here. I know a lot of the Big Law jobs are concentrated in major cities like Chicago and NYC, but Texas has a lot of big cities though (San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, etc.). Surely I could get some SA offers somewhere in Colorado or Texas. Right?

You almost always need to land biglaw to pay for a T14 degree. Secondary markets are notoriously difficult to crack, even Texas. Landing biglaw is already a pretty big gamble. You don't want to worsen your odds even more by neglecting huge markets like NYC. Usually, for people going to T14s, their priorities are biglaw or bust. If your priority is CO or TX over biglaw, then it makes much more sense to go to a school in one of those states with a substantial scholarship.

[BlaqBella]

OP, just to put things in perspective, read the below:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... o#p5789017

It's a tough market to crack unless you have major ties (in Denver, at least). If you really desire working in Colorado, then it may be best to attend law school in the state

OR

Attend a T-14 (preferably HYS) and seek employment with a law firm with a satellite office in the state.

Graduating from HYS may help open up more doors for you in the region.

Yeah...I have read a bunch of other threads saying Colorado is a tough nut to crack. I am one of those people that does not want to be in a major expensive city, such as Chicago or NYC. Living in NYC or Chicago is just a bunch of money down the drain in COL costs the way I see it. If I cannot crack Colorado, I will settle for Texas but won't be very happy about it. If I end up in Texas, I am going to lateral to Colorado as soon as possible.

What sector of the law are you interested in ?

FYI, if there is any T14 that may best help you get to CO its HY or S. I don't Texas would open those doors.

Colorado must be real special to you. I should visit, lol.

I want to practice civil rights, immigration or plantiff side employment law. My undergrad degree and WE makes me a shoe in for energy law though. If I cannot get civil rights, immigration or employment law, I will settle for an energy law gig. Colorado is very important for my future career ambitions. I cannot do it in Texas.

You can do Baker Botts in TX for energy.

Are you also planning to throw apps to Colorado law schools?

[bizzybone1313]

Colorado must be real special to you. I should visit, lol.[/quote]

I want to practice civil rights, immigration or plantiff side employment law. My undergrad degree and WE makes me a shoe in for energy law though. If I cannot get civil rights, immigration or employment law, I will settle for an energy law gig. Colorado is very important for my future career ambitions. I cannot do it in Texas.[/quote]

You can do Baker Botts in TX for energy.

Are you also planning to throw apps to Colorado law schools?[/quote]

I am only applying to T-14 (minus one or two conservative-leaning law schools ) + UT-Austin (maybe UCLA). UCLA is so underrated.

[BlaqBella]

I am only applying to T-14 (minus one or two conservative-leaning law schools ) + UT-Austin (maybe UCLA). UCLA is so underrated.

Cool beans. I say aim for Harvard, Yale, or Stanford since local CO law schools are out for you.

Best wishes to you, fellow URM!

[JO 14]

As far as signaling out Colorado as the objective, hard to say. As far as portability in general, I had a chance to go to Michigan but decided against it mainly because I thought it was not portable (as opposed to other choices). T-14 northeastern schools in or near big cities are better suited for BL and (IMHO) a bit borderline when it comes to secondary markets (away from the northeast) like Denver, Oklahoma City, Tampa, etc.

[paratactical]

How has no one pointed out how insane it is to think living a 6 hour drive from somewhere gives you ties to that place?

OP - You do not have ties to Colorado. Growing up/living a 6-7 hour drive from Denver is not ties to Denver. Also, you should not pay sticker at a T14 if you want to do "civil rights, immigration or plantiff [sic] side employment law."

[bizzybone1313]

As far as signaling out Colorado as the objective, hard to say. As far as portability in general, I had a chance to go to Michigan but decided against it mainly because I thought it was not portable (as opposed to other choices). T-14 northeastern schools in or near big cities are better suited for BL and (IMHO) a bit borderline when it comes to secondary markets (away from the northeast) like Denver, Oklahoma City, Tampa, etc.

I am surprised Virginia hasn't received more votes than Michigan or Duke as being the least portable. Don't Michigan and Duke have more lay prestige than Virginia which is part of what makes a school portable in the first place? Yeah.....I am not sure about schools, such as Penn or Cornell because of their northeastern locations. I would consider attending if they throw a lot of money at me though. I would pay sticker for Columbia. I am assuming Columbia could get me to Colorado almost as much as HYS.