Top Law Schools

Made one earlier but this is with updated scholarships and COA
Stats: 168 (Can't retake until June 2014) 4.0 Math/Physics
K-JD no current job prospects

COA includes interest COL etc, also includes a fixed family contribution (left over from undergrad)
COA will be financed with loans
Options:
Mich (148k) Deposit 30th
Duke (140k) Deposit Friday must know by Wednesday
Texas (78k) Already first deposited
Other: Cornell/GULC offers to be made at the end of the week lol
Waitlisted at UVa, UChi and no word from Stanford

Goal is to work in a big law firm (less so bigfed) doing intellectual property litigation. I'm equally interested in working in D.C. as well as Texas (Dallas/Houston) and less so in NY/Cali.
Significant ties to Texas, little in D.C. and Virginia

Thanks

I voted Duke because I think it will give you a better shot at DC than UT, and you already have the necessary Texas ties. I think Michigan wouldn't be a bad choice either, but it seems like you have a southeastern geographic preference.

Duke, although I don't know how in demand IP lit guys are in Texas. Duke should be able to get you back if you want to, though.

shifty_eyed wrote:I voted Duke because I think it will give you a better shot at DC than UT, and you already have the necessary Texas ties. I think Michigan wouldn't be a bad choice either, but it seems like you have a southeastern geographic preference.

+1. I think the offers between duke and Michigan are interchangeable and that boils down to personal preference.

On a side note, pulling off a 4.0 in a math/physics double major is no joke. Props on that. It's quite the switch to decide to go for law school now.

I'd probably go to Texas. IP lit is hot as shit right now, you'll most likely get a job in Texas. DC may be a bit harder but even at Texas it'll be fine.

My biggest concern is missing the 2L SA. The options at top quarter at both Texas and Duke/Michigan don't seem too different, but at median or slightly above it seems to make a huge difference.

Bump

Need to decide by tomorrow (deposit for Duke has to arrive by Friday)
Any more opinions/votes?

Aawaldrop wrote:My biggest concern is missing the 2L SA. The options at top quarter at both Texas and Duke/Michigan don't seem too different, but at median or slightly above it seems to make a huge difference.

I believe being IP mitigates some of the risk of being median-pwned. Don't quote me, though.

NoodleyOne wrote:Don't quote me, though.

If I had an engineering background I'd be a bit more comfortable. However, the Physics degree does allow me to sit for the Patent Bar.

Baker Botts does great IP lit, as does mckool smith. If you definitely want DC, then Duke is the way to go. If not, then go with UT.

As long as you have ties to Texas and would like to work in Texas I don't think Duke is worth 60K over UT (I've agonized over this choice for DAYS). If you really, really want DC though then I guess go to Duke.

I vote UT.

It is quite an agonizing decision

This is really tough man. I'm voting Duke just because of the safety it gives you, and stronger portability to DC if you go for it.

Another thing I wanted to bring up is texas is the land of 1L SAs. With your ties and patent bar eligibility you have a very realistic shot of landing a 1L SA there so all of your COAs could likely be a bit lower.

Cobretti wrote: Another thing I wanted to bring up is texas is the land of 1L SAs. With your ties and patent bar eligibility you have a very realistic shot of landing a 1L SA there so all of your COAs could likely be a bit lower.

That's definitely a consideration, I didn't enter that into the COA for conservatism. Also, would an IL SA in Texas be equally possible from Texas and Duke?

Aawaldrop wrote:

Cobretti wrote: Another thing I wanted to bring up is texas is the land of 1L SAs. With your ties and patent bar eligibility you have a very realistic shot of landing a 1L SA there so all of your COAs could likely be a bit lower.

That's definitely a consideration, I didn't enter that into the COA for conservatism. Also, would an IL SA in Texas be equally possible from Texas and Duke?

Really dunno, but I imagine its just like 2L SA. With your significant ties i dont think you need to go to UT to prove ties to the area, you should be free to go to the higher ranked school and get the best of both worlds, i would think.

Aawaldrop wrote:

Cobretti wrote: Another thing I wanted to bring up is texas is the land of 1L SAs. With your ties and patent bar eligibility you have a very realistic shot of landing a 1L SA there so all of your COAs could likely be a bit lower.

That's definitely a consideration, I didn't enter that into the COA for conservatism. Also, would an IL SA in Texas be equally possible from Texas and Duke?

According to what people said in my thread a 1L SA is much easier from Duke. Someone speculated that the percentage chance out of Duke is probably 50%+ whereas out of UT more like 10-20%.

Mich or Duke at $140-150k is a solid choice. Pick the one you like better. All things being equal, I'd go Duke if only for the slight boost in TX?

BigZuck wrote:

Aawaldrop wrote:

Cobretti wrote: Another thing I wanted to bring up is texas is the land of 1L SAs. With your ties and patent bar eligibility you have a very realistic shot of landing a 1L SA there so all of your COAs could likely be a bit lower.

That's definitely a consideration, I didn't enter that into the COA for conservatism. Also, would an IL SA in Texas be equally possible from Texas and Duke?

According to what people said in my thread a 1L SA is much easier from Duke. Someone speculated that the percentage chance out of Duke is probably 50%+ whereas out of UT more like 10-20%.

Wow that would a pretty big difference. When I visited UT during the tour the guide (3L) basically said don't count on having a paid gig summer 1L unless you're at the very top of the class after first semester.

Current 2L at UT. Anecdotally, everyone I know who is IP has done very well (including one friend who was right around median getting Houston biglaw...he's also a physics undergrad fyi, so that does count). 1L SAs seem to be even more common w/ IP than for law students generally, so I think you have a solid shot at landing one of those.

Having said all that, I would go w/ Duke. As I said, I know an IP student around median who got biglaw, but he may be the exception. Duke with IP background gives you a lot of wiggle room and definitely more national portability. 60K is nothing to sneeze at, but IMO it is justified given the significant disparity in placement power b/w the two schools. Good luck.

ETA: the 1L SA is definitely more attainable from Duke, even if the firm is in Texas. When you apply for 1L SAs, there isn't that much to go on (only one semester of grades), but having a 4.0 from undergrad in Physics and being at Duke will definitely help you stand out. Since you have Texas ties, I don't see any advantage to going to UT.

1L SA from Duke with a hard science background is definitely possible. Texas firms recruit early as well (December 1st you should start sending out applications) so there is a chance you can get hired without them ever even looking at your grades.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm going to sleep on it and update in the morning on my decision!

Aawaldrop wrote:

BigZuck wrote:

Aawaldrop wrote:

Cobretti wrote: Another thing I wanted to bring up is texas is the land of 1L SAs. With your ties and patent bar eligibility you have a very realistic shot of landing a 1L SA there so all of your COAs could likely be a bit lower.

That's definitely a consideration, I didn't enter that into the COA for conservatism. Also, would an IL SA in Texas be equally possible from Texas and Duke?

According to what people said in my thread a 1L SA is much easier from Duke. Someone speculated that the percentage chance out of Duke is probably 50%+ whereas out of UT more like 10-20%.

Wow that would a pretty big difference. When I visited UT during the tour the guide (3L) basically said don't count on having a paid gig summer 1L unless you're at the very top of the class after first semester.

Current UT student. I actually disagree. I know quite a few non top 10 percenters that had 1L SAs. Texas ties played more of a role than grades (don't really know any out-of-staters that had 1L SAs).

I don't think Duke is worth 60K more than UT if you want to stay in Texas. If you really want DC or you are more risk averse, go Duke. If neither, I say go UT.

FWIW, I'm a current 3L at UT and I chose UT over UVA with the cost between the two being around 45-50K cheaper at UT. At the time, I thought the decision was around a coinflip, but being able to live in Austin sealed it for me (because Austin is an amazing city and because I had good friends already living there). I'm more than happy with the decision to choose UT. And a big plus is that I won't have much debt, which means more flexibility in what I can try to do after a couple of years in big law (if I like it, I can stay; if I don't, I can start looking at other options, with money not being a huge factor).

The difference between Duke and Texas for Texas placement is that 1L offers go out to Duke students before first semester grades are released while for UT hiring isn't done until a few weeks into second semester. This gives Texans at Duke a huge advantage, since you can possibly be below median and still score a 1L SA (which likely will turn into a 2L SA and so on).

Since you're IP, though, this whole discussion is moot. Grades are pretty much irrelevant for IP hiring. Maybe you can reach out to people on the IP journal at UT to see if they can give you more specific info.

f0bolous wrote:The difference between Duke and Texas for Texas placement is that 1L offers go out to Duke students before first semester grades are released while for UT hiring isn't done until a few weeks into second semester. This gives Texans at Duke a huge advantage, since you can possibly be below median and still score a 1L SA (which likely will turn into a 2L SA and so on).

Since you're IP, though, this whole discussion is moot. Grades are pretty much irrelevant for IP hiring. Maybe you can reach out to people on the IP journal at UT to see if they can give you more specific info.

That's a good point. I know a guy that got a 1L SA in IP before he even took a final.