University of Washington for PI law in California Forum

[zanardin]

Hello,

I have been out of school for two years working in legal services and I plan to go to law school in the fall to pursue a career in public interest law. I am from California and I hope to live and work there after I graduate. The best law school I have gotten into on the west coast is UW in Seattle, with a decent scholarship. Does anyone have any knowledge or advice regarding the employment outlook in PI law in CA for UW graduates? I know the UW is strong in the Pacific Northwest, but California obviously has several top schools and I will be competing with their graduates for jobs. My other options are to go to a lesser-ranked school in CA, such as Santa Clara (almost full ride) or UC Davis, or to stay on the east coast (where I live now) and go to a school like Boston College, Notre Dame, Fordham, or Boston University, also with a good scholarship (Even though UW is ranked higher that these schools, I feel like they might have more of a national reputation/alumni network).

Any comments appreciated!

[BigZuck]

Gotta do this first: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=206299

Based on what you have said so far, I might choose Santa Clara depending on the cost. Are you aiming to work in Northern or Southern CA?

Also, retake to try and get into Stanford or Berkeley

[worldtraveler]

Do you have a scholarship to Davis? That is likely best.

[Big Dog]

take a California school and network in the local PI field like crazy. (Just too hard to do from Boston.)

[twenty]

You care about two things -- the scholarship money (and stipulations) and your geographic proximity to your targeted PI field. School funded fellowships would be a great addition, but is definitely a third consideration behind the other two.

[rpupkin]

Do not go to a regional school with the goal of working outside of the region. Yes, it's possible--I'm sure UW can put you in touch with alumni who landed PI gigs in California--but it's extraordinarily difficult.