Help me understand the Big Picture Forum

[orab]

Accepted so far:
UM 32.000/year scholarship above 50 % class rank
William and Mary 24,000/year scholarship B average
Boston College not scholarship information yet.
Washington University SL no scholarship information yet

Number: 168/3.67
Latino - (No from Puerto Rico or Chicano but still some universities may consider me URM - Cornell send me an email that mentioned that since I'm a person of color I should applied)
I'm not really interested in Big Law. I applied to all the schools that I'm mentioning here and I got a fee waiver from all.

The rank of my priorities are:

1) T1 school with the least amount of debt with the least scholarship stipulations.
2) If possible,best chance of being able to work in Florida.
3) In the future, best chances to work in a different state.( If not Florida Jobs)

Please let me know what you think about the following.

I'm thinking that schools like Cornell, Vanderbilt, NYU, Duke, UVA,UPEN for sure will give me 2 & 3. Columbia will be probably out of the question for me but I applied anyway.
Out of this group I'll go to any of them if debt around $100,000 - $ 150,000

Are any of the following universities worth considering at the right price? BU, Boston University, William and Mary, Washington University, Georgetown, University of Texas, University of Alabama,Michigan. Are any of these good for any of my priorities?
I'll probably go if debt < $100,000

Then I have the Florida Schools: UF, FSU, UM and FIU
I will go if debt around $50,000 and close to 0 at FIU

Let me know what you guys think I may be totally off and I need to start narrowing down my choices.

[BigZuck]

Where are you from and where do you want to work long term? Be specific here

How are you paying for law school?

What type of legal job are you hoping to get?

Did Cornell really call you "colored?"

[isuperserial]

Accepted so far:
UM 32.000/year scholarship above 50 % class rank
William and Mary 24,000/year scholarship B average
Boston College not scholarship information yet.

Number: 168/3.67
Latino - (No from Puerto Rico or Chicano but still some universities may consider me URM - Cornell send me an email that mentioned that since I'm a "colored" student I should applied)
I'm not really interested in Big Law. I applied to all the schools that I'm mentioning here and I got a fee waiver from all but BU.

The rank of my priorities are:

1) T1 school with the least amount of debt with the least scholarship stipulations.
2) If possible,best chance of being able to work in Florida.
3) In the future, best chances to work in a different state.( If not Florida Jobs)

Please let me know what you think about the following.

I'm thinking that schools like Cornell, Vanderbilt, NYU, Duke, UVA,UPEN for sure will give me 2 & 3. Columbia will be probably out of the question for me but I applied anyway.
Out of this group a will go to any of them with a debt around $100,000 - $ 150,000

Are any of the following universities worth considering at the right price? BU, Boston University, William and Mary, Washington University, Georgetown, University of Texas, University of Alabama,Michigan. Are any of these good for any of my priorities?
I probably go with a debt < $100,000

Then I have the Florida Schools: UF, FSU, UM and FIU
I will go with a debt around $50,000 and close to 0 at FIU

Let me know what you guys think I may be totally off and I need to start narrowing down my choices.

Personally I think that unless you can get into the T14 with money, which your probably won't with those numbers, you should be looking for that full ride at top Florida schools like UF, FSU, etc. That is, if you really want to work there.

Based on your priorities, UF seems to make the most sense. T1 school, probably free, will let you work in Florida. Is there any reason you can think of why this isn't a good choice?

[03152016]

Did Cornell really call you "colored?"

[orab]

Did Cornell really call you "colored?"

Person of Color

[03152016]

much different dude
tho personally i think person of color is curious term as well, but that's neither here nor there

[orab]

Where are you from and where do you want to work long term? Be specific here
Florida, Want to work in Florida but want to have my options open just in case
How are you paying for law school?
Loans
What type of legal job are you hoping to get?
Not big Law, PI is an option, Medium size is fine.

Did Cornell really call you "colored?"

I'm sorry person of color. I never check for the African American box. Just Latino
"have identified yourself as a person of color"

[orab]

issuperserial,

UF is one of my top priorities but the only issue is that is just regional. Do you think that I don't have a chance to get scholarship money at Cornell where i'm above their 75% LSAT and above the median in GPA?

[BigZuck]

Where are you from and where do you want to work long term? Be specific here

How are you paying for law school?

What type of legal job are you hoping to get?

Bump

[isuperserial]

issuperserial,

UF is one of my top priorities but the only issue is that is just regional. Do you think that I don't have a chance to get scholarship money at Cornell where i'm above their 75% LSAT and above the median in GPA?

Question: If you want to work in Florida, why is going to a school that is regional in Florida a bad idea?

You might get some money from Cornell, but you won't get the full ride that I would imagine you would get from Florida schools.

[orab]

issuperserial,

UF is one of my top priorities but the only issue is that is just regional. Do you think that I don't have a chance to get scholarship money at Cornell where i'm above their 75% LSAT and above the median in GPA?

Question: If you want to work in Florida, why is going to a school that is regional in Florida a bad idea?

You might get some money from Cornell, but you won't get the full ride that I would imagine you would get from Florida schools.

No, it is not a bad idea and is something that I will seriously consider. But, lets say for the sake of argument that a T14 ends up costing me less than $150,000. Should I consider this option since it gives me the opportunity in the future to move to any other state in case I want to or maybe it will open more doors even in Florida?

I'm not saying that I'm right on this argument, I just want to hear your opinions.

[BigZuck]

Where are you from and where do you want to work long term? Be specific here

How are you paying for law school?

What type of legal job are you hoping to get?

Bump

BIG BUMP

[orab]

BigZuck,

Where are you from and where do you want to work long term? Be specific here
I'm from Miami. I want to work in Florida but I would like to have the option to move to other states if need it.

How are you paying for law school?
Loans

What type of legal job are you hoping to get?
Probably no Big Law, PI and medium size Law is OK.

[jbagelboy]

Your qualifications should be getting you more than what you have. Don't settle for middling T1 in an alien market.

[BigZuck]

BigZuck,

Where are you from and where do you want to work long term? Be specific here
I'm from Miami. I want to work in Florida but I would like to have the option to move to other states if need it.

How are you paying for law school?
Loans

What type of legal job are you hoping to get?
Probably no Big Law, PI and medium size Law is OK.

What do you mean by medium size law? Can you post a link to a couple firms that are representative of a mid size law firm?

Law in general is really regional. Employers generally care about hiring candidates who have ties to the specific area they work in. Also, there are state bars that are different across states. You kind of need to make a choice here and probably won't be able to have your cake and eat it too necessarily.

If you want to minimize debt, go to a regional school. You're from Florida and want to work in Florida, so go to UF or FSU on a full ride. You can't really say "Oh, I'll go to Cornell and then work in Florida, and later I can work in Nebraska if I want, and then ultimately end up in Oregon because they'll all think my Cornell degree is really neat." That's not really how it works from what I have seen.

If you think you might want to work in big law in new york City, then a T14 degree makes sense. But by and large that's the only geographic flexibility it will buy you (I guess Northwestern might open up Chicago or something like that but generally I wouldn't go to a T14 if I wanted to work for a firm unless NYC big law was a desired outcome).

[orab]

What do you mean by medium size law? Can you post a link to a couple firms that are representative of a mid size law firm?
Here is a link that gives you a list of mid-size and small firms.
http://www.sflegalguide.com/smfirms.html

Law in general is really regional. Employers generally care about hiring candidates who have ties to the specific area they work in. Also, there are state bars that are different across states. You kind of need to make a choice here and probably won't be able to have your cake and eat it too necessarily.

I understand but I know some layers that have passed the bar in Florida and New York for instance.

If you want to minimize debt, go to a regional school. You're from Florida and want to work in Florida, so go to UF or FSU on a full ride. You can't really say "Oh, I'll go to Cornell and then work in Florida, and later I can work in Nebraska if I want, and then ultimately end up in Oregon because they'll all think my Cornell degree is really neat." That's not really how it works from what I have seen.

I agreed with your point about minimizing debt, and also is not like that I'm planning to jump from one state to another all my life, but lets say I get a degree from Cornell, Will I be able to work in Florida and then go back to New York or is more or less likely to get a degree from UF and be able to work in New York in the future? I'm saying New York and Cornell but it could be Vanderbilt and Tennessee etc.

If you think you might want to work in big law in new york City, then a T14 degree makes sense. But by and large that's the only geographic flexibility it will buy you (I guess Northwestern might open up Chicago or something like that but generally I wouldn't go to a T14 if I wanted to work for a firm unless NYC big law was a desired outcome).

[BigZuck]

If you're doing Personal Injury or Wills and Estates in Florida (like some of the firms on that site) I can't fathom why you would even want to go to NY at some point. Would be a pain to lose and have to potentially build back up a book of business, and you may or may not have to deal with another bar. I'm not saying it's impossible by any means, but not something I would be thinking about at this juncture.

Usually when people talk about lateraling, it's in a big law context. And mostly it seems to be working in NYC for a few years, then going back home, either at another big firm or a smaller firm. Personal Injury in Florida and then transferring to do Personal Injury in New York just strikes me as odd, unless you were following a significant other for their job or something.

Going into BIG DEBT at Cornell to get a job in Personal Injury in Florida also strikes me as odd. I would just focus on UF/FSU if you want to work at those types of firms.

[orab]

From the same website "Morgan says. Today the firm has approximately 20 attorneys whose practice areas include real estate, business litigation, intellectual property, corporate, employment, estate planning and tax".

It is not only personal injuries and wills.

[baal hadad]

Working is small law practice areas then trying to go back to NYC is not gonna happen

[BigZuck]

From the same website "Morgan says. Today the firm has approximately 20 attorneys whose practice areas include real estate, business litigation, intellectual property, corporate, employment, estate planning and tax".

It is not only personal injuries and wills.

I guess that could be a fancy schmancy boutique (in which case it might be harder to get a job there than with a big firm, or you would at least need a big firm pedigree). But I'm guessing it's a super modest practice largely doing relatively small time stuff for locals. I worked at a firm like that in my hometown and I'm sure they would spin themselves that way too. It was the most "prestigious" firm in the county but TLS would probably still call it "shit law." Lets just say that lawyers at the firm I worked at aren't really the type to lateral into anything in NY.

eta: And I don't think there's anything wrong to work as an attorney in a place like that, it's just that it's probably not going to get you to a big city like baal said.

[alexrodriguez]

http://www.sflegalguide.com/smfirms.html

thanks for posting this

[romothesavior]

Working is small law practice areas then trying to go back to NYC is not gonna happen

110% accurate. Why anyone would even want to is odd to me.