UT Law a legitimate option? Forum

[MattM]

Hello,

Is UT Law a legitimate option if practicing law in Texas. My concern is the Jobs info on LST.

http://www.lstscorereports.com/schools/texas/jobs/2013/

Nearly a quarter of the graduating class does not enter a full time legal job....thats kind of scary that even at a top 15 school jobs are hard to find.

I see UT my only real option if I plan on staying in Texas

[arklaw13]

It's definitely a legitimate option if the money is right.

[MattM]

I'm from TX so I would be paying in state tuition ( along with any scholarships I would get )

[BigZuck]

First this: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 0#p8164830

Now this?

You need to narrow down exactly what you want out of law school.

Generally speaking: UT is one of the best law schools in the country. It's not always worth attending. But it's nowhere close to never worth attending (which, I think, is what you're asking). It just depends. Depends on cost, job you want, your ties, etc. I chose UT over a bunch of T14s with scholarships and I'm very happy with that choice and think I made the right decision at the time. But it depends.

[ManoftheHour]

Yeah, it's an amazing option for the right price and the desire to be in TX.

[MattM]

Colorado isn't a serious option, more of a just a thought

My strongest two options are UT and Penn that I'd like to attend

[MattM]

Why though are a quarter of the graduating class not getting legal jobs though even coming out of UT?

That's somewhat surprising out of a top school and my one concern

[BigZuck]

Colorado isn't a serious option, more of a just a thought

My strongest two options are UT and Penn that I'd like to attend

Those two schools may or may not make sense. It depends.

I guess I don't know what you're looking for. Are you looking for a list of schools to apply to? Depends on numbers/career goals/ties. Are you looking for schools you should seriously consider attending? Again, career goals/ties and, once you have actual offers, cost. Are you looking for when some schools might be worth it for some people? Well, that's probably something you should utilize the search function for. Other than the very worst schools (think Cooley, Barry, etc.) most law schools in this country could possibly make sense for some people depending on their circumstances (and maybe even Cooley could too). It's all situation dependent and no hypo can really answer the question.

[BigZuck]

Why though are a quarter of the graduating class not getting legal jobs though even coming out of UT?

That's somewhat surprising out of a top school and my one concern

Not sure anyone has the full answer to this. Probably some combo of bad legal market/some people getting decent non-lawyer jobs/some people not doing an effective job with the job search. I think the bad legal market is probably the biggest reason, that number is comparable to UT's peers.

[ManoftheHour]

Why though are a quarter of the graduating class not getting legal jobs though even coming out of UT?

That's somewhat surprising out of a top school and my one concern

You should be concerned. It's a smart and reasonable concern. It's just if you're going for a legal career, there's a huge amount of risk you assume in general. It's good that you see 77% and think, "Wow, that's scary low" and not like some of the other idiots looking at employment #s and going, "Doesn't matter, I will be top 10% cuz I'm special."

If you are set on a legal career, you can do way worse than Texas at the right price. Not that many schools have a better employment score. 77% is actually really good compared to every school that is not T-14. The economy sucks right now and the legal field is glutted. There's going to be a risk no matter what law school you go to (unless you know, T-14 with a full ride or something).

[MattM]

I am applying to a wide range ( T 14) with some regionals.

Penn would be top choice given personal ties and job opportunities. Big law an option

I want to aim high since I'm still on the LSAT phase of the process .....If i aim high for Penn as the goal school, then there s more motivation to study on the days where you don't want to do anything and worst case it would get a solid score for UT...


tldr: I would rather have a 170 LSAT ( even if it means re take /sit out a cycle) and have wide open options than a 167 or so and be somewhat limited

[ManoftheHour]

tldr: I would rather have a 170 LSAT ( even if it means re take /sit out a cycle) and have wide open options than a 167 or so and be somewhat limited

That is really the way to do it. Sitting out a year or two is a small price to pay for the rest of your legal career. A few points means a huge difference between not getting in or getting in with $$$. There's plenty of useful guides, info, and support on this site.

Good luck!

[BVest]

I'm not sure you're looking at the numbers right. 80% have JD-required and another 8% JD preferred. You have to assume that at least some of the JD-preferred job-takers want to be there rather than elsewhere (I suspect several of those are landmen or management consulting, both jobs where a JD is not required, but it does produce a good bump in salary). Even those who took JD-preferred because they had no other options are in a better position than the employment outcomes of many law school graduates ITE.

[Ron Don Volante]

Not that it means much but the Dean told my small (1L) section that OCI for the class of 2016 went "significantly" better than for the classes before it (which was better than the current data on LST). Also note that UT now takes a lot of transfers and has a smaller 1L population; no way we'll be able to tell beyond the anecdata, but the impression I get is that the transfer population will disproportionately make up the percentage of students left out in the cold.

[BigZuck]

Not that it means much but the Dean told my small (1L) section that OCI for the class of 2016 went "significantly" better than for the classes before it (which was better than the current data on LST). Also note that UT now takes a lot of transfers and has a smaller 1L population; no way we'll be able to tell beyond the anecdata, but the impression I get is that the transfer population will disproportionately make up the percentage of students left out in the cold.

Maybe. But as you suggested, could just be Deanspeak. Deans have a tendency to Dean. If we added up al the "significantly betters" over the past few years, top schools would be at 150% big law rates.

I also don't know how he could have that data. To my knowledge there has not been my surveys on what we are doing next summer. I guess firms could be communicating directly with the school but that would surprise me A) that firms would care and communicate this info in a timely manner and B) CSO would compile and process this info because they seem to be allergic to useful information. When I asked them for callback to offer ratios, it was as if it never occured to them to get that info and provide it to us. "Huh. I guess that would be helpful. But it would be hard to gather the info. Maybe some day."

But maybe they are now making an effort or there is some NALP thing I don't know about.

[p1921]

If you want to practice law in Texas it's without a doubt your best option outside the T14. Almost without exception Texans consider it the top school in texas. Many consider UT at sticker to be a better option than SMU/UH with a decent scholarship, but those of us with serious debt aversion disagree.

I don't know much about its influence outside Texas but I'd imagine if you want NYC/DC big law Penn would be a much better choice.

[Attax]

Not that it means much but the Dean told my small (1L) section that OCI for the class of 2016 went "significantly" better than for the classes before it (which was better than the current data on LST). Also note that UT now takes a lot of transfers and has a smaller 1L population; no way we'll be able to tell beyond the anecdata, but the impression I get is that the transfer population will disproportionately make up the percentage of students left out in the cold.

Maybe. But as you suggested, could just be Deanspeak. Deans have a tendency to Dean. If we added up al the "significantly betters" over the past few years, top schools would be at 150% big law rates.

I also don't know how he could have that data. To my knowledge there has not been my surveys on what we are doing next summer. I guess firms could be communicating directly with the school but that would surprise me A) that firms would care and communicate this info in a timely manner and B) CSO would compile and process this info because they seem to be allergic to useful information. When I asked them for callback to offer ratios, it was as if it never occured to them to get that info and provide it to us. "Huh. I guess that would be helpful. But it would be hard to gather the info. Maybe some day."

But maybe they are now making an effort or there is some NALP thing I don't know about.

Although if it is any representation, at the CSO orientation jobs for 1Ls were up 50% from C/O 2015 which was very promising.