Top Law Schools

Cornell debt: $127K

Goals

Plan A: Wachtell Lipton -> UN -> ICC -> US Supreme Court -> scarlett johannsen's husband

Plan B (the real plan): NYC big law (Skadden, Paul Weiss, Simpson Thatcher Bartlet, etc.) -> USAO -> human rights org

I have ties to NYC. Born and bred here. I am definitely going to Cornell; however, let us assume that Harvard removes me from their waitlist. Should I still pursue my degree at Cornell? I want to ultimately make a grab for the USAO NYSD; I have a strong interest in criminal law.

With that gap in $ pick cornell no doubt. This is coming from a Duke student.

Cornell, easy.

Duke quality of life is insanely better but not enough to justify that gap in money.

Cornell no question. Even if they don't keep their streak up, their NYC placement is definitely good enough to take the money and go for it.

Not disagreeing with anyone, just adding that they both have human rights clinics and if that's something you'd like to spend some time doing in law school, you'll have the opportunity at both.

whatamidoing wrote:Cornell, easy.

Duke quality of life is insanely better but not enough to justify that gap in money.

What makes you say that? Ithaca has all the things I want: hiking, restaurants, and liquor

small, rural towns are not for everyone, but Ithaca is a fine college town.

That being said, Cornell is a no-brainer given the OP's goals (unless OP hates small towns and snow).

I don't know what this thread is

It's framed as Duke vs Cornell, but the OP is going to go to Cornell and wants to know what to do if they get into Harvard? Is that right?

What is it that we can help you with here broseph? The hivemind knows all and will happily share its wisdom, but you've confused it terribly.

BigZuck wrote:I don't know what this thread is

It's framed as Duke vs Cornell, but the OP is going to go to Cornell and wants to know what to do if they get into Harvard? Is that right?

What is it that we can help you with here broseph? The hivemind knows all and will happily share its wisdom, but you've confused it terribly.

Inshould remake the thread. The Harvard thing I just thought of.

Pragmatic Gun wrote:Cornell debt: $127K

Goals

Plan A: Wachtell Lipton -> UN -> ICC -> US Supreme Court -> scarlett johannsen's husband

Plan B (the real plan): NYC big law (Skadden, Paul Weiss, Simpson Thatcher Bartlet, etc.) -> USAO -> human rights org

I have ties to NYC. Born and bred here. I am definitely going to Cornell; however, let us assume that Harvard removes me from their waitlist. Should I still pursue my degree at Cornell? I want to ultimately make a grab for the USAO NYSD; I have a strong interest in criminal law.

I'm not sure you've fully thought through the timeline of that first plan.

Hikkomorist wrote:

Pragmatic Gun wrote:Cornell debt: $127K

Goals

Plan A: Wachtell Lipton -> UN -> ICC -> US Supreme Court -> scarlett johannsen's husband

Plan B (the real plan): NYC big law (Skadden, Paul Weiss, Simpson Thatcher Bartlet, etc.) -> USAO -> human rights org

I have ties to NYC. Born and bred here. I am definitely going to Cornell; however, let us assume that Harvard removes me from their waitlist. Should I still pursue my degree at Cornell? I want to ultimately make a grab for the USAO NYSD; I have a strong interest in criminal law.

I'm not sure you've fully thought through the timeline of that first plan.

I will add Shaq's personal lawyer somewhere in there.

Pragmatic Gun wrote:Cornell debt: $127K

Goals

Plan A: Wachtell Lipton -> UN -> ICC -> US Supreme Court -> scarlett johannsen's husband

Plan B (the real plan): NYC big law (Skadden, Paul Weiss, Simpson Thatcher Bartlet, etc.) -> USAO -> human rights org

I have ties to NYC. Born and bred here. I am definitely going to Cornell; however, let us assume that Harvard removes me from their waitlist. Should I still pursue my degree at Cornell? I want to ultimately make a grab for the USAO NYSD; I have a strong interest in criminal law.

You're likely not going to get those firms if you go to Cornell, but sticker at Harvard is never a good idea IMO unless you're a rich kid. I think Cornell students tend to land more along the lines of lower ranked, Cadwalader, etc. type firms...

Pragmatic Gun wrote:Cornell debt: $127K

Goals

Plan A: Wachtell Lipton -> UN -> ICC -> US Supreme Court -> scarlett johannsen's husband

Plan B (the real plan): NYC big law (Skadden, Paul Weiss, Simpson Thatcher Bartlet, etc.) -> USAO -> human rights org

What's your Plan C? Because, frankly, it seems kinda dumb to take on $127K of debt for a career plan that is unlikely to materialize. Would you be happy doing big law for a few years and then working (for lower pay) at a smaller firm or in-house?

rpupkin wrote:

Pragmatic Gun wrote:Cornell debt: $127K

Goals

Plan A: Wachtell Lipton -> UN -> ICC -> US Supreme Court -> scarlett johannsen's husband

Plan B (the real plan): NYC big law (Skadden, Paul Weiss, Simpson Thatcher Bartlet, etc.) -> USAO -> human rights org

What's your Plan C? Because, frankly, it seems kinda dumb to take on $127K of debt for a career plan that is unlikely to materialize. Would you be happy doing big law for a few years and then working (for lower pay) at a smaller firm or in-house?

I guess. It's not the optimal career path for me, as I want to be a prosecutor at some point.

Pragmatic Gun wrote:

rpupkin wrote:

Pragmatic Gun wrote:Cornell debt: $127K

Goals

Plan A: Wachtell Lipton -> UN -> ICC -> US Supreme Court -> scarlett johannsen's husband

Plan B (the real plan): NYC big law (Skadden, Paul Weiss, Simpson Thatcher Bartlet, etc.) -> USAO -> human rights org

What's your Plan C? Because, frankly, it seems kinda dumb to take on $127K of debt for a career plan that is unlikely to materialize. Would you be happy doing big law for a few years and then working (for lower pay) at a smaller firm or in-house?

I guess. It's not the optimal career path for me, as I want to be a prosecutor at some point.

If you really want to be a prosecutor coming from Cornell best path is probably getting a job at a big firm in Buffalo/Rochester/Syracuse with the hopes of transitioning into being an AUSA for the WDNY/NDNY after 2-4 years. Those markets are small enough that at the bigger firms you are regularly socializing with folks from the US Attorneys Office and with the federal bench at bar association events and dinners, so it's a lot easier to make those connections. Big local firm associate -> AUSA is not an uncommon path at all, and probably a lot easier to get than in the SDNY.

Other25BeforeYou wrote:

Pragmatic Gun wrote:

rpupkin wrote:

Pragmatic Gun wrote:Cornell debt: $127K

Goals

Plan A: Wachtell Lipton -> UN -> ICC -> US Supreme Court -> scarlett johannsen's husband

Plan B (the real plan): NYC big law (Skadden, Paul Weiss, Simpson Thatcher Bartlet, etc.) -> USAO -> human rights org

What's your Plan C? Because, frankly, it seems kinda dumb to take on $127K of debt for a career plan that is unlikely to materialize. Would you be happy doing big law for a few years and then working (for lower pay) at a smaller firm or in-house?

I guess. It's not the optimal career path for me, as I want to be a prosecutor at some point.

If you really want to be a prosecutor coming from Cornell best path is probably getting a job at a big firm in Buffalo/Rochester/Syracuse with the hopes of transitioning into being an AUSA for the WDNY/NDNY after 2-4 years. Those markets are small enough that at the bigger firms you are regularly socializing with folks from the US Attorneys Office and with the federal bench at bar association events and dinners, so it's a lot easier to make those connections. Big local firm associate -> AUSA is not an uncommon path at all, and probably a lot easier to get than in the SDNY.

I want to stay in NYC, though. My family, girlfriend, and friends are there, plus I love it.

Pragmatic Gun wrote:

Other25BeforeYou wrote: If you really want to be a prosecutor coming from Cornell best path is probably getting a job at a big firm in Buffalo/Rochester/Syracuse with the hopes of transitioning into being an AUSA for the WDNY/NDNY after 2-4 years. Those markets are small enough that at the bigger firms you are regularly socializing with folks from the US Attorneys Office and with the federal bench at bar association events and dinners, so it's a lot easier to make those connections. Big local firm associate -> AUSA is not an uncommon path at all, and probably a lot easier to get than in the SDNY.

I want to stay in NYC, though. My family, girlfriend, and friends are there, plus I love it.

Then I would definitely embrace this:

rpupkin wrote: What's your Plan C? Because, frankly, it seems kinda dumb to take on $127K of debt for a career plan that is unlikely to materialize. Would you be happy doing big law for a few years and then working (for lower pay) at a smaller firm or in-house?

Other25BeforeYou wrote:

Pragmatic Gun wrote:

Other25BeforeYou wrote: If you really want to be a prosecutor coming from Cornell best path is probably getting a job at a big firm in Buffalo/Rochester/Syracuse with the hopes of transitioning into being an AUSA for the WDNY/NDNY after 2-4 years. Those markets are small enough that at the bigger firms you are regularly socializing with folks from the US Attorneys Office and with the federal bench at bar association events and dinners, so it's a lot easier to make those connections. Big local firm associate -> AUSA is not an uncommon path at all, and probably a lot easier to get than in the SDNY.

I want to stay in NYC, though. My family, girlfriend, and friends are there, plus I love it.

Then I would definitely embrace this:

rpupkin wrote: What's your Plan C? Because, frankly, it seems kinda dumb to take on $127K of debt for a career plan that is unlikely to materialize. Would you be happy doing big law for a few years and then working (for lower pay) at a smaller firm or in-house?

I guess I could get used to that.

Pragmatic Gun wrote:

Other25BeforeYou wrote:

Pragmatic Gun wrote:

Other25BeforeYou wrote: If you really want to be a prosecutor coming from Cornell best path is probably getting a job at a big firm in Buffalo/Rochester/Syracuse with the hopes of transitioning into being an AUSA for the WDNY/NDNY after 2-4 years. Those markets are small enough that at the bigger firms you are regularly socializing with folks from the US Attorneys Office and with the federal bench at bar association events and dinners, so it's a lot easier to make those connections. Big local firm associate -> AUSA is not an uncommon path at all, and probably a lot easier to get than in the SDNY.

I want to stay in NYC, though. My family, girlfriend, and friends are there, plus I love it.

Then I would definitely embrace this:

rpupkin wrote: What's your Plan C? Because, frankly, it seems kinda dumb to take on $127K of debt for a career plan that is unlikely to materialize. Would you be happy doing big law for a few years and then working (for lower pay) at a smaller firm or in-house?

I guess I could get used to that.

Definitely shoot for SDNY AUSA if that's what you want. Try to get killer grades, try to get a SDNY clerkship, go to a solid white collar defense department at a big firm. Am just saying that while making financial decisions you should be aware that that kind of outcome is probably only remotely possible for less than 5% of a graduating class at Cornell, and even within that 5% it takes a lot of dumb luck.

BiglawAssociate wrote:

Pragmatic Gun wrote:Cornell debt: $127K

Goals

Plan A: Wachtell Lipton -> UN -> ICC -> US Supreme Court -> scarlett johannsen's husband

Plan B (the real plan): NYC big law (Skadden, Paul Weiss, Simpson Thatcher Bartlet, etc.) -> USAO -> human rights org

I have ties to NYC. Born and bred here. I am definitely going to Cornell; however, let us assume that Harvard removes me from their waitlist. Should I still pursue my degree at Cornell? I want to ultimately make a grab for the USAO NYSD; I have a strong interest in criminal law.

You're likely not going to get those firms if you go to Cornell, but sticker at Harvard is never a good idea IMO unless you're a rich kid. I think Cornell students tend to land more along the lines of lower ranked, Cadwalader, etc. type firms...

This is inaccurate. I mean, 0Ls shouldn't consider it "likely" that they will get certain firms because they can't predict their grades, but it's not significantly less "likely" at Cornell than at other schools. This summer, 8 are going to Paul Weiss, 3 to Skadden and 3 to Simpson (4 if you count the one in Houston), so that's about 8% of the class going to just those 3 firms. Moreover, when Brut calculated c/o 2013 placement into V10 firms, this was the (initial) result:

Brut wrote:i did the east coast schools, c/o 2013 stats

cls - 22.43%
cornell - 16.58%
nyu - 16.57%
h - 16.26%
y - 14.78%
penn - 11.97%
duke - 11.62%
uva - 9.07%
gulc - 8.68%

Pragmatic Gun wrote:

rpupkin wrote:

Pragmatic Gun wrote:Cornell debt: $127K

Goals

Plan A: Wachtell Lipton -> UN -> ICC -> US Supreme Court -> scarlett johannsen's husband

Plan B (the real plan): NYC big law (Skadden, Paul Weiss, Simpson Thatcher Bartlet, etc.) -> USAO -> human rights org

What's your Plan C? Because, frankly, it seems kinda dumb to take on $127K of debt for a career plan that is unlikely to materialize. Would you be happy doing big law for a few years and then working (for lower pay) at a smaller firm or in-house?

I guess. It's not the optimal career path for me, as I want to be a prosecutor at some point.

If you want to be a prosecutor, you should gun for local DA stuff. But it doesn't sound like you want to do that.

Your plan is basically the equivalent of: "I am going to go to a TTT with the plan to transfer to a T6 after my 1L year." I mean, it's great if it works out, but you should be realistic here.

rpupkin wrote:

Pragmatic Gun wrote:

rpupkin wrote:

Pragmatic Gun wrote:Cornell debt: $127K

Goals

Plan A: Wachtell Lipton -> UN -> ICC -> US Supreme Court -> scarlett johannsen's husband

Plan B (the real plan): NYC big law (Skadden, Paul Weiss, Simpson Thatcher Bartlet, etc.) -> USAO -> human rights org

What's your Plan C? Because, frankly, it seems kinda dumb to take on $127K of debt for a career plan that is unlikely to materialize. Would you be happy doing big law for a few years and then working (for lower pay) at a smaller firm or in-house?

I guess. It's not the optimal career path for me, as I want to be a prosecutor at some point.

If you want to be a prosecutor, you should gun for local DA stuff. But it doesn't sound like you want to do that.

Your plan is basically the equivalent of: "I am going to go to a TTT with the plan to transfer to a T6 after my 1L year." I mean, it's great if it works out, but you should be realistic here.

I have issues with doing ADA stuff mainly because I feel that minoritirs tend to be over targeted. But even then, I would rather be a NYC ADA or at least one in the five boroughs.

Lavitz, I was going to push back against him, because by headcount, Cornell places 7th at Simpson Thatcher, but that expresses the point much more forcefully

Pragmatic Gun wrote:I have issues with doing ADA stuff mainly because I feel that minoritirs tend to be over targeted. But even then, I would rather be a NYC ADA or at least one in the five boroughs.

Well, there's one 3L going to be an ADA in Manhattan, one in the Bronx, and one in Brooklyn, so you can try and do that. But from what I can tell, you'd have to be committed to it.