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Any biglaw >>> Denver biglaw > NYC/LA/DC biglaw

By the time I start law school, I will have lived in Denver for about 2.5 years. I am from the Mountain West region and would like to come back and work here, but I would rather have a biglaw offer than none at all.

Do I have strong enough ties to be competitive for a Denver biglaw position from a lower t14? Would I need CCN or higher to be competitive? Does any particular t14 place better here than any other?

I don't really understand the >>>>>> you set up for us.

But yeah, no personal experience other than trying to get big law in another ties-sensitive market. I'm guessing it's a tiny desireable market and that a carpetbagger who hasn't lived there very long will usually be passed over by the born and bred Denverians and UC/Sturm law review bros. Will probably be a tall order from any T14 but hopefully someone with personal experience will chime in.

As is the case with pretty much anyone, I don't think it's a good idea to have T14 big law dreams without NYC being a big time target and anything else you snag is gravy baby (which I think is where you might be at but I can't tell). Basically I'd put Denver out of your mind and if it magically happens, great!

I've never noticed any huge impact that different T14 schools seems to have on Denver biglaw hiring. I'd say it's going to be hard to find a pattern and if you do, it will be statistically irrelevant because…there's like 12 actual biglaw jobs in Denver each year. There's probably an additional 25 jobs that are biglaw-esque. I think I've continually lowered these numbers every time I post about it, but I really don't believe there's more than 50 biglaw-esque positions that hire each year in Denver. If you want to search for a pattern or check the numbers, start here and look at the total number of CO attorneys at the (biggest firms. Then realize that a number of these biggest firms don't pay market or anything close (ex: Berenbaum Weinshienk) or outright don't hire entry level for CO (ex: Sherman and Howard). Then go look at firm bios and get a sense of where these folks who do get entry level are coming from — maybe you'll pick up a pattern. My personal sense is like 45% CU, 35% DU, 15% random t14. But I made that up completely.

So as long as you understand Denver biglaw jobs are very hard to get, I don't think which T14 makes a difference. Depending on your priorities relative cost of attendance will make a bigger difference. i.e., if you're willing to take a lower paying Denver job for being in Denver, lower cost might be the better choice. If you'd rather have any biglaw job than a Denver job, then the higher the better (or whatever the current TLS wisdom is on this front, I have no idea)

BigZuck wrote: As is the case with pretty much anyone, I don't think it's a good idea to have T14 big law dreams without NYC being a big time target and anything else you snag is gravy baby (which I think is where you might be at but I can't tell). Basically I'd put Denver out of your mind and if it magically happens, great!

I'd agree with this.

go to the highest ranked school you can get into while minimizing debt. don't rely on Denver.

Denver is a tough market to crack because it is a relatively small legal market. Any T-14 should be enough as, for example, Georgetown is well respected in this market.

I'm from a different insular market, but I picture 2.5 years living/working in Denver could give you a realistic shot. If you're serious about Denver, then work there 1L, regardless of what kind of legal work it is. 2.5 years living/working there + 1L summer + other intangibles (being from the general region, possibly "dating" someone from there) would make you competitive coming from a lower T14, I imagine. Being willing to work somewhere else is a nice security blanket, too.