University of New Mexico School of Law- Ask me anything Forum

[RioGrandeLaw]

1L at UNM SOL. Have seen very little on here about the school, so will try and answer questions. Some general observations:

Nice school. Atmosphere is supportive. Tuition is cheap ($16K/year in state), it's easy to get in if you are from NM, but I think not so much if you are from out of state: the out of state students we have are a pretty impressive group.

Professors are quite good: Most are T14 graduates (and of those, many are HYS), and the ones who are UNM SOL grads often went to ivy league for undergrad. As the only law school in the state, the school works closely with the bar for mentoring students, networking opportunities, etc.

Administration is very responsive to students. They hold a town hall meeting a few times a year and student input is definitely acted on.

Strong points are tribal law and the clinical program (mandatory, and one of the best in the country, I believe).

Shoot me any questions you have.

[reasonable_man]

Do Davis & Main or Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill recruit at OCI?

If so, UNM SOL sounds pretty awesome to me.

[cavalier1138]

...and the clinical program (mandatory, and one of the best in the country, I believe).

See, this is the part where I start thinking you're either not a 1L or at the very least being fed lines by the admissions office...

[Mikey]

This sounds like one of those emails you get because you allowed CRS

[Gitaroo_Dude]

Do Davis & Main or Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill recruit at OCI?

Didn't Kim attend here? Sounds like it boasts an impressive alumni base.

[cavalier1138]

Do Davis & Main or Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill recruit at OCI?

Didn't Kim attend here? Sounds like it boasts an impressive alumni base.

Not as impressive as the University of American Samoa. Go landcrabs!

[jbagelboy]

Thanks for taking questions.

As a 1L, what are your observations on standard post-grad employment? UNM boasts a relatively stable overall employment record -- over 70% of the class of 2015 in full time, long term legal positions -- but has practically no students going into the type of work popularized on this forum (large firms or clerkships).

My presumption with regionally focused flagship universities like this is that the vast majority of graduates work in-state, and they do so at small firms or local government. But this is foreign to the experience of many attorneys at top schools.

On a less serious note:
do you see any breaking bad sites or references around town?
what is the best Mexican restaurant in ABQ?

[RioGrandeLaw]

Good questions.

You're right that UNM is not going to get you into BigLaw- at least not the kind of BigLaw that is, as you say, so popular around here. Not to say it's impossible: if you graduate first or second in your class (out of an average of about 112), you can probably get into a big firm in Denver, Phoenix, or maybe Dallas or Houston, especially since the school's oil and gas law program is pretty good.

You are exactly right that most of the graduates work in New Mexico though. Partly that's because there is a significant bias within the state to hire UNM grads, and because the school doesn't take a lot of out of state applicants. I also agree that this is probably the case with most of the flagship schools, especially out west.

That's not to say that you're doomed to be stuck in NM. Plenty of alumni work outside the state, and even outside the USA. Plus NM is now a UBE state, so its a somewhat more portable degree. I'm interested in oil and gas law, possibly overseas, but I'm going to take also take some health law courses as a backup, since I have some experience in the medical field. Either way, while I won't make 6 figures out of school, I'm not worried about having to panhandle for change.

I'm not sure about the clerkships numbers, but I know that you can certainly clerk on the state supreme court and federal courts in the region. I would guess it's more than the number of grads who pull in biglaw-like money out of school, but not a lot more. Again, I just don't know.

The NM Law Review did an entire issue on Breaking Bad. I haven't pulled it yet to read it, but I thought the idea was cool as fuck and kind of representative of how laid back the atmosphere is at UNM. Honestly, it's an extremely positive atmosphere- the ATL ratings by students and alumni are REALLY high for a good reason. The students get along, and you can tell that the faculty really, deeply cares about their students.

I'm not from the Albuquerque area, so I have no idea. Taj Mahal has some wicked good Indian food though, and is close to the law school. Too close, for my wallet and waistline...

Thanks for taking questions.

As a 1L, what are your observations on standard post-grad employment? UNM boasts a relatively stable overall employment record -- over 70% of the class of 2015 in full time, long term legal positions -- but has practically no students going into the type of work popularized on this forum (large firms or clerkships).

My presumption with regionally focused flagship universities like this is that the vast majority of graduates work in-state, and they do so at small firms or local government. But this is foreign to the experience of many attorneys at top schools.

On a less serious note:
do you see any breaking bad sites or references around town?
what is the best Mexican restaurant in ABQ?

[ForumCommissar]

Doesn't every law school claim they have amazing clinics or something of the sort?

[cavalier1138]

Doesn't every law school claim they have amazing clinics or something of the sort?

Yep.

[RioGrandeLaw]

#11 in the country as rated by US News. http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandr ... g-rankings

Now, you can debate whether US News' ratings are worth anything, but there it is.

[cavalier1138]

#11 in the country as rated by US News. http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandr ... g-rankings

Now, you can debate whether US News' ratings are worth anything, but there it is.

It's widely accepted that USNWR specialty rankings mean nothing. And this list is a great example of why.

Seriously, when American is ranked above Yale, and Harvard doesn't even appear on the list, you should probably suspect that something is wrong. UNM is even ranked below a school in DC that I'd never heard of and that isn't even in the general rankings.

[BigZuck]

I've been on TLS a long time and I've literally never seen someone say "Our clinical program is bad" or "Our clinical program is just ok." Every clinical program everywhere is top notch according to everyone everywhere.

[lavarman84]

I've been on TLS a long time and I've literally never seen someone say "Our clinical program is bad" or "Our clinical program is just ok." Every clinical program everywhere is top notch according to everyone everywhere.

Our clinical program sucks.

[zot1]

What do UNMSOL grads think would be a prestigious job out of graduation and what percentage of the class gets those jobs?

How do you not know already that NM lacks a good variety of Mexican food because they have New Mexican food, which is entirely different?

Does UNMSOL have a pro bono program, and if so, what kind of work do you do?

What do you think so far of your writing skills class/program?

[RioGrandeLaw]

1- Probably a job as an associate with a large firm: modrall sperling, Butt Thornton & Baehr, Sutin, Thayer and Browne are top choices. As for percentages I would guess around 10% get into the top 5 or so largest firms...? There is a program which places 1L summer interns into paid positions with these firms as well as others, and about 15 1Ls a year are hired. I understand that quite a few of them get hired on after graduation, but not necessarily at the same firm.

Of course, the usual court clerkships are fairly "prestigious". We have quite a few non-traditional students (a retired surgeon, a tenured English professor, a linguist, a paramedic, etc.) so the pool of young gunners going for the local version of Biglaw isn't that large. A fair number of students are interested in joining the family firm, doing PD or DA work, going into private practice, or JD advantage work. Several are going into the military JAG. This is out of a class of about 113.

2- It does tend to be fairly homogeneous. But it's also damn good. And the closer you get to the border, the better.

3- Elaborate on pro bono program. The clinical program is mandatory for all students (6 credits). Also, all students are required to do 7 hours of "volunteer" work a semester. An example of this would be helping people fill out forms at an immigration clinic or proctoring practice LSATs.

4- I think it's damn good. Of course, I don't have anything to compare it to, but my professor is an extremely dedicated Ivy league alum who is passionate about teaching legal writing. It's considered the most important grade your 1L year, and also one of the hardest to get an A in.

What do UNMSOL grads think would be a prestigious job out of graduation and what percentage of the class gets those jobs?

How do you not know already that NM lacks a good variety of Mexican food because they have New Mexican food, which is entirely different?


Does UNMSOL have a pro bono program, and if so, what kind of work do you do?

What do you think so far of your writing skills class/program?