. Forum

[jag13]

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[grades??]

2 points.

1- you wont get biglaw from either. Maybe top 10% from UGA has a shot at Atlanta, but not by any means guaranteed.

2- These schools don't service the whole "southeast". Go to UGA if you want a 40k small law or local DA job in Georgia. Go to wake if you want a 40k small law or local DA job in NC. Neither is going to get you into any other states.

[areyn22]

Depends on where you want to live. I don't know as much about Wake, but I know UGA places primarily into Atlanta though grads also find jobs in other surrounding states in the SE. I'd definitely argue that you're not necessarily limited to GA, but that GA is where you will be most likely to find employment.

[midnight_in_georgia]

2 points.

1- you wont get biglaw from either. Maybe top 10% from UGA has a shot at Atlanta, but not by any means guaranteed.

2- These schools don't service the whole "southeast". Go to UGA if you want a 40k small law or local DA job in Georgia. Go to wake if you want a 40k small law or local DA job in NC. Neither is going to get you into any other states.

I don't think this is necessarily true at all. UGA grads have opportunities at big law in Atlanta (. Georgia is definitely where a lot of graduates will end up, but some go to DC/Texas. Most top firms in Atlanta recruit at UGA/Emory/GA State. I think UVA is extremely well respected in the area.

[areyn22]

Have you gotten a chance to visit both schools yet? That was actually a significant factor in my decision; it helped me figure out where I'd be most comfortable living for three years. Regardless, definitely try to get more money out of Wake.

[BigZuck]

UGA has poor big law placement (par for the course for a regional school) which is the point that was being made. It's foolish to go to a school like that if big law is the goal.

It's literally possible to go to basically any law school in this country and work as a lawyer in a different state. Doesn't change the fact that again, it's foolish to go to a regional school if you want a job outside of its region. UGA is fine if you want a job in Georgia but there are better options if you want a job outside of Georgia.

Either of these schools are fine with the proper goals and at the proper cost. But wanting to keep big law doors open and maintain geographic flexibility by attending schools like these is a foolish fool's errand, IMO.

[grades??]

UGA has poor big law placement (par for the course for a regional school) which is the point that was being made. It's foolish to go to a school like that if big law is the goal.

It's literally possible to go to basically any law school in this country and work as a lawyer in a different state. Doesn't change the fact that again, it's foolish to go to a regional school if you want a job outside of its region. UGA is fine if you want a job in Georgia but there are better options if you want a job outside of Georgia.

Either of these schools are fine with the proper goals and at the proper cost. But wanting to keep big law doors open and maintain geographic flexibility by attending schools like these is a foolish fool's errand, IMO.

precisely my point. If OP wants a small law or DA job in Georgia, then by all means go to UGA. If OP wants biglaw, neither will get him biglaw. Sure OP has a "chance" at biglaw from UGA, but its tiny. 12 out 166 from the most recent UGA data got biglaw. If you include some slightly smaller, but not quite biglaw firms, that number adds another 14. For a total of 26/166 or 15% for firms with more than 100 attorneys, and only 7% biglaw properly defined. So no, if OP wants to even consider biglaw, either choice is absolutely awful and should not be considered.
Source: https://www.lstreports.com/schools/georgia/ABA/

[gregfootball2001]

UGA has poor big law placement (par for the course for a regional school) which is the point that was being made. It's foolish to go to a school like that if big law is the goal.

It's literally possible to go to basically any law school in this country and work as a lawyer in a different state. Doesn't change the fact that again, it's foolish to go to a regional school if you want a job outside of its region. UGA is fine if you want a job in Georgia but there are better options if you want a job outside of Georgia.

Either of these schools are fine with the proper goals and at the proper cost. But wanting to keep big law doors open and maintain geographic flexibility by attending schools like these is a foolish fool's errand, IMO.

precisely my point. If OP wants a small law or DA job in Georgia, then by all means go to UGA. If OP wants biglaw, neither will get him biglaw. Sure OP has a "chance" at biglaw from UGA, but its tiny. 12 out 166 from the most recent UGA data got biglaw. If you include some slightly smaller, but not quite biglaw firms, that number adds another 14. For a total of 26/166 or 15% for firms with more than 100 attorneys, and only 7% biglaw properly defined. So no, if OP wants to even consider biglaw, either choice is absolutely awful and should not be considered.
Source: https://www.lstreports.com/schools/georgia/ABA/

To be fair, there are another 12 with federal clerkships - they typically have the grades for at least the 100+ lawyer firms. So 38/166 employed in that tier.

[existentialcrisis]

UGA has poor big law placement (par for the course for a regional school) which is the point that was being made. It's foolish to go to a school like that if big law is the goal.

It's literally possible to go to basically any law school in this country and work as a lawyer in a different state. Doesn't change the fact that again, it's foolish to go to a regional school if you want a job outside of its region. UGA is fine if you want a job in Georgia but there are better options if you want a job outside of Georgia.

Either of these schools are fine with the proper goals and at the proper cost. But wanting to keep big law doors open and maintain geographic flexibility by attending schools like these is a foolish fool's errand, IMO.

precisely my point. If OP wants a small law or DA job in Georgia, then by all means go to UGA. If OP wants biglaw, neither will get him biglaw. Sure OP has a "chance" at biglaw from UGA, but its tiny. 12 out 166 from the most recent UGA data got biglaw. If you include some slightly smaller, but not quite biglaw firms, that number adds another 14. For a total of 26/166 or 15% for firms with more than 100 attorneys, and only 7% biglaw properly defined. So no, if OP wants to even consider biglaw, either choice is absolutely awful and should not be considered.
Source: https://www.lstreports.com/schools/georgia/ABA/

I don't disagree with your general point, but since when is 500+ big law "properly defined?" I think the 100+ has always been a better indicator. 500+ doesn't include a bunch of firms that are clearly "big law."

[AT9]

How much debt would you have? At $32+/year at Wake, you're looking at six figure debt. UGA would be less, but still almost or more than $100k after interest. That's a lot of money for these schools.

I go to Wake. It actually places decently out of state (mostly along the east coast). Only half each year state in NC. It's not as tied to the state as schools like UGA, UNC, etc. It's not better, it just has a more dispersed network. Probably has to do with the fact that most students are from out of state and it's a private school.

HOWEVER, the point others made is mostly valid. Don't come here expecting to land a biglaw job in random state X without some combination of good grades (top 15-20% for a shot at biglaw), hustle, and/or ties. Unless you have outside financial assistance, I probably wouldn't attend either school for over 100K, at least as a debt-averse person with no outside help.

Feel free to PM if you have specific questions about Wake.

[jag13]

How much debt would you have? At $32+/year at Wake, you're looking at six figure debt. UGA would be less, but still almost or more than $100k after interest. That's a lot of money for these schools.

I go to Wake. It actually places decently out of state (mostly along the east coast). Only half each year state in NC. It's not as tied to the state as schools like UGA, UNC, etc. It's not better, it just has a more dispersed network. Probably has to do with the fact that most students are from out of state and it's a private school.

HOWEVER, the point others made is mostly valid. Don't come here expecting to land a biglaw job in random state X without some combination of good grades (top 15-20% for a shot at biglaw), hustle, and/or ties. Unless you have outside financial assistance, I probably wouldn't attend either school for over 100K, at least as a debt-averse person with no outside help.

Feel free to PM if you have specific questions about Wake.

I'll definitely message you later about some questions, I'll be there next weekend for ASD. I have no debt from undergrad and although I am funding law school on my own, I am not extremely debt averse. But I agree, I would hope to minimum debt as much as possible.

[unsweetened]

UGA is great if you want to work in GA. Although UGA is rather well regarded in the south, it will take ties/networking to have a solid chance out of state. The advice of "go to school where you want to practice" is very applicable here.