Top Law Schools

So I am considering going to UCI in the fall, and am leaning towards that more than any of the other schools I've gotten accepted into (mostly because many of them seem to be regional and I am from California and I would like to stay here permanently )

I know I want to practice in California, I'm from the Bay Area originally and would be ok with going back there but would also be happy to work in LA/OC. I'm not 100% sure what kind of law I want to do but I'm aiming for biglaw.

I do well in school and am competitive and I anticipate being able to land at least in the top 50% of my class. Would biglaw in California be a realistic goal for UCI?

I'm a little concerned about the low employment rank when compared to other schools of similar rankings - I've only really looked at the US News numbers but I think they had UCI at like 66% employment in the 10 months after graduating. I'm also kind of nervous about the reputation of the school given that it is fairly new - is it possible for the reputation to tank and would this hurt me later on in my career? Also is it a big deal that there aren't as many alumni as more established law schools will have?

Thanks!

UCI has had a surprisingly strong start with clerkships and government placement (largely due to their dean). Their job numbers are still not great if you want biglaw.

Even if you add in federal clerkships (because it's reasonable to assume those people can get biglaw jobs after the clerkship if they want), that still only covers 25% of the class. The other important thing to note is that as the class size has grown, the percentage of unemployed graduates has risen significantly.

UCI would be a fine choice if you were interested in state government or a smaller local firm. But if your sights are set on biglaw, retake/reapply and shoot for Berkeley/UCLA. What's your GPA/LSAT?

In lurking around on TLS I've seen at least one fairly active UCI law grad - think his name is zot1? I'd expect him to chime in at some point, but he'd be a good resource for UCI questions.

areyn22 wrote:In lurking around on TLS I've seen at least one fairly active UCI law grad - think his name is zot1? I'd expect him to chime in at some point, but he'd be a good resource for UCI questions.

Awesome thanks! I'm brand new and that's helpful to know