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Hi guys,
I'm applying this fall and I have (kind of) specific goals so I wanted to get someone's opinion on what school to choose when the time comes. My stats are 3.8x/173/N-URM. My goals are clerking -> biglaw -> ADA/AUSA(white collar preferably), with the latter two needing to be in LA because of family. I'm not sure how prestigious/difficult these goals are so I wanted to ask for a more informed opinion. Should I just take on more debt at a T6 to accomplish these goals? Will a lower T14/UCLA/USC suffice? I'm also a little worried that if I pick a school like Cornell or Duke that it would be difficult to get back to LA, especially since I believe government jobs are competitive in the LA district.

Sorry if I said anything dumb as I am just a clueless 0L and thank you!

No, it will not be a problem for you to get back to LA from a T13 school with the ties you appear to have. You should not plan on taking UCLA/USC over a T13 unless the cost difference is six figures.

That said, you've identified a difficult career track that only becomes harder to achieve when you limit your regional flexibility. So you need to figure out whether it's more important for you to live near family or to work in biglaw or a USAO.

Fully agreed with Cav. Only go to USC/UCLA if you get a fullride or there's a substantial difference in costs between them and the T13.
Further agree that you'll certainly be able to go back/into LA biglaw with a T13 degree. Getting AUSA is tough for anyone, even in remote markets, don't count on it.

Would ADA be a more achievable goal? I do value work/life balance but I don't like transactional work, and from what I've read litigation is a pretty difficult in-house position to get. I'm also fine working in OC, but I do need to prioritize living in that general area and would be willing to take a pay cut for that.

Generally speaking, ADA is more attainable than AUSA, mostly because they're often much less school/grade conscious. The problem with California, though, is that it's got tons of law schools, so tons of lawyers, and its ADA salaries are some of the highest in the country, so there is a lot of competition for the jobs.

That said, I don't think the difference in getting/not getting an ADA job in California is going to be T6 v. lower T14/USC/UCLA; I think the more important thing is going to be getting relevant experience and making the right connections.

Everything nixy said is correct. The difficulty here has more to do with your regional constraints than targeting federal prosecution. ADA positions outside of LA or San Diego may be more attainable, but there's still a lot of competition for those jobs. Additionally, you'll be less competitive for an ADA slot if you spent all your time in school focusing on private practice; as nixy noted, experience and connections will matter more at those offices.