UF out of state outcomes Forum

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DiscipulusDoctricis

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UF out of state outcomes

Post by DiscipulusDoctricis » Sat Apr 08, 2023 12:18 pm

Currently deciding between UF $$$$ and Emory 2/3rds. I'm pretty sure that florida is where I would like to be long term, but I'm not married to it. However, I did not grow up in Florida and have read in a few places online that even if you go to law school there you will be hindered by a lack of ties as a non native. To those working in big or mid law in Florida, how true would you say that is? More generally, how many opportunities will the UF class of 2027 likely have? I imagine that the schools increasing selectivity and the growth of the miami big law market is making it easier for gators to find good jobs, but the class of 2021 is only landed 63/269 in 251+ firms and 11/269 in federal clerkships

Allegro3935

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Re: UF out of state outcomes

Post by Allegro3935 » Sun Apr 23, 2023 3:06 am

I would take UF $$$$ over Emory 2/3. The outcomes look similar enough on paper that you shouldn't pay tens of thousands more for Emory (provided you're indifferent about these two schools). Contrary to what you read on TLS and Reddit, you're never 'stuck' in the state you attend law school. You are eligible for every state's bar as long as you graduate from an ABA-accredited school. It's just that you will have an easier time finding a job in the market where the school is located. Florida lawyers trust UF as an institution because many of them studied law there and can vouch for it. Same can be said for Emory in Georgia and a handful of other states, and CU in Colorado, and so on. Thus the job postings/OCI (on campus interviews) at these schools are almost all from employers local to that state. OCI is the easiest and most reliable way for most graduates to find jobs, by the way. For out-of-state employment, the BYU job board/Arizona Handbook, general job boards, and in-person networking are best. Again, it's not impossible to find these out-of-state jobs, but it's more cumbersome.

Don't worry about being a non-native to a particular place. You create ties through the very school you attend. You will spend three years in that school and state interacting with your classmates, professors, guest speakers, supervisors, administrators, and so forth. I went to school in a state where I had zero connections, yet I managed to make myself a home there. Your commitment to the school is more or less a signal to future employers that you are willing to stay in that area. That gives you an edge in the hiring process.

I know nothing about big law/mid law, so this is me speculating here. The numbers you cite should tell you something—74 of 269 got big law/mid law/fed clerkship that pays at least $90k (less for fed clerkships. However, those translate to better opportunities down the line). What do the rest do? Small law firms, government work (think prosecutor/public defender), and JD advantage. We can't foresee the 2027 hiring scene for UF. They're on an upward trajectory to be sure. But they're still considered a 'regional' school, and their outcomes have been largely the same since the dawn of time. Word on the street is that Miami big law is highly competitive where Top 20 students from all over are trying to break in, as well as the top students at UF and FSU. You'd be better off attending a top-14 school like Duke for those goals.

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