Is USC marketable in the Bay Area? Forum

[s.thizzy]

I was wondering if I get a JD from USC and pursue to do IP law in the bay area, is a degree from SoCal necessarily marketable?

[gbpackerbacker]

I was wondering if I get a JD from USC and pursue to do IP law in the bay area, is a degree from SoCal necessarily marketable?

tagging myself

[Hannibal]

Yes. USC definitely has strength throughout California, though the Bay Area is a tough nut to crack.

[bk1]

I would expect more so if you are originally from there or have ties there and less so if you do not.

[20160810]

I picked UCD over USC due to financial and other concerns, but I think USC is still probably the better choice for norcal, especially if you have ties to SF.

[s.thizzy]

Really? Isn't Davis near Bay area? I guess because of USC's rank of course

[krad]

taggy mctagerson

[Hannibal]

Really? Isn't Davis near Bay area? I guess because of USC's rank of course

You know that rank is generally higher because the school is better right? Just making sure.

[s.thizzy]

Haha yes I was aware....

[bk1]

Really? Isn't Davis near Bay area? I guess because of USC's rank of course

Yes Davis is near the bay area, but USC has a lot more prestige than UCD, even if that prestige is more concentrated in SoCal.

[swilson215]

Yes. USC definitely has strength throughout California, though the Bay Area is a tough nut to crack.

TITCR. Although there is an overly saturated market of recent law school grads (from all sorts of schools, like Boalt, UCD, USF, Santa Clara, GG, etc.) in the Bay Area, a JD from USC carries weight statewide.

[Hannibal]

Really? Isn't Davis near Bay area? I guess because of USC's rank of course

Yes Davis is near the bay area, but USC has a lot more prestige than UCD, even if that prestige is more concentrated in SoCal.

Talked to a biglaw partner specifically about this (USC vs. Davis). He said that the prestige in Norcal is about the same, but USC is more hirable in SF because it's in a city. Not really sure what that means.

[bk1]

Talked to a biglaw partner specifically about this (USC vs. Davis). He said that the prestige in Norcal is about the same, but USC is more hirable in SF because it's in a city. Not really sure what that means.

Probably means a broader range of lawyers and hiring partners who are more likely to recognize USC as more prestigious than UCD as opposed to a bunch of people in Sacramento who are more likely to be from McGeorge/UCD and thus view UCD more favorably.

[pbutta123]

Personally, Id say Hastings would be best choice in Bay Area considering prestige and history (actually BOALT and Stanford but I'm assuming here...), but yes USC is marketable. You must remember that a lot of job placement has to do with alumni and history of placement. However, I imagine graduating the top of your class from USC with a focus in IP law (especially with a Bachelor in Science, which you hopefully have) would be exceedingly attractive to any IP firm in California.