Going from a top 10 school to Florida firm? Forum

[flawyer]

I understand that the current job market is dismal... However, I will be a part of the class of 2013, which I believe will benefit from better job prospects as the economy recovers.

How tough is is to lock down a top job in South Florida out of a top 10 law school... How do people in the lower end of UPenn, UChicago, NYU fair versus people in the top of their class at FSU, UF, UM??

[holeinone600]

Tag.

[flawyer]

I'm not a TLS veteran... what's "tag" mean?

[imchuckbass58]

Tag means he (or she) is also interested in the thread and is inserting a post so that he can follow it.

As for your question, it depends. Do you have ties to the area (grew up there, went to college there, have a significant other based there)? If so, if you go to a T10, you should not have very much trouble going to South Florida after graduation, even if you do not finish very high in the class. It is rare for them to get a top 10 grad, and they would likely be happy to have you. I'd add two things, however. First, you will have to do a lot of the leg work on your own (mailing resumes, making connections), since few if any South Florida firms will come to OCI or host events. Second, if you truly finish at the bottom of your class, you will be in trouble almost no matter where you go.

If you do not have ties to the area, it will be significantly harder to go to South Florida from a T10. People will question whether you are truly interested and committed to staying there long term, and will be much more reluctant to hire you. If you are sure you want to be in FL, and have a full ride from UF/UM (which you should if you have T10 numbers), you may want to consider that.

I'd say if you have ties to the area top 2/3 at a T10 > anything but top 5% at UF/FSU/UM (just a guess, not based on personal knowledge).

[Aberzombie1892]

I understand that the current job market is dismal... However, I will be a part of the class of 2013, which I believe will benefit from better job prospects as the economy recovers.

How tough is is to lock down a top job in South Florida out of a top 10 law school... How do people in the lower end of UPenn, UChicago, NYU fair versus people in the top of their class at FSU, UF, UM??

No one can really say.

Any T14 school graduates that go to FL (or the south really) are self selection so there is not any data available that is reliable enough to make an accurate "guess."

I suggest that the top 10% at those schools would have first round probably (assuming the top 10% from the T14 would not go to FL). Outside of the top of the class, the T14 graduate would likely win out as long as they established a connection to the FL markets and finished in the top 50%.

By connection I mean they have to prove the FL firms that they want to stay. There is only one other way to do so aside from buying property or marrying somewhere from there. That way would be to spend your 1st and 2nd summers in FL - regardless of what school you go to. It may not sound like it, but your summers are a major commitment (you only really have two useful ones - 1L and 2L). Doing that would prove your commitment to FL (to employers). However coming from a T14, you would probably need to be above median (aside from HYS) simply because of the fierce competition in the south (UVA, Duke, UNC, Wake, Tulane, Emory, UGA, Vanderbilt, and FL programs).

[flawyer]

I do have connections to South Florida, (spent entire life here...). Likewise I got into FSU, UM, etc. However, the consensus that: very intelligent people can do poorly in law school/ don't plan on being top of your class, really scared me out of going to a non-T14.

I will be attending NYU this fall. I'm trying to get a gauge on how my possible competition for South Florida firms might turn out... Anybody have experience with FL job market?

[slider]

I can't say that I have experience with the legal market in South Florida, but if you look at some of the bios for the attorneys for White & Case, for example, many attended T14 schools.

http://www.whitecase.com/Attorneys/List ... 66528e4db5

Conversely if you look at the attorney profiles for Holland & Knight, many associates attended Florida law schools.

It depends on the firm. It seems that the more prestigious firms tend to hire mostly T14 grads.

[imchuckbass58]

I do have connections to South Florida, (spent entire life here...). Likewise I got into FSU, UM, etc. However, the consensus that: very intelligent people can do poorly in law school/ don't plan on being top of your class, really scared me out of going to a non-T14.

I will be attending NYU this fall. I'm trying to get a gauge on how my possible competition for South Florida firms might turn out... Anybody have experience with FL job market?

You made the right choice in my mind. If you have ties to the area, you should have no problem unless you truly finish at the bottom of the class.

That said, however, it's still in your interest to do as well as possible, since the higher you rank, the more opportunities will be open to you.

[Arredondo]

I will be attending NYU this fall. I'm trying to get a gauge on how my possible competition for South Florida firms might turn out... Anybody have experience with FL job market?

I had a callback at Gunster in WPB and someone from NYU was also there interviewing. I think Gunster did OCI there.

[beesknees]

I think as long as you're not finishing in the bottom of your class, then you should be fine since you have an established reason to want to live and work in FL for the long haul. The fact that most of the associates in Florida firms graduated from Florida schools has to be taken with a grain of salt. It doesn't seem like a lot of T10 kids are gunning for the Florida market (secondary market is not where there are a lot of biglaw jobs). That being said, I agree with the former poster who pointed out that you'll have to do a little more legwork.

[holeinone600]

Anyone have any input regarding this year's round of OCI?