BigLaw in San Diego? Forum

[abceasy]

I think that I might want to live and work in San Diego after law school graduation. Does anyone know anything about the legal market there? I want to be in BigLaw, but I know San Diego is a sort of a "secondary" legal market. Is there BigLaw there at all? And part 2, I haven't chosen a law school yet, but my cycle is going pretty well and I'm wondering if going to a school like UCLA or USC would be better for a more regional, local market like San Diego than a t14 in another part of the country would be? I'd imagine it would be difficult to get recruited to go to San Diego from a school on the east coast. I also have no ties to SD at all, whatsoever.

[RVP11]

I think that I might want to live and work in San Diego after law school graduation. Does anyone know anything about the legal market there? I want to be in BigLaw, but I know San Diego is a sort of a "secondary" legal market. Is there BigLaw there at all? And part 2, I haven't chosen a law school yet, but my cycle is going pretty well and I'm wondering if going to a school like UCLA or USC would be better for a more regional, local market like San Diego than a t14 in another part of the country would be? I'd imagine it would be difficult to get recruited to go to San Diego from a school on the east coast. I also have no ties to SD at all, whatsoever.

If you have no ties to SD whatsoever, going to a school like UCLA/USC might make more sense than a lower T14. But if you have no ties to SD, why are you interested in practicing there? A lot of people think SoCal, especially SD, is some kind of paradise without having any experience living or spending significant time there. Then they live there and realize they're not happy. Employers realize that.

[abceasy]

Thanks for the reply. You're right--but let me clarify--I think that I might want to live in San Diego. I'm not 100% sure, but since I have an interest, I want to see if A) BigLaw exists there and B) If I would prevent myself from being able to access the job market there without going to law school in southern California.

[Anonymous User]

SD is extremely insular. It is a small market with regard to big firms and they want people with ties to SD in particular, not just CA. I am from SoCal (Orange County) and still had to convince the SD firms that I was serious about SD, even though I grew up an hour away. Most of the biglaw firms that have offices there are focused on IP (lots of biotech/pharmtech in northern SD county), so having a technical background helps. There is a decent amount of regulatory work too since there is a large govt. (defense) presence there.

It is an awesome market if you can get in though. You can live five minutes from work and five minutes from the beach.

[elmagic]

San Diego has some BigLaw but mostly regional offices like the person above me said. A lot of them focus on IP. Fish & Richardson have an office there, Latham, and some others I can't think of at the moment. Most of these offices have less than 40 attorney's so getting in is really difficult. Luce Forward is based in SD and has three different offices in SD county, two in north county and one downtown, though I think they recently went through some layoffs and don't seem to be doing so well.

Honestly I wouldn't rely on SD being your primary market after law school, especially if you don't have ties to the area. If you can't get into one of YSHBCC, you'd probably be better off taking money at UCLA or USC, and focusing on Souther California as a whole.

edit: Here is a list of the larger firms with offices in San Diego:
Allen Matkins Leck Gamble & Mallory LLP
Baker & McKenzie
Carlton, DiSante & Freudenberger LLP
Cooley Godward Kronish LLP
Cozen O'Connor
dla piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP
dla piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP (La Jolla)
Fish & Richardson P.C.
Foley & Lardner
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Gordon & Rees, LLP
Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP
Latham & Watkins
Littler Mendelson, P.C.
Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP
Ross, Dixon & Bell, LLP
seltzer caplan mcmahon vitek
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

http://www.infirmation.com/shared/insid ... l?state=CA

Scroll down to San Diego and you can find info on each of these.

[mhernton]

tag

[abceasy]

Wow--thanks for the replies. I really appreciate the insight. I guess I better start Thanks!

[Anonymous User]

In general, look to the West Coast firms or firms that do a lot of Biotech IP. They tend to have bigger offices in SD. Latham, Sheppard Mullin, Cooley, Wilson Sonsini, MoFo, Fish, Allen Matkins etc... all have bigger offices. DLA has a big office there from acquiring a large mid-law firm (I can't remember the name) a few years ago. Also, Gibson Dunn doesn't have an office there anymore I don't think, but I may be wrong.

[Reinhardt]

--LinkRemoved--

[FlanAl]

Thought I'd bump this and see if any recent grads have had luck landing a job in sd. The market here seems super whack

[Anonymous User]

Bumpin this thread to discuss San Diego CBs and offers. Waiting to hear back after a CB at Gordon & Rees. Anyone else?

[erico]

It's a decent market if you're going into IP. Obviously, it's not SV. Not sure about other areas of law.

[Anonymous User]

I guess not many people are gunning for SD BigLaw this year...

[JenDarby]

I'm at Fordham and a few firms interviewed for SD offices during OCI. I interviewed with an SD firm, being from SoCal and having gone to UCSD, and the first thing out of the interviewers mouth was, "Finally, someone with a reason for SD who I might actually consider."

[Anonymous User]

I'm at Fordham and a few firms interviewed for SD offices during OCI. I interviewed with an SD firm, being from SoCal and having gone to UCSD, and the first thing out of the interviewers mouth was, "Finally, someone with a reason for SD who I might actually consider."

Willing to say which firms? Seems weird that SD firms are interviewing at Fordham.

[JenDarby]

I'm at Fordham and a few firms interviewed for SD offices during OCI. I interviewed with an SD firm, being from SoCal and having gone to UCSD, and the first thing out of the interviewers mouth was, "Finally, someone with a reason for SD who I might actually consider."

Willing to say which firms? Seems weird that SD firms are interviewing at Fordham.

I can't recall aside from Robbins Geller. I'll check out the OCI info next time I'm at my computer.

[Anonymous User]

I'm at Fordham and a few firms interviewed for SD offices during OCI. I interviewed with an SD firm, being from SoCal and having gone to UCSD, and the first thing out of the interviewers mouth was, "Finally, someone with a reason for SD who I might actually consider."

Willing to say which firms? Seems weird that SD firms are interviewing at Fordham.

I can't recall aside from Robbins Geller. I'll check out the OCI info next time I'm at my computer.

Cool. I went to UCSD for undergrad also and the two SD firms I interviewed with seemed really concerned about ties/commitment to SD even though I go to USC/UCLA.

[Anonymous User]

at a mid-west T-30, USC/UCLA UG. Lived and worked in south OC before law school. Got cb's in SD, but even in cb's I had a lot of questions about my ties, which I didn't get in the OC (where I'll be headed next summer). SD is a very tough nut to crack.

[Anonymous User]

at a mid-west T-30, USC/UCLA UG. Lived and worked in south OC before law school. Got cb's in SD, but even in cb's I had a lot of questions about my ties, which I didn't get in the OC (where I'll be headed next summer). SD is a very tough nut to crack.

Which SD firms did you have CBs at? Were they this year?

[thegrayman]

SD is a very tough market to get into, regardless of ties. Even with ties, you need very strong credentials. Firms in SD get to cherry pick from the best of the best applications that they receive. There is no shortage of people who want to live in an area near the beach with perfect weather.

[Anonymous User]

what about having 0 ties to the area but then clerking for a district judge in SD for 1-2 years after law school. significantly easier to get job at one of the bigger SD firms or will they still be skeptical?

[Anonymous User]

It's not impossible. I only have some relatively weak ties to OC, but was able to land in SD big law for next summer.
I have a tech background, so that helped.

[Anonymous User]

at a mid-west T-30, USC/UCLA UG. Lived and worked in south OC before law school. Got cb's in SD, but even in cb's I had a lot of questions about my ties, which I didn't get in the OC (where I'll be headed next summer). SD is a very tough nut to crack.

Which SD firms did you have CBs at? Were they this year?

[Anonymous User]

the cb's I had in SD were with DLA and Sheppard Mullin (Del Mar). Had a lot more success with the OC (4 cb's) and LA (3 cb's).

[FlanAl]

if some of the anonymous folks could possibly post up their class rank as well as school range that would be great!