Sitting for the bar in a state you don't have a job in Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 3L at an east coast T20 who struck out at OCI; no ties to anywhere except the podunk town I came from and the terrible city I go to law school in. While my current city has some decent opportunities, I will absolutely lose my shit if I have to stay here for any longer than necessary. My fiancee and I are looking to make a big move after graduation and I want to sit for the bar out west (i.e. CA, CO, OR, WA, maybe AK). How difficult is job hunting in a new state that you've no established ties in? I've established myself pretty well in a somewhat niche field that seems pretty big in those states, have a lot of experience interning with all the big players in that field, taken tons of coursework in it, and am on a journal dedicated to it. My law school has a huge pan-continental alumni network and there are plenty of people in my field in those states too; is just trying to network with alum the key?

Yeah, I have loans but I would much rather not be miserable staying local. I just know that if I stay here, I'll probably grab a somewhat decent job, always tell myself "oh, just another few years," and eventually I'll wake up at 55, bitter and upset that I never left these like 200 sq mi.

[sparty99]

I'm a 3L at an east coast T20 who struck out at OCI; no ties to anywhere except the podunk town I came from and the terrible city I go to law school in. While my current city has some decent opportunities, I will absolutely lose my shit if I have to stay here for any longer than necessary. My fiancee and I are looking to make a big move after graduation and I want to sit for the bar out west (i.e. CA, CO, OR, WA, maybe AK). How difficult is job hunting in a new state that you've no established ties in? I've established myself pretty well in a somewhat niche field that seems pretty big in those states, have a lot of experience interning with all the big players in that field, taken tons of coursework in it, and am on a journal dedicated to it. My law school has a huge pan-continental alumni network and there are plenty of people in my field in those states too; is just trying to network with alum the key?

Yeah, I have loans but I would much rather not be miserable staying local. I just know that if I stay here, I'll probably grab a somewhat decent job, always tell myself "oh, just another few years," and eventually I'll wake up at 55, bitter and upset that I never left these like 200 sq mi.

You better start applying for any jobs in the place where you take the bar so you can move there in august. Work for target or something so you can pay the bills. Then when you pass the bar you wont need a connection b/c your tie is the fact that you are a member of that state bar....

[mr. wednesday]

You could always take the UBE for more flexibility. It'd let you apply to Colorado, Washington State, and Utah too, along with some non-Mountain states that you seem less interested in. Of course you'd still have to do c&f in whichever state.

Obviously job hunting is much tougher from out of state with no ties, but you already know that.

[BeautifulSW]

All of the states the OP mentions except possibly Alaska are already heavily over lawyered, at least in the population centers. Ties matter and going to a local school would have been advantageous from a networking standpoint. But perhaps the OP is at a truly national school so this isn't a major consideration? The OP might consider Arizona or New Mexico where I live. I don't know if there's work in Nevada. Before the Crash, Nevada was the hottest legal market in the West.