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What's a popular school to attend for those who wish to practice in Miami, Florida? It's my understanding that where you go to school (in most cases) is where you end up practicing (at least initially). If that's the case, does that mean a lot of lawyers practicing in Miami went to school at the University of Miami or the University of Florida? Do southern powerhouses like Duke, Vanderbilt, and Emory have a strong presence there?

In short, if someone wanted to have a good chance of practicing in Miami, what would be the best school for them?

Are you from South Florida? If so, HYS > CCNVD > rest of T13 > Georgetown > Vandy > UF / FSU / Miami (and only if you go to one of these 3 schools on a full ride).

Are you from somewhere other than South Florida? If so, T14 / find a job in a major market / lateral to Miami a few years into practice > Miami on a full ride.

Miami is a hard market to crack from anywhere. Make sure to have a backup plan.

MVPer here.For what its worth, the people I know here who wanted Miami got Miami.

I'm not sure what all the stress is about, unless you are seriously considering not going to a T14.

A lot of T14 people from Miami/Florida have commented on how impossible it is to crack the Miami market, just because it's so small.

badaboom61 wrote:rest of T13

Because of the demand to live in a tropical location landing a South Florida law firm can be extremely challenging. Lots of Ivy applicants plus FL has an [over]abundance of Law Schools. According to some stats Miami-FL-WP is the second largest southeastern market (just behind D.C.).

ARGUABLY your best hope for a South Florida gig is probably UM, especially helpful if you establish residency.

twenty 8 wrote:Because of the demand to live in a tropical location landing a South Florida law firm can be extremely challenging. Lots of Ivy applicants plus FL has an [over]abundance of Law Schools. According to some stats Miami-FL-WP is the second largest southeastern market (just behind D.C.).

ARGUABLY your best hope for a South Florida gig is probably UM, especially helpful if you establish residency.

I wouldn't go to a FL law school if the plan is biglaw. Even Miami biglaw.

badaboom61 wrote:Are you from South Florida? If so, HYS > CCNVD > rest of T13 > Georgetown > Vandy > UF / FSU / Miami (and only if you go to one of these 3 schools on a full ride).

Are you from somewhere other than South Florida? If so, T14 / find a job in a major market / lateral to Miami a few years into practice > Miami on a full ride.

Miami is a hard market to crack from anywhere. Make sure to have a backup plan.

This is pretty spot on, based on my experience. The only thing I would add is that Emory is well respected--probably similar to a Vandy but not quite as highly. Wouldn't ever suggest anyone go to Emory to get Miami BL (or for that matter BL or a legal job at all...), though.

I go to a lower-T14 and know several people who either wanted Miami or interviewed for Miami and were not getting any bites. The market is just too small and too desirable.

Another HUGE negative on Miami BL is that many firms down there give no-offers on a regular basis. Miami firms just don't seem that interested in picking up first years, many firms I spoke too essentially told me to go to NY and then lateral in as a mid-level.

Good luck with Miami--have a backup plan as the above poster stated.

Miami junior associate from Penn Law here.

Nobody here really knows this, but Penn is definitely TCR when it comes to Miami BigLaw outside of the T6. Yes, there are a decent size of Southerners in South Florida and Duke and UVA dominate the South. Yes, there are NO differences among the T10 when it comes to secondary markets in Miami. But Penn dominates Miami for one reason and one reason only: alumni base. The Penn alumni base at Holland & Knight, Hunton & Williams, and to a lesser extent Jones Day REALLY fight for Penn kids to get into their firms. Like to the point of getting furious with HR if a Penn kid doesn't get hired (I've seen this happen). And the head of corporate at Greenberg (who is in the Miami office) is a Penn alum who loves Penn grads. I think in the recession, it was pretty hard to get a job in Miami without extremely strong ties and an HYS pedigree. It definitely still is, but I have not heard of a Penn kid with decent South Florida ties not getting a biglaw job for the past few years (and believe me I've kept up).

TL;DR: Miami BigLaw is hard to get no matter where you go, but if you go to HYSCCNP (yes I said it) and hustle you should be fine.