Law school alum stereotypes? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Just out of curiosity/fun—in your work experiences, are there any law schools for which their alums tend to have a similar personality or possess certain traits? Positive or negative, I guess

[Anonymous User]

I always found ASU Law alums to generally be laid back and pleasant

[Anonymous User]

Just out of curiosity/fun—in your work experiences, are there any law schools for which their alums tend to have a similar personality or possess certain traits? Positive or negative, I guess

I usually don’t notice/remember where people at work went to law school. However, when I’m working with a first year who is constantly blowing off deadlines in favor of more “important” work, or is half-assing necessary but tedious assignments, it often turns out that they’re a Yale grad. Chicago grads seem to be the biggest gunners, with CLS and HLS tied for second.

[Anonymous User]

IDK about alums but I find a substantial portion (like a third) of the student body at my CCN are insufferable assholes who act like the smartest person in any room without the actual brainpower to back up that attitude. I'm assuming that will carry into practice as well. The portion was much lower (like 10%) at the 1L school I transferred out of.

[lawlo]

Chicago has a definite type. Columbia too.

[Anonymous User]

Chicago has a definite type. Columbia too.

Namely?

[Anonymous User]

The worst are Yale & Chicago/Columbia alums.

The first group suck because think they're god's gift to mankind and they act like they're above certain things.

The second group suck because still carry around huge chips on their shoulders for not getting into HYS and are thus insufferable.

[Anonymous User]

Out of my T-14 friends, my Michigan buddies seem like the only ones who actually enjoyed law school + like each other

[Anonymous User]

The worst are Yale & Chicago/Columbia alums.

The first group suck because think they're god's gift to mankind and they act like they're above certain things.

The second group suck because still carry around huge chips on their shoulders for not getting into HYS and are thus insufferable.

haha you gotta hit that M/V/P sweetspot of bright but not too insufferable

[Anonymous User]

Out of my T-14 friends, my Michigan buddies seem like the only ones who actually enjoyed law school + like each other

Penn alum, while there are less of them I think fit this too. I rly do believe MVP is as the previous poster mentioned the sweet spot of smart but chill.

[Anonymous User]

Double post

[Anonymous User]

Echoing the sentiments regarding YLS, they're mostly lazy or unmotivated. Just collecting a check until they can pay off their loans and go do something else. They're certainly above certain assignments.

[Anonymous User]

YLS alums won’t work as hard, probably because they know that they’ll land in an even better place if they get booted from biglaw anyway.

In DC at least Virginia and Georgetown alumni have very different vibes. Hard to describe.

[Anonymous User]

YLS alums won’t work as hard, probably because they know that they’ll land in an even better place if they get booted from biglaw anyway.

That's the thing though... they don't. At least in biglaw context which is what the previous comments also were referencing. And people saying stuff like this and putting these students on a pedestal is why they continue to act like they're above certain things.

Remember being stuck in school group assignments with people not pulling their weight? Remember how awful that was? Well now multiply that by 1000 in biglaw if you have a Yale student on your team. Especially now when it's absolutely crazy and everyone is feeling stressed with all the work.

(Before someone gets pedantic, yes I realize there's some hyperbole in here and that not all Yale students are like this. And no, I am not jealous)

[Anonymous User]

Pretty much every UC Hastings grad I met was a gunner.

[Anonymous User]

Out of my T-14 friends, my Michigan buddies seem like the only ones who actually enjoyed law school + like each other

Penn alum, while there are less of them I think fit this too. I rly do believe MVP is as the previous poster mentioned the sweet spot of smart but chill.

I’m from P and I approve this message. The vibe I got from the law students was actually one of the main factors that made me decide to go for P over CCN and two schools from HYS (along with monetary awards compared to the latter, of course).

[Anonymous User]

Out of my T-14 friends, my Michigan buddies seem like the only ones who actually enjoyed law school + like each other

Penn alum, while there are less of them I think fit this too. I rly do believe MVP is as the previous poster mentioned the sweet spot of smart but chill.

I’m from P and I approve this message. The vibe I got from the law students was actually one of the main factors that made me decide to go for P over CCN and two schools from HYS (along with monetary awards compared to the latter, of course).

M student and I also approve. Obviously every school has a few terrible people (it's law school, after all), but I was really happy with my law school experience and the friends I made and continue to keep in touch with (also married one of my classmates so there's that).

[Anonymous User]

Attorney's from lower tier law schools, in my experience, tend to work harder than the name brand schools. I have noticed many grew up poor, an immigrant, etc. and are super grateful for the opportunities they have.
Some of the name brand lawyers tend to be a little more entitled about certain things. I'm not saying anyone if lazy, but I have noticed a difference in attitude for sure.

[Anonymous User]

Are YLS alums really as lazy ("entitled" is probably a better descriptor) as mentioned in this thread? Aren't the ones who self-select into biglaw basically similar (in temperament) to other biglaw attorneys?

[Anonymous User]

Pretty much every UC Hastings grad I met was a gunner.

As a Hastings grad, I'm curious - what kind of gunner are we talking about here?

[Anonymous User]

Pretty much every UC Hastings grad I met was a gunner.

As a Hastings grad, I'm curious - what kind of gunner are we talking about here?

In my experience--go getter at work (whether it be at an externship or law firm/DA/PD office). Wasn't necessarily a bad thing by the way, just interesting. The alumni from other law schools seemed more chill, but the Hastings grads always seemed like they were gunning for the top.

[ughbugchugplug]

Attorney's from lower tier law schools, in my experience, tend to work harder than the name brand schools. I have noticed many grew up poor, an immigrant, etc. and are super grateful for the opportunities they have.
Some of the name brand lawyers tend to be a little more entitled about certain things. I'm not saying anyone if lazy, but I have noticed a difference in attitude for sure.

This is selection. The ones that get into competitive jobs are super hard working gunners. A lot of the ones who don’t are party kids/don’t have any work ethic at all.

[Anonymous User]

Out of my T-14 friends, my Michigan buddies seem like the only ones who actually enjoyed law school + like each other

Penn alum, while there are less of them I think fit this too. I rly do believe MVP is as the previous poster mentioned the sweet spot of smart but chill.

I’m from P and I approve this message. The vibe I got from the law students was actually one of the main factors that made me decide to go for P over CCN and two schools from HYS (along with monetary awards compared to the latter, of course).

I think the MVP schools are great – the people I've met from them are a pretty good group – but I think the negative stuff about CCN is pretty overblown. I went to one and the types of people there really were not discernibly different from the people I've met from elsewhere. Maybe a tad bit nerdier or gunnier (*maybe*), but it's no more than a small shift in the overall distribution. Law school selects for certain personality traits; those are what mostly characterize the student bodies at all these schools.

Not to say the stereotypes aren't fun to throw around, or don't contain a kernel of truth. But nobody (especially people deciding where to go to law school) should read too much into them.

[nealric]

Are YLS alums really as lazy ("entitled" is probably a better descriptor) as mentioned in this thread? Aren't the ones who self-select into biglaw basically similar (in temperament) to other biglaw attorneys?

One difference is that the YLS alums who end up at random biglaw firms as first years are actually the less successful ones in the class (at least relative to what most people go to YLS for). The YLS gunners are going on to SCOTUS clerkships, OLC, and the like.

[Anonymous User]

I've heard theories that the football games/tailgates at Michigan really bring the class together, as do the softball games at UVA. I'm sure other schools have their equivalent trademark bonding events.