Northwestern Law Class of 2013 Forum

[Drew2010]

Anyone else thinking about settling in Chicago after law school? Provided of course you can get employed there? The real estate market sure looks less frightening than NYC that’s for sure...

[Drew2010]

3 Pages reached.. NU Law Class of 2013 is cool now

[09042014]

Anyone else thinking about settling in Chicago after law school? Provided of course you can get employed there? The real estate market sure looks less frightening than NYC that’s for sure...

If you can't get employed in Chicago with a NU law degree, you probably can't be employed anywhere.

I'm already from the suburbs of Chicago and I plan on practicing in Chicago after law school.

[NayBoer]

I'm planning on settling where I get a job. SF area is probably my number one market. I've lived here for the last few years; maybe that will help bring NU back.

CHI probably my number two market. Also thinking I'll try my luck at STL (where I grew up) and KC (where a lot of my family lives). Hoping my ties/connections work some magic in the secondary Midwest markets. If I go to DC post 3L, it'll probably be in the unlikely event I snag a relevant clerkship (ideally Tax Court); even UVA kids are supposedly getting shut out of DC biglaw, so I'm not sure I'll waste my energy.

[Drew2010]

Anyone else thinking about settling in Chicago after law school? Provided of course you can get employed there? The real estate market sure looks less frightening than NYC that’s for sure...

If you can't get employed in Chicago with a NU law degree, you probably can't be employed anywhere.

I'm already from the suburbs of Chicago and I plan on practicing in Chicago after law school.

Agreed.. I guess I was thinking along the lines of regardless where you go to school. Chicago looks like a great place to settle, good legal market and seemingly lower COL than NYC. I don't know much about the different firms though, other than Kirkland Ellis seems to be huge, and the best paying. Do you know of other attractive options in Chicago worth looking into? I tend to enjoy planning and researching future options. Maybe I research firms prematurely?

[Drew2010]

I'm planning on settling where I get a job. SF area is probably my number one market. I've lived here for the last few years; maybe that will help bring NU back.

CHI probably my number two market. Also thinking I'll try my luck at STL (where I grew up) and KC (where a lot of my family lives). Hoping my ties/connections work some magic in the secondary Midwest markets. If I go to DC post 3L, it'll probably be in the unlikely event I snag a relevant clerkship (ideally Tax Court); even UVA kids are supposedly getting shut out of DC biglaw, so I'm not sure I'll waste my energy.

Although pessimism right now is popular, if you look historically people tend to be overly optimistic while our economy is on its way down, and then to an almost equal degree overly pessimistic as our economy recovers. I'm not saying things are all rosy and perfect, but I am saying that August of 2011 probably won't be nearly as bad as things are now.

[NayBoer]

I'm planning on settling where I get a job. SF area is probably my number one market. I've lived here for the last few years; maybe that will help bring NU back.

CHI probably my number two market. Also thinking I'll try my luck at STL (where I grew up) and KC (where a lot of my family lives). Hoping my ties/connections work some magic in the secondary Midwest markets. If I go to DC post 3L, it'll probably be in the unlikely event I snag a relevant clerkship (ideally Tax Court); even UVA kids are supposedly getting shut out of DC biglaw, so I'm not sure I'll waste my energy.

Although pessimism right now is popular, if you look historically people tend to be overly optimistic while our economy is on its way down, and then to an almost equal degree overly pessimistic as our economy recovers. I'm not saying things are all rosy and perfect, but I am saying that August of 2011 probably won't be nearly as bad as things are now.

I would say that your tar matches perfectly with this optimistic attitude, but I've actually seen Day Man. It did not make me feel optimistic.

What type of law are you going for?

Personally I'm going to hold off on heavily researching firms until I have a sense of my class rank and which firms hire at my level. But if you have a rare specialty or something it might pay off to start becoming familiar (or at least start watching ATL).

[09042014]

I'm planning on settling where I get a job. SF area is probably my number one market. I've lived here for the last few years; maybe that will help bring NU back.

CHI probably my number two market. Also thinking I'll try my luck at STL (where I grew up) and KC (where a lot of my family lives). Hoping my ties/connections work some magic in the secondary Midwest markets. If I go to DC post 3L, it'll probably be in the unlikely event I snag a relevant clerkship (ideally Tax Court); even UVA kids are supposedly getting shut out of DC biglaw, so I'm not sure I'll waste my energy.

Although pessimism right now is popular, if you look historically people tend to be overly optimistic while our economy is on its way down, and then to an almost equal degree overly pessimistic as our economy recovers. I'm not saying things are all rosy and perfect, but I am saying that August of 2011 probably won't be nearly as bad as things are now.

I would say that your tar matches perfectly with this optimistic attitude, but I've actually seen Day Man. It did not make me feel optimistic.

What type of law are you going for?

Personally I'm going to hold off on heavily researching firms until I have a sense of my class rank and which firms hire at my level. But if you have a rare specialty or something it might pay off to start becoming familiar (or at least start watching ATL).

Yea no need to research the V25 chicago firms (K&E and Sidley Austin- who btw have a lovely multi dozen million dollar office) if you end up at median.

Drew are you going to admitted students weekend?

[Drew2010]

I would say that your tar matches perfectly with this optimistic attitude, but I've actually seen Day Man. It did not make me feel optimistic.

What type of law are you going for?

Personally I'm going to hold off on heavily researching firms until I have a sense of my class rank and which firms hire at my level. But if you have a rare specialty or something it might pay off to start becoming familiar (or at least start watching ATL).

True.. the ending was quite terrible, at least for Charlie

I'm not completely sure, other than I know I want it to be somewhat business related. As far as whether I want to do transactional work or litigation I have no idea. A lot of decisions are going to have to wait until I get to school, but I've tried to research different possibilities in different markets so I get an idea of my options. Obviously all my research is geared towards doing well in my class. I don't see the point in setting a goal for myself that involves not doing well. If I don't do as well as I hope I'll fail to reach my goals, but I'm still going to shoot for what I actually would like to do. From reading Arrow's thread on success in law school I don't think this is entirely unreasonable.

[Drew2010]

Yea no need to research the V25 chicago firms (K&E and Sidley Austin- who btw have a lovely multi dozen million dollar office) if you end up at median.

Drew are you going to admitted students weekend?

Ya the research is wasted if you end up at median, but I think it can also be used as an excellent motivator. Having a goal to shoot for helps a lot, at least in my experience, in any endeavor that requires hard work and long hours.

I am definitely planning on attending the admitted students’ weekend. Actually I'm also planning on going back up to Chicago a couple weeks after with my wife, sister-in-law, and friend who is a native of Chicago. Just to spend some time enjoying the city and do some planning regarding living arrangements. Of course if NYU throws me a bone this could change, but its looking like it'll be NU.

[opus127]

Admitted today; I want to get on the ASW, but I don't know how. Do I have to call NU to get a login?

Your status checker should have information on it.

That's a negative, colonel. Would appreciate any help. Maybe it shows up later on the checker?

I'm in the same boat, actually. For those of you who already have access, would you mind sharing when ASW is?

For 1/22 admits, in case you're still wondering: after waiting patiently, I gave in and e-mailed to ask when/how I'd receive info on accessing the admitted students website. They responded that I should have received an e-mail with that info when I received my decision (I did not, and I check my spam folder regularly), and they sent me a username and password.

I'm bummed I can't make the ASW, but I'll definitely visit NU on my own.

[D-hops]

For 1/22 admits, in case you're still wondering: after waiting patiently, I gave in and e-mailed to ask when/how I'd receive info on accessing the admitted students website. They responded that I should have received an e-mail with that info when I received my decision (I did not, and I check my spam folder regularly), and they sent me a username and password.

I'm bummed I can't make the ASW, but I'll definitely visit NU on my own.

I was in the same boat and got a similar email today with the username and password. I thought it was possible (though unlikely considering any email with "law", "admissions", or "Northwestern" gave me a near heart attack when I saw it) that I had deleted the email from my spam folder, but this makes me feel better.

[opus127]

For 1/22 admits, in case you're still wondering: after waiting patiently, I gave in and e-mailed to ask when/how I'd receive info on accessing the admitted students website. They responded that I should have received an e-mail with that info when I received my decision (I did not, and I check my spam folder regularly), and they sent me a username and password.

I'm bummed I can't make the ASW, but I'll definitely visit NU on my own.

I was in the same boat and got a similar email today with the username and password. I thought it was possible (though unlikely considering any email with "law", "admissions", or "Northwestern" gave me a near heart attack when I saw it) that I had deleted the email from my spam folder, but this makes me feel better.

hmmm. . . I wonder if there was a glitch with that e-mail. Well, at least we have the info now. I hope future communications are smoother!

And I'm also curious: have any 1/22 admits received the binder in the mail? (I saw reference to it on the admitted students web site, but haven't gotten mine yet.)

[sparty11]

For 1/22 admits, in case you're still wondering: after waiting patiently, I gave in and e-mailed to ask when/how I'd receive info on accessing the admitted students website. They responded that I should have received an e-mail with that info when I received my decision (I did not, and I check my spam folder regularly), and they sent me a username and password.

I'm bummed I can't make the ASW, but I'll definitely visit NU on my own.

I was in the same boat and got a similar email today with the username and password. I thought it was possible (though unlikely considering any email with "law", "admissions", or "Northwestern" gave me a near heart attack when I saw it) that I had deleted the email from my spam folder, but this makes me feel better.

hmmm. . . I wonder if there was a glitch with that e-mail. Well, at least we have the info now. I hope future communications are smoother!

And I'm also curious: have any 1/22 admits received the binder in the mail? (I saw reference to it on the admitted students web site, but haven't gotten mine yet.)

I'm an ED admit from december and I don't have one yet so...

On a related note, as we talk about what to worry/not worry about if you finish at median, what sort of career options are available to a NU law grad if you finish at top 10%? Top third? Median? Bottom Third? Obviously, I hope I will do well, but I just want to get a picture of what my options are. Said another way, will I be at McDonalds if I, say, finish at median?

[NayBoer]

My sense was that biglaw is possible but not secure at median. The employment forum might offer more on this, especially the callbacks discussions.

[Dick Whitman]

On a related note, as we talk about what to worry/not worry about if you finish at median, what sort of career options are available to a NU law grad if you finish at top 10%? Top third? Median? Bottom Third? Obviously, I hope I will do well, but I just want to get a picture of what my options are. Said another way, will I be at McDonalds if I, say, finish at median?

There are a bunch of medium to large sized Chicago firms that paid $145k/year (before any salary cuts in the last year or two) that hire people at median. $145k in Chicago is probably just as good or better than $160k in NYC. Of course those jobs have been a little tougher to get ITE.

[rayiner]

On a related note, as we talk about what to worry/not worry about if you finish at median, what sort of career options are available to a NU law grad if you finish at top 10%? Top third? Median? Bottom Third? Obviously, I hope I will do well, but I just want to get a picture of what my options are. Said another way, will I be at McDonalds if I, say, finish at median?

Nobody really knows. Going by the Fall 2008 OCI data, even most of the bottom half had at least several callbacks. We don't have that data for Fall 2009 OCI yet, but it's probably going to show that biglaw was possible but not near certain in the middle 1/3 (with a lot of noise due to interviews becoming relatively more important). This was, of course, the case throughout the T14 outside of YHS and maybe CCN.

Nobody knows that Fall 2011 OCI (when your class will go through) will look like, other than it will probably be somewhere in-between the two extremes.

[tome]

$145k in Chicago is probably just as good or better than $160k in NYC.

If you believe purchase-power equivalency formulas, then $160k in Chicago buys you over $300k in NY (and about $240k in San Fran, the 2nd most expensive US city). what is really shocking is that 160k buys you more in Chicago than in Minneapolis and Milwaukee also, but only by a bit. (I only know this because we went over this in a class yesterday)

[09042014]

$145k in Chicago is probably just as good or better than $160k in NYC.

If you believe purchase-power equivalency formulas, then $160k in Chicago buys you over $300k in NY (and about $240k in San Fran, the 2nd most expensive US city). what is really shocking is that 160k buys you more in Chicago than in Minneapolis and Milwaukee also, but only by a bit. (I only know this because we went over this in a class yesterday)

Those formulas don't scale well because they assume you'll spend a percentage of your money on housing and other things. A new associate doesn't have to get a luxury condo, they can rent a 1 bed.

But 145 in Chicago is > 160 in New York.

[09042014]

How old is everyone. I'm 24, and I feel like I'll be one of the younger ones.

[AddyO]

I'm 22. I'll be 23 when school starts.

[NayBoer]

I'm 28, so on the older side even for NU.

Just got an email talking about how awesome NU is and listing the student groups. Don't really understand the value in joining the politically-oriented groups. Though I would like to join both Federalist Society and ACLU just to confuse future interviewers.

[opus127]

Just got an email talking about how awesome NU is and listing the student groups. Don't really understand the value in joining the politically-oriented groups. Though I would like to join both Federalist Society and ACLU just to confuse future interviewers.

Did everyone get this e-mail? I did not (and it's not in my spam folder). Since I also did not get the first e-mail for admitted students, I'm a little paranoid that there's a problem with their e-mail program or that I'm not on the list. Before I inquire with NU, I just wonder if other people are also not receiving messages.

Oh, and I'm a little older than you guys.

[Drew2010]

Just got an email talking about how awesome NU is and listing the student groups. Don't really understand the value in joining the politically-oriented groups. Though I would like to join both Federalist Society and ACLU just to confuse future interviewers.

Did everyone get this e-mail? I did not (and it's not in my spam folder). Since I also did not get the first e-mail for admitted students, I'm a little paranoid that there's a problem with their e-mail program or that I'm not on the list. Before I inquire with NU, I just wonder if other people are also not receiving messages.

Oh, and I'm a little older than you guys.

No e-mail here either...

Also, has anyone had any luck joining the facebook group? I requested to join and still days later no dice

[09042014]

Just got an email talking about how awesome NU is and listing the student groups. Don't really understand the value in joining the politically-oriented groups. Though I would like to join both Federalist Society and ACLU just to confuse future interviewers.

Did everyone get this e-mail? I did not (and it's not in my spam folder). Since I also did not get the first e-mail for admitted students, I'm a little paranoid that there's a problem with their e-mail program or that I'm not on the list. Before I inquire with NU, I just wonder if other people are also not receiving messages.

Oh, and I'm a little older than you guys.

No e-mail here either...

Also, has anyone had any luck joining the facebook group? I requested to join and still days later no dice

No on both for me. I did get an email from a NU student who went to the same undergrad as me.