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CA native. Never lived outside CA. Top 10% at Davis, Law Review, secondary journal, good rapport w professors. Lots of friends. About half tuition.

Want to do biglaw. Not married to working in CA.

Penn is Penn

Penn because you want biglaw.

CanadianWolf wrote:Penn because you want biglaw.

credited.

I'm def leaning towards Penn, but I keep thinking that despite Davis' subpar placement #s, top 10% and law review would put me in a great position... Rather than gambling on how Penn OCI employers would view me as a transfer.

If I want to clerk, would Penn without law review (though I do get a chance to write-on) and possibly (likely?) median grades be better than Top 10% (though I cant guarantee I'd stay that high, lets just assume for now) at Davis and law review?

Doesn't Davis place around 10% into biglaw ITE? That's very fringe, I'd go to Penn...but I'm not sure how their transfers do.

trespass2chattel wrote:If I want to clerk, would Penn without law review (though I do get a chance to write-on) and possibly (likely?) median grades be better than Top 10% (though I cant guarantee I'd stay that high, lets just assume for now) at Davis and law review?

Most transfers do better than median. Common wisdom is that the reason transfers don't necessarily do as well wrt clerkships as they do with BigLaw is because the former depends far more upon connections with professors, which are usually severed when one transfers. Law School Transparency says Davis has a 2.1% Federal Clerkship rate. UPenn's 10.4%. I'd say, with that big of a discrepancy, it's at worst a wash, and at best yet another advantage of going to Penn.

I look at it like this:
Chances of getting Clerkship at Davis: tiny
Chances of getting the fabulous runner up prize of BigLaw at Davis: small to moderate

Chances of getting Clerkship at Penn: tiny
Chances of getting the fabulous runner up prize at Penn: large to enormous

JoeFish wrote:I look at it like this:
Chances of getting Clerkship at Davis: tiny
Chances of getting the fabulous runner up prize of BigLaw at Davis: small to moderate

Chances of getting Clerkship at Penn: tiny
Chances of getting the fabulous runner up prize at Penn: large to enormous

That seems about right to me (though I'd be more generous i/r/t Davis's biglaw chances). Unless OP likes CA biglaw way more than NYC biglaw, I would probably transfer since clerkship odds seem slim either way.

JoeFish wrote:
Most transfers do better than median.

I've heard so much back and forth recently on transfers and OCI. Some people are convinced that transfers do better than median, while others think that they are at a considerable disadvantage and do below median. Harumph.

shock259 wrote:

JoeFish wrote:
Most transfers do better than median.

I've heard so much back and forth recently on transfers and OCI. Some people are convinced that transfers do better than median, while others think that they are at a considerable disadvantage and do below median. Harumph.

You can't look at transferring like this. You really have to look at it differently. Trust me on this one/

The type of job you're going to get as a transfer depends on three things: 1) Your 1L School, 2) Your Grades/Rank at your 1L School, 3) How well most of the interviewers are aware of your 1L School, 4) How well you interview*. Don't look at things vis a vis with your new classmates, because at the time of OCI, you're going to be looked at as someone at your previous school with top grades (except you will have more opportunities to impress than you would at your previous school).

*This is probably one of the most, if not the most important thing.

where is your spouse/significant other located? that's another relevant factor.

Are interviewers gonna give me weird looks if I apply to work in their SF or LA branch when they realize that I just came from Davis?

On the same note, is it a big deal that I have very few ties to the east coast?

I'm still strongly leaning towards Penn, and do stand by my statement that I'm not "married to working in CA."

trespass2chattel wrote:Are interviewers gonna give me weird looks if I apply to work in their SF or LA branch when they realize that I just came from Davis?

On the same note, is it a big deal that I have very few ties to the east coast?

I'm still strongly leaning towards Penn, and do stand by my statement that I'm not "married to working in CA."

It is possible, though my guess is most will understand.

No.

That is a really vague and unhelpful statement. That being said, only you can determine how much you're willing to decrease your chances of CA biglaw in return for increasing your overall chances at biglaw.

BK,

Vague and unhelpful is my middle name. But I think you figured out that I meant I'd prefer to be in CA, but would rather put myself in the best position to get a great job/ have more future employment opps.