I Must Transfer... Forum

[Anonymous User]

I ventured from the West Coast to the Midwest to go to law school almost for free, but after 2.5 months as a 1L, it is clear that I must leave.

The school is a T20-30 and the professors are great. Until I arrived here, I never considered academia, but now I am very interested. Job prospects pretty much suck from here. National firms don't recruit here and the 3-4 regional firms that are faithful to this school look solely for the top performers.

I suppose if I just achieve #1 this post will be moot... I actually like the school, but I dislike the career prospects. I would gladly pay sticker at a T14 in exchange for peace of mind.
/rant

[moonman157]

If it really is your goal to transfer, work biglaw, or get into academia, all you can do (and what you absolutely must do) is kill it this year with grades. When you get your grades back, then see what your transferring options are. But grades need to be your focus right now.

[DoveBodyWash]

which school is this? Is there a particular market that you want but this school places poorly in?

[mandimeoutof10]

which school is this? Is there a particular market that you want but this school places poorly in?

I'm curious as well. I'm not going to take the time to go look at the US News rankings but it seems strange that a top 30 school would have such bad biglaw placement.

[Desert Fox]

which school is this? Is there a particular market that you want but this school places poorly in?

I'm curious as well. I'm not going to take the time to go look at the US News rankings but it seems strange that a top 30 school would have such bad biglaw placement.

Probably Iowa or Indiana.

Unless you are top 1% and transfer to Yale or Harvard, Academia is not going happen OP.

If you score top 10%, you probably won't have to transfer to get dat biglaw.

I'd only transfer if you are like 10-20% and get into a T12 (ie not michigan or Gtttown).

[Nat Sherman]

which school is this? Is there a particular market that you want but this school places poorly in?

I'm curious as well. I'm not going to take the time to go look at the US News rankings but it seems strange that a top 30 school would have such bad biglaw placement.

Only Midwest schools are Minnesota, Notre Dame, Iowa, and Indiana ranked 20-30. Probably not Notre Dame since they have over 30% as fed clerks or in big law.

[Anonymous User]

which school is this? Is there a particular market that you want but this school places poorly in?

I'm curious as well. I'm not going to take the time to go look at the US News rankings but it seems strange that a top 30 school would have such bad biglaw placement.

Probably Iowa or Indiana.

Unless you are top 1% and transfer to Yale or Harvard, Academia is not going happen OP.

If you score top 10%, you probably won't have to transfer to get dat biglaw.

I'd only transfer if you are like 10-20% and get into a T12 (ie not michigan or Gtttown).

[BVest]

Bold use of anon reply.

[ohioguy99]

Anyone who goes to the solid law schools schools in the Midwest, or for college sports fans, some of the Big Ten schools, needs to be content with small firm or government type employment.

Yes, the top 10-20 percent will get big firm jobs, but 80 percent won't and many end up working in business, politics, government, small firm, public defenders offices, prosecutors offices etc.

You also need to be content with living and working in the state in which the school is in.

I'm mostly talking about schools like Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio State, Wisconsin etc.

These schools can all be decent options if you have strong ties to the state, can go for cheap, are passionate about living in that state, and are content with small law government etc.

If your goal going into law school is academia, big law, etc don't go to these schools. Not saying it can't happen, but the odds are much much lower.

[FSK]

Is drop out, retake, and reapply an option? You'll have a better shot.

[Cicero76]

Is drop out, retake, and reapply an option? You'll have a better shot.

lol no. T14 schools aren't going to take a kid who already dropped out of law school

[lawhopeful10]

As someone who likely has struck out despite finishing top 3% at a regional school around the T30 range I would definitely advise transferring. I really regret not making the move. Obviously though focus on learning to take law exams and get really good at it.

[Desert Fox]

As someone who likely has struck out despite finishing top 3% at a regional school around the T30 range I would definitely advise transferring. I really regret not making the move. Obviously though focus on learning to take law exams and get really good at it.

You would have struck out at the T14 too.

[Sheriff]

As someone who likely has struck out despite finishing top 3% at a regional school around the T30 range I would definitely advise transferring. I really regret not making the move. Obviously though focus on learning to take law exams and get really good at it.

You were top 3% at a t30 and struck out?

[lawhopeful10]

As someone who likely has struck out despite finishing top 3% at a regional school around the T30 range I would definitely advise transferring. I really regret not making the move. Obviously though focus on learning to take law exams and get really good at it.

You would have struck out at the T14 too.

Maybe. Obviously I wasn't a great interviewer but Im from the north east and was interviewing in a market that seemed to really care about ties. The feeling I got was it was just easier to take similar grade people from the region than me.

I just point it out because OP is from the west coast so I don't know how insular the markets are he is targeting but I think it's a non trivial factor to consider.

[TTRansfer]

Important as ties are, if you were top 3% and struck out completely, that's more on your interviewing than anything else.

[jbagelboy]

which school is this? Is there a particular market that you want but this school places poorly in?

I'm curious as well. I'm not going to take the time to go look at the US News rankings but it seems strange that a top 30 school would have such bad biglaw placement.

Probably Iowa or Indiana.

Unless you are top 1% and transfer to Yale or Harvard, Academia is not going happen OP.

actually, I still doubt it. Clerking with a feeder judge appears to be a necessary but not sufficient condition for fellowships and a future in legal academia (absent a Ph.D in another field or absurdly prolific publications). These judges recruit overwhelmingly early in the fall of 2L now, and OP would have no connections or faculty recommendations at his or her new school who will be making calls to chambers on their behalf in august. He or she would always be a few steps behind their peers with regards to the types of positions that require genuine institutional support. It's always possible to do it later, but this is just one example of the many reasons why even this statement gives a misleadingly positive impression of OP's chances at becoming a tenured prof.