UT or UC Hastings? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I am currently at USF and have a very good scholarship covering tuition... (Cost of living in SF though is crazy).

I got in to UC Hastings and UT Austin. Based on rank UT Austin is the obvious choice. I am originally from CA but did undergrad at UT Austin.

In state tuition at Hastings and out of state at UT Austin isn't a huge difference when taking into account cost of living and everything else.

I want to do IP law... trademarks and copyright in the fashion industry. My summer internship is in the field and I'm pretty set on doing this. Not sure which state or which degree would be better. Will I eventually have to move to NYC regardless? I always wanted to stay in Austin but now am not sure if that is the best choice long term. Any advice would be awesome... I need to make a decision quick to be able to participate in OCI.

[w7ldcard]

Look up Hastings on law school transparency. You will quickly realize that UT is much much better especially given the cost of living in SF

[rpupkin]

So you've got a full ride at USF. You're now going to go pay sticker at either Hastings or UT with the goal of......trademark and copyright law in the fashion industry?

That's a pretty specific goal in a tiny niche field. Do you have any reason to think that going to either Hastings or UT will actually improve your chances of getting a job in soft IP in the fashion industry? If I were you, I'd be very wary about taking on significant debt at either Hastings or UT.

[Anonymous User]

I'm open to other fields but pretty set on soft IP... I think that UT is well known and the best ranked so it would open more doors than USF. Im not too sure how Hastings vs USF would do in the Bay Area as alumni from both work in a lot of firms there.

I don't know which job market (Austin or SF) would be better in the long run and with which degree?

[californiagurlll]

I would not pay to go to Hastings. I'd probably rather gamble at USF on a full-ride.

If you think UT can get where you want to go, then go there.

BUT I WOULD NOT GO TO HASTINGS.

[BVest]

I don't think Hastings gives you much return vs staying at USF with whatever grades you put to enable you to transfer. UT will offer more options to be sure, but as pupkin points out, you're looking for one single very narrow option. I only know one firm in Austin that does lots of soft IP work and I don't know that they do much (any) fashion work; and I don't know enough about the area to know what other firms in Texas (or outside of Texas that would value a UT degree) do that work.

ETA: If you go to UT you're not looking at just Austin, but DFW/Houston as well. Or at least you'd better be looking beyond Austin. My example of Austin was simply because it's the soft IP firm I know.

[SFSpartan]

I don't think either of these help you, and you're probably better off staying at USF (at least if things don't pan out, you have no debt).

If you are going to jump ship, go to UT. For the love of god, don't go to Hastings.

[Anonymous User]

UPDATE - invited to law review at USF, have the opportunity to enter special write on competition at UT for transfers

Does that make a difference? Does anyone know the likelihood of getting law review as a transfer to UT?

[Cerberaus]

I don't understand why Hastings is a viable option? Is it because you won't have to move and you'll get a slight bump in the ranks? I haven't spent considerable time in the area, but I'd really ask around and see if Hastings has a reputation worth losing your full ride.

Now if it's between UT or USF, I'd take UT in a heartbeat. I'm not saying that you should give up on your dream of practicing IP fashion law, but it's highly probable that you will be practicing another area of law at some point. UT will open doors for you.

As for being able to successfully compete for write-on at UT, ask some transfers or email the journal and see how many slots they provide for transfers. UT is a popular choice and you will have competition. I wouldn't bank on getting law review, but I would still choose UT.

In other news, I know Fordham is supposed to have a fashion law program. Have you thrown an app there and is it still an option?

[BVest]

Does anyone know the likelihood of getting law review as a transfer to UT?

Based on the last two years' results (the only two years for which TLR has held a write-on competition for transfers), 0.0% chance. That's right, Texas Law Review has held a transfer write-on since 2013 but has yet to take a single transfer.

As you can see, I have a problem with that. I would have no problem with it if they just admitted it was a secondary journal write-on rather than saying it was for TLR.

[timmyd]

Totally and completely agree with Bvest here. You have no shot at TLR and that's a shame. UT has been very good to me and, for the most part, upfront about everything. They allow transfers to graduate with honors and coif, which some schools don't allow, but saying TLR is open to transfers is a deliberate stretch. In my view, they do it to entice students to come, but make no mistake, no transfer is getting on. I'm not sure why. I'm fairly positive that at least a few transfer students possess the writing capabilities to attain a spot. The problem I have is the same as Bvest. I think it's reasonable to not allow transfers on TLR, but if you're going to make them eligible then be fair about it.

[BVest]

OP, please PM me.

.

[mandimeoutof10]

I want to echo what Bvest said. I transferred last year, was invited to my old school's LR and to every other journal I applied for (6 others) but not to TLR. For all practical purposes, UT only has a write on competition for the secondary journals, as no transfers will get onto TLR.

[BVest]

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