UC Davis v. UC Hastings Forum

[Anonymous User]

I moved to the Bay Area this summer for person reasons and applied to transfer to almost every school in the area. So far I've received acceptances from Hastings and Davis. I prefer to live near SF, but I don't that want to be the only reason for picking Hastings over Davis. Does anyone have any advice on one over the other? Davis is ranked a bit higher, but is also pretty far outside of SF. It appears I'll be able to participate in the campus interviewing at either school I choose. Does either school provide significantly better job opportunities than the other? Culture at either? As a transfer student, I haven't been offered any money at either, but I also haven't asked yet.

I'm leaning toward Davis strictly because they have a slightly higher ranking, but if that isn't likely to give better job opportunities then I don't want to pay the higher sticker price. I'd be curious and grateful for any input on either school!

[Jchance]

Check out the roster of biglaw associates/partners at firms you want to work at, you'll see the overwhelming amount from Hastings as compared to Davis. Hastings is an easy win here.

[CALaw717]

I moved to the Bay Area this summer for person reasons and applied to transfer to almost every school in the area. So far I've received acceptances from Hastings and Davis. I prefer to live near SF, but I don't that want to be the only reason for picking Hastings over Davis. Does anyone have any advice on one over the other? Davis is ranked a bit higher, but is also pretty far outside of SF. It appears I'll be able to participate in the campus interviewing at either school I choose. Does either school provide significantly better job opportunities than the other? Culture at either? As a transfer student, I haven't been offered any money at either, but I also haven't asked yet.

I'm leaning toward Davis strictly because they have a slightly higher ranking, but if that isn't likely to give better job opportunities then I don't want to pay the higher sticker price. I'd be curious and grateful for any input on either school!

What type of law do you want to practice, what size firm, and where do you prefer to practice after graduating? I think it's exceedingly rare for transfers to get any money from whatever school they transfer to.

[Anonymous User]

Check out the roster of biglaw associates/partners at firms you want to work at, you'll see the overwhelming amount from Hastings as compared to Davis. Hastings is an easy win here.

From what I've been hearing, Hastings was ranked much higher years ago. So it seems like partners at a lot of the firms out here have a solid view of the school.

What type of law do you want to practice, what size firm, and where do you prefer to practice after graduating? I think it's exceedingly rare for transfers to get any money from whatever school they transfer to.

I want to shoot for BigLaw, but we'll see how that works out. I finished top 12% from a TT, so we'll see where that gets me interviews.
I came into law school with an eye towards IP (likely patents), but after the first year I think I want to keep my options open for other areas that have piqued my interest such as M&A, soft IP, maybe SEC compliance-type work.
I think you're right about the money for transfers though. I may try to leverage my offer at Davis to see if Hastings could help me out a bit, but somehow I doubt that will do much.

One thing that concerns me about Hastings is the large class size. If a firm goes in with X number of hires, that number will be a lesser percentage than the same number at Davis. Assuming that's how they would do the hiring... Also, I've heard Hastings can be a little more cut throat/competitive. Although, I've met tons of nice and helpful people from Hastings so I'm not sure how much weight to give to either side.

[CALaw717]

Check out the roster of biglaw associates/partners at firms you want to work at, you'll see the overwhelming amount from Hastings as compared to Davis. Hastings is an easy win here.

From what I've been hearing, Hastings was ranked much higher years ago. So it seems like partners at a lot of the firms out here have a solid view of the school.

What type of law do you want to practice, what size firm, and where do you prefer to practice after graduating? I think it's exceedingly rare for transfers to get any money from whatever school they transfer to.

I want to shoot for BigLaw, but we'll see how that works out. I finished top 12% from a TT, so we'll see where that gets me interviews.
I came into law school with an eye towards IP (likely patents), but after the first year I think I want to keep my options open for other areas that have piqued my interest such as M&A, soft IP, maybe SEC compliance-type work.
I think you're right about the money for transfers though. I may try to leverage my offer at Davis to see if Hastings could help me out a bit, but somehow I doubt that will do much.

One thing that concerns me about Hastings is the large class size. If a firm goes in with X number of hires, that number will be a lesser percentage than the same number at Davis. Assuming that's how they would do the hiring... Also, I've heard Hastings can be a little more cut throat/competitive. Although, I've met tons of nice and helpful people from Hastings so I'm not sure how much weight to give to either side.

Class of 2017, Hastings sent 55/280 (20%) into big law (100+ atty firms) while Davis sent 25/167 (15%). SF is also a great city to study in if you want to move into IP. Hastings has Startup Legal Garage, a Science and Technology Journal, and you'll be in the right location to network much more at Bar Association of San Francisco events, law firm events, etc. Hastings was regularly a top 40 school ranked very similarly to Davis until the past 4 years. If you wanted Sac gov't or Sac firm, I'd say definitely go to Davis but for what you're looking for the higher Davis rank won't help you so much. It may be questionable transferring to either school if top 12% from TT can get you into big law for this summer's OCI. If you have a hard science undergrad degree and show interest in patent law, then you have a way better chance. You also showed an interest in living in SF over Davis and your interests seem to align more with SF so I'd lean towards Hastings.

[Anonymous User]

Class of 2017, Hastings sent 55/280 (20%) into big law (100+ atty firms) while Davis sent 25/167 (15%). SF is also a great city to study in if you want to move into IP. Hastings has Startup Legal Garage, a Science and Technology Journal, and you'll be in the right location to network much more at Bar Association of San Francisco events, law firm events, etc. Hastings was regularly a top 40 school ranked very similarly to Davis until the past 4 years. If you wanted Sac gov't or Sac firm, I'd say definitely go to Davis but for what you're looking for the higher Davis rank won't help you so much. It may be questionable transferring to either school if top 12% from TT can get you into big law for this summer's OCI. If you have a hard science undergrad degree and show interest in patent law, then you have a way better chance. You also showed an interest in living in SF over Davis and your interests seem to align more with SF so I'd lean towards Hastings.

Where did you find the stats about how many students went to big law?

I really appreciate the insight. I'm leaning a little towards Hastings now. It will also be about $10k cheaper in tuition for the next two years (assuming no scholarship), so that always helps since transfers rarely receive scholarship. My application at Berkeley is still under review too, so if I get in there that will obviously make my decision for me! But that is probably not very likely.

[CALaw717]

Class of 2017, Hastings sent 55/280 (20%) into big law (100+ atty firms) while Davis sent 25/167 (15%). SF is also a great city to study in if you want to move into IP. Hastings has Startup Legal Garage, a Science and Technology Journal, and you'll be in the right location to network much more at Bar Association of San Francisco events, law firm events, etc. Hastings was regularly a top 40 school ranked very similarly to Davis until the past 4 years. If you wanted Sac gov't or Sac firm, I'd say definitely go to Davis but for what you're looking for the higher Davis rank won't help you so much. It may be questionable transferring to either school if top 12% from TT can get you into big law for this summer's OCI. If you have a hard science undergrad degree and show interest in patent law, then you have a way better chance. You also showed an interest in living in SF over Davis and your interests seem to align more with SF so I'd lean towards Hastings.

Where did you find the stats about how many students went to big law?

I really appreciate the insight. I'm leaning a little towards Hastings now. It will also be about $10k cheaper in tuition for the next two years (assuming no scholarship), so that always helps since transfers rarely receive scholarship. My application at Berkeley is still under review too, so if I get in there that will obviously make my decision for me! But that is probably not very likely.

http://abarequireddisclosures.org/Emplo ... comes.aspx Scroll to grads in 100+ firm jobs and divide by total grads.