Top Law Schools

All things being equal with the economy, will top quarter of class land you a big law job -- and other impressive positions in gov, pi, and clerkships, relatively on par with other mid-atlantic region schools in T30 i.e. WM, WL, Fordham, GW?

Or is it a hilarious proposition to assume recruiters in the Northeast will be interested in a UIUC grad, and, in reality, they would rather pick a BLS, SJ, Yeshiva grad???

jrod wrote:All things being equal with the economy, will top quarter of class land you a big law job -- and other impressive positions in gov, pi, and clerkships, relatively on par with other mid-atlantic region schools in T30 i.e. WM, WL, Fordham, GW?

Or is it a hilarious proposition to assume recruiters in the Northeast will be interested in a UIUC grad, and, in reality, they would rather pick a BLS, SJ, Yeshiva grad???

Yes.

Won't place well outside the midwest.

So there is no advantage to attending a t25 national school -- different region -- over a similarly priced t100 in New York City?
The rank/rep of the school really makes no difference?

jrod wrote:So there is no advantage to attending a t25 national school -- different region -- over a similarly priced t100 in New York City?
The rank/rep of the school really makes no difference?

The advantage is that it places much better in the midwest then those schools place in NYC.

Wouldn't recruiters look at the superior caliber of a school in t25 and the difficulty of maintaining a given rank theirein, and base their decisions on that as opposed to simply familiarity? Resume vs. resume, it's really just blind loyalty to the local school is what you all are saying then?

jrod wrote:Wouldn't recruiters look at the superior caliber of a school in t25 and the difficulty of maintaining a given rank theirein, and base their decisions on that as opposed to simply familiarity? Resume vs. resume, it's really just blind loyalty to the local school is what you all are saying then?

No. If you want NYC, go to Fordham, Dozo, Brooklyn, St. Johns. Most people that graduate from those schools stay in the region. That's the advantage of lower ranked schools - a large and local alumni base. Plus, it's all about the connections/who you know. You're less likely to network with someone in NYC when you're at UIUC then should you have attended Brooklyn or Newark. If you want the Midwest/Chicago, go to UIUC. That isn't to say that you can't find a job in NYC with a degree from UIUC, but your best chance of finding a job in NYC will happen if you go to school in the city.

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In the good economy, the very top of the class might be able to get NYC if they worked at it. But ITE its pretty much zero.

I don't know if firms like Sidely Austin and K&E who recruit at UIUC, would even hire your for their NYC branch. I doubt it.

But UIUC places well in Chicago.

If its UIUC vs Fordham. Go to Forham. If its UIUC vs BLS, SJ, Yeshiva, got to UIUC, but get ready to live in Chicago.

Desert Fox wrote:But UIUC places well in Chicago.

LOL.. That's a good one.

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jrod wrote:So there is no advantage to attending a t25 national school -- different region -- over a similarly priced t100 in New York City?
The rank/rep of the school really makes no difference?

Psst, Chicago.

D Brooks wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:In the good economy, the very top of the class might be able to get NYC if they worked at it. But ITE its pretty much zero.

I don't know if firms like Sidely Austin and K&E who recruit at UIUC, would even hire your for their NYC branch. I doubt it.

But UIUC places well in Chicago.

If its UIUC vs Fordham. Go to Forham. If its UIUC vs BLS, SJ, Yeshiva, got to UIUC, but get ready to live in Chicago.

Pulling numbers out of your a** FTL.

The only number in my post was a "pretty much zero."

You are just pissed they dinged you.

XxSpyKEx wrote:

Desert Fox wrote:But UIUC places well in Chicago.

LOL.. That's a good one.

Well for a T17-50 school.

Illinois had the best NLJ 250 placement of any of the Midwest state schools during the boom. How much of that was Chicago as opposed to NY is hard to say, but since they topped out with maybe 10 NY-centered employers at OCI, one can guess. Not that this is inherently bad - Chicago is a large legal market - but since you want New York...

Realistic for NY from Illinois is probably Top 10%, which puts you in good company with the lower T1's and decent T2's in NYC. Fordham is a helluva lot better than that for a decent job in New York.

ScaredWorkedBored wrote:Realistic for NY from Illinois is probably Top 10%, which puts you in good company with the lower T1's and decent T2's in NYC.

[Read: no chance that you'll get NY biglaw from Illinois].