University of Texas 1L Taking Questions Forum

[japes]

Awesome. Any advice for turning connects like that into a summer gig? I have a bunch of connections in the Austin non-profit community I should be keeping in touch with now, but is there anything beyond that?

[UTaylor526]

Hey guys, long time no talk!

Rising 2L willing to pitch in with any questions.

Advertising/marketing background from UT UG. Involved with IP-Law Society and Journal. Doing corporate work this summer with a major hardware manufacturer in Austin.

[japes]

Were you interested in staying in Austin for the summer, or did things just work out that way? Do a lot of students stay in town for the summer?

[keayts]

Talked to the residency office, and it's a yes. Buy a condo, get in-state tuition for years 2 & 3

i'd take it a step further and get all your bills, car registration/title, license transferred over too.

Sounds like a fun-filled day at the DMV!

All you need is a deed. At least that was the case when I established residency. Call the UT residency office (not part of the law school) for details.

You must have owned the property for 1 year before the 13th class date of the semester you're claiming residency for.

[onmytoes812]

Tag

Also, when you say "own property," do you have to live on this property? Or could you just own a random acre of land or something somewhere in Texas? (Combined w/car tags, DL, voting, bills, etc. routed to Texas)

[de5igual]

Tag

Also, when you say "own property," do you have to live on this property? Or could you just own a random acre of land or something somewhere in Texas? (Combined w/car tags, DL, voting, bills, etc. routed to Texas)

starting with the class of 2014, you'll have to actually live on the property you own for the 12 months leading up to the semester you're claiming in-state. they closed the loophole this past year for the random land purchase in west texas.

[UTaylor526]

Were you interested in staying in Austin for the summer, or did things just work out that way? Do a lot of students stay in town for the summer?

I had a year-long lease so I was focusing on Austin but open to nationwide. My girlfriend moved in with me toward the end of the semester so that was an additional reason to stay.

However, of my close classmates, I am one of a few people that have non-judicial or public interest jobs that have stayed in Austin. It seems most have gone to Dallas or Houston.

[Gailsky]

WOW SPAM LOTS OF IT AND IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES TOO

[duckmoney]

Not sure if anyone is still following this thread, but I need a sublet for the summer in Austin. PM me if you're instead.

[JazzOne]

Not sure if anyone is still following this thread, but I need a sublet for the summer in Austin. PM me if you're instead.

Do you have a room that you want to lease to someone else for the summer? Or are you looking for a room for the summer?

[duckmoney]

Not sure if anyone is still following this thread, but I need a sublet for the summer in Austin. PM me if you're instead.

Do you have a room that you want to lease to someone else for the summer? Or are you looking for a room for the summer?

Sorry, clarification: I need a room to live in in Austin this summer.

[kitkat450]

Any current students still out there for question???

[Richie Tenenbaum]

Any current students still out there for question???

Yep. Ask way.

[sarahmargie]

This is a very important question:

Do ANY Corpus Christi, TX firms come to recruit at OCI at all?

[Richie Tenenbaum]

This is a very important question:

Do ANY Corpus Christi, TX firms come to recruit at OCI at all?

Hartline Dacus Barger Dreyer LLP came to Fall OCI last year. I'm going to assume Corpus Christi is a tiny market since no firms popped up on a NALP search for Corpus Christi. Martindale will be your friend for finding firms there. Just doing a quick search on martindale I found another "bigger" firm (49 lawyers), Royston, Rayzor, Vickery & Williams, L.L.P., who has listed on their website that they do OCI usually at UT and UH.

If you want to work in Corpus Christi, realize two things: 1) biglaw isn't happening b/c the market is small firms and 2) you will have to hustle on your own to try and get a job there since no school is going to have many Corpus Christi firms coming to their OCI.

[sarahmargie]

This is a very important question:

Do ANY Corpus Christi, TX firms come to recruit at OCI at all?

Hartline Dacus Barger Dreyer LLP came to Fall OCI last year. I'm going to assume Corpus Christi is a tiny market since no firms popped up on a NALP search for Corpus Christi. Martindale will be your friend for finding firms there. Just doing a quick search on martindale I found another "bigger" firm (49 lawyers), Royston, Rayzor, Vickery & Williams, L.L.P., who has listed on their website that they do OCI usually at UT and UH.

If you want to work in Corpus Christi, realize two things: 1) biglaw isn't happening b/c the market is small firms and 2) you will have to hustle on your own to try and get a job there since no school is going to have many Corpus Christi firms coming to their OCI.

I'm going to UT either way. I just hoped a couple of Corpus Christi firms would come and that I would have an easy time getting the jobs because nobody else would want them. (This town is a shithole, but it's my shithole.) It sounds like UT has at least a couple that come to OCI. I can at least get started with that. Thank you.

Do you mind also answering what is probably a dumb question? I heard from an extremely unreliable source that UT simply doesn't do class rank except to separate top half and bottom half. That can't be true, right?

[Richie Tenenbaum]

I heard from an extremely unreliable source that UT simply doesn't do class rank except to separate top half and bottom half. That can't be true, right?

Not a dumb question. UT doesn't officially rank anyone.* The CSO does release grade reports that will let you know what the GPA is for top quarter and top half for your particular class.

*The only time rankings actually do occur are for things like Chancellors (16 students with the highest GPA for their class at the end of 2L year) and graduating honors.

[seancris]

I heard from an extremely unreliable source that UT simply doesn't do class rank except to separate top half and bottom half. That can't be true, right?

Not a dumb question. UT doesn't officially rank anyone.* The CSO does release grade reports that will let you know what the GPA is for top quarter and top half for your particular class.

*The only time rankings actually do occur are for things like Chancellors (16 students with the highest GPA for their class at the end of 2L year) and graduating honors.

What impact do you think this has on employment prospects for UT students?

[Richie Tenenbaum]

I heard from an extremely unreliable source that UT simply doesn't do class rank except to separate top half and bottom half. That can't be true, right?

Not a dumb question. UT doesn't officially rank anyone.* The CSO does release grade reports that will let you know what the GPA is for top quarter and top half for your particular class.

*The only time rankings actually do occur are for things like Chancellors (16 students with the highest GPA for their class at the end of 2L year) and graduating honors.

What impact do you think this has on employment prospects for UT students?

Not much for the Texas firms who know what the GPA means. Same for the national firms who deal with UT students a lot. They probably have a closer estimate on what your class rank is than you do. UT has high grade inflation, so your GPA without a class rank context can be helpful for applying to firms who don't see too many UT students.

[auntjulia]

Does anyone know if high level Spanish-speaking ability can be a boost with large firms in Texas, or for government jobs?

[seancris]

Does anyone know if high level Spanish-speaking ability can be a boost with large firms in Texas, or for government jobs?

And conversely, I would wonder if not being fluent in Spanish would be a problem more so than in other markets?

[Richie Tenenbaum]

Does anyone know if high level Spanish-speaking ability can be a boost with large firms in Texas, or for government jobs?

URM is of benefit for large firms in Texas. Not as sure about being fluent in Spanish. As for government jobs, I really don't know but I would imagine that it would vary. I would think being fluent in Spanish would be a huge asset to most PD's offices.

And conversely, I would wonder if not being fluent in Spanish would be a problem more so than in other markets?

From my experience, not being fluent in Spanish will not be a mark against you in trying to get a legal job in Texas.

[Jredelman15]

Looking to apply as a 1L in 2013 and have a couple of questions. I am from rural West Virginia and have a 3.39 GPA and 170 LSAT. Have average softs with a couple of hardships overcome (family and personal stuggles). Would I have a shot of getting in? UT is going to be a reach no matter what considering my GPA, however it is my dream school.

[Jredelman15]

Also what are Biglaw prospects in TX from SMU and UofH? I love the state of TX and my fiance has family there so we are looking to go back.

[theduder]

I am a rising 3L at UT Law and will be working out of town all summer. I am looking to find someone who is spending the summer is Austin and is looking to sublet a room. I live in a 3 bedroom house about 1 mile south of downtown in a great house in the 78704/Bouldin Creek neighborhood. Downtown is a 2 minute trip by car, 10-15 minute walk, and about 5-10 biking. Town Lake, the trail, and most of what makes Austin unique and great are all within a 10 minute walk. You really cannot beat this location. I live with 2 male roommate who are between 24-26, work downtown, and they occupy the two upstairs rooms. I have my own room downstairs with its own bathroom. It will be available from mid-May through August. If this sounds like something you are interested in, PM me. From there, we can get into more details.