The University of Texas at Austin, School of Law Forum

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TLS_user

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The University of Texas at Austin, School of Law

Post by TLS_user » Sat Oct 08, 2005 3:09 pm

Law School Programs >> Texas Law Schools

utexas.edu/law
The University of Texas at Austin, School of Law is located in Austin, TX. It appears on the Top Law Schools Rankings page.

Please "post a reply" and add any comments you have about UT Law. Many generations of prospective law students will benefit by the information you share.

aerospaceUT10

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Post by aerospaceUT10 » Wed Jul 25, 2007 3:43 pm

Anyone in Texas law?

johnyk

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Post by johnyk » Sat Jul 28, 2007 1:04 am

I was going to attend until got in off the w/l to UVA.....not a lot of fans on this forum, but I loved the school

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Katkins

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Post by Katkins » Sat Jul 28, 2007 3:20 am

There aren't many fans of most non-T14s on the board... Texas is a fine school. Congrats on UVa, though

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Grad_Student

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Post by Grad_Student » Sat Jul 28, 2007 3:23 am

I'm not going to a T14 and I'm not a fan of UT. Lots of negative things said about UT by both graduates and pre-law students who were recruited.

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Katkins

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Post by Katkins » Sat Jul 28, 2007 12:11 pm

What negative things do grads have to say?

It's funny, I thought the rumor that Texas lawyers will ask you, "Why didnt you go to UT?" if you go to a higher-ranked school was false, but I met a lawyer last week who seemed genuinely confused about why I was going to Columbia over UT. Luckily, I have a semi-plausible answer other than, "Um, it's a better school?"

hoyablue

Post by hoyablue » Sat Jul 28, 2007 12:14 pm

Luckily, I have a semi-plausible answer other than, "Um, it's a better school?"
Which is?

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Katkins

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Post by Katkins » Sat Jul 28, 2007 12:22 pm

Already spent four years there, want to try living elsewhere before I settle permanently in Texas

Hopefully that's semi-plausible. If not, oh well, it's the truth. Plus the better school thing. But that kind of goes w/o saying.

typical1L

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Post by typical1L » Sat Jul 28, 2007 12:27 pm

Can true Texans conceive that someone may want to move to a different state, even temporarily? I thought not. You should frame it as something you actually *don't* want to do, but were forced to because of family pressures or something.

About the last part, for a while I would get calls from alumni of the local law school (public, far worse than UT). They encouraged me to consider U_, saying that 'it offers great opportunities' and 'I really think you will do well in ____.' It was always tricky to straddle the line between gently rejecting these claims and being outright rude.

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Katkins

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Post by Katkins » Sat Jul 28, 2007 12:29 pm

Can true Texans conceive that someone may want to move to a different state, even temporarily? I thought not
I could just say I didn't get into UT :(

hoyablue

Post by hoyablue » Sat Jul 28, 2007 12:32 pm

They encouraged me to consider U_, saying that 'it offers great opportunities' and 'I really think you will do well in ____.' It was always tricky to straddle the line between gently rejecting these claims and being outright rude.
"Sorry, wrong number!"

typical1L

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Post by typical1L » Sat Jul 28, 2007 12:34 pm

They knew my name and were all old people :?

hoyablue

Post by hoyablue » Sat Jul 28, 2007 12:37 pm

Creepy!

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danbranum

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UT outlines

Post by danbranum » Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:21 pm

I posted all my 1L ut law outlines at:
http://www.danbranum.com

I go to UT law and picked it over many schools ranked much higher. I love it and havn't regretted it yet. I think if you want to work in Oklahoma, Texas, etc then UT law is about as good as you get, but if you want to work east coast or west coast, then go those directions and don't look back. It just depends on what you are looking for. UT isn't perfect, but it's a nice place for the most part.

A>

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DAC

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Post by DAC » Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:10 pm

UT is my top choice of law school (at least from a realistic standpoint).

I noticed that a large proportion of its admitted students are TX residents (surprise!)... How much does being an "out-of-state applicant" hurt if your numbers are around (or slightly below) UT's medians?

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Grad_Student

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Post by Grad_Student » Wed Sep 26, 2007 11:05 pm

Being an out-of-state resident with below median numbers hurts a lot. It's a state mandate that state universities have 80% of their population be in-state.

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DAC

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Post by DAC » Thu Sep 27, 2007 12:04 am

THAT'S DISGUSTING!

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thundy84

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Post by thundy84 » Fri Oct 05, 2007 7:11 pm

It's actually 65% resident and 35% nonresident. :wink:

But yes, public law schools such as UT and UHouston must have a 65% residents to be in compliance with Texas state laws. :D

I'd actually love to go to UT, personally. The tuition's really cheap in comparison to the prospective law schools I have and it's the best law school if you want to practice in Texas (which I kind of want to do...kind of).

smarterthanbefore

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Post by smarterthanbefore » Thu Oct 11, 2007 12:21 pm

I was reading a book on getting into law school written by a Harvard law professor. She listed the top 10 schools New York's biggest law firm hires from (sorry, I don't remember the name). Harvard was number one by far (110 attorneys over the past few years), then NYU, Columbia and Fordham. The point she was trying to make was the regional preference at law firms.

Surprisingly (and this is when my post becomes relevant to this topic) Stanford and Yale were not included but Texas was.

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brokendowncar

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Post by brokendowncar » Thu Oct 11, 2007 12:37 pm

Stanford and Yale together have fewer students than Texas. Stanford has a lot of students who choose to stay on the west coast, and Yale has a lot of students who choose to go into academia/clerkships etc... Basically it is self selection away from NY biglaw, not an inability to get into it. That isn't to say that Texas is a bad school or that it doesn't have good national placement (it clearly is and does). Only that Yale and Stanford are not on the list because they have fewer students and many of their students choose not to go that route.

jimalaiyah

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Post by jimalaiyah » Fri Dec 14, 2007 5:30 pm

In most rankings that I've seen that aren't US News, dealing with quality of teaching, views of lawyers and judges, clerkship placement and other, more relevant assessments, Texas has been in the top 10, if not top 5.

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Katkins

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Post by Katkins » Fri Dec 14, 2007 6:34 pm

You can't trust Leiter.

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sailorbear2008

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Post by sailorbear2008 » Sat Dec 15, 2007 1:59 am

Isn't Leiter a UT prof?

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RVP11

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Re: The University of Texas at Austin, School of Law

Post by RVP11 » Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:21 am

I'm reviving this thread because my current love affair is with UT and I want to talk about the school.

Any rising UT 2Ls or UT alum out there? I have questions!!! :x

philo-sophia

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Re: The University of Texas at Austin, School of Law

Post by philo-sophia » Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:12 am

IMHO UT Law = Freakin' Awesome. I was going to go there before getting into Duke of the WL. Like DAC, i considered UT my top "somewhat realistic" choice at the beginning of the cycle. When i got in, i was totally thrilled (and i don't particularly want to practice in TX, though i suppose i could live with it if need be). I am coming from NYC and, having worked briefly at Cravath, i was plenty confident in UT's ability to get NYC BigLaw and even more so on the West Coast.

I went to admitted students weekend and my impression was very positive. One thing i'll say, Austin was aesthetically a bit disappointing compared to what i was expecting. I'd say it was a bit dingy and drab in places. That said, the capital is really cool, 6th street is perhaps the most entertaining strip of bars i've ever come across and UT's campus is as beautiful as you'd expect (though not as beautiful as Duke's). The law facilities themselves are what you'd probably expect from a strong state school. Most of the hallways and classrooms are, of themselves, adequate but not particularly impressive. There are, of course, highlights though...the moot court room is probably one of the few best in the country. The highlight of my visit, BY FAR, was the people i met. The faculty, the administrators and (most importantly) the other students were amazingly friendly and helpful. I found this extended beyond UT as well...everyone is Austin was incredibly open and friendly. I found myself having twenty minute conversations with complete strangers who were happy to share what they loved about Austin.

I would also say that UT has its priorities in the right place. The ASW started off with a small round table with Dean Sager. This is a great guy who knows what it takes to build a great law school. There was no talk of "oh we're getting a hyper-super-nano internet installed here...blah blah". The focus was almost entirely on new program development and recent faculty additions. I'd say the reason UT is a great law school (and will always be very well regarded nationally) is its faculty which, by all accounts, is much stronger than its ranking would suggest. When researching schools from which jobs in academia are accessible, i found Texas typically ranked above a lot of T14 schools and i think that's because if you're one of the top few students at UT, you really do have the resources of a world-class faculty at your finger tips. I think that in terms of education quality, Texas is right there with the T14 schools. I'd say the primary differentiator is that the numerical profile of their students (GPA/LSAT) is now, and will always be, lower than the T14. Aside from that, i think UT is an amazing law school and i'm definitely one of the TLS'ers who considers UT more "national" than "regional".

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