Ties required for Southern biglaw? Forum

[FutrJD16]

Hi,

I am a 0L, in the interest of full disclosure. I've been lurking on TLS for some time now and just trying to gather info. I am fully aware that a lot can change between now and when I will hopefully graduate LS but I'm hoping that some folks on here can answer my question anyway.

I am planning a move to Virginia next month and hope to matriculate (in Aug 2013) to one of the VA law schools, with my goal being UofR. Im originally from WA state and now live in AZ (go to ASU). I will be moving to Richmond with my fiancé (again, next month). His family is all in VA although they are more up in the NoVa area.

I keep reading about how ties are often necessary for biglaw jobs in the south. What exactly constitutes having "ties"? If I have lived in Richmond for 1.5 yrs before LS, attend LS in Richmond, and try to do summer work in Richmond, would that be enough "ties" to the area?

[dailygrind]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=170600

[Aberzombie1892]

If your questions is, "Will I precluded from the job market because of my ties?" the answer would be no.

If your question is, "By attending a non-UVA Virginia school offer me very strong job prospects in any given Virginia market assuming my ties would not preclude me from the market?" the answer would likely still be no.

[Tom Joad]

If you want biglaw why are you going to Richmond? VA is so saturated with high ranking schools it isn't even funny.

[nealric]

Hi,

I am a 0L, in the interest of full disclosure. I've been lurking on TLS for some time now and just trying to gather info. I am fully aware that a lot can change between now and when I will hopefully graduate LS but I'm hoping that some folks on here can answer my question anyway.

I am planning a move to Virginia next month and hope to matriculate (in Aug 2013) to one of the VA law schools, with my goal being UofR. Im originally from WA state and now live in AZ (go to ASU). I will be moving to Richmond with my fiancé (again, next month). His family is all in VA although they are more up in the NoVa area.

I keep reading about how ties are often necessary for biglaw jobs in the south. What exactly constitutes having "ties"? If I have lived in Richmond for 1.5 yrs before LS, attend LS in Richmond, and try to do summer work in Richmond, would that be enough "ties" to the area?

Odds are that you won't be getting biglaw from any VA law school besides UVA. I would be worried about ties if you were going to Harvard and hoping to work in Richmond. If you are going to Richmond and hoping for VA biglaw, the only thing to worry about is grades (they had better be top 10%).

[FutrJD16]

@ Tom Joad - my fiance is graduating from college and he is concerned about "settling down" in a career. He doesn't want to be moving every few years and so Richmond is a place that we both like and can see ourselves staying in.

@ nealric - UVA could be a possibility for me, provided I do well on the LSAT, but I don't really want to spend 3 years in Charlottesville. My UPGA is 3.89 w/ only one semester left after this one and my classes are some of the easier ones required for my major w/ profs I've taken before so I don't forsee that my uGPA will change significantly. I'm a strong standardized test-taker but then again I haven't started to study for LSAT yet so who knows if that will continue to be the case, lol! The reason I am wanting Richmond though, is because I want Richmond biglaw. I want to live in Richmond before law school, during law school, and after law school. I don't want Nova/DC biglaw (I just can't get over COL there).

I've studied the profiles of associates at some of the Richmond biglaw firms and I'm actually seeing that UofR places fairly well at them.

Thanks for the feedback and input though.

[t-ender]

@ Tom Joad - my fiance is graduating from college and he is concerned about "settling down" in a career. He doesn't want to be moving every few years and so Richmond is a place that we both like and can see ourselves staying in.

@ nealric - UVA could be a possibility for me, provided I do well on the LSAT, but I don't really want to spend 3 years in Charlottesville. My UPGA is 3.89 w/ only one semester left after this one and my classes are some of the easier ones required for my major w/ profs I've taken before so I don't forsee that my uGPA will change significantly. I'm a strong standardized test-taker but then again I haven't started to study for LSAT yet so who knows if that will continue to be the case, lol! The reason I am wanting Richmond though, is because I want Richmond biglaw. I want to live in Richmond before law school, during law school, and after law school. I don't want Nova/DC biglaw (I just can't get over COL there).

I've studied the profiles of associates at some of the Richmond biglaw firms and I'm actually seeing that UofR places fairly well at them.

Thanks for the feedback and input though.

I was in a similar situation to you except that I was already living in Richmond with my fiance and then applied to law school. I want to work in Richmond after graduating and I decided to go to UVA because the placement in Richmond is a lot better (despite the fact that there are a bunch of U of R alumni in Richmond biglaw it is not easy to get from schools other than UVA - especially considering the reduced size of associate classes). The partners I have spoken with in Richmond hold UVA in really high regard (considering many of them attended UVA) and are going to take a UVA grad over a U of R grad all things being equal. Anyways, a UVA degree is portable in case it turns out that Richmond is no longer where you and your fiance want to live. I got a small apartment up in C-ville for 1L year and then just visited Richmond on the weekends and it has worked out well so far. I really urge you to consider UVA if you want to be in Richmond!

[20130312]

Am I the only one that pictured guys in blazers with no ties when reading this thread title? Or I guess since it's the South, seer suckers?

[FutrJD16]

I was in a similar situation to you except that I was already living in Richmond with my fiance and then applied to law school. I want to work in Richmond after graduating and I decided to go to UVA because the placement in Richmond is a lot better (despite the fact that there are a bunch of U of R alumni in Richmond biglaw it is not easy to get from schools other than UVA - especially considering the reduced size of associate classes). The partners I have spoken with in Richmond hold UVA in really high regard (considering many of them attended UVA) and are going to take a UVA grad over a U of R grad all things being equal. Anyways, a UVA degree is portable in case it turns out that Richmond is no longer where you and your fiance want to live. I got a small apartment up in C-ville for 1L year and then just visited Richmond on the weekends and it has worked out well so far. I really urge you to consider UVA if you want to be in Richmond!

Thanks for the input on how you handled your situation. I really appreciate the feedback! How is C-ville? Is the drive pretty bearable? It just reminds me of a college town near where I grew up and I don't want to be stuck in a college town, while in LS, ya know? But I do see the valid points of UVA being a better school over UR. Definitely see those points, lol.

Am I the only one that pictured guys in blazers with no ties when reading this thread title? Or I guess since it's the South, seer suckers?

hahahahahahaha thanks for the A.M. laugh session you provided me with!

[Grizz]

If your questions is, "Will I precluded from the job market because of my ties?" the answer would be no.

If your question is, "By attending a non-UVA Virginia school offer me very strong job prospects in any given Virginia market assuming my ties would not preclude me from the market?" the answer would likely still be no.

This.

[abbottsbar]

I was in a similar situation to you except that I was already living in Richmond with my fiance and then applied to law school. I want to work in Richmond after graduating and I decided to go to UVA because the placement in Richmond is a lot better (despite the fact that there are a bunch of U of R alumni in Richmond biglaw it is not easy to get from schools other than UVA - especially considering the reduced size of associate classes). The partners I have spoken with in Richmond hold UVA in really high regard (considering many of them attended UVA) and are going to take a UVA grad over a U of R grad all things being equal. Anyways, a UVA degree is portable in case it turns out that Richmond is no longer where you and your fiance want to live. I got a small apartment up in C-ville for 1L year and then just visited Richmond on the weekends and it has worked out well so far. I really urge you to consider UVA if you want to be in Richmond!

Thanks for the input on how you handled your situation. I really appreciate the feedback! How is C-ville? Is the drive pretty bearable? It just reminds me of a college town near where I grew up and I don't want to be stuck in a college town, while in LS, ya know? But I do see the valid points of UVA being a better school over UR. Definitely see those points, lol.

Am I the only one that pictured guys in blazers with no ties when reading this thread title? Or I guess since it's the South, seer suckers?

hahahahahahaha thanks for the A.M. laugh session you provided me with!

To answer your question about the drive, it largely depends on what area of "Richmond" you choose to live. If you are out past the West End (Glen Allen) area, the commute would definitely be tolerable, somewhere under 60 miles and without a whole lot of traffic (I make this trip a lot, and it's usually under an hour). If you're downtown or southside (Midlothian, Chesterfield, etc...), you will not only have a longer commute, but also greatly increase your chances of hitting heavy traffic.

[abbottsbar]

@ Tom Joad - my fiance is graduating from college and he is concerned about "settling down" in a career. He doesn't want to be moving every few years and so Richmond is a place that we both like and can see ourselves staying in.

@ nealric - UVA could be a possibility for me, provided I do well on the LSAT, but I don't really want to spend 3 years in Charlottesville. My UPGA is 3.89 w/ only one semester left after this one and my classes are some of the easier ones required for my major w/ profs I've taken before so I don't forsee that my uGPA will change significantly. I'm a strong standardized test-taker but then again I haven't started to study for LSAT yet so who knows if that will continue to be the case, lol! The reason I am wanting Richmond though, is because I want Richmond biglaw. I want to live in Richmond before law school, during law school, and after law school. I don't want Nova/DC biglaw (I just can't get over COL there).

I've studied the profiles of associates at some of the Richmond biglaw firms and I'm actually seeing that UofR places fairly well at them.

Thanks for the feedback and input though.

You don't want to greatly improve your odds of BigLaw in Richmond (and with a greater degree of mobility if you decide Richmond blows) because you don't want to spend 3 years in a place you deem slightly undesirable? You'd rather pay way more for the fourth or fifth best law school in the state? You realize that you'd have to finish top 10 (like, top 10 people, not top 10%) to have a good shot at biglaw out of URichmond?

Look at the big picture. If you have UVA as an option and don't take it to go a law school in the 70s or 80s because the location is slightly more desirable, that's retarded.

While I'm not disagreeing that UVA places infinitely better nationally and better in the Richmond market, U of R does place very well in the Richmond region, without being in the top 10 in your graduating class. That said, if OP can get into UVA I would definitely suggest that he take that route.

[Gail]

Virginia is barely the south.

[03121202698008]

I've studied the profiles of associates at some of the Richmond biglaw firms and I'm actually seeing that UofR places fairly well at them.

No, just no. You cannot judge based off this. They could have had family ties, come from clerkships, etc. They could have hired the #1 person every year. That associate could have worked for a smaller firm which was swallowed up. You just can't know.

Not to mention things are very different than pre-recession. Now, a lot of UVA people are striking out of DC and resorting to in-state jobs.

[abbottsbar]

Virginia is barely the south.

Depends on where in Virginia. NoVA is it's own world.