Minnesota Law 1L taking questions Forum

[Sammy841]

If anyone is looking to sublet their apartment this summer, I would be interested! I'm at UMichigan but will be working at a firm in Minneapolis this summer. Some type of parking and furnished preferred. Let me know!

[midwestlawstudent]

I am also looking for a place in Minneapolis--same criteria as above poster.

[Nova]

Depending on where I find summer work, I may be looking for a sublease. Ill keep in touch.

[minnbills]

I will be looking to sublease

[Sammy841]

Great- just message me some details about your apartment or message me your email address and we can chat about specifics.

[majnana]

How do Indiana-Bloomington and Notre Dame play out in the Twin Cities and surrounding markets? I have been accepted to both of those schools plus Minnesota with the exact same scholarship for each. I know that the South Bend area (where ND is situated) is dirt cheap, and since I have a spouse and kids in tow that makes a big difference. But I'm a little worried about ND's lack of a home market. I don't want to go back home (to Honolulu) to practice law, and neither do I want to come back to Texas (where I'm currently residing). I'm very interested in settling and raising my family in a secondary legal market in the midwest somewhere, like Columbus or the Twin Cities area. Minnesota looks like a great school, but I generally read on the net that Notre Dame has more portability throughout the nation and the midwest than MN. And yet, when midwest schools are discussed in this thread I don't see any mention of ND. Does it just not crack the Twin Cities because Minnesota dominates, or are there not as many ND grads staying in the midwest as I thought?

[midwestlawstudent]

Feel free to PM me regarding subleasing for the summer.

[minnbills]

How do Indiana-Bloomington and Notre Dame play out in the Twin Cities and surrounding markets? I have been accepted to both of those schools plus Minnesota with the exact same scholarship for each. I know that the South Bend area (where ND is situated) is dirt cheap, and since I have a spouse and kids in tow that makes a big difference. But I'm a little worried about ND's lack of a home market. I don't want to go back home (to Honolulu) to practice law, and neither do I want to come back to Texas (where I'm currently residing). I'm very interested in settling and raising my family in a secondary legal market in the midwest somewhere, like Columbus or the Twin Cities area. Minnesota looks like a great school, but I generally read on the net that Notre Dame has more portability throughout the nation and the midwest than MN. And yet, when midwest schools are discussed in this thread I don't see any mention of ND. Does it just not crack the Twin Cities because Minnesota dominates, or are there not as many ND grads staying in the midwest as I thought?

ND is a ways away, I just don't think it's part of this "region" so ND grads aren't coming over here to compete much. I think ND is a recognizable and strong name anywhere, but the real question will be whether you have ties to the area you're applying in.

[ph14]

Can any Minnesota law students with access to an outline/exam database please pm me?

[BelugaWhale]

Hey. I have Ni Aolian as visiting prof for Public Intl Law this year.

I know she taught at Minn. If there is a Minn student out there who took her class and would like to share an outline or old test, I will be eternally grateful.

Edit: or the above post will work as well!

[midwestlawstudent]

I am still looking for a summer sublet in Minneapolis. PM me.

[KaNa1986]

First of all thanks to everyone for doing this. As for my question, how insular is the market and MN in general? I am from the South, but have no desire to practice or live here. I know it sounds weird, I just don't fit in to the culture and really am not very happy here. I don't even like the weather as weird as it sounds I like colder weather. While NYC is my dream city I've done something about what I would do if I didn't get into a T14 or if I felt the debt was too much. I could see myself living and working in the Twin Cities. If I decided to go to UMN and made good grades would I find it difficult to get a job?

It depends on what kind of job you're talking about, but many of the 12.3% of UMN grads who go into biglaw (firms with 100+ lawyers) land here in the cities, and the majority of UMN graduates stay in-state to practice.

If you get good grades (top 25% or better, probably), you have a shot at OCI. You need reasons for wanting to stay in Minnesota, and it will help if you are upfront and clear about wanting to practice here when applying for local jobs. Liking the weather isn't enough, but there are lots of reasons to want to live in the Twin Cities. Having any family in or near Minnesota helps. Working in the Cities for your 1L summer helps. If you're married, having a spouse who lives with you and works in MN helps.

That said, if you're after a MN "biglaw" job, being in the top 25% isn't a guarantee, and neither is making Law Review. Things are okay here, but you're still looking at a 40% chance of ending up without a full-time legal job after graduation, regardless of where you're from.

What are considered to be the top firms in the Twin Cities? Other than Faegre, Dorsey, Lindquist, LSD, Oppenheimer, Fredrikson, Briggs, RKPC, and GPM, am I missing any?

[kd5]

What are considered to be the top firms in the Twin Cities? Other than Faegre, Dorsey, Lindquist, LSD, Oppenheimer, Fredrikson, Briggs, RKPC, and GPM, am I missing any?

I've heard lawyers at some of the above firms reference the "big 12" firms in the cities. You could probably add at least Merchant & Gould, Maslon, Winthrop & Weinstine, and Larkin Hoffman to that group, although when you say "top firms" the definition is going to vary.

P.S. I'm pretty sure Leonard, Street & Deinard prefers an ampersand when its name is abbreviated

[dykstaab]

Recently registered for the March ASW...Minnesota is definitely near the top of my list.

Anybody have any recommendations on apartment complexes I should check out? Heard good things about Stone Arch and was also told to avoid Grand Marc, despite its convenient location.

[Nova]

Anybody have any recommendations on apartment complexes I should check out? Heard good things about Stone Arch and was also told to avoid Grand Marc, despite its convenient location.

Kind of depends on your price range and location desires. I rented a room in a house north of dinky town last semester (which was nice and inexpensive...), but this semster I moved into grand marc. The convenience is amazing. Sure, Im over paying for the actual apartment... but Im paying for the convenience of rolling out of bed and into class. Its worth it to me, for 1L at least. Im loving not riding the bus everyday.

You could also try right across the 10th ave bridge in dinky town. Those places are less expensive and still in a great loctaion.

[dykstaab]

Sounds good. Thanks Nova!

[kansasstudent]

I know this has been discussed a little bit on here but I am just wondering if there is an area where more law students tend to live? I have heard good things about Uptown but other than that I don't really know any other areas. Living close to the law school isn't too big of a deal for me but it would be nice to not be too far away. In your guys experience is the Uptown area a good place to start to look for apartments? Thanks!

[sheriffmclawdog1208]

^Bump^

What neighborhood/complex do most law students live in?

Also, what areas of town should you avoid? In my undergrad town you can get completely ripped and stumble home with no worries, I get the feeling thats not the case in the TC.

I guess I'd rather live in a hive of undergrads than a haven for crime.

[minnbills]

Avoid Mary Holmes. It's robbery central.

[fingerscrossedxx]

Hey. I have Ni Aolian as visiting prof for Public Intl Law this year.

I know she taught at Minn. If there is a Minn student out there who took her class and would like to share an outline or old test, I will be eternally grateful.

Edit: or the above post will work as well!

Also looking for this If anyone is able to help with this I'd love a PM and would also be grateful forever!

[wwapd]

Have you heard of anyone applying for and receiving a flas or boren fellowship while they were in law school?

[Nova]

Have you heard of anyone applying for and receiving a flas or boren fellowship while they were in law school?

http://forum.thegradcafe.com/topic/3727 ... aw-school/

[wwapd]

If you could rank the top five law firms based on where the most students want to work, what would be the order? Dorsey and Whitney seems to be the biggest but Robbins, Kaplan and Cirisi seems to be the most prestigious. Do you agree?

[playhurling]

Does anyone on here happen to have any of the usual "1L Prep" books that they're looking to get rid of? I plan to read one or two this summer and would like to buy used from a local student who has benefited from them instead of just buying new from Amazon. Please PM me if you have any books that would be helpful or if you know someone who does. I have to imagine there are several students who bought these 0L summer and don't plan to pick them up again after 1L.

[minnbills]

If you could rank the top five law firms based on where the most students want to work, what would be the order? Dorsey and Whitney seems to be the biggest but Robbins, Kaplan and Cirisi seems to be the most prestigious. Do you agree?

Dorsey and Whitney is the most prestigious firm based in the twin cities. Then you have Faegre Baker Daniels, which is the biggest, and Robins which is known for its litigation practice.

Other than that you have: Lindquist and Vennum, Maslon Borman, Fredrikson and Byron, and a bunch of satellite offices of Chicago and NY firms with under 10 attorneys that don't hire recent grads.