Top Law Schools

anybody in this boat? do you have a hard time? how do you matchup against the local tier 1 students who dont need to "PROVE" their interest?

az21833 wrote:anybody in this boat? do you have a hard time? how do you matchup against the local tier 1 students who dont need to "PROVE" their interest?

Are you from the midwest? Why don't you go to Michigan or Northwestern.

If you are from a mid-sized midwestern city (Indy/Columbus/Minneapolis/Milwaukee/Detroit) and you go T14, you won't have to convince them that you want to come back provided you really have ties.

az21833 wrote:anybody in this boat? do you have a hard time? how do you matchup against the local tier 1 students who dont need to "PROVE" their interest?

You're not going to need to "prove" your interest, and you will certainly have a leg up on the tier 1 students. With that being said, you still need good grades for most firms. There aren't many spots at these places, so they can be pretty competitive with people trying to go back to their hometown. They will also take one or two of the tippy top from the local schools to maintain the connection there.

Didn't mean to anon. That was me.

im still a 0L. originally from a very insular mid sized ohio city and would like to return to work after law school. that being said, i enjoy school and want the best education i can get. trying to figure out if i should go sticker at mid t-14 or full ride at a IU/OSU type. i went to high school there, graduated in 2007 and have been back a lot but my resume does not mention the city at all as i did not go to college there or work there after graduating. thats the concern

Don't worry about not having the city on your resume. Assuming you get into a T14 and don't mess all your classes up, the school alone should get you in the door (in a lot of midwestern cities, at least). In an interview setting it will immediately come out that you're from the area. "Why are you interested in this firm? Where are you from? Where do you ultimately want to end up? What other firms are you looking at?". In any of those circumstances it would only be natural to explain that you're from the city and want to come back.

If you're really that worried about showing initial interest, do you still have parents there/if you were on a holiday break from law school would you go back there? If so, throw two mailing addresses on your résumé when you're applying; your law school address and your parents'. Some might think this presents a maturity/age disadvantage. I don't think so. I went straight through from undergrad and did my 1L apps this way. I did a lot of work on my job search over the holidays and I wanted to make it clear that I would be in town for any potential interviews and so I wouldn't miss any correspondence on the off chance that anyone still communicates via snail mail.

The biggest point here is that going T14 does not detrimentally affect your ability to return to a smaller Midwestern market (at least in my experience). In fact, for me, it was the way I got in. Sure, it's hard to pass up near full rides, and the lower the T14 is, the less certain the T14 benefit will be. But if you are reasonably competent, I am fairly confident that it would be more risky to go to IU/OSU and expect to work in Indy/Columbus than it would be to go to a T6 for example. End up median at IU/OSU and you might fade into the masses, lose some scholarships, and, ironically, maybe even have to leave that city to find work. Come up median at a T6, have decent interview skills, and I bet you'll have offers on the table. This has nothing to do with the actual competence of the students at each school. For the most part everyone will know what they're doing. But as a hometown person turned T14 student seeking to return to the city, you're not going to have to work nearly as hard to stand out. You already do.

I went to a T6, I haven't exactly been a superstar at law school, and I have little reason to assume that I would have done much better at state schools that typically feed my home market. But having done this and having spoken with others who have taken the same route, I can honestly say I was a little surprised that I was able to so well in my secondary market job search.

this is extremely helpful thank you so much - i know you went anon but if you dont mind sending me a PM id be really grateful. I will be hearing back from schools soon so will have more specifics to share but i really appreciate the general advice.

I'm in this boat as a 1L. I haven't been through the 2L hiring process yet, but the attorneys that I've talked to via email and at the holiday receptions over break didn't seem to raise any eyebrows at my desire to return. I also have strong ties (born and raised in the secondary market). Not really sure what mid/lower-T14 grades are competitive for these jobs (for K-JD folks), though. I saw someone above said you still need "good" grades, but I'm not sure if that typically means median, slightly above, top third, etc. I'm sure it probably varies by firm, but does anyone have any input on this? Sorry for highjacking, by the way.

Edit: didn't read one of the above posts

az21833 wrote:im still a 0L. originally from a very insular mid sized ohio city and would like to return to work after law school. that being said, i enjoy school and want the best education i can get. trying to figure out if i should go sticker at mid t-14 or full ride at a IU/OSU type. i went to high school there, graduated in 2007 and have been back a lot but my resume does not mention the city at all as i did not go to college there or work there after graduating. thats the concern

Is the "IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR 0Ls" text at the top of the legal employment forum not obvious enough? Thread moved.

To get an initial interview, perhaps add a personal section to your resume and say after your interests, "Native of Indianapolis" or something like that. If the city is Chicago, obviously don't worry about it.

Anonymous User wrote:Don't worry about not having the city on your resume. Assuming you get into a T14 and don't mess all your classes up, the school alone should get you in the door (in a lot of midwestern cities, at least).

This will depend on the market. Most (maybe all) the firms in my home state/city do not hire law students without ties. Several firms rejected me without a call-back because my resume did not show ties. Following the advice of an attorney from my state, I wrote all the firms a letter explaining that I did have ties to the state. Surprisingly, even the firms that had initially rejected me ended up offering me a call-back. Just to be safe, I would make your ties obvious, if not in your resume, then in your cover letter.

I'd be interested in knowing which city as I think that matters some for your decision...I'm at a t14 and interviewed with a number of Ohio firms at OCI, in places like Columbus, Cincinatti and Cleveland that have robust legal markets the t14 name cred is worth it, in other cities, like Dayton, Toledo, etc., it might be less important and tOSU with $$ might be a better choice for you, esp if you KNOW you want to head back to that city and have any ties at all to the legal market there.

PM me if you want.

az21833 wrote:im still a 0L. originally from a very insular mid sized ohio city and would like to return to work after law school. that being said, i enjoy school and want the best education i can get. trying to figure out if i should go sticker at mid t-14 or full ride at a IU/OSU type. i went to high school there, graduated in 2007 and have been back a lot but my resume does not mention the city at all as i did not go to college there or work there after graduating. thats the concern

I was frequently asked "where's home?" in screener interviews for Midwest firms because my undergrad, w/e, and law school are in different cities. My cell phone number and address are only for my school address/city.

To be taken seriously, you should emphasize your ties and desire in a market in cover letters. If you're K-JD, you can put your parents' address on your resume as a "permanent address," but I think that looks weird if you're older. If you haven't switched your cell phone a ton of times (like I have) and it still has a 313 or 614 or 317, etc area code, that will signal your ties as well.

If you already have good scholarships to good schools and acceptances to top schools, you can use this exact question to start networking in your hometown NOW. Reach out to attorneys at firms you're interested in, maybe those who attended the T-14 you're considering. Ask them how they were able to get back to your home market, etc.