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Hey y'all, can't find any hard data on this, so let's talk anecdotes!

Would my mechanical engineering degree plus work experience give me a shot at Cali Big Law from UCLA despite no ties, or is it a lost cause?

If possible, are we talking top 10%, 25%, etc? Thanks for the feedback!

Bump

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slack_academic wrote:I don't think ties are important if you go to either UCLA or USC. Those essentially become your ties. I can't speak to the impact of IP.

I have hear CA is fairly parochial, if you're from Northern CA and try to get a job in Southern CA they will grill you to figure out why you would want to work in a different region and vice versa. Maybe they don't do this to out of staters who want to work in the region they go to law school though?

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slack_academic wrote:

BigZuck wrote:

slack_academic wrote:I don't think ties are important if you go to either UCLA or USC. Those essentially become your ties. I can't speak to the impact of IP.

I have hear CA is fairly parochial, if you're from Northern CA and try to get a job in Southern CA they will grill you to figure out why you would want to work in a different region and vice versa. Maybe they don't do this to out of staters who want to work in the region they go to law school though?

I've heard the same, but it's worse trying to get BL in SF/SV. I think top school in the region + serious IP credentials should remove any concerns about ties, particularly if OP can honestly tell them some of the schools he/she chose UCLA over. Current students would probably know better, though.

Sounds about right, especially the part about current students answering the question. Just realized what forum this is, I will quietly duck out now...

First, don't call it Cali. People don't speak like that in California, it will be a giveaway. Second, firms are pretty interested in regional ties. Bay area ties help for SF/SV, any SoCal Tues are good for LA. OC/SD ties are best for either market. I don't know why that is. As an out of stater you won't get the boost, and will struggle to get insular markets like OC and SD and might have more difficulty getting BA.

HLS - > LA biglaw last summer (also applied/interviewed in SF). My take is that Cali biglaw hiring is sort of bizarre. You will probably do best in LA - even though your IP credentials will help out in the Bay Area, there are way more jobs in the LA area than any other market, you have credible ties to LA but not really to anywhere else in CA, and you are going to be competing against T14 kids with great credentials and/or ties for the Bay Area jobs. In my experience, LA cares a bit less about ties than does SF/SV/OC/SD, so that will probably help some too.

As a CA school educated and CA lifelong resident, I assure you the lack of ties do not matter much. You are one of millions of people who move to CA, love it, and never plan on leaving (or so you could very easily bullshit without anyone even batting an eye).

As long as you're not from Arizona and trying to move to SoCal...