Univ. of Minn.-2L Taking Questions Forum

[kykiske]

Hi all:

I am currently a 2L at UMN Law.

I'll try my best to answer any of your questions.

[BentleyLittle]

How active are the minority affinity groups? Do you have a strong LALSA or an equivalent?

[kykiske]

We do have some minority affinity groups on campus. SALSA (South Asian Law Student Association), APALSA (Asian-Pacific American Law Students Association), BLSA (Black Law Student Association) etc.

Though to the best of my knowledge, there is not a formal LALSA student group.

[wwapd]

This might sound like a weird question but, do you feel like you go to an elite law school?

[kykiske]

I think UMN is a good school, especially if you plan to practice in Minnesota.

But I don't think it's "elite" in the sense that you can take a J.D. from UMN and you're automatically just as competitive as anyone from T-14 schools.

Also, in terms of placing students through OCI, even though the numbers have gotten slightly better this year than previous years, it of course is not as good as T14 schools.

A fair number of people in the top quartile completely struck out. I do not know who in the second quartile received OCI offers, but if top quartile folks struck out, I'd guess those in the second quartile did as well.

Yet my perspective may differ from my classmates. I know a handful of classmates who think that just because they attend UMN, they are categorically better than William Mitchell/St. Thomas/Hamline law students, and are on the same footing as T14 schools.

For clerkships, from what I've taken away from clerkship meetings, UMN does a decent job at placing students into federal district courts, state supreme court and the state appellate courts. But I do not know how well it does at placing students into US Circuit Courts.

Take my view with whatever weight you wish.

[Nova]

I'm in the second quartile and struck out at oci

Placement in non-biglaw jobs are good tho.

[kykiske]

I'm in the second quartile and struck out at oci

Placement in non-biglaw jobs are good tho.

Got it.

Yeah, I don't know the exact placement into the small to mid-size law firms in the Twin Cities.

I don't know about your experience, I know a lot of people who do not have any 2L employment yet.

And some apparently haven't even applied or looked since OCI.

[Nova]

And some apparently haven't even applied or looked since OCI.

Ill be spamming every attorney in the cities from XMAS to MLK

[Baby_Got_Feuerbach]

Is it difficult for someone to stick in the Twin Cities after school? As opposed to relocating to a rural, remote community for employment (not by choice).

[jbagelboy]

Dorsey has a 1L "Diversity" Summer Associate position in Minneapolis (its on our career services for 1Ls and other sites). It appears to be the only 1L SA they offer..

Do you know of any caucasian applicants that have ever received any offer through this (at UMN or otherwise?) It may sound like an asinine question, but the application itself doesnt mention a race or ethnicity requirement - its only diversity in the title. My first assumption would be this is only to attract URMs, but there are other forms of diversity (geographic, religious, sexual preference, other unique qualities) and I would apply if it was even remotely possible.

Thanks!

[kykiske]

To babygot:

I do not have hard statistical evidence on where people land post-law school. But with the anecdotal evidence I see, most people either (1) stay in the Twin Cities area (which includes the immediate surrounding suburbs), (2) go to another big market (Chi/NY/DC) or (3) go back to where their family is.

To jbagel:

To be frank, last year the vast majority of those that received 1L SAs were URMs. I think one non-URM received a 1L SA. But that was definitely the exception.

If you are a URM, have decent grades (top ~25%), and have good interpersonal skills, you'll probably land at least some interviews.

Though, even then, it was still highly competitive. I'm assuming those that landed 1L SAs with the top firms in the state had even better credentials.

I cannot comment on Dorsey's 1L SA program. Though I can't think at the top of my head if any 1L from last year from the UMN received a position with them. UMN placed URM 1Ls pretty decently last year into Twin Cities firms, but I don't know if Dorsey was one of them.

[minnbills]

I know the UMNer who got the Dorsey URM 1L SA.

If you go to a T14 school or are patent bar eligible you are probably a shoe-in for a 1L SA. If you are a URM you have a strong shot. Firms really struggle to hire diverse candidates here and there just aren't many URMs at UMN.

I can only think of a handful of people who have biglaw jobs for next summer, though I actively avoid talking about jobs with my classmates at this point.

FWIW, at the last meeting of one of my classes, the professor asked the 3Ls who had jobs lined up and approximately 1/2 put their hands up. Obviously not scientific but I was surprised it was that many.

[BentleyLittle]

And some apparently haven't even applied or looked since OCI.

Ill be spamming every attorney in the cities from XMAS to MLK

Nova, if you don't mind, did you get a 1L SA assuming you were gunning for biglaq? How has your MN experience been as an MA?

[Nova]

Nova, if you don't mind, did you get a 1L SA assuming you were gunning for biglaq? How has your MN experience been as an MA?

I didn't get one. Some of my friends did tho, and they all got asked back to summer after 2L.

The Hispanic Bar association here is very active and welcoming. Beyond that, I don't think my experience has been affected by my ethnicity or appearance.

[Jchance]

For clerkships, from what I've taken away from clerkship meetings, UMN does a decent job at placing students into federal district courts, state supreme court and the state appellate courts. But I do not know how well it does at placing students into US Circuit Courts.

True for state clerkships but not true for federal clerkship. Only top 10% (+LR?) are competitive for federal clerkship although I know 1 person who was in top 25%+LR and got a federal district clerkship.