Top Law Schools

Searching the forums, the consensus on TLS is that Baylor is extrememly competitive and cut throat. However, looking at LST, Baylor only placed 7% of it's students into big law. Do any former students, or TLSers know why Baylor doesn't place well, and also their ranking isn't in the T-50.

If you want TX biglaw go to UT. That's just not what Baylor does.

If you want to be a small firm litigator and they give you a big scholarship, knock yourself out.

i think you've got the causal chain reversed. instead of cutthroat --> good placement, the reality is more like bad placement --> cutthroat environment. when there's less employment to go around, it's more worthwhile for the people to undermine competition. when there's more employment to go around, it's mostly a waste of time to do anything but make yourself better at law school.

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MistakenGenius wrote:Honestly, I hesitate to say there's ever a reason to go to Baylor Law. The entire school seems to exist for the sole purpose of screwing their students over. I wouldn't be confident in getting an SA even if you are in the top 5%, because a significant number of the 7% hired are going to have ties that let them snag jobs outside of the normal hiring period. Maybe if you A.) Get a full ride, B.) Only want to do solo practice, with no aspirations of ever doing anything else, and C.) are independently wealthy, the decision to attend baylor could be defensible. However, for anyone else, there are at least like 5 other law schools in Texas where you have more of a chance.

I agree w/ most of your post but the bolds are overstatements.

Houston and SMU can be defensible in some situations but Baylor is solidly in the conversation with those two or is close behind; every other school in Texas is TTT, employment wise.

They're not trying to place anyone in biglaw, but they still have almost a 70 employment score and give at least average scholarship awards. It's not horrible if you want to be a small firm litigator in Texas, have $$, and are willing to hustle for a job.

I didn't realize Baylor had Moot Court scheduled in a way that their students can't do an associate position for a summer.

I thought the whole purpose of law school was big law. I can't imagine anyone saying with a straight face that their going to take out 160K+ in loans to do public interest/family law. You'd have to be really bad at math to come to that conclusion.

The real "competition" starts before you enter law school i.e. GPA + LSAT. The shenanigans in law school are meaningless, and I'd bet most t14 students are working harder/smarter than most Baylor students.

Welcome to TLS

withoutapaddle wrote:I didn't realize Baylor had Moot Court scheduled in a way that their students can't do an associate position for a summer.

There are a number of things that don't make sense. Like why do they work so hard to stress their fake trial ad experience, but then have no clinics whatsoever? And why is it LR or bust if you want a journal? And WTF is up with the quarter system? This is Texas, dammit!

I'm looking forward to some solid bleeding heart butthurt ITT.

Given that it doesn't really have a market to place into plus the whole Hell thing I can't think of very many defensible reasons to attend Baylor. People always say solos or whatever but I'm of the opinion that that is very rarely a defensible aspiration right out of law school. I guess maybe small firms in Northeast Texas or something? But the amount of people who aspire to small firm work in East TX and can go to Baylor for super cheap and would prefer that type of environment has got to be a very small group IMO.

I don't think Baylor is ever really defensible. There are schools closer to markets that have actual jobs, and it's a horrible experience. I don't think they're anywhere close to UH/SMU which are fine options for people with modest career goals IMO.

If you want to solo straight out, then going to a more name brand school is arguably more worthwhile than enduring Baylor's nonsense.

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Agree with all this. You have to do ridiculously well at Baylor for Biglaw to be an option. UT, UH, and SMU grads will all have better shots.

Also worth noting that the secret about the TX market is pretty much out at this point. I go to UChicago and there are a number of people in my class who have little/no ties to TX but are still really gunning for biglaw here. It's just tough for someone from BU to distinguish themselves against all the in-state competition plus random T14 people who want to work here.

The location doesn't help, in my opinion.

BigZuck wrote:I'm looking forward to some solid bleeding heart butthurt ITT.

Given that it doesn't really have a market to place into plus the whole Hell thing I can't think of very many defensible reasons to attend Baylor. People always say solos or whatever but I'm of the opinion that that is very rarely a defensible aspiration right out of law school. I guess maybe small firms in Northeast Texas or something? But the amount of people who aspire to small firm work in East TX and can go to Baylor for super cheap and would prefer that type of environment has got to be a very small group IMO.

I don't think Baylor is ever really defensible. There are schools closer to markets that have actual jobs, and it's a horrible experience. I don't think they're anywhere close to UH/SMU which are fine options for people with modest career goals IMO.

I'd say that most of those are there as a result rather than as a desire. Baylor definitely seemed to dominate in the small firms in that area, but many of the younger attorneys I knew there from Baylor were only there because it got them some legal job, most it was not what they were seeking.

MistakenGenius wrote:Waco

And remember: Only go to Baylor IF: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 1&t=224879

That 70% rate ain't bad though

should-i-do-it wrote:That 70% rate ain't bad though

this is a forum for law students to answer questions. If you're not asking questions gtfo.

McAvoy wrote:

should-i-do-it wrote:That 70% rate ain't bad though

this is a forum for law students to answer questions. If you're not asking questions gtfo.

Lolz why so mad bro?

should-i-do-it wrote:

McAvoy wrote:

should-i-do-it wrote:That 70% rate ain't bad though

this is a forum for law students to answer questions. If you're not asking questions gtfo.

Lolz why so mad bro?

1L

Attax wrote:

should-i-do-it wrote:

McAvoy wrote:

should-i-do-it wrote:That 70% rate ain't bad though

this is a forum for law students to answer questions. If you're not asking questions gtfo.

Lolz why so mad bro?

1L

Nah, SIDI is the worst poster on this site and is a legitimately bad person.

You say SIDI my mind goes to

Really the only thing differentiating SMU from Baylor from UH is location. SMU would have Baylor’s biglaw statistics if not for Dallas. Look at any biglaw firm in Dallas and it’ll be littered with T-14 and then some SMU. Name another city the size of Dallas that only has 1 accredited law school.

If you’re looking beyond biglaw, geography is still a major factor. Want to go into litigation, be a public defender, or a DA? Dallas has a half-dozen state and federal courthouses within 30 minutes of campus available exclusively during the school year for SMU externs. Want experience in corporate law, I think there’s close to 20 fortune 500 companies in the Dallas area including AT&T, Exxon, Southwest, Kimberly-Clark, and TI. The only thing that compares in Waco is the breadsticks at Fazoli’s.

Don’t get me started on trying to explain to a biglaw recruiter your “contacts” to Dallas or Houston during OCI. When people say that outside of the T-14 the region you go to school in matters, it’s especially true in Texas.

Why do contacts matter?

should-i-do-it wrote:

McAvoy wrote:

should-i-do-it wrote: Nah, SIDI is the worst poster on this site and is a legitimately bad person.

[/quote]
Ha I never thought of myself as sidi, that a cool nickname, thanks broseiden!!!