HangingAround wrote:bookofblue wrote:gator_guy93 wrote:bookofblue wrote:Hey y'all, congratulations on being a Tar Heel! I am happy to answer any questions you might have about 1L life in Chapel Hill - I transferred after my first year at UNC law, but not because I didn't love it (quite the opposite). I'm sure I'm one of many people with some institutional loyalty to Chapel Hill willing to help y'all out, but if my perspective can help I will surely offer my input
Hey thanks for answering questions. May I ask why you transferred? I am assuming you just had great 1L grades and transferred up to a higher ranked school?
Yes, that is correct. It was a complicated decision for me, largely because I loved Chapel Hill. But having the experience of seeing the "higher ranked" school for myself, I could not have asked for a better 1L education. UNC Law professors teach the law in its most practical sense, while many of the high brow institutions allow their professors lots of room (far too much in my opinion) to talk policy, even in black letter classes where knowing the law is actually critical. Coming from UNC, I noticed I retained far more civil procedure and basic contract and property law than some of my peers at my new school, because professors at UNC actually take their roles as educators seriously rather than prioritizing the academy.
I go back in forth on the transfer decision, but I think it was ultimately right for me. I don't think it is right for everyone, especially if you want to stay in NC or even the southeast (that includes Atlanta). If you are in the top 20 at UNC Law, you can have the pick of the biglaw litter. Not only that, but professors and administrators will go to bat for you if you ask (that goes the same for all students, above median or not). I still have good relationships with my UNC professors, largely because they are nice genuine people who care about students. Can't say the same for other schools having had two different experiences already.
One negative thing about UNC is the course selection for business / transactional related subjects. Besides BA and SecReg, there are no corporate law related courses. Not only that, but cross-regs with Kenan-Flagler is damn near impossible if you are not a joint degree student. Taking classes at Duke is something to consider early if you want to pursue that kind of stuff.
Doesn't seem that light on business subjects, as I guess no school could afford to be with it being the basis for most the jobs. There are a ton listed as upper level courses on the law site, though I imagine a good number of them are offered rarely. On connect carolina for courses being offered in the fall there are courses for business associations (like you mentioned), bankruptcy, secured transactions (perhaps that is the Securities regulation that you mentioned), international business transactions, banking law, nonprofit law, a health/finance class, and construction law (sure why not, it's all business). I know you mentioned courses specifically but then for more corporate experience there is the Community Development clinic doing corporate/transactional work for nonprofits development orgs, the Center for Banking and Finance, and the NC Banking Institute Journal.
A few things:
(1) bankruptcy, secured transactions, banking law, nonprofit orgs, health/finance, and construction law are not your typical "corporate" subjects that are practiced in biglaw. Bankruptcy is very focused on commercial (i.e. individual Ch. 7 and 13) matters, not Ch. 11 corporate (though there may be a class taught by an adjunct). Secured transactions is heavily commercial based, though is important conceptually for larger corporate matters. The final three are regulatory or litigation focused. IBT you are right - overstated my point.
(2) Banking law is pretty specific. It is more corporate related, but not in the since of biglaw practices. Again, highly regulatory, not transactional.
(3) The banking journal, and Lisa Broome, are fantastic. Given Charlotte as a large merchant banking hub, the focus there could be highly beneficial if you like it. But it is NOT investment banking focused. Very much focused on depository institutions.
(4) The community dev. clinic is great, but nonprofit focused. If you want to do transactional biglaw, it is not the same, though might be helpful.
The context here is that UNC places really well in NC, which means its focused on more middle market subjects that most UNC grads go into. Word on the street is the new Dean is trying to change that and expand the curriculum to more M&A / biglaw-centric transactional stuff, so this could change.