The hype of big law? Forum

[antiworldly]

Believe it or not, there are also some people that have an interest in what big firms do.

I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would.

Big law is a great career choice for some people, and I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it. The problem is some people don't actually think about other options/what will work for them and just go big law by default because of the salary. These people tend to be squeaky wheels and thus the reputation that big law gets for being a miserable place. I see this phenomenon a lot with pre-meds, they've wanted to be a doc since 5, mom and dad are docs, therefore they need to be a doctor, even though they hate science. They never stopped and considered if being a doctor will actually get them what they want out of life. I think it's good advice all around, but especially to KJD's to step back and figure out what in life will balance your happiness with your financial wellbeing and make decisions that will lead you to that balance. Therefore, if you want to be a small town lawyer in northern VT, don't pay sticker at GULC because that path won't let you achieve the career you want, you'll be pushed into big law by default to pay off the loans and be miserable.

TLDR: Think about what you want coming out of law school before going in.

[r6_philly]

I'm very certain my biglaw exp will make me a better solo if I decide to do it. It also opens up some practice areas where there are less competition and profitable as a small firm. For example, biglaw IP litigators and securities litigators can leave to practice on the plaintiff side and be quite a bit ahead in the field. We see it now from the D side: former biglaw attys are usually much better adversaries.

[Hopefully2012]

Money and exit options. I've heard of headhunters calling first-year associates within a couple weeks of their joining a top biglaw firm.

[Sinatra]

don't pay sticker at GULC because that path won't let you achieve the career you want, you'll be pushed into big law by default to pay off the loans and be miserable.

Woah, I didn't know gulc still got kids into biglaw. Thanks for the info!

[nealric]

Money and exit options. I've heard of headhunters calling first-year associates within a couple weeks of their joining a top biglaw firm.

Headhunters are a semi-scam in Biglaw (at least at the associate level). They literally just go down lists calling every attorney on the website. I did get calls within weeks of starting at my firm, but this was in the depths of the recession, and I doubt I would have had an easy time lateralling at that point. They were just looking for any biglaw resume they could get to push. When I eventually did lateral a few years later, I found networking to be far more effective than recruiters.

But it's true that exit options are far better. It's amazing how much credibility you get (even as a know-nothing baby lawyer) just for being associated with a big firm. I know networking is an overused and cliche advice for job hunting, but it's much more effective once you've been in big law because you know a lot more people in positions of power than you would have otherwise.

[CaptainJapan]

Woah, I didn't know gulc still got kids into biglaw. Thanks for the info!

The snobbery towards GULC on TLS seems so absurd. I get it, they don't place in big law like top 10s...but why do people on this forum treat it like Appalachian School of Law?

-Bored 0L recently admitted to GULC

[nealric]

Woah, I didn't know gulc still got kids into biglaw. Thanks for the info!

The snobbery towards GULC on TLS seems so absurd. I get it, they don't place in big law like top 10s...but why do people on this forum treat it like Appalachian School of Law?

-Bored 0L recently admitted to GULC

It's very good school relative to most out there, but it does have an inflated reputation in the public eye. Various posters have made it their mission to correct this inflated image by going overboard on the negative side (especially posters who attend/attended schools ranked slightly above or below it).

-GULC alum

[sublime]

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[nealric]

They also have a rep for being cheap on the $ compared to peer/better schools.


And their class size is way to big. (Diploma mill?)


And calling themselves a "Law Center" is mildly annoying.

And DC is a slaughterhouse for hiring.

They are indeed stingy on money. But I guess they can get away with it- they still attract a lot of applicants. I agree the class size should be reduced, they could get their numbers (applicant and employment) into mid T14 levels pretty quick if they cut class size by 25%.

They use the term "law center" because it's a separate campus from the main university.

DC is a slaughterhouse for biglaw hiring, but most biglaw oriented people from GULC were mostly interviewing NYC. The DC oriented people tended to be going for government jobs.

[sublime]

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