Chicago vs. LA legal job market Forum

[sbuzz]

I am trying to decide between attending a regional school in LA or a regional school in Chicago. The one in Chicago is ranked significantly higher in the US Rankings (but still a regional school). I've been trying to find out which area has a better legal job market, but haven't had a whole lot of luck. I was hoping someone with actual knowledge on the subject could provide some insight on this. Much appreciated!

[alabamabound]

I lived in LA before law school where I worked as a paralegal and am currently a 2L in Chicago. My sense is neither market is great right now (none are) but Chicago is maybe a bit better at the moment. That probably shouldn't be driving your decision on schools though, even assuming it's accurate in the most general sense.

[BearsGrl]

Both law school graduates that I know that graduated from non-Chicago based schools, but schools within the Midwest are compliance associates. I know the one individual had a solid financial-based resume. Assume this type of work and be grateful for anything above it.

[bdole2]

where are you from?

[sbuzz]

I am from New York (originally Westchester County, but Buffalo now).

Alabamabound - do you mind if I ask what school you attend in Chicago?

[twenty]

Knowing basically nothing about your ties or the actual schools you're applying to (rankings after the t20 don't really matter too much...), the Chicago market has to be better than the LA market, because LA is absolutely god-awful.

Again, I have no idea what your situation entails, but have you considered law school in NY instead?

[alabamabound]

I am from New York (originally Westchester County, but Buffalo now).

Alabamabound - do you mind if I ask what school you attend in Chicago?

NU.

[sbuzz]

I did consider law school in New York, but have decided against it for a few reasons--the legal market in NYC (if I stayed in New York, I would want to be there) seems overwhelmed with graduates from NYU, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, etc. I realize all major urban markets pretty much share this, but New York seemed to be the worst of the three cities I was considering. The cost of living and high tuition at the schools I was admitted to doesn't seem to be worth the debt when compared with job prospects. None of the schools I applied to/was admitted to offer in-state reduced tuition, so that is not a factor.

twentypercentmore--Do you work/go to law school in LA or do you know people who do?

[bk1]

I did consider law school in New York, but have decided against it for a few reasons--the legal market in NYC (if I stayed in New York, I would want to be there) seems overwhelmed with graduates from NYU, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, etc. I realize all major urban markets pretty much share this, but New York seemed to be the worst of the three cities I was considering. The cost of living and high tuition at the schools I was admitted to doesn't seem to be worth the debt when compared with job prospects. None of the schools I applied to/was admitted to offer in-state reduced tuition, so that is not a factor.

twentypercentmore--Do you work/go to law school in LA or do you know people who do?

NYC's legal market is also a lot larger than any other legal market in the country.

Are you from LA or Chicago? If so I'd just pick that place since if you're going to risk going to a low ranked school it makes no sense to move across the country to take that gamble.

[alabamabound]

I did consider law school in New York, but have decided against it for a few reasons--the legal market in NYC (if I stayed in New York, I would want to be there) seems overwhelmed with graduates from NYU, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, etc. I realize all major urban markets pretty much share this, but New York seemed to be the worst of the three cities I was considering. The cost of living and high tuition at the schools I was admitted to doesn't seem to be worth the debt when compared with job prospects. None of the schools I applied to/was admitted to offer in-state reduced tuition, so that is not a factor.

twentypercentmore--Do you work/go to law school in LA or do you know people who do?

If you're agnostic about where you spend the next 3 years (or your law career, for that matter), an NYC-feeder school is probably the correct call over any similarly-ranked Chicago-feeder school. CA is a somewhat more complex picture given that it's at least 2 markets: NorCal and SoCal.

[Danteshek]

The LA "market", if you can even call it that, is absolute shit.

-Loyola 3L about to move out of state

[twenty]

twentypercentmore--Do you work/go to law school in LA or do you know people who do?

Lot of it is hearsay and anecdotal. I mean, I could tell you I have friends at UCLA Law and Pepperdine that are in the top half/third of their classes that can't get jobs in California in male prostitution, let alone BigLaw.

That's obviously not sufficient evidence to convince you, nor should it be. The overwhelmingly large number of TLSers that go "lol LA law?", should give you considerable pause, however.

[sbuzz]

Thank you to everyone for your honest and helpful input.

Danteshek, I have read many of your comments on several other of these blogs and you seem to be someone who knows what they're talking about. Do you mind if I ask where you're considering moving? Would you suggest going to a school offering less money in Chicago or NYC over a school in California then? Obviously I'll end up with more debt, but if job prospects are better it would seem to be the most logical choice.

[Mr. Somebody]

What about getting LA law from a lower-T14 (non-Boalt) if you have strong ties? Still need tip-top grades?

[Danteshek]

Thank you to everyone for your honest and helpful input.

Danteshek, I have read many of your comments on several other of these blogs and you seem to be someone who knows what they're talking about. Do you mind if I ask where you're considering moving? Would you suggest going to a school offering less money in Chicago or NYC over a school in California then? Obviously I'll end up with more debt, but if job prospects are better it would seem to be the most logical choice.

I'll be in DC next year but most likely I'll end up in NJ or NY. I'm happy to go into more detail off line.