Top Law Schools

Hello Everyone,

Im currently deciding where to apply this upcoming cycle. Im very interested in the DC area and afterwards doing DC BigLaw.

If I had to rank where I wanted to go it would be Georgetown (Reach), George Washington (Target), and Maryland (Safety).

My question is what are the chances to get big law at such schools? Im sure Georgetown will be easier than GW and they are all better than Maryland. For family reasons I need to stay in the area.

Is it possible to get big law out of Maryland?

Is it possible to get big law out of GW?

And I know there is almost 0 chance anybody is going to get big law

I really appreciate your time

LST has your answers. Also, retake.

If you 100% cannot leave D.C. and you are only going to law school to get BL then you really need to try to get into Georgetown with some money.

Retake.

I appreciate all your answers. I took a look at LST and it seems like in order to go to Big Law from UMaryland you have to be at the very top of your class which isn't very good odds.

Im all signed up for a September Retake!

Figure that you absolutely must go to GULC if you want biglaw at all (and you can't leave the area.) DC Biglaw or bust is a rough, rough way to go even for a T14 student well above median.

twenty wrote:Figure that you absolutely must go to GULC if you want biglaw at all (and you can't leave the area.) DC Biglaw or bust is a rough, rough way to go even for a T14 student well above median.

Gotta aim big. Hope for the best, plan for the worst

The way you "plan for the worst" is retaking the LSAT and finding yourself in a situation where you're able to attend for a fraction of what GULC is charging.

Currently at GW trying to get big law. Don't come here big law or bust.

flawschoolkid wrote:Currently at GW trying to get big law. Don't come here big law or bust.

Can you elaborate a little on this? I'm interested in GW and was curious how high up do you have to be in the class for BigLaw to be an option for you. Also how many big firms come to oci

twenty wrote:The way you "plan for the worst" is retaking the LSAT and finding yourself in a situation where you're able to attend for a fraction of what GULC is charging.

Of course! I'm all signed up for the September test and that's the eventual goal! Georgetown is my first choice. I appreciate your advice! Very new to the admission process

If you really want DC big law then you kinda need to get to the point where Georgetown is your safety school.

niplomo wrote:And I know there is almost 0 chance anybody is going to get big law

I know this is joking, but I'd still like to point out that biglaw is more likely than not at Georgetown. According to LST, they have a 41.4% large firm employment rate, and a 5.1% federal clerkship rate. That's close to 50%, and I'm sure that a big percentage of the class at Georgetown go there with no interest in biglaw.

AntipodeanPhil wrote:

niplomo wrote:And I know there is almost 0 chance anybody is going to get big law

I know this is joking, but I'd still like to point out that biglaw is more likely than not at Georgetown. According to LST, they have a 41.4% large firm employment rate, and a 5.1% federal clerkship rate. That's close to 50%, and I'm sure that a big percentage of the class at Georgetown go there with no interest in biglaw.

Do you even math?

Clearly wrote:

AntipodeanPhil wrote:

niplomo wrote:And I know there is almost 0 chance anybody is going to get big law

I know this is joking, but I'd still like to point out that biglaw is more likely than not at Georgetown. According to LST, they have a 41.4% large firm employment rate, and a 5.1% federal clerkship rate. That's close to 50%, and I'm sure that a big percentage of the class at Georgetown go there with no interest in biglaw.

Do you even math?

Lol, I was thinking the same thing. Sry antipodean, the thrust of your message is right/helpful, but this one was coming at you no matter what

igo2northwestern wrote:

Clearly wrote:

AntipodeanPhil wrote:

niplomo wrote:And I know there is almost 0 chance anybody is going to get big law

I know this is joking, but I'd still like to point out that biglaw is more likely than not at Georgetown. According to LST, they have a 41.4% large firm employment rate, and a 5.1% federal clerkship rate. That's close to 50%, and I'm sure that a big percentage of the class at Georgetown go there with no interest in biglaw.

Do you even math?

Lol, I was thinking the same thing. Sry antipodean, the thrust of your message is right/helpful, but this one was coming at you no matter what

Do you even common sense? Obviously the number of people going for biglaw is less than 100%.

AntipodeanPhil wrote:

niplomo wrote:And I know there is almost 0 chance anybody is going to get big law

I know this is joking, but I'd still like to point out that biglaw is more likely than not at Georgetown. According to LST, they have a 41.4% large firm employment rate, and a 5.1% federal clerkship rate. That's close to 50%, and I'm sure that a big percentage of the class at Georgetown go there with no interest in biglaw.

So it seems that if I have big law aspirations the place to go in the DC area would be Georgetown. Thank you!

Clearly wrote:

AntipodeanPhil wrote:

niplomo wrote:And I know there is almost 0 chance anybody is going to get big law

I know this is joking, but I'd still like to point out that biglaw is more likely than not at Georgetown. According to LST, they have a 41.4% large firm employment rate, and a 5.1% federal clerkship rate. That's close to 50%, and I'm sure that a big percentage of the class at Georgetown go there with no interest in biglaw.

Do you even math?

So it seems that if I want Big Law the place to go is Georgetown as opposed to Maryland. Can anybody provide any insight on George Washington?

niplomo wrote:So it seems that if I want Big Law the place to go is Georgetown as opposed to Maryland. Can anybody provide any insight on George Washington?

I'm not at an ideal vantage to contribute to this discussion, as I'm not a law student. But--since I have a low-end LSAT for t-14's (166) and my interest in law school stems from my interest in Big Law---I've thought about what my situation would be attending a school like WashingtonU/GW.

After Googling the names of those schools alongside the names of D.C. Big Law firms, this was my impression: At those schools, students who have a good chance of being recruited are magna or summa.

Perhaps it would be instructive to think about the difference by analogy to the difference between NYU and Fordham: If you're Coif at Fordham, you've got a shot at Skadden, but if you're at NYU then cum laude will probably do.

http://www.sidley.com/rebecca-j-johnston/

Thoughts?

csprizzle38 wrote:

niplomo wrote:So it seems that if I want Big Law the place to go is Georgetown as opposed to Maryland. Can anybody provide any insight on George Washington?

I'm not at an ideal vantage to contribute to this discussion, as I'm not a law student. But--since I have a low-end LSAT for t-14's (166) and my interest in law school stems from my interest in Big Law---I've thought about what my situation would be attending a school like WashingtonU/GW.

After Googling the names of those schools alongside the names of D.C. Big Law firms, this was my impression: At those schools, students who have a good chance of being recruited are magna or summa.

Perhaps it would be instructive to think about the difference by analogy to the difference between NYU and Fordham: If you're Coif at Fordham, you've got a shot at Skadden, but if you're at NYU then cum laude will probably do.

http://www.sidley.com/rebecca-j-johnston/

Thoughts?

I think you should retake the LSAT. If you want DC big law then attending GW/WUSTL isn't a smart idea. Those schools can be fine if they are cheap and you're fine with a more modest career outcome.

BigZuck wrote:

csprizzle38 wrote:

niplomo wrote:So it seems that if I want Big Law the place to go is Georgetown as opposed to Maryland. Can anybody provide any insight on George Washington?

I'm not at an ideal vantage to contribute to this discussion, as I'm not a law student. But--since I have a low-end LSAT for t-14's (166) and my interest in law school stems from my interest in Big Law---I've thought about what my situation would be attending a school like WashingtonU/GW.

After Googling the names of those schools alongside the names of D.C. Big Law firms, this was my impression: At those schools, students who have a good chance of being recruited are magna or summa.

Perhaps it would be instructive to think about the difference by analogy to the difference between NYU and Fordham: If you're Coif at Fordham, you've got a shot at Skadden, but if you're at NYU then cum laude will probably do.

http://www.sidley.com/rebecca-j-johnston/

Thoughts?

I think you should retake the LSAT. If you want DC big law then attending GW/WUSTL isn't a smart idea. Those schools can be fine if they are cheap and you're fine with a more modest career outcome.

Yeah, at Williams & Connolly---which is sort of like the Wachtell of D.C.---I think they have only one associate from GW, and he's... well haha... pretty credentialed.

http://www.wc.com/jweiss

Unlike for UG admissions, is no such thing as a "safety" for LS admissions. If you don't get into a school that fits your goals, you either retake and reapply or don't go to law school.

if you have biglaw aspirations to work in DC, the place to go would be Harvard or Stanford, and even then not from too far below median. [I know you were referring to staying in the DC area for school, but if you actually want to work at a large DC firm long-term that's not the way to go].

Getting a DC firm job out of the non-HYS T14 is a lot like shooting for any biglaw out of some random T1 school. Top quarter or don't waste your time.

niplomo wrote: So it seems that if I have big law aspirations the place to go in the DC area would be Georgetown. Thank you!

niplomo wrote:

flawschoolkid wrote:Currently at GW trying to get big law. Don't come here big law or bust.

Can you elaborate a little on this? I'm interested in GW and was curious how high up do you have to be in the class for BigLaw to be an option for you. Also how many big firms come to oci

Top 15% is generally a lock unless you sweat cheeseburgers. Top 33% can get it. Any lower and you're out. Plenty of firms don't recruit GW at all.

Retake.