Top Law Schools

Are unicorn goals/jobs achievable from CCN? I know the traditional line of thought is "unicorn = YSH" and vice-versa, but is the "cut-off," so to speak, really that strict? Or is it possible that some of that unicorny goodness might trickle down to the plebs at, say, University of Chicago?

I have no particular unicorn job in mind, nor is a unicorn job my goal at this point, but I'm just curious to see what people think.

Edit: What even *are* unicorn jobs?

LOOOOOOOL

Elizabeth Warren went to Rutgers-Newark and has had a string of unicorn jobs.

Jeez, these humblebrags on TLS are getting worse by the day...

Thomas Hagan, ESQ. wrote:Jeez, these humblebrags on TLS are getting worse by the day...

Serious question. Like I said, I'm not out looking for a "unicorn job," but I just read a post by someone non-ironically asking whether or not they should turn down multiple full-rides at other T13s or attend Yale at sticker because "academia" and "unicorn." There are so many folks on here who throw around the same terms, and I'm genuinely curious to see them defend/explain the concept of unicorn jobs and why they're strictly limited to the top three of YSH.

i mean... do you not know how statistics work?

pancakes3 wrote:i mean... do you not know how statistics work?

Again, so many people throw around "unicorn jobs!!" as a reason for taking sticker debt at YSH over full-rides at other T13s with comparable legal employment scores, so I don't think it's a ridiculous question to dig a little deeper and try to understand what people actually mean when they're talking about "unicorn" jobs and how they actually use that concept to justify the exceptionalism of YSH.

There's obviously not a hard cut off...you're at Chicago. Relax!

where are you finding your "legal employment scores" ?

call-me-bubbles wrote:

pancakes3 wrote:i mean... do you not know how statistics work?

Again, so many people throw around "unicorn jobs!!" as a reason for taking sticker debt at YSH over full-rides at other T13s with comparable legal employment scores, so I don't think it's a ridiculous question to dig a little deeper and try to understand what people actually mean when they're talking about "unicorn" jobs and how they actually use that concept to justify the exceptionalism of YSH.

It's not a ridiculous question and I don't know the answer to it. Just chiming in to say that you're gonna have to wade through the 20 upcoming aspie responses before you get 2 or 3 legitimate answers to your question (as per TLS norms)

call-me-bubbles wrote:Are unicorn goals/jobs achievable from CCN? I know the traditional line of thought is "unicorn = YSH" and vice-versa, but is the "cut-off," so to speak, really that strict? Or is it possible that some of that unicorny goodness might trickle down to the plebs at, say, University of Chicago?

I have no particular unicorn job in mind, nor is a unicorn job my goal at this point, but I'm just curious to see what people think.

Edit: What even *are* unicorn jobs?

I am not really sure what a unicorn job is. I have seen a lot of people suggest that the ACLU is a unicorn job and if you want there you need to go to HYS, but I know lots of CCN grads that work there or at similar prestigious impact lit organizations. School matters, but when you are already at a top school I think creating a the right resume matters more. Just using the ACLU example, if you go to a school where you can do impact litigation clinics, internships, and externships, where you can RA for professors or at institutes focused on that type of work, and where you get great grades/journal/clerkship, I cant see how you would be out of the running.

I think a lot of the difference in career outcomes between YSH and CCN is a result of self-selection. People who want to be law professors are more likely to go to Yale, but going to Chicago won't stop you if you're able to produce serious scholarship. Same goes for SCOTUS clerkships and other highly competitive jobs.

pancakes3 wrote:Elizabeth Warren went to Rutgers-Newark and has had a string of unicorn jobs.

wouldn't have been possible if she weren't american indian.

grand inquisitor wrote:

pancakes3 wrote:Elizabeth Warren went to Rutgers-Newark and has had a string of unicorn jobs.

wouldn't have been possible if she weren't american indian.

http://leiterlawschool.typepad.com/leit ... rican.html

call-me-bubbles wrote:

pancakes3 wrote:i mean... do you not know how statistics work?

Again, so many people throw around "unicorn jobs!!" as a reason for taking sticker debt at YSH over full-rides at other T13s with comparable legal employment scores, so I don't think it's a ridiculous question to dig a little deeper and try to understand what people actually mean when they're talking about "unicorn" jobs and how they actually use that concept to justify the exceptionalism of YSH.

In no particular order:

Supreme Court clerk
Supreme Court justice
POTUS
WLRK/Cravath
Elite Lit Boutique
Counsel at IB/PE/Banking (I think?); really GC/in-house at any F500

I think Chelsea Manning's ACLU lawyer went to Northeastern. Not to say that's typical but if you're worried about CCN you have better things to worry about.

1styearlateral wrote:

call-me-bubbles wrote:

pancakes3 wrote:i mean... do you not know how statistics work?

Again, so many people throw around "unicorn jobs!!" as a reason for taking sticker debt at YSH over full-rides at other T13s with comparable legal employment scores, so I don't think it's a ridiculous question to dig a little deeper and try to understand what people actually mean when they're talking about "unicorn" jobs and how they actually use that concept to justify the exceptionalism of YSH.

In no particular order:

Supreme Court clerk
Supreme Court justice
POTUS
WLRK/Cravath
Elite Lit Boutique
Counsel at IB/PE/Banking (I think?); really GC/in-house at any F500

academia, working for your favorite charity or human rights org, arguing in front of the supreme court

MediocreAtBest wrote:I think Chelsea Manning's ACLU lawyer went to Northeastern. Not to say that's typical but if you're worried about CCN you have better things to worry about.

where did chelsea manning go

Colonel_funkadunk wrote:

MediocreAtBest wrote:I think Chelsea Manning's ACLU lawyer went to Northeastern. Not to say that's typical but if you're worried about CCN you have better things to worry about.

where did chelsea manning go

Is this a setup for some punchline or something? lol

I associate unicorn gigs with PI (impact lit is the first thing that comes to mind) and also fancy govt stuff. Someone said building the right resume is possibly more important than being at the right school, and that's likely true.

Also, no one has mentioned this, but the LRAP programs at HYS encompass a wider array of employment outcomes than most other schools. It's possible some unicorn outcomes/career paths don't fit squarely in a bucket, so having an LRAP program that will cover pretty much anything is huge.

edit for clarity

Thomas Hagan, ESQ. wrote:Jeez, these humblebrags on TLS are getting worse by the day...

You should check out the lawschooladmissions subreddit. It's just people gloating about getting into GULC, and how they withdrew from 10 T50/TT schools. Then all the plebs come to congratulate him and thank him for opening a spot in those schools.

MediocreAtBest wrote:

Colonel_funkadunk wrote:

MediocreAtBest wrote:I think Chelsea Manning's ACLU lawyer went to Northeastern. Not to say that's typical but if you're worried about CCN you have better things to worry about.

where did chelsea manning go

Is this a setup for some punchline or something? lol

it definitely is.

Nacho_Verde wrote:

Thomas Hagan, ESQ. wrote:Jeez, these humblebrags on TLS are getting worse by the day...

You should check out the lawschooladmissions subreddit. It's just people gloating about getting into GULC, and how they withdrew from 10 T50/TT schools. Then all the plebs come to congratulate him and thank him for opening a spot in those schools.

and I really don't remember those types of posts last year? Maybe I'm blocking them out. Just withdrew full rides at baylor, Richmond, and Wyoming. If I could ask them to give those scholarships to you wonderful people, I would!

guybourdin wrote:

MediocreAtBest wrote:

Colonel_funkadunk wrote:

MediocreAtBest wrote:I think Chelsea Manning's ACLU lawyer went to Northeastern. Not to say that's typical but if you're worried about CCN you have better things to worry about.

where did chelsea manning go

Is this a setup for some punchline or something? lol

it definitely is.

Nacho_Verde wrote:

Thomas Hagan, ESQ. wrote:Jeez, these humblebrags on TLS are getting worse by the day...

You should check out the lawschooladmissions subreddit. It's just people gloating about getting into GULC, and how they withdrew from 10 T50/TT schools. Then all the plebs come to congratulate him and thank him for opening a spot in those schools.

and I really don't remember those types of posts last year? Maybe I'm blocking them out. Just withdrew full rides at baylor, Richmond, and Wyoming. If I could ask them to give those scholarships to you wonderful people, I would!

Wows, lol I guess SOMEONE has to happily attend those schools...

call-me-bubbles wrote:Are unicorn goals/jobs achievable from CCN? I know the traditional line of thought is "unicorn = YSH" and vice-versa, but is the "cut-off," so to speak, really that strict? Or is it possible that some of that unicorny goodness might trickle down to the plebs at, say, University of Chicago?

I have no particular unicorn job in mind, nor is a unicorn job my goal at this point, but I'm just curious to see what people think.

Edit: What even *are* unicorn jobs?

Yes.

My take is that people need some reason to justify turning down massive scholarships in order to be able to say they went to Yale or Harvard.

1styearlateral wrote:

call-me-bubbles wrote:

pancakes3 wrote:i mean... do you not know how statistics work?

Again, so many people throw around "unicorn jobs!!" as a reason for taking sticker debt at YSH over full-rides at other T13s with comparable legal employment scores, so I don't think it's a ridiculous question to dig a little deeper and try to understand what people actually mean when they're talking about "unicorn" jobs and how they actually use that concept to justify the exceptionalism of YSH.

In no particular order:

Supreme Court clerk
Supreme Court justice
POTUS
WLRK/Cravath
Elite Lit Boutique
Counsel at IB/PE/Banking (I think?); really GC/in-house at any F500

These are not unicorn jobs.