Pitt 2010 Forum

[kartal]

Can any of the Pitt Law students following here answer the below questions? Thanks in advance.

1. What is the typical section size?

2. Do you see your law school as a cut-throat (very competitive) school or not so?

3. Does the school use the Socratic method?

4. What is your favorite part about your law school?

5. Does the faculty lean more liberal or conservative? How about the student body?

6. How are the law school building and law library? I heard that the facilites are not that great compared to similar schools like Villanova, Case Western or Rutgers - Newark.

[reverendt]

Can any of the Pitt Law students following here answer the below questions? Thanks in advance.

1. What is the typical section size?

2. Do you see your law school as a cut-throat (very competitive) school or not so?

3. Does the school use the Socratic method?

4. What is your favorite part about your law school?

5. Does the faculty lean more liberal or conservative? How about the student body?

6. How are the law school building and law library? I heard that the facilites are not that great compared to similar schools like Villanova, Case Western or Rutgers - Newark.

1) Typical section is about 80-85 students. Three sections in your 1L class. Each splits into 3 small sections for legal writing.
2) Not very cut-throat at all. Very few bad attitudes, if any at all. Lots of co-operation.
3) Socratic method depends on the professor. I think that's how it is at most schools now. Very few do the hardcore socratic style seen in The Paper Chase or something, although we do have a couple of those. Still, most professors do cold-call on students and put you on the spot at least a little, especially during 1L. Some have a system that lets you figure out what day or week you will get called on, but most don't. In reality...the Socratic system is not such a big deal once you break your cherry, so to speak.
4) My favorite thing....for the most part I've been very impressed with the professors. (There are a few exceptions). My Con-law professor has argued before the US Supreme Court several times. My Contracts professor helped write the CISG....etc. These people are huge in their field, and most of them are gifted teachers as well.
5) I would say the majority of the faculty leans toward the liberal side. There are a few conservatives as well. MOST of the faculty keeps their personal leanings out of the classroom for the most part. There are exceptions. My con-law professor was a unabashed liberal, and quite outspoken about it, and that annoyed a few people (although personally it wasn't at a level where it bothered me, and I'm not a liberal.) Except for his class, I haven't heard anyone complain about politics in the classroom.
6) The building is a building. It's not fancy, but it's not falling apart either. It does what it needs to. You're gonna be staring at a book or computer screen anyway...won't be much time to soak in the aesthetics.... The same goes for the library I'd say. It's 3 floors of books and some study areas. Nobody uses the books except for local lawyers doing research (the students all have westlaw and lexisnexis accounts.) There seems to be enough seating in the study areas. They could use some newer photocopiers. In general, the building and the library aren't particularly drab, but nobody's gonna call them beautiful either. Except for the view from my favorite reading room in the library, which looks straight across to the cathedral of learning...that's a beautiful view.
Anyway, hope this helps.

[FunkyJD]

More questions for any 1Ls, 2Ls, or 3Ls stopping by:

1. Pittsburgh: Pros and cons. What do you like about the city, and what could you do without?

2. What's the weather like in Pittsburgh?

3. Do you see yourself remaining there upon graduation, or where else do you hope to end up? Does a Pitt JD have a legit shot at DC? Philly? Even NYC? What would it take, class rank wise, to have a shot of getting there?

4. Pittsburgh's not known as a major legal market. Did you pretty much go to Pitt with the understanding that your best bet was going to be a government job, ADA-type work, or midlaw (if such a thing exists) after graduation? Or do any of you desire biglaw and feel that that is a legit option for those who graduate top 5-10% of their class.

5. Any of you interested in corporate law? How would you critique Pitt's offerings and faculty in that area?

[Metroid SR388]

Just got my acceptance letter today! Got a nice $14,000 scholarship offer. I will most likely withdraw though, so hopefully that will go to good use for one of you all!

Best of luck to you all!

[Dr. Review]

Just got my acceptance letter today! Got a nice $14,000 scholarship offer. I will most likely withdraw though, so hopefully that will go to good use for one of you all!

Best of luck to you all!

Stats? When did you go complete?

[reverendt]

More questions for any 1Ls, 2Ls, or 3Ls stopping by:

1. Pittsburgh: Pros and cons. What do you like about the city, and what could you do without?

2. What's the weather like in Pittsburgh?

3. Do you see yourself remaining there upon graduation, or where else do you hope to end up? Does a Pitt JD have a legit shot at DC? Philly? Even NYC? What would it take, class rank wise, to have a shot of getting there?

4. Pittsburgh's not known as a major legal market. Did you pretty much go to Pitt with the understanding that your best bet was going to be a government job, ADA-type work, or midlaw (if such a thing exists) after graduation? Or do any of you desire biglaw and feel that that is a legit option for those who graduate top 5-10% of their class.

5. Any of you interested in corporate law? How would you critique Pitt's offerings and faculty in that area?

1) It's a manageable size....I'm from the NYC area, and New York is just too damn big, and too much of a fiasco. In Pittsburgh, you can use and enjoy what the city has to offer without to many hassles (and cheaply). Cost of living is low, and it's a renter's market....lots of apartments to choose from, and many different kinds of neighborhoods (dense/very urban to more spread out, almost suburban, all reasonably close to school.) The downside...getting around on mass transit can be a pain, depending on where you want to go. And the buses stop running after 1:00am or so (maybe a little later on weekends).
2) The weather....2 months of generally COLD winter, a fairly hot summer, and nice the rest of the time (warm days, cool nights).
3) I'll be staying for at least a few years, as my wife finishes her PhD. Don't know what we'll do after that. I kinda like it here...wouldn't mind settling down here, athough we always wanted to move to New England...As far as NYC....I think you'd have to target firms that have Pitt alumni. For DC, there appears to be some pretty strong ties between Pitt and DC. I know the school has an office there, and seems to be making some pretty decent in-roads in that market. If you want biglaw in those town you wanna be in the top 5% or so I would assume....although I'm hardly an authority on this....
4) There is Biglaw here....actually a surprising amount. However, they're not really hiring ITE. Maybe the top 5% of my class got some kind of 2L biglaw job. I've planned on midlaw (yes it does exist) or small-law all along. Many of those firms are hiring. I think that's what the majority of grads do. In a good economy I'd guess 10-15% go into biglaw. I think about 10% get clerkships, and we do have a decent amount of folks getting into PI and international law.
5) I'm not interested in corporate law. Those are the guys getting laid off in the last 2 years. Anyway, I had a great corp. law professor. Other people had a sucky one. You'll find this anywhere. I think the guy I had also teaches some advanced classes. I don't think there's anything special about corp. law program at Pitt.

[Metroid SR388]

LSAT: 160
GPA: 3.08
URM

Complete Jan. 11th

[kartal]

Can any of the Pitt Law students following here answer the below questions? Thanks in advance.

1. What is the typical section size?

2. Do you see your law school as a cut-throat (very competitive) school or not so?

3. Does the school use the Socratic method?

4. What is your favorite part about your law school?

5. Does the faculty lean more liberal or conservative? How about the student body?

6. How are the law school building and law library? I heard that the facilites are not that great compared to similar schools like Villanova, Case Western or Rutgers - Newark.

1) Typical section is about 80-85 students. Three sections in your 1L class. Each splits into 3 small sections for legal writing.
2) Not very cut-throat at all. Very few bad attitudes, if any at all. Lots of co-operation.
3) Socratic method depends on the professor. I think that's how it is at most schools now. Very few do the hardcore socratic style seen in The Paper Chase or something, although we do have a couple of those. Still, most professors do cold-call on students and put you on the spot at least a little, especially during 1L. Some have a system that lets you figure out what day or week you will get called on, but most don't. In reality...the Socratic system is not such a big deal once you break your cherry, so to speak.
4) My favorite thing....for the most part I've been very impressed with the professors. (There are a few exceptions). My Con-law professor has argued before the US Supreme Court several times. My Contracts professor helped write the CISG....etc. These people are huge in their field, and most of them are gifted teachers as well.
5) I would say the majority of the faculty leans toward the liberal side. There are a few conservatives as well. MOST of the faculty keeps their personal leanings out of the classroom for the most part. There are exceptions. My con-law professor was a unabashed liberal, and quite outspoken about it, and that annoyed a few people (although personally it wasn't at a level where it bothered me, and I'm not a liberal.) Except for his class, I haven't heard anyone complain about politics in the classroom.
6) The building is a building. It's not fancy, but it's not falling apart either. It does what it needs to. You're gonna be staring at a book or computer screen anyway...won't be much time to soak in the aesthetics.... The same goes for the library I'd say. It's 3 floors of books and some study areas. Nobody uses the books except for local lawyers doing research (the students all have westlaw and lexisnexis accounts.) There seems to be enough seating in the study areas. They could use some newer photocopiers. In general, the building and the library aren't particularly drab, but nobody's gonna call them beautiful either. Except for the view from my favorite reading room in the library, which looks straight across to the cathedral of learning...that's a beautiful view.
Anyway, hope this helps.

Reverendt, thanks a lot! This was very helpful.

[FunkyJD]

More questions for any 1Ls, 2Ls, or 3Ls stopping by:

1. Pittsburgh: Pros and cons. What do you like about the city, and what could you do without?

2. What's the weather like in Pittsburgh?

3. Do you see yourself remaining there upon graduation, or where else do you hope to end up? Does a Pitt JD have a legit shot at DC? Philly? Even NYC? What would it take, class rank wise, to have a shot of getting there?

4. Pittsburgh's not known as a major legal market. Did you pretty much go to Pitt with the understanding that your best bet was going to be a government job, ADA-type work, or midlaw (if such a thing exists) after graduation? Or do any of you desire biglaw and feel that that is a legit option for those who graduate top 5-10% of their class.

5. Any of you interested in corporate law? How would you critique Pitt's offerings and faculty in that area?

1) It's a manageable size....I'm from the NYC area, and New York is just too damn big, and too much of a fiasco. In Pittsburgh, you can use and enjoy what the city has to offer without to many hassles (and cheaply). Cost of living is low, and it's a renter's market....lots of apartments to choose from, and many different kinds of neighborhoods (dense/very urban to more spread out, almost suburban, all reasonably close to school.) The downside...getting around on mass transit can be a pain, depending on where you want to go. And the buses stop running after 1:00am or so (maybe a little later on weekends).
2) The weather....2 months of generally COLD winter, a fairly hot summer, and nice the rest of the time (warm days, cool nights).
3) I'll be staying for at least a few years, as my wife finishes her PhD. Don't know what we'll do after that. I kinda like it here...wouldn't mind settling down here, athough we always wanted to move to New England...As far as NYC....I think you'd have to target firms that have Pitt alumni. For DC, there appears to be some pretty strong ties between Pitt and DC. I know the school has an office there, and seems to be making some pretty decent in-roads in that market. If you want biglaw in those town you wanna be in the top 5% or so I would assume....although I'm hardly an authority on this....
4) There is Biglaw here....actually a surprising amount. However, they're not really hiring ITE. Maybe the top 5% of my class got some kind of 2L biglaw job. I've planned on midlaw (yes it does exist) or small-law all along. Many of those firms are hiring. I think that's what the majority of grads do. In a good economy I'd guess 10-15% go into biglaw. I think about 10% get clerkships, and we do have a decent amount of folks getting into PI and international law.
5) I'm not interested in corporate law. Those are the guys getting laid off in the last 2 years. Anyway, I had a great corp. law professor. Other people had a sucky one. You'll find this anywhere. I think the guy I had also teaches some advanced classes. I don't think there's anything special about corp. law program at Pitt.

Straight up one of the more helpful posts for my decision-making. I would definitely consider Pitt if admitted with cash ... have gotten nothing but positive vibes and honest advice from students so far.

[kartal]

LSAT: 160
GPA: 3.08
URM

Complete Jan. 11th

Are you PA resident?

[Metroid SR388]

LSAT: 160
GPA: 3.08
URM

Complete Jan. 11th

Are you PA resident?

Nope.

[keg411]

I've planned on midlaw (yes it does exist) or small-law all along. Many of those firms are hiring. I think that's what the majority of grads do.

That answers a question I had about Pitt. Thanks .

[Compaq1984]

FINALLY in @ PITT!

Got the "clip" today...
nice....

[Colton]

More questions for any 1Ls, 2Ls, or 3Ls stopping by:

1. Pittsburgh: Pros and cons. What do you like about the city, and what could you do without?

2. What's the weather like in Pittsburgh?

3. Do you see yourself remaining there upon graduation, or where else do you hope to end up? Does a Pitt JD have a legit shot at DC? Philly? Even NYC? What would it take, class rank wise, to have a shot of getting there?

4. Pittsburgh's not known as a major legal market. Did you pretty much go to Pitt with the understanding that your best bet was going to be a government job, ADA-type work, or midlaw (if such a thing exists) after graduation? Or do any of you desire biglaw and feel that that is a legit option for those who graduate top 5-10% of their class.

5. Any of you interested in corporate law? How would you critique Pitt's offerings and faculty in that area?

1. I had never been to Pittsburgh before coming to law school here. I like the city a lot. It's got great neighborhoods, good restaurants, good bars, a solid major concert rotation, nice museums, a nice theatre district [for the size of the city] pro sports, low cost of living, about 100K college/grad students. Cons, I guess its not NYC or DC in terms of the number of legal jobs.

2. Weather is pretty typical mid Atlantic weather. We got record snow this year, but I doubt that will be repeated.

3. I'll be working in DC this summer, one of my friends is working at the NLRB in NYC, another is going to Philly for an in house internship. They're really ramping up their DC efforts at Pitt. They just opened a new full-time office there. There is a new semester in DC internship program. They have career fairs in DC and Philly each spring. Grades matter, but everyone I know thats in the top half has something lined up for the summer. a Pitt Law degree seems to be pretty portable in the mid-atlantic, most students either came to pitt because they wanted stay in Pittsburgh after law school or they were from here and moved back to practice here. Self-selecting to stay in the Pittsburgh is very common. Its a nice city and people tend to want to stay. I will almost surely not be here after law school though. Something around 40% of the class isnt even in PA after graduation.

4. Pittsburgh isnt NYC or DC, but KL Gates is headquartered here, Jones Day, Reed Smith, etc. all have offices here. There are 11 NALP firms here and many mid sized firms, realtive to the size of the city, there's a good legal market. In a normal year, 12% +/- go into biglaw. So top 10% for sure, I would guess though, it may be as high as 20% has at least a shot, given the number of our top students that a. came in with great scholarships and b. have absolutely no interest whatsoever in working at a large firm. But, ITE who knows for sure.

5. Well, as a 1L we haven't had corp law, but there are definitely people who are heading in that direction and at the very least our contracts prof who teaches many contracts/business etc classes was incredible. I cant speak to the 2/3L course offerings though.

[bryntax]

in at pitt via snail mail today! its nice, but it was one of the schools i was considering before i got the 167 for february (161 in december). so far my top choice that ive been admitted to is W&L and i dont think even a full ride will tempt me from it.

can anyone share their experience with scholarships here?

grats to everyone accepted!

[reverendt]

5. Well, as a 1L we haven't had corp law, but there are definitely people who are heading in that direction and at the very least our contracts prof who teaches many contracts/business etc classes was incredible. I cant speak to the 2/3L course offerings though.

Just out of curiosity....who did you have for contracts?

[Colton]

5. Well, as a 1L we haven't had corp law, but there are definitely people who are heading in that direction and at the very least our contracts prof who teaches many contracts/business etc classes was incredible. I cant speak to the 2/3L course offerings though.

Just out of curiosity....who did you have for contracts?

Fletchner.

[keemos]

For those that got their snail mail acceptance today, when do you go into review?

[reverendt]

5. Well, as a 1L we haven't had corp law, but there are definitely people who are heading in that direction and at the very least our contracts prof who teaches many contracts/business etc classes was incredible. I cant speak to the 2/3L course offerings though.

Just out of curiosity....who did you have for contracts?

Fletchner.

I thought so....Fletchner's my man! Your section had the best prof's last semester from what I've heard!

[stayway]

who should i e-mail to negotiate scholarships? I'm trying to see if I can get some more $. And how should I word it?

thanks.

[keemos]

who should i e-mail to negotiate scholarships? I'm trying to see if I can get some more $. And how should I word it?

thanks.

Since you are asking both Nova and Pitt for more money I would not tell them both that they are your number one choice or that you would send in your deposit if they give you more money. That wouldn't be very ethical

[stayway]

who should i e-mail to negotiate scholarships? I'm trying to see if I can get some more $. And how should I word it?

thanks.

Since you are asking both Nova and Pitt for more money I would not tell them both that they are your number one choice or that you would send in your deposit if they give you more money. That wouldn't be very ethical

good point. yeah.

i would go to pitt because the COL is so low but the big law prospect seems a little better at Villanova...

[FunkyJD]

who should i e-mail to negotiate scholarships? I'm trying to see if I can get some more $. And how should I word it?

thanks.

Since you are asking both Nova and Pitt for more money I would not tell them both that they are your number one choice or that you would send in your deposit if they give you more money. That wouldn't be very ethical

good point. yeah.

i would go to pitt because the COL is so low but the big law prospect seems a little better at Villanova...

You're right about the biglaw prospects at Villanova, at least according to law.com ... but something to consider is, how much better are the prospects for biglaw at Villanova, and is it worth paying $x per year more for it, if it comes down to that -- especially if that $x comes in the form of debt, which will obviously accumulate interest.

I like both schools, though ... hopefully I can get into Pitt and have that issue to consider. (Or they can just offer more cash and moot the conversation. ) Seriously, my initial impression is that I personally would prefer life in Pitt over life in Philly, but your mileage may vary.

[Compaq1984]

For those that got their snail mail acceptance today, when do you go into review?

2/24

[law_lover]

I've been UR at Pitt (notice via email) since 1/24. I have no idea what is taking so long.