161, 3.0, Military, 29 w/ WE Forum

[tennactitans]

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[twenty]

The bad news is, your numbers blow. You're probably out even at most T1 schools at this time. Do not go to a southern non-flagship regional; aggressive networking be damned.

The good news is, your GPA (while bad) is not unsalvageable and the GI Bill makes a huge difference.

You absolutely must retake the LSAT. A 165 will get you in the low T20 range, a 168 will get you into Georgetown with an ED, and a 170 will get you into UVA with an ED. Any of those choices will give you a really good shot at southern corporate markets.

[Ti Malice]

Nashville (and Tennessee) natives who attend(ed) Vandy have said on this site that even they would need to rank in the top third just to even have a shot at corporate law in the small and hypercompetitive Nashville market. It's exceedingly unlikely to happen from UTenn, and you should disabuse yourself immediately of the idea that anyone will give you the time of day from Belmont, regardless of how aggressively you network. That stuff only matters at the margins, if at all. Your native son status is much closer to being a prerequisite than a positive. BigLaw is nothing if not prestige-driven, and getting a job in Nashville is much, much harder than getting one in NYC (where you would still have a 0% chance with a Belmont JD).

As for your app, upward trends essentially don't matter. Connections to judges and attorneys will absolutely not matter at all. Many applicants make the mistake of thinking that letters of recommendation from judges, attorneys, and elected officials strengthen an app. Quite the contrary. To the extent recommendations matter at all, adcomms want to hear from someone who has evaluated you in an academic setting. The next best thing would be a recommendation from someone who has supervised you directly in an employment setting.

The only way to have any semblance of a chance at corporate law in Nashville is to retake the LSAT. From Vandy the odds will still be against you, so you should aim for a score good enough to get you into UVA (Duke likely wouldn't dip down that far in GPA). Northwestern would likely be your second-best possible option. If you choose not to retake, then you will need to massively revise your career goals.

[tennactitans]

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[Ti Malice]

In some kinds of work that's certainly true, but it's unfortunately not the case in BigLaw. Firms are well-insulated from this sort of string-pulling; otherwise, firms would fill up their classes with people calling in favors. With exceedingly rare exceptions, the most that connections will do (even if you're friends with a partner at a firm you want to work for) is get you a screener interview -- that is, if you have the right grades at the right school. You will get absolutely no preference in the actual hiring decision-making process. BigLaw is a business, and the partners who don't know you (and maybe even the one that does) have zero interest in subsidizing you over hiring the guy on law review at Vandy.

Do not waste three years of your life on this sort of hope.

[twenty]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. Exactly what I was expecting. As for the relationships I have with the legal and music community, I wasn't speaking to their ability to write LoR's, but rather to open some doors for interviews when the time comes. You have to agree that, at least in some cases, it's not where you went to school, but who you know that is the biggest factor in a job hunt.

Like Ti pointed out, biglaw is purposefully insulated from hiring shenanigans. If your dad is the managing partner, then that's probably a pretty safe bet. Something tells me that's not you, though.

Furthermore, your position is actually pretty solid in that with an above-3.0 GPA and the full GI Bill, studying/retaking the LSAT could do really good things for you. I'd much rather rely on UVA's historical ability to place more than 60% of its class into biglaw/A3. Plus, if that falls through, use your connections then.

[should-i-do-it]

Should retake, but U Tenn for free isn't a terrible option if that's where OP is from, forget big law though

[Ramius]

Looking for advice on schools to help me break into Nashville (hometown) corporate market. Underwhelming numbers here, but strong upward trend (3.7 - 3.8 for last 5 semesters from big state univ), and should have a strong application overall (Mil/Fed Law Enf WE, connects to local judges/attys/music industry). Obviously not a candidate for Vandy, not excited about living in Knoxville for 3-4 years, and would cut both my hands off before moving to Memphis. $ is no issue w/ GI Bill, so I'm strong on a new LS in Nashville for free right now. I see everyone shitting on them here, but growing up in Nashville and some agressive networking should get me at least a few handshakes regardless of the school I attend. Thoughts or ideas? Thanks in advance for any feedback, TLS.

What are your goals with a JD exactly?

[tennactitans]

Looking for advice on schools to help me break into Nashville (hometown) corporate market. Underwhelming numbers here, but strong upward trend (3.7 - 3.8 for last 5 semesters from big state univ), and should have a strong application overall (Mil/Fed Law Enf WE, connects to local judges/attys/music industry). Obviously not a candidate for Vandy, not excited about living in Knoxville for 3-4 years, and would cut both my hands off before moving to Memphis. $ is no issue w/ GI Bill, so I'm strong on a new LS in Nashville for free right now. I see everyone shitting on them here, but growing up in Nashville and some agressive networking should get me at least a few handshakes regardless of the school I attend. Thoughts or ideas? Thanks in advance for any feedback, TLS.

What are your goals with a JD exactly?

To work in Nashville somewhere without a low ceiling, somewhere that may provide an opportunity to integrate into the political community, and somewhere that leads to a healthy salary sooner rather than later.

[deadpanic]

Practicing TN lawyer here. I will tell you that Nashville is one of the hardest legal communities to crack from my experience. There is an overwhelming amount of lawyers and not enough jobs.

You have basically no shot at working corporate (big law) with your numbers. You likely won't get a legal job at all in Nashville. I have an attorney friend who went to UT, has experience working in a firm (different city) and he has been doing doc review in Nash for at least a year and a half or two years now.

I would rec a retake. If you must go, go to UT for free, which is not a bad deal, but you will have to be open to working in other cities and small law/gov't and realize that a high salary is not going to be something that happens anytime soon.

[tennactitans]

Practicing TN lawyer here. I will tell you that Nashville is one of the hardest legal communities to crack from my experience. There is an overwhelming amount of lawyers and not enough jobs.

You have basically no shot at working corporate (big law) with your numbers. You likely won't get a legal job at all in Nashville. I have an attorney friend who went to UT, has experience working in a firm (different city) and he has been doing doc review in Nash for at least a year and a half or two years now.

I would rec a retake. If you must go, go to UT for free, which is not a bad deal, but you will have to be open to working in other cities and small law/gov't and realize that a high salary is not going to be something that happens anytime soon.

I appreciate your time to respond, but this is a bit excessive. I know several people in situations that contradict your prediction for me. Perhaps a large firm is a long shot, but the TLS community has a poor habit of dealing in absolutes. However, I respect your experience and ability to have been able to make it into that market. If you don't mind, would you tell me a little about your background and some of the things you think helped you get where you are?