Lawyer, Law School, BigLaw FAQ

[rob]

Originally Posted by Flambeur

^^^^ Not to restate the obvious, but when it really comes down to it - if you are a Fortune 1000 firm, you hire biglaw for real business, just like you hire big4 for audit or tax, and just like you hire real investment banks for M&A, valuation, and fairness opinions, and just like you hire the real consulting companies for serious projects, although that depends on other things. End of story.
.

I think that's true for the most part. However, my practice has, for the most part, involved closely-held businesses that typically use larger firms. I don't think all billings for all large firms just come from large, publicly held businesses. The cost structure of a large firm vs. a small firm like mine gives an enormous price advantage to a smaller firm with our overhead being so much lower. My friends at larger firms in my town, certainly not NY, tell me they have to produce almost double the amount as I do to earn the same amount as I do.

Rob

 

[bach]

quick question for you guys-

I'm a sophomore at IU Bloomington considering transferring to a "better" school. The thing is, I'm set to graduate in three years and my parents would appreciate it if they didn't have to pay for an extra year. Even though I don't really like my school, I wouldn't mind sticking around for the above reason, but not if it would significantly affect my chances of getting into a T-14 school.

Does the strength of one's undergraduate institution play an important role in law school admissions? Enough of a role to justify a year's worth of tuition?

 

[IUtoSLU]

I went to IU Bloomington and it can be a great school. If you major in Tibetan folklore, you are wasting your time. On the other hand, the business school is very good. Focus on getting good grades in a worthwhile discipline. Of course, if you are able to transfer to an ivy league school, it may be worth it.

 

[Flambeur]

your GPA and LSAT are infinitely more important than your UG institution. Yeah, there is a slight difference between your GPA in basket weaving and electrical engineering, but that's going to the extremes.

 

[zalb916]

Law schools rely extraordinarily heavily on your GPA and LSAT. I know that some schools definitely weight your GPA, depending on your undergrad. The law school formerly known as Boalt Hall actually ranked undergrad schools based upon their difficulty, with some interesting results (small liberal arts schools did very well, while your big prestigious ones fared worse). However, I'd imagine that the weight law school admission offices give one school over another is not particularly significant. It's not as if IU is a bad school. I wouldn't sweat where your undergrad degree is from. I had law school classmates who went to Harvard for undergrad and others from some seriously ****** schools.

 

[hws]

http://www.businessweek.com/managing...811_584024.htm

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by hws

http://www.businessweek.com/managing...811_584024.htm

Welcome to 2008.

 

[hws]

Originally Posted by DarkNWorn

Welcome to 2008.
or 2009?

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by hws

or 2009?

It's old news, bud.

 

[hws]

Originally Posted by DarkNWorn

It's old news, bud.
I see what you mean now I remember stories from last year, yes, people were saying that law would always be in great demand and immune, and audit firms were hiring many new staff. Now both fields I think are feeling some pain.

 

[MetroStyles]

NYBIGLAW never feels pain, small-timer morons.

 

[oman]

I have something of interest to relate. I'm an undergrad political science student at the U of Toronto, planning on going into law school. I recently applied for an internship position at a newly-opened law firm; a very interesting position, but I didn't really expect to get it, because they asked for law students, and I'm still an undergrad. I have some pretty good experience, though, and it was a genuinely interesting job so I figured why not. As expected, I didn't get the job - what surprised me was the degree to which I was beaten out. Apparently, most of the applicants that made the shortlist had actually completed their law degrees. I'm no economist, but it seems to me that if JDs and LL.Bs are applying in droves for a simple internship position, the market here on the east coast must seriously be in bad shape.

 

[AR_Six]

^Let's put it this way: articles in Toronto right now in most big firms have a sub-50% hireback rate. That means you go through law school, bust your ass to get in or around the top 10%, go through an interview gauntlet, manage to get one of the 6-7 positions they give out among roughly 800-1000 applicants, and you have a better than even chance of getting dropped after your first year.

Law school is a pretty big roll of the dice right now.

 

[oman]

well - i'd thank god that i'm only going to study law as a background for my entrepreneurial ventures, but as it turns out, entrepreneurship is an even bigger roll of the dice so i guess i'm fucked both ways

 

[theincumbent]

Originally Posted by oman

well - i'd thank god that i'm only going to study law as a background for my entrepreneurial ventures, but as it turns out, entrepreneurship is an even bigger roll of the dice so i guess i'm fucked both ways

So you are going to spend 3+ years, and $100K+, and not use the professional degree you obtain? I am struggling to find a more tactful way to say this, but that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard.

You would be far better off taking the tuition money that you will spend on law school and using that as capital for these "entrepreneurial ventures."

Law school is a bad investment in this economy. Coming from a recent grad.