I posted another thread a while back about going to law school and whether I wanted to jump into it the boatload of debt. Well, I’ve done quite a bit of searching and I’ve decided that it’s really the right thing to do for me.
With that said, I’m in Florida, but I’m tempted to pursue out of state schools and eventually other markets. I have the numbers to get into UF, which would give me the best opportunity for a quality job upon graduation; however, I am worried about locking myself into living in Florida for the rest of my life (I’m 24) and foregoing quite a of bit of living for the sake of “ease”. I’ve been looking at schools out west, specifically UC Davis and U of San Diego. Not top tier schools by any means, but in California nonetheless.
My big issue is debt. I could probably get some grant/scholarship money from U of San Diego, but it would still be rather expensive, at least compared to the cost of in-state tuition of a Florida school.
SO my question, hopefully for some attorneys over on the west coast: FL’s flagship school for much less debt, but locked into the south east OR a school out west, with lower employment prospects, BUT where I would enjoy living my days?
I have given this advice many, many times – go to school where you think you want to practice. That does not mean you are going to be stuck practicing in that state. But, if you are smart, you will make a lot of connections in law school. You may even do a clerkship. It is not essential, but, you do reap a good amount of benefit going to school where you plan on settling down.
Univ of Florida is ranked 23rd among public law schools and 46th overall. Those are great numbers that will be taken seriously anywhere. But, you still have to graduate high in your class. If you graduate in the top 10, you likely control your own destiny. I do not put a tremendous amount of stock in school rankings, but, many (maybe most) large firms do. There are a bazillion law schools and law students in CA. You will be a mere cog in an over-crowded market in CA.
If you qualify for in-state tuition, it’s a no brainer to go to UF. I see far too many law grads coming out with huge debt. My only advice would be to apply for admission and take a bar exam of another state (in addition to FL) shortly after graduation to open more opportunities. I am only admitted in FL and wish I would have found a state with reciprocity and taken their bar exam right after graduation. Now it has been 20+ years and I’ll never take another bar exam.
FYI, both of the foregoing responses have great advice. I can’t add much, but I will add my personal story to give you some perspective. I went to law school in St. Louis at Washington University School of Law. It was the best ranked school I got into and was close to where I wanted to practice (Chicago). I ended up practicing for only about 2 years in Chicago and then moved back to Dallas, Texas, where I was from. I practiced there for a year and then moved to Austin, Texas, where I practiced for 14 years. I’m now in Denver, CO still practicing law.
JSA’s advice to go to school where you think you want to practice is solid. The connections you make are helpful in getting a job in the area, but sometimes (often?) you might not end up practicing where you initially think you want to. UF is known nationally and can be a benefit no matter where you end up practicing law. While it might be “easier” to find a job in California or elsewhere if you don’t go to school in Florida, the savings from in-state tuition (if you qualify) are more important in my opinion. Get out with as little debt as possible. It’s a bitch to pay it back. I have friends from law school who are still paying on theirs and we’ve been out almost 20 years.
Good advice here already; I’ll add my $0.02 since I have some relevant experience in a couple respects.
First, I faced a similar dilemma when I was deciding on where to go to LS: slightly higher ranked school (ranked in the top 20 of US News rankings at the time, if that makes a difference) in Midwest where I could get in-state tuition, or take on debt to go to school in east coast city where I ultimately wanted to practice, at school that was significantly more expensive and slightly less well-ranked. Though I agree with JSA’s statement that you get a huge bump from going to school where you want to practice, I ultimately went where it was cheaper and had best ranking. Very glad I did. My degree has garnered respect and helped produce offers in every market I’ve looked at, and graduating with no debt was huge. I got an offer right out of school in the east coast city I wanted to go to in the first place, so it worked out very well for me.
Second, I lived and practiced law in the Gainesville market for 3+ years (2011-2014) and consequently worked with or adverse to many UF grads. In general, I found them to be competent, skilled lawyers whom I respect. You can get a good legal education at UF, though as JSA says (and as is true anywhere), try to place as high in your class as you can if you want serious consideration in big markets outside FL.
If training is important to you, then yes, there’s plenty of time. LS is a lot of work, but there is in reality plenty of time to train if you want to do so.
I trained approx. 15 hrs / week throughout law school and was in super shape. However, I did not have a family (or for much of the time, even a girlfriend), or a pet, or a TV, or many of the other things that consume time in life. I worked some during school, but not as much as I could have if I needed to make as much money as possible. My life was school, then training, then job, then whatever I could fit in around the edges.
Do you plan to load up on credit hours or take a rather standard load?
My n=1 experience: I did not work while attending law school. Although I put in a good amount of study time, my typical class schedule was this:
M-F: morning classes (usually from 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM on MWF and 8:30 AM - noon on T-Th). I think I had maybe 3 afternoon classes in my three years (although my last semester, I had a clinic I did that had me working for a local employment lawyer 10 hours a week in the afternoons); usually studied for a few hours after lunch and then took a break for a few hours until dinner time (usually 6:00 or 6:30). Then, hit the books again for a couple of hours in the evening and veg out until 10:30 or 11:00 PM.
On weekends, I didn’t do much studying except on Sunday evenings to get ready for class on Monday. You could say, I had plenty of time to train (if I’d been into triathlon then).
Some folks study much more than I did. I just didn’t have that kind of long-term ability until I got close to exam time. I had to have short study blocks and some recreation time in between them. It’s actually pretty conducive to training for triathlon, especially if you can arrange your schedule in such a way to give you a nice long block of time either in the morning or afternoon to get it done.
One piece of advice I got from a 3L when I started, and I think it’s served me well: Don’t torque yourself up trying to be top of the class. Try to stay relaxed and focus, and stick with the study habits that work for you. Just because you CAN spend hours upon hours studying doesn’t mean you’ll retain what you study any better than if you use shorter, but more focused study sessions. Do what works for you. Personally, I couldn’t have handled marathon studying as an everyday thing. Take breaks and get your workouts in. It’s healthier for you in the long run and may help focus your mind, too.