I want to work in Florida, but the saturated market combined with the lower ranked schools and low mobility of those schools scares me. Is there any options outside of the state for law school that would give me a good chance of working in Florida or in that state if I cannot find a job there?
T14 or Vandy or UF / FSU
I have gotten into UF & FSU (no word on money). Waitlisted at UVa. And have not heard from Vandy
Tagged, because this is relevant to my interests. I was born and raised in the northeast, grad school in New Mexico. BUT, my wife’s entire family lives in South Florida, and she is much closer to her family than I am mine (additionally, any place I have “ties” to doesn’t have a legal market to speak of). I’m trying to figure out where to go to school as well. One of the Florida schools would make sense, I guess, but I’m in at most of the T14 with significant money at a few, so I didn’t think it would be smart to forego those opportunities, despite being sure I want to work in Florida.
There seem to be a good number of Florida residents at Duke. Many Floridians who want to head back home, but who want T14 with HYS out of reach choose between Duke and UVA.
The Florida firm I’ll be at this summer is half UF, half T-14.
I would say about 5% of my section at UF went to Duke. I guess it goes both ways.
Vandy/Emory are decent options for Florida, and the T14s obviously, particularly UVA and Duke.
How much debt do people think is acceptable at Florida?
I would say ~$70k but some people might say less
UF/FSU being in-state are fine choices and can help you anywhere in the state w/“acceptable” debt. Outside of FL, its as most people have stated Vandy/Duke/T14 . I have seen alot of Emory alums on “big” law firms websites, but def more Vandy/Duke/T14. Hell i think i’ve seen more ND alums than Emory.
Most UF grads I know say less.
70k is pushing it for UF. From UF, I wouldn’t take on more debt than I would be comfortable paying back on whatever job I could find in a non-legal field, because tons of UF law graduates these days don’t find legal work at all. I would put this number at about 40k personally, but it would vary.
From UF and FSU, the top 10% or so have a very good chance at FL biglaw, and the top third or so has a very good chance at some decent legal work in Florida, although at much lower pay than biglaw. The rest will mostly end up in shitlaw or a non-legal job, if any.
Vandy gives you a much better chance at FL, although by no means a lock. T14 will give you an even better chance, with perhaps Duke and UVA being best chances other than HYS. But FL legal work is never a lock, from anywhere. The great thing about these top schools is that if you can’t find FL legal work, you’ll have a much better chance of finding work in a different market. The same can’t be said about the FL schools.
This is exactly why I’m not looking at going to school in Florida even though I’d be happy staying here. And I agree, ~$40k is a good target for UF/FSU, especially since a 165+ gives you a decent chance at landing great scholarship money from both schools.
Like everyone is saying, Vandy/Duke/UVA give you best shot at the very few FL big firm jobs (including placed with 100 odd attys like Lowndes or Trenam or Bilzin).
But if you don’t get those it will be hard to network when you’re away.
Just something to keep in mind.
There are so few big firm jobs, and outside of OCI to get those jobs, the advantage of going to a brand name school rapidly diminishes.
Less.
Would UVa/Vandy sticker be better than 40K debt from UF/FSU?
I guess it depends on your definition of “better.”
I wouldn’t debt finance sticker for Vandy or UVA
alright thanks guys