From reading TLS or ATL one would certainly think so. My classmates had a range of goals - a lot wanted to work in the local courts doing criminal, family law, or PI, and some had a background in real estate or a science background for patent law. I would say that the area that most of my friends who didn't get big law (or its Delaware equivalent) ended up in was insurance defense.

Crim law has always been my primary goal. The limited number of people I have socialized with have all had their own non-big law goals.

For me I'd rather just wait tables than start out on the big law career path.

I think a lot of people have a hard time conceptualizing what big law attorneys actually do, particularly on the transactional side.

I attended a breakfast seminar the other day called "How to make partner". The panelists estimated that only about 10% of the associates in the major Wilmington firms make partner. As one of my friends said to me, it's pretty surreal to think that we won't know for 7 years whether this will actually be our career.

Hey AJ, didn't you leave your old firm? How did that turn out?

In a word, awesome.

The new firm is thriving (has gone from 12 to 20 attorneys in a little over a year) and has the two things I felt I really needed as an associate: opportunities to learn my craft and mentorship to get me to the next level. My team's practice area (captive insurance) has a lot of synergies with the trust/estates group, the corporate transactional group and the litigators, so rather than having me come in and take work from the other associates, we are bringing in jobs for them. I was really stressed out about whether I would like and fit in with the culture, but everyone here is pretty cool. Instead of business lunches, the firm's preference is to have clients and prospects over for drinks after 5:00 (I work in a newly refurbished historical building with an impressive library for entertaining), so working in what people around here call the "Mad Men firm" has its additional benefits. My poker background has come in handy too. Poker math and insurance math have a lot of similarities (it's all gambling) - so I get along with the actuaries who often bring us work.

The breakup with the old firm was pretty ugly, and we had issues over client files for months. The firm laid off a few of the staff and cut some of the others' hours/pay after my team left, so there are some hard feelings to go around. Fortunately, I don't run in the same professional or social circles as anyone from the old firm, so even though Wilmington is a small town, I haven't really had to worry about awkward episdoes.

If you are taking out $200k in loans, then for many, yes.

Right out of law school, there aren't really many good paying jobs other than biglaw. There are some solid federal government jobs and then a few decent smaller firms that still pay well, but for the most part, there doesn't seem to be much between the jobs paying less than $50k and then biglaw.

This stuff in Boston is pretty messed up. Happened probably like a mile or two from my law school. Everyone I know is ok but I know a handful of people who were running, and probably 20 or so that live/work in the area or were there watching. Marathon Monday is pretty much a state holiday and a TON of people come out for this thing.

What did you end up deciding?

Nothing like a drunk, belligerent attorney to liven up an 8:00 am CLE

Anyone know much about the health/culture of the Las Vegas legal market? Thinking about relocating from the Midwest.

pretty pissed off today...

had a "mediation" an hour away...client drove from 4 hours away. Probably a 15kish case. Mediator comes in and says "well, bad news, 5k or leave it". Spends 15 minutes telling my client her case sucks, and off we went. Cost = $400.

Basically it was $400 for a dr. pepper because I had a dr. pepper

I bet your client was super excited for the drive home after that. What a joke.

Hi, have an extra credit question here, if anybody can help that would be great. Just an intro business law class I am in. Have not started this lesson yet so he gave us this question as extra credit.

A new hotel seeks to hire 100 new employees. Out of 300 applicants, 200 are black, remaining 100 are white. The hotel hires 40 of the black applicants and 60 of the white. Has the four-fifths requirement been satisfied? If so, has discrimination been proved.

No. The three fif compromise only applies for tax purposes.

I just got a letter dated 4/17 setting trial for May 6. I still have a week to answer the complaint! How on earth is this actually happening?

I took on a family law issue for a coworker (motion to modify child support by pro se ex). I filed motion to dismiss because ex's server served 9 year old son (also the affidavit of service was wrong, court clerk told them to re-file). Court clerk calls me to schedule a hearing on the motion to dismiss AND on the merits, one hearing on both.

LOL WTF.

What is so LOL WTF about that?

I can't file an answer until I get a result on the motion to dismiss because then I lose my motion to dismiss. I'm not sure I can do any discovery. In general, how am I supposed to know how to proceed if I don't have a ruling. I'm probably going to have to do all the work I would do for an answer, which means billing the client, even though the MTD might get granted. It's just odd.

The attorney I've gone to for help with this matter was like WTF I've never heard of this before. Normally they just rule on the MTD without a hearing and you go form there.

Just stumbled onto this thread!

I'm sure these questions get asked all the time on here, but would just like to here what you guys have to say:

I've been admitted to three schools, all ranked between 30-60 ish. My options are:

1. Sticker price at William and Mary

2. Half price at Case Western Reserve

3. Almost full scholarship at Penn State University


I've talked to numerous lawyers/judges and each tends to give me a different answer haha. Need to make my decision by next Monday, if anyone cares to weigh in on which option they think is optimal, it'd be much appreciated!

3 > 1 > 2. Normally I'd just straight-up order it in terms of cost, but option #2 relegates you to ****ing Cleveland so there's a bit of nuance to the situation.

Honestly it's #3 for sure as far as I'm concerned. As long as you've researched closely and are sure you want to do law school, keeping the debt low is key.

PSU law school isn't in Happy Valley. Amazingly it is in an even ****tier part of PA. In your situation I would only go for free so you just need to figure out whether you're willing to live in the middle of nowhere for three years in order to become a lawyer. The bright side is that PSU I'm sure has a huge network that takes care of their own.

3 in a landslide.

dont go to law school

if u must, take 3

It's moved to UP in like 09...it's not in Carlisle anymore.

Right, can't help but thinking 3 is the best option. I got about 30k left from scholarships in Undergrad, so would essentially come out of PSU debt-free.

Thanks for the info guys! Pretty sure I had my decision set, just kind of feels crazy turning down William and Mary for PSU lol.