Law school questions

[Anonymous]

I've posted here before with ?s about law school - my husband is the one who got 99% on the LSATs and has the full GI Bill so law school is effectively free.

He applied to three p/t programs and one full time - the only one he hasn't heard from is the f/t program (Penn), but the other three have responded. He got in to all 3 (incl GW and Georgetown).

My concern is the marketability of a p/t JD because he won't have the summer associate positions of clerkships that your average law student would have. He'll be working (he's a GS13 on a 14 track, so he seeks it as too good of a salary to give up). But my preference, if he gets in, is that he goes to Penn full time - I'd rather it be tight for 3 years than have no time to do anything for 4-5 years.

As of now, TWO of the p/t programs offered him money (about $17k a year), but one is Temple, which he would only go to if he got a fed job in Philly. Georgetown has currently not offered him money. Money matters because, honestly, if he's working and going to school all day every day, it will be REALLY difficult for me to continue working. Our nanny works 40 hours a week, and there's very little chance we can make it work at home without killing each other if I'm gone all day.

My questions are really this: does it ultimately matter between p/t and f/t? Should he be asking the p/t programs questions about employment options since he'll miss out on a lot of the programs for traditional students? Does it matter which p/t program? If Georgetown doesn't offer money, should he still go with them because it's an overall better school?

There is SO much to consider - Just seeing if there is any outside perspective.

[Anonymous]

I would do Penn if he gets in, in a heartbeat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would do Penn if he gets in, in a heartbeat.

OP here - me too. He is worried about passing up scholarships and his GS14 job, though....it's risky, when you have a child and all, to have no real source of income other than the GI bill....

[granted, I can work...he seems to ignore that]

[Anonymous]

His work experience will likely trump any experience that he would get as a full/time student. Penn is great, and if he wants to do Big Law, Big Law is ridiculous about pedigree when it comes time to make partner, so he should likely do Penn. Depending on grades etc, all will likely hire him - employers will be impressed that he could handle workload and a full-time job. Georgetown (have no experience with GWU) is an excellent program, and I commend him for getting in and doing this. Congratulations.

[Anonymous]

fwiw, I can't picture him being happy at all with Big Law. He also has the luxury of not needing to repay loans, basically, because of GI Bill. I mean, a lot of money would be nice, but I don't think he has the personality for it. ADA or whatnot at DOJ, yes.

[Anonymous]

I can only comment on Georgetown part time program. I did it in 3.5 years by taking classes one summer. So instead of normal graduation for full time students in May, I graduated in December. The program is great. You can take classes during the day after the first year if you want to. But many of the most sought after classes are in the evenings (federal Judges and other practitioners teach then). There is no difference in activities. You can write on to the journals. Class rank and honors are determined by the entire class that starts in a given year, including evening students. You can interview for summer associate positions - it just means taking a leave of absence from other job or quitting. Hardly anyone gets a good summer associate position after 1L year. It's the 2L year that matters. By then you husband could have picked up a summer class and be ready to take a summer associate position for that summer and find a legal part time job for the scho year. Or he could do what I did whih was parlay the DC summer associate position into a full time job at the same firm during the school year. Judicial clerkships are equally open, in fact I got one in part because they were impressed that I worked fulltime and did well in law school.

And if you have to work and do law school it limits how much you can obsess over either. The students in Georgetown's night section were impressive and from many different backgrounds. For example, Surgeon, congressional aides, an astronaut, pilot, professional athlete. A very interesting group that provides a different sort of network. My summer associate position actually came through a class contact more so than the interviews (though I did the interviews and got several offers).

So I would say don't assume day school is that much faster. Don't assume day school won't expand to fill all available time and he will be just as tied up as if doing part time school plus work. Georgetown night students don't have to miss any opportunities available to other students. They even rotate all professors through to teach night school sections of the core courses.

And think about this - there's a chance, probably small, that DH loathes law school. It happens. If he keeps his job for the first year at least he can drop it and not have to find a job coming out of what might be perceived as a "failure" of sorts.

Finally, go to the highest ranked school that has the program you decide you want.

[Anonymous]

Rankings matter even at smaller firms. Go to the best school you get into.

[Anonymous]

DOJ or ADA jobs are very difficult to get right out of law school. No one should go to law school assuming they will be able to get that job when they leave. IF clerking/DOJ is the path he wants to shoot for, however, he should go to Penn or Gtown as a second choice, as most of the people who get good DOJ jobs have clerkships and Penn will give him the best shot as it is the best ranked school. Penn/Gtown would probably also give him the best shot at DOJ honors program (hiring straight out of law school).

Though again, you can't go to law school assuming you are going to do well enough to clerk or get DOJ honors. Only the top 10-20% of students have those options. It's an odds game and it's really dangerous assume you will win. Think about what his second choice would be and whether it's worth giving up the years earning money. Would he be OK going to Biglaw for a couple of years? Or taking a less prestigious govt attorney job? How will he feel if he ends up back in another GS 14 job after 3 years of school?

[Anonymous]

^^^ Thanks for the really fantastic insight, PP

[Anonymous]

I think he'd be fine being a gov attorney - he's already at an agency with a lot of attorneys. Georgetown and Penn are both fantastic schools, so I'm proud of him regardless for getting in to GTown (still waiting on Penn). That said, that's a LOT of scholarship money to give up at GW if GTown won't match it!

[Anonymous]

He should explore business schools. A career as a lawyer will require more time both in years till one can be consider for partner and daily work load vs a career in business. In addition, the chances of make partner are very small in law. Also how old is your husband and does he have any reserve duty? It will matter.

If your husband does as well on the GMAT, he could have his pick of business schools. The schools like having students with a diverse backgrounds- military service(so do business). Six years out of well know business school with a military back, your husband will be make comp money and have a lot more options vs counting on making a partner.

[Anonymous]

uhhh - if he got a 99th percentile on the lsat, why did he not apply to Y, H, or S?

With his non-trad background i would imagine he would def get into H (they have a large class size), if not Y.

a 99th percentile is a 173. He would've been competitive for H.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:uhhh - if he got a 99th percentile on the lsat, why did he not apply to Y, H, or S?

With his non-trad background i would imagine he would def get into H (they have a large class size), if not Y.

a 99th percentile is a 173. He would've been competitive for H.

because we didn't want to live in New Haven or Boston. Or Cali. It was home or here.

As for business school, he's considered a PhD in Econ program (zzzz) but I have never heard him say a word about GMAT. He currently works in Intel. I could do a joint program, but I don't think he considers an MBA valuable for his interests (he is a very analytical thinker, loves history, constitional law/civil rights, ect. Not necessarily a "make money for someone" kind of guy, for better or worse.

I want him to be happy, I feel like I'm sacrificing by staying in DC, though - staying here at the expense of my own happiness.

And yes, he got a 173. Without any real studying. Hate him!

[Anonymous]

I went to GW law. I went full time, made law review, got a summer internship at big law that was parlayed into a post-school offer that I took. GW did plenty of on campus interviews and students got plenty of offers, that I agree with others here that ranking of law school you attend matters very much for job offers. Grades achieved will matter just as much. GW and Georgetown are particularly good for this area, I will say, because you are right in the heart of DC where all the legal government jobs are. If he wants to work for the DOJ and GW is giving him a full ride, I might do that. But it would be a tough decision because employers WILL view the UPenn or GTown degree more favorably.

I knew another student at GW my year who was going part time and doing very well. He was convinced after first year by someone (administration? Friends?) to switch to full time so he'd be getting the same journal and interview opportunities as the full time students. He did and he didn't regret it.

[Anonymous]

Go home! Be happy!