Big Law

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC just started 2nd year as a NYC big law associate. Graduated from a top 5 Law School. Got a huge merit scholarship for law school coming from a state university. Debt free thanks to great grades and LSAT scores. Works in Corporate Finance. Works hard but deal closings have up and down times and better quality of life generally than litigation. Enjoys practice group and salary exceeding $250 K. Worked minimally Thanksgiving weekend.

Top 5 law schools don’t hand out huge merit scholarships. Name the school.

People always say this but they’re wrong. My kid got a Rubenstein Scholarship to UChicago Law, as did at least 10% of his class. Full ride plus $20k annual stipend

You might have bothered mentioning that the Rubenstein is only for URM low-income applicants as are most of the law merit scholarships. My kid is applying now. There is no merit at Harvard (my school), yale or stanford and those scholarships offered in the remaining T11 are almost always for URM/low income and not generous. He was told by a former Dean of a T4 that he would have to change skin color even with a 177, top grades and degrees from Oxbridge, to get merit. It is what it is. So we are planning - again - for full freight.

FWIW his white friends who got half tuition had to drop down to T40s and T60s, where, like with colleges, some law will trade scholarship monies for a top LSAT score or GPA or Rhodes bragging points

I call BS on this. No one told anybody this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC just started 2nd year as a NYC big law associate. Graduated from a top 5 Law School. Got a huge merit scholarship for law school coming from a state university. Debt free thanks to great grades and LSAT scores. Works in Corporate Finance. Works hard but deal closings have up and down times and better quality of life generally than litigation. Enjoys practice group and salary exceeding $250 K. Worked minimally Thanksgiving weekend.

Top 5 law schools don’t hand out huge merit scholarships. Name the school.

UChicago gives at least 1/2 merit scholarships to UChicago undergrads who are accepted into its law school.

Yeah, nice try, PP.

WYKYK…you must be extremely qualified with gpa and test scores, but for top candidates Chicago, Penn, UVA Duke, Columbia, and others all offer big merit scholarships

[Anonymous]

UChicago gives at least 1/2 merit scholarship to UChicago undergraduates who are accepted into its law school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC just started 2nd year as a NYC big law associate. Graduated from a top 5 Law School. Got a huge merit scholarship for law school coming from a state university. Debt free thanks to great grades and LSAT scores. Works in Corporate Finance. Works hard but deal closings have up and down times and better quality of life generally than litigation. Enjoys practice group and salary exceeding $250 K. Worked minimally Thanksgiving weekend.

Top 5 law schools don’t hand out huge merit scholarships. Name the school.

People always say this but they’re wrong. My kid got a Rubenstein Scholarship to UChicago Law, as did at least 10% of his class. Full ride plus $20k annual stipend

You might have bothered mentioning that the Rubenstein is only for URM low-income applicants as are most of the law merit scholarships. My kid is applying now. There is no merit at Harvard (my school), yale or stanford and those scholarships offered in the remaining T11 are almost always for URM/low income and not generous. He was told by a former Dean of a T4 that he would have to change skin color even with a 177, top grades and degrees from Oxbridge, to get merit. It is what it is. So we are planning - again - for full freight.

FWIW his white friends who got half tuition had to drop down to T40s and T60s, where, like with colleges, some law will trade scholarship monies for a top LSAT score or GPA or Rhodes bragging points

I call BS on this. No one told anybody this.

+1 Merit scholarships have little to do with URM status. Many students from Families that can afford to pay receive them if the stats are high enough.

[Anonymous]

Retired Big Law partner here. All I can say is that in all of my years I have never - not once - met anyone who left Big Law who regretted the decision to leave any reason other than they’re now making less money.

Current Big Law lawyers will now pipe in and say either it’s not so bad or that it’s actually great and they love it. And that’s fine. But, again, they haven’t actually left so they really can’t know.

In my view, the biggest problem with big law isn’t necessarily the long hours, high stress, and ridiculous expectations that often come your way. It’s that it is with you, always. Even when you’re not working, you’re feeling like you need to be or you should be. It’s just always a huge part of your identity. At least that was my experience.

I don’t regret having done it, but only because of the money. I sure made a lot of it and it made retiring early very easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC just started 2nd year as a NYC big law associate. Graduated from a top 5 Law School. Got a huge merit scholarship for law school coming from a state university. Debt free thanks to great grades and LSAT scores. Works in Corporate Finance. Works hard but deal closings have up and down times and better quality of life generally than litigation. Enjoys practice group and salary exceeding $250 K. Worked minimally Thanksgiving weekend.

Top 5 law schools don’t hand out huge merit scholarships. Name the school.

People always say this but they’re wrong. My kid got a Rubenstein Scholarship to UChicago Law, as did at least 10% of his class. Full ride plus $20k annual stipend

You might have bothered mentioning that the Rubenstein is only for URM low-income applicants as are most of the law merit scholarships. My kid is applying now. There is no merit at Harvard (my school), yale or stanford and those scholarships offered in the remaining T11 are almost always for URM/low income and not generous. He was told by a former Dean of a T4 that he would have to change skin color even with a 177, top grades and degrees from Oxbridge, to get merit. It is what it is. So we are planning - again - for full freight.

FWIW his white friends who got half tuition had to drop down to T40s and T60s, where, like with colleges, some law will trade scholarship monies for a top LSAT score or GPA or Rhodes bragging points

I call BS on this. No one told anybody this.

I was there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Took a full ride to a mid state u and nearly a full ride to a top 20 law school. Turned down Georgetown to start their career debt-free (and to live in a town that’s more fun.)

but when? times have changed. Law schools don't hand out merit unless they have to (to steal away a student going to a higher T school for stats or URM status)

Recently. Stats based. Waitlisted at Chicago, Duke, Penn, NW, UVA and Michigan, got into Georgetown. Turned down Georgetown for nearly a full rude to a barely lower ranked school. First job is big law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC just started 2nd year as a NYC big law associate. Graduated from a top 5 Law School. Got a huge merit scholarship for law school coming from a state university. Debt free thanks to great grades and LSAT scores. Works in Corporate Finance. Works hard but deal closings have up and down times and better quality of life generally than litigation. Enjoys practice group and salary exceeding $250 K. Worked minimally Thanksgiving weekend.

Top 5 law schools don’t hand out huge merit scholarships. Name the school.

People always say this but they’re wrong. My kid got a Rubenstein Scholarship to UChicago Law, as did at least 10% of his class. Full ride plus $20k annual stipend

You might have bothered mentioning that the Rubenstein is only for URM low-income applicants as are most of the law merit scholarships. My kid is applying now. There is no merit at Harvard (my school), yale or stanford and those scholarships offered in the remaining T11 are almost always for URM/low income and not generous. He was told by a former Dean of a T4 that he would have to change skin color even with a 177, top grades and degrees from Oxbridge, to get merit. It is what it is. So we are planning - again - for full freight.

FWIW his white friends who got half tuition had to drop down to T40s and T60s, where, like with colleges, some law will trade scholarship monies for a top LSAT score or GPA or Rhodes bragging points

I do not believe that the above post is accurate.

Chicago & Columbia offer major scholarships to attract students who otherwise would attend Harvard, Yale, or Stanford law schools. NYU & Northwestern offer scholarships to attract those who might otherwise attend a higher ranked law school. Numbers are key--not URM or income status.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Retired Big Law partner here. All I can say is that in all of my years I have never - not once - met anyone who left Big Law who regretted the decision to leave any reason other than they’re now making less money.

Current Big Law lawyers will now pipe in and say either it’s not so bad or that it’s actually great and they love it. And that’s fine. But, again, they haven’t actually left so they really can’t know.

In my view, the biggest problem with big law isn’t necessarily the long hours, high stress, and ridiculous expectations that often come your way. It’s that it is with you, always. Even when you’re not working, you’re feeling like you need to be or you should be. It’s just always a huge part of your identity. At least that was my experience.

I don’t regret having done it, but only because of the money. I sure made a lot of it and it made retiring early very easy.

This is the case for most of us. It’s a lawyer thing, not a Big law thing. I don’t make big law money because I went straight from ls to DOJ via the honors program. Plenty of my cases end up written up in the NYT or Wall Street Journal. Most nights I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about a case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC just started 2nd year as a NYC big law associate. Graduated from a top 5 Law School. Got a huge merit scholarship for law school coming from a state university. Debt free thanks to great grades and LSAT scores. Works in Corporate Finance. Works hard but deal closings have up and down times and better quality of life generally than litigation. Enjoys practice group and salary exceeding $250 K. Worked minimally Thanksgiving weekend.

Top 5 law schools don’t hand out huge merit scholarships. Name the school.

People always say this but they’re wrong. My kid got a Rubenstein Scholarship to UChicago Law, as did at least 10% of his class. Full ride plus $20k annual stipend

You might have bothered mentioning that the Rubenstein is only for URM low-income applicants as are most of the law merit scholarships. My kid is applying now. There is no merit at Harvard (my school), yale or stanford and those scholarships offered in the remaining T11 are almost always for URM/low income and not generous. He was told by a former Dean of a T4 that he would have to change skin color even with a 177, top grades and degrees from Oxbridge, to get merit. It is what it is. So we are planning - again - for full freight.

FWIW his white friends who got half tuition had to drop down to T40s and T60s, where, like with colleges, some law will trade scholarship monies for a top LSAT score or GPA or Rhodes bragging points

I call BS on this. No one told anybody this.

I was there.

Sure, Jan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Retired Big Law partner here. All I can say is that in all of my years I have never - not once - met anyone who left Big Law who regretted the decision to leave any reason other than they’re now making less money.

Current Big Law lawyers will now pipe in and say either it’s not so bad or that it’s actually great and they love it. And that’s fine. But, again, they haven’t actually left so they really can’t know.

In my view, the biggest problem with big law isn’t necessarily the long hours, high stress, and ridiculous expectations that often come your way. It’s that it is with you, always. Even when you’re not working, you’re feeling like you need to be or you should be. It’s just always a huge part of your identity. At least that was my experience.

I don’t regret having done it, but only because of the money. I sure made a lot of it and it made retiring early very easy.

This is the case for most of us. It’s a lawyer thing, not a Big law thing. I don’t make big law money because I went straight from ls to DOJ via the honors program. Plenty of my cases end up written up in the NYT or Wall Street Journal. Most nights I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about a case.

This FinReg 40-hr week lawyer says … nah! I’ve never in my career had to do anything remotely as stressful as my BigLaw friends. of course they are rich and I am not, but I think I’d be dead if I had their jobs. I think about my job on the weekends but only because it is interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Retired Big Law partner here. All I can say is that in all of my years I have never - not once - met anyone who left Big Law who regretted the decision to leave any reason other than they’re now making less money.

Current Big Law lawyers will now pipe in and say either it’s not so bad or that it’s actually great and they love it. And that’s fine. But, again, they haven’t actually left so they really can’t know.

In my view, the biggest problem with big law isn’t necessarily the long hours, high stress, and ridiculous expectations that often come your way. It’s that it is with you, always. Even when you’re not working, you’re feeling like you need to be or you should be. It’s just always a huge part of your identity. At least that was my experience.

I don’t regret having done it, but only because of the money. I sure made a lot of it and it made retiring early very easy.

This is the case for most of us. It’s a lawyer thing, not a Big law thing. I don’t make big law money because I went straight from ls to DOJ via the honors program. Plenty of my cases end up written up in the NYT or Wall Street Journal. Most nights I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about a case.

This FinReg 40-hr week lawyer says … nah! I’ve never in my career had to do anything remotely as stressful as my BigLaw friends. of course they are rich and I am not, but I think I’d be dead if I had their jobs. I think about my job on the weekends but only because it is interesting.

Yes, well— you have a point. My Division has plenty of deadweight as well. Just like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UChicago gives at least 1/2 merit scholarship to UChicago undergraduates who are accepted into its law school.

You are mistaken. Not applicable to all alums. It's called The Chicago Law Scholars programs and gets you an early reading on your app, but it still highly selective. It was started by chicago law alums who wanted to keep top Chicago umdergrad applicants at Chicago Law not Yale, Harvard Stanford. Here is the link. https://www.law.uchicago.edu/chicago-law-scholars-program

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC just started 2nd year as a NYC big law associate. Graduated from a top 5 Law School. Got a huge merit scholarship for law school coming from a state university. Debt free thanks to great grades and LSAT scores. Works in Corporate Finance. Works hard but deal closings have up and down times and better quality of life generally than litigation. Enjoys practice group and salary exceeding $250 K. Worked minimally Thanksgiving weekend.

Top 5 law schools don’t hand out huge merit scholarships. Name the school.

People always say this but they’re wrong. My kid got a Rubenstein Scholarship to UChicago Law, as did at least 10% of his class. Full ride plus $20k annual stipend

You might have bothered mentioning that the Rubenstein is only for URM low-income applicants as are most of the law merit scholarships. My kid is applying now. There is no merit at Harvard (my school), yale or stanford and those scholarships offered in the remaining T11 are almost always for URM/low income and not generous. He was told by a former Dean of a T4 that he would have to change skin color even with a 177, top grades and degrees from Oxbridge, to get merit. It is what it is. So we are planning - again - for full freight.

FWIW his white friends who got half tuition had to drop down to T40s and T60s, where, like with colleges, some law will trade scholarship monies for a top LSAT score or GPA or Rhodes bragging points

The claim about the Rubenstein Scholarship is categorically untrue. My kid is as white bread as they come, as are most of his cohort.

He did get a 180 on the LSAT which probably made a difference - there has been a lot of inflation at the 175+ level lately

But don’t lie and bring race into it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UChicago gives at least 1/2 merit scholarship to UChicago undergraduates who are accepted into its law school.

You are mistaken. Not applicable to all alums. It's called The Chicago Law Scholars programs and gets you an early reading on your app, but it still highly selective. It was started by chicago law alums who wanted to keep top Chicago umdergrad applicants at Chicago Law not Yale, Harvard Stanford. Here is the link. https://www.law.uchicago.edu/chicago-law-scholars-program

Yes, I was referring to that program. Did not mean to imply that ALL UChicago undergrads received it. Obviously, it’s is selective.

My response was to the PP who claimed that Top 5 programs didn’t have substantial merit scholarships.