Hello, I am a 1L at Seattle U. I used TLS quite frequently and found it very useful in making my law school decision. So if anyone has any questions about Seattle University, I would be happy to try to help others. Feel free to respond or to PM me.

Also, I know that a few TLS'ers are of the "T-14 or bust" mindset. That's great, but not for everyone. Seattle U is a strong, regional T2 school. I look forward to discussing the school and my experiences so far, but I will probably just ignore any negative comments.

Thanks!

(t50 CA 1L here)

Can you talk about the Seattle legal job market in general? I know you are just a 1L like me but do you know much about the small and mid-sized firms in the area?

Its tough out there (obviously). I have spoken to a few 3L's out there and they are all pretty worried. Just based on the research I have done, it seems that Seattle Biglaw is really suffering, and hiring mostly T14s or UW grads. I have heard that jobs are still available for smaller firms though. It is definately more competitive in prior years.

A few attorneys I have talked to in the area have said that they are hoping to resume hiring in 2011 or 2012. This may be overly optimistic, but I am hopeful.

Yeah I am sure that is the case for Seattle biglaw. It was never big to begin with, and it hires almost exclusively from T14+top 33% UW. Since biglaw in Seattle is pretty much out for the rest of us, I was curious whether you knew much about smaller firms in the area. Thanks!

What I have heard is that smaller firms are not hiring much this year, but hopefully more in the next couple of years. I keep hearing from Seattle attorneys (mostly small-midsize firms) that it is a good year to be a 1L (as opposed to a 3L?) I try to take this with a grain of salt, because they know I am a 1L, so they may just be encouraging me.

What type of law are you planning on studying and what about the rest of your class?

How are your other classmates in general? Are they happy to be where they are or are they all trying to gun for better schools? Are they fairly social and friendly?

Same for the professors. Are they friendly and easy to approach?

Are you going FT or PT? In either case, how is the work load so far?

I know it's a lot of questions but I figure I would ask some stuff that a 1L would actually have some real knowledge of and that would be useful to everyone. I love it when people ask 1L that started a few weeks ago about job prospects. It seems every thread like this has a question like that and the answers are always the same.

Thanks!

I'm not at Seattle U, but I visited and sat in on classes a few times before settling on another school. The students all seem quite friendly and happy where they are. Lots of cute girls there if that counts for anything. The professors are very easy to approach; and Professor Chinen is awesome. He took 15-20 minutes just to chat with me about my goals and the school itself.

The only thing I didn't like was the gritty surrounding area, but the facilities are nice.

I guess you haven't visited Hastings. Seriously, there's a Ferrari dealership three blocks from Seattle U. Gritty?

saw a bum spit on a student right outside Hastings the other day

Did you consider UW and SU? They are both on my list of schools to apply to in 2011. What criteria did you use to choose finally choose SU?

I will most likely choose a law school in the Pac NW so location and follow on job are important for me. My employer will be paying for my law school and I have a select number of cities where they will most likely post me. Right now it is Seattle and SF in the NW.

Nobody would choose SU over UW. Especially not if their employer was paying the bill.

SU is a decent T2 and will get you a decent job in Seattle but its no UW.

The only reason it would make sense to choose SU over UW would be if your employer was requiring you to continue working full time while you go to school, as SU has a part time program and UW does not. Otherwise, it would be pretty stupid to choose SU over UW.

Seattle? Gritty?

WTF?!?!

Very few people have an idea of what they actually want to do. Some have a reason why they came, but as you start learning more about the law, other areas start to become more interesting. That being said, there are a fair number of sports and entertainment minded people, as well as business and health.



They're great. Not many people are talking about transferring, in fact, I may be the only one who has openly mentioned kicking ass and transferring that I know of. People are typically social, but because the workload is fairly large, we haven't been getting out as much as we did before. We play soccer one to two times per week, and we are putting together flag football teams for intramurals. There's a lot going on, and other students, especially 2 and 3Ls want to help you in any way they can.



Yeah. The school as a whole seems like it wants everyone to be an A student, and that they genuinely want everyone to succeed to the highest level possible. Professors really want to see you do well, and they do everything they can to make sure that you have what you need to do so. They are pretty nice and easy to approach, but as with people in general, some are more approachable than others.



I'm FT. But I started in summer, so I've only got 5 classes, as opposed to 6. That said, I consider myself lucky to get 6 hours of sleep/night during the week. The work load is what it is. Usually 5-6 hours of work per night, on average. Its nothing too difficult, but it is very dense so it takes time to unpack it.

If there's anything else you want to know, ask here or PM me.

And yes, there are a few smoking hotties here. Nothing like what I saw at 'Zona, but worthwhile nevertheless.

Seriously. Ferrari and Maserati dealer about 2-3 blocks north, and then there's everything on Capitol Hill just beyond that. 1/2 mil houses are to the east, within a block. Gritty...idk about that. Whoever said that must have accidentally driven south into Renton.

Ha, I love the Renton crack.

What a disappointment. Something like 0 for 10 on the goal line in the 4th quarter, and a Chris Polk incorrect review for a TD. I hate refs, and refs hate Seattle sports teams.

I've heard of employers paying for ls, but I was wondering which sectors tend to offer their employees a free legal education.

OP- I realize the UW pretty much dominates Biglaw, but how do the govt jobs look for Seattle students?

any particular reason you chose Seattle U over Lewis & Clark?

Hey! Thanks for doing this - I have a few questions.

1. Someone on another thread told me that Seattle judges applicants on their degree GPA, not their cumulative GPA. Having applied and gotten in, do you know if that's true?

2. Do you have many/any international students? What's that experience like? I'm from Canada, so there wouldn't be a huge culture shock/language barrier/etc., but I'm not sure how seriously Seattle takes the "regional school" image. Would I be at a huge disadvantage in applying, or in looking for jobs afterwards? (I plan to settle wherever I go to law school, so if I come to Seattle, I'll be hoping to stay - are people going to hire a Canadian?)

3. What's the scholarship situation like?

4. Is there a residence for law students? What's it like?

Thanks!
YB

I am a 1Lthere now.
1) The use your LSAC gpa
2) There are a few international students but there are not very many in my section. If there are they are not making themselves known.
3) The scholarship situation is ok for a private school. Most scholarships require you to stay in the top 20% which is a lot harder than it sounds.
4) No grad school housing. The school is in the capitol hill part of Seattle so its not hard finding apartments. You can live up north in the U District or Greenlake but most people live in Cap hill. Rent is around 900 for a 1 bedroom, 700 or 800 for a studio and 1400 for a 2 bedroom in the area.