Hofstra reputation Forum

[aimo5656]

For those of you that know anyone that has attended Hofstra law school or are currently attending the school, what are the job prospects for graduates. Tell me about your experience at Hofstra. What was the academic environment like? I was accepted to their school and I am curious about what other students have experienced at Hofstra. Thanks to all that respond.

[answer23]

Not good. Hofstra is a bottom feeding school in the most competitive legal market in the world. You might as well go to Vegas and gamble the loan money. Retake or don't go. It's not even worth going with a full scholly unless you get a stipend that will cover all your expenses... Even then it would still be a waste of time and energy. Look at law school transparancy. Your chances of even becoming a lawyer and practicing law at Hofstra is very poor. Is there a reason why you can't retake?

[Nova]

Class of 2010

•50.6% of graduates were known employed in full-time legal jobs. This figure includes an unknown number of temporary jobs and school-funded jobs.
•63.9% graduates were employed in long-term jobs.
•60.8% graduates were employed in full-time jobs.

•29.8% of this school's graduates were employed and reported a salary.
•At least 7.1% of this school's graduates made $75,000 or more.

--LinkRemoved--

[answer23]

In other words you will be borrowing a quater of a million dollars to have a coin flip chance of becoming a lawyer that makes 40k per year. This will be the biggest mistake of your life. Don't do it.

[flem]

As an attorney practicing in the NY area that did not attend a "top" law school, I can tell you that Hofstra is possibly the longest running joke in the New York legal community. Its objectively better than Pace and Touro (also dog-shit law schools), yet somehow, Hofstra remains a better punch line than either of those other shit-piles. The students are sub-par. The attorneys that graduate are mediocre. The bar pass rate fluctuates between "average" and absolutely pitiful to the one of the worst in New York State (depending on the year in question). This is all before you even get to the guido jokes, which trust me, if you are attending Hofstra, those jokes will become a way of life for you... I'll close this post by re-posting an old post of mine that followed the name change of Hofstra law school...



And its not even going to be "The Situation School of Law."

Hofstra Law will now be the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, or as I intend to call it, MAD LAW. Congratulations Hofstra. By renaming the LS after a person who did not even practice law and has made no significant contribution to the legal community you have once again remind us why no one takes your school seriously in or out of the NY area. Well done, as always. Touro may be a shit-pile, but at least it's namesake was a heavy-hitter in the legal community.

See: http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... hbxlogin=1

I can just see it now...

Paulie: Eh Tony, whatchodoin afta you graduate from Wagna (Wagner College for those of you that don't speak LI Guido)?
Tony: I fuckin killed my LSAT bro.. 158.. Goin to Mad Law in the fall.. I'll be slamin dime pieces at McHeebs after i get my study on (after GTL).
Paulie: Mad Law?
Tony: It used to be Hofstra Law, but the school was so tight they had to rename that shit... Average graduate makes like 2 million a year or some shit like that, so they had to change the name so people would know whats up..
Paulie: Oh word...
Tony: For realz son..

[JLR]

As an attorney practicing in the area for more than 30 years, I take serious issue with the above comments. Hofstra has a fine reputation. It is not as well regarded as Columbia, NYU or Fordham, but it is equally as well regarded, if not regarded better than Cardozo, Brooklyn and St. Johns. Law review students at Hofstra do quite well and those down below law review doing as well as an interview will permit them to do. As a senior partner in a large firm, I can say that going to Hofstra will not get you in the door nor will it keep you from getting in the door. Anecdotes from disenfranchised young lawyers are just that--but when you are the one doing the actual hiring at a firm--your comments should carry more weight.

[flem]

As an attorney practicing in the area for more than 30 years, I take serious issue with the above comments. Hofstra has a fine reputation. It is not as well regarded as Columbia, NYU or Fordham, but it is equally as well regarded, if not regarded better than Cardozo, Brooklyn and St. Johns. Law review students at Hofstra do quite well and those down below law review doing as well as an interview will permit them to do. As a senior partner in a large firm, I can say that going to Hofstra will not get you in the door nor will it keep you from getting in the door. Anecdotes from disenfranchised young lawyers are just that--but when you are the one doing the actual hiring at a firm--your comments should carry more weight.

--LinkRemoved-- (not anecdotal)

[Nova]

JLR, even if what you say is true, that LR students and those above the median can do well... you are completely ignoring the 49.4% of students who do not get FT legal jobs within 9 months of graduating, who will likely be in 200k+ debt.

Im not from NY, but how fine of a reputation can a school actually have if only half their students end up with full time legal employment?

[flem]

JLR, even if what you say is true, that LR students and those above the median can do well... you are completely ignoring the 49.4% of students who do not get FT legal jobs within 9 months of graduating, who will likely be in 200k+ debt.

Im not from NY, but how fine of a reputation can a school actually have if only half their students end up with full time legal employment?

Once again, a fine example of how "good reputation" does not necessarily translate into "actual employment"

[CanadianWolf]

Hofstra's employment prospects have already been detailed in this thread. The only other documented gauge of the law school's reputation is in US News' Best Grad Schools where Hofstra Law has a 2.4 out of a possible 5.0 "peer assessment score" & a 2.9/5.0 "assessment score by lawyers & judges". These scores suggest that Hofstra & St. Johns are viewed equally, while Yeshiva/Cardozo & Brooklyn are more highly regarded. Nevertheless, for those on law review & in the top 10% or so of their class at Hofstra, opportunities exist including transferring to a law school with better employment prospects.

[Doorkeeper]

What reputation?

[timbs4339]

As an attorney practicing in the area for more than 30 years, I take serious issue with the above comments. Hofstra has a fine reputation. It is not as well regarded as Columbia, NYU or Fordham, but it is equally as well regarded, if not regarded better than Cardozo, Brooklyn and St. Johns. Law review students at Hofstra do quite well and those down below law review doing as well as an interview will permit them to do. As a senior partner in a large firm, I can say that going to Hofstra will not get you in the door nor will it keep you from getting in the door. Anecdotes from disenfranchised young lawyers are just that--but when you are the one doing the actual hiring at a firm--your comments should carry more weight.

The Hofstra non-LR people aren't making it to the interviews, their resumes are being thrown out before they get there. Same with the Dozo, Brooklyn, and St. John's kids right now. The OP shouldn't attend any of those at sticker.

You do realize tuition at Hofstra (and the others) is now between 45-50K per year and rising?

[dingbat]

As a senior partner in a large firm, I can say that going to Hofstra will not get you in the door

[ru2486]

I know a guy who went to hofstra law and is now trying to make a living as a stand up comedian doing gigs in dive bars around the jersey shore. last time I saw him perform he was booed off stage.

[afterglow99]

Not terribly familiar with the school, but here are a couple anecdotes:

1. I graduated from Columbia and have been taking the bar review class at both Columbia and Hofstra. The difference in overall atmosphere is incredible. Students at Columbia are silent and focused during the lectures and never seem to browse the internet. At Hofstra, half the class is on facebook and gchat during the videos and there have been numerous noise complaints. A fight nearly broke out between two girls arguing over whether one of them told the Barbri reps about someone being disruptive in class. Literally the type of petty shit you would see on a reality TV show.

2. I have a couple friends who are currently at Hofstra and they both say that about half the class is some combination of not too bright and/or incredibly lazy. If you're willing to put in the study time, it sounds like you're only going to be competing against half the class, giving yourself a good chance to finish top 1/4 of the class (median among the people that actually give a sh!t). Is that good enough to land a decent job on Long Island? Maybe. But it is definitely going to be good enough to keep your scholarship.

A lot of people are going to disagree with #2, but I believe it, as I transferred from a school comparable to Hofstra and noticed the exact same thing. Take this for what it's worth. I wouldn't necessarily rule out Hofstra, but I would think long and hard before committing to it.

[nicegirl]

As a member of Hofstra Law's Class of 2011, I just wanted to share my honest opinion. Take it for whatever it is worth.

1) If you are attending Hofstra Law because you were given a large scholarship, please be warned that the majority of scholarship recipients lose their scholarships after the first year. I would guess that well over half of my class started out with a scholarship, with many of these scholarships for $25K per year or more. The vast majority of students with scholarships did not meet the GPA requirement needed to keep them and had them revoked after the first year.

I have to respectfully disagree with some of the other commentators that if you work hard, you will be guaranteed decent grades at Hofstra Law. I always felt as though my grades seemed arbitrary. Every exam period was like going to Vegas and rolling the dice. There were at least 10 people in my law school class who went to undergrad at very prestigious institutions and were ranked towards the bottom of the class. There is no way anybody can ever promise that he/she will have a certain GPA or be a certain ranking in the class.

2) Please be realistic about your employment prospects coming out of Hofstra Law. The vast majority of people in my law school class wanted jobs practicing commercial law in NYC and almost nobody landed jobs along these lines. I will say that by summer of 2012 (a year after graduation), almost everyone that I knew in my law school class had found jobs. The overwhelming majority of these people, however, found jobs at small firms doing general practice work on Long Island with a median starting salary of $45K per year.

Most people in my law school class that worked prior to law school made more money at their pre-law school job than they do at their current lawyer job. Unhappy with my legal prospects, I went on some job interviews for marketing jobs in NYC. Interviewers would constantly tell me that they could not afford to pay me a "lawyer's salary." But the $50-$60K that these jobs were paying was more than I could find practicing as a lawyer.

Anybody attending Hofstra Law just needs to be aware of what his/her starting salary, what kind of law he/she will be practicing, and where the location of his/her job (i.e., Long Island as opposed to NYC) will most likely be.

3) My last warning will be that Hofstra Law tends to breed a lot of negativity among its students and alumni. Most of the people in my law school class really disliked the school (for reasons ranging from poor quality of faculty to feeling like the administration does not care about them). Just be aware that this is the environment that you will go to school in at Hofstra Law. Also, when searching for a legal job, everyone is going to tell you to network, especially using your law school's alumni base. But I have found that most Hofstra Law alumni strongly dislike the school as well and are thus unwilling to help fellow alumni. So please just be aware of this as well.

Sorry for my long response. But I hope it helps anybody who is considering attending Hofstra Law.

[atcushman]

As an attorney practicing in the area for more than 30 years, I take serious issue with the above comments. Hofstra has a fine reputation. It is not as well regarded as Columbia, NYU or Fordham, but it is equally as well regarded, if not regarded better than Cardozo, Brooklyn and St. Johns. Law review students at Hofstra do quite well and those down below law review doing as well as an interview will permit them to do. As a senior partner in a large firm, I can say that going to Hofstra will not get you in the door nor will it keep you from getting in the door. Anecdotes from disenfranchised young lawyers are just that--but when you are the one doing the actual hiring at a firm--your comments should carry more weight.

shitboomer

[dingbat]

^ouch. Thanks for this

[atcushman]

^ouch. Thanks for this

also he is pretending to be a shitboomer which i cant even comprehend because he posted this in 2010

JLR-

"Every law school I have seen suggests applying early. However, I will be taking the LSAT for the first (and hopefully only time) on October 9. I intend to send in as many apps as I can before that date (and before November 1). So, when a law school looks at the date that I applied, will it be keyed to when my app went in or when it was complete(i.e. after receipt of my LSAT score)?"

How did you take the lsat for the first time in 2010 and have 30 years as a practicing attorney in 2012

[suralin]

As an attorney practicing in the area for more than 30 years, I take serious issue with the above comments. Hofstra has a fine reputation. It is not as well regarded as Columbia, NYU or Fordham, but it is equally as well regarded, if not regarded better than Cardozo, Brooklyn and St. Johns. Law review students at Hofstra do quite well and those down below law review doing as well as an interview will permit them to do. As a senior partner in a large firm, I can say that going to Hofstra will not get you in the door nor will it keep you from getting in the door. Anecdotes from disenfranchised young lawyers are just that--but when you are the one doing the actual hiring at a firm--your comments should carry more weight.

shitboomer

[Nova]

How did you take the lsat for the first time in 2010 and have 30 years as a practicing attorney in 2012

Lol

Good catch.

[atcushman]

How did you take the lsat for the first time in 2010 and have 30 years as a practicing attorney in 2012

Lol

Good catch.

Its cool hofstra probably uses the same math for reporting their employment numbers

[dingbat]

How did you take the lsat for the first time in 2010 and have 30 years as a practicing attorney in 2012

Lol

Good catch.

Super sleuth--first post written by my daughter before she had an account set up--most recent by me. Way to keep your eye on the ball.

Note that his daughter is looking at some god-awful schools

[BullShitWithBravado]

How did you take the lsat for the first time in 2010 and have 30 years as a practicing attorney in 2012

Lol

Good catch.

Creepy.

[BigZuck]

Ran here to say that JLR and Nicegirl are both lying, I don't believe either are who they say they are.

Also I agree that Hofstra sounds like a bad law school. Don't go to it.