St Thomas University (Miami) or NUSL (Boston)? Forum

[Johann]

How much time did you spend studying for the LSAT when you got a 155?

How many times have you taken the LSAT overall?

You have a fantastic GPA and if you could even raise your score to the mid 160s, you'd have so many better options than either of those schools.

I also don't think "marijuana law" is a realistic outcome for you, regardless of where you go to school.

What is your gpa and lsat as well as career goals.

GPA 3.8, LSAT 155, Civil litigation, tax ,and marijuana law

2 of those are real, one is not. You have a GPA that will not keep you out of any school in the country, do yourself a favor and retake the LSAT. My first take was similar to yours, but I studied, took it again, and now have a 2/3 scholarship to a t13 that will give me a realistic shot at my goals and will actually provide me with a job that can pay off the loans I will take out. You owe it to yourself to give it another go. You can get full rides to better schools and into schools that are suvstantially better than your current options

Not to distract from the topic at hand, but my cousin's good friend went to a T2 in the Midwest and is either a solo or a partner in a very small firm that mainly does cases related to marijuana law. He makes a pretty solid living doing this. I'm not sure exactly what his daily work is like, and anecdotal evidence is anecdotal, etc etc. I just wanted to through that out there since it presumably is a "thing" to some degree

If you mean works in a small firm that does public defense of misdemeanor drug offenses, then I'm sure he does. But that isn't any different than any other public defender job. "Marijuana law" suggests something different than just defending minor criminals (feel free to expand on what he does if it's not misdemeanor criminal defense, but I can't imagine "marijuana law" being anything other than criminal defense).

Marijuana law is absolutely a thing in states that are legalizing weed/heavily regulate dispensaries. It's not like there are thousands of jobs in it because it's more niche than real estate but I'd consider it more real and practical than "entertainment law."

[UVA2B]

How much time did you spend studying for the LSAT when you got a 155?

How many times have you taken the LSAT overall?

You have a fantastic GPA and if you could even raise your score to the mid 160s, you'd have so many better options than either of those schools.

I also don't think "marijuana law" is a realistic outcome for you, regardless of where you go to school.

What is your gpa and lsat as well as career goals.

GPA 3.8, LSAT 155, Civil litigation, tax ,and marijuana law

2 of those are real, one is not. You have a GPA that will not keep you out of any school in the country, do yourself a favor and retake the LSAT. My first take was similar to yours, but I studied, took it again, and now have a 2/3 scholarship to a t13 that will give me a realistic shot at my goals and will actually provide me with a job that can pay off the loans I will take out. You owe it to yourself to give it another go. You can get full rides to better schools and into schools that are suvstantially better than your current options

Not to distract from the topic at hand, but my cousin's good friend went to a T2 in the Midwest and is either a solo or a partner in a very small firm that mainly does cases related to marijuana law. He makes a pretty solid living doing this. I'm not sure exactly what his daily work is like, and anecdotal evidence is anecdotal, etc etc. I just wanted to through that out there since it presumably is a "thing" to some degree

If you mean works in a small firm that does public defense of misdemeanor drug offenses, then I'm sure he does. But that isn't any different than any other public defender job. "Marijuana law" suggests something different than just defending minor criminals (feel free to expand on what he does if it's not misdemeanor criminal defense, but I can't imagine "marijuana law" being anything other than criminal defense).

Marijuana law is absolutely a thing in states that are legalizing weed/heavily regulate dispensaries. It's not like there are thousands of jobs in it because it's more niche than real estate but I'd consider it more real and practical than "entertainment law."

Thanks, I'm not at all familiar with those states and what sort of regulatory work would be unique to marijuana. I imagine all other stuff relating to marijuana shops is just generic corporate/lit work, right? Or is there something truly unique to marijuana in corp/lit?

[Johann]

Ideally you'd retake. However, if your mind is made up, make a strict study schedule of 40 hour weeks (including law school classes), do all your readings and really analyze the cases. If you work hard, it's not difficult to be top 20% at a school like northeastern. But you have to bust your ass.

You're gonna have a lot of debt at graduation so I'd also look into "pay as you earn" (abbreviated as PAYE) and REPAYE so you understand your loan repayment options before you graduate. They are income based repayment plans provided by the govt so that kids don't default on loans they can't afford to repay.

Good luck and pm me if you have any questions.

[Johann]

Thanks, I'm not at all familiar with those states and what sort of regulatory work would be unique to marijuana. I imagine all other stuff relating to marijuana shops is just generic corporate/lit work, right? Or is there something truly unique to marijuana in corp/lit?

They aren't biglaw shops - thy are usually small firms with about 10 attorneys. I think they do transactions and compliance work for getting set up as well as litigation if there are state audits on their business etc to ensure compliance. I assume they pay the same 40-50k other small law firms pay.

My guess as to why they are unique and not encompassed by other law firms is because the laws are very new and recent. Would not surprise me if dispensary owners also only wanted to use 420 friendly lawyers because they prolly have a stigmatized view of lawyers as squares and people that helped special interests keep weed illegal for a long time.

Again the jobs are not super common and I'm not sure where they exist - other than Colorado. Only reason I know a little about it is because my good friend lives in Colorado and has been trying to get into one of these firms for a while but can't.

[hamshotfirst]

Hi! I've lived in Boston most of my life and am active in the public sector here, so while I can't comment about for sure about where you should go, since I'm not currently enrolled in LS, I can provide you a bit of context for Boston based on your goals and provide a suggestion (which you should certainly take with a grain of salt given my less-than-0L status)

First, Northeastern is great for undergrad...not so much for LS. If you want to work in Boston, especially with your GPA, I'd suggest retaking the LSAT and going for BU/BC. Hell, if you buckled down it sounds like you could crank that LSAT score up to 170+ and try Harvard! But if you can't retake, honestly Suffolk would be a better option (especially in the public sector) for Boston than Northeastern. But BU and BC take the lions share of the local law jobs.

Also, marijuana law is definitely going to be a big thing here. It was just legalized in November, but more importantly, the legislation actually enacting the regulations to enable retail sale just got through the State legislature and is on Charlie Baker's desk. People are predicting that shops will start to open this time next summer (though that's debatable), but MA is NOTORIOUS for being incredibly bureaucratic with it's excessive vice regulations (the alcohol regulations here are archaic to say the least), but this opens up the door for a lot of legal activity around helping marijuana businesses, especially since it's apparently going to be regulated by an independent board instead of the Sec of the Treasury. There definitely will be work to do in that field!

[capo]

I just finished my first year at NUSL and I'm transferring to a t12. NUSL is a great school if you received a full ride, want to practice in the Boston area and want to work in the public sector. Their OCI is extremely limited (about 15 firms) and you have be in the top .5% to even be considered by the Boston powerhouses (Goodwin, Ropes. Wilmer, Foley, Mintz etc.) Like you said, NUSL's co-op program is amazing and can lead to full time employment, but only at public interest orgs, the gov, or a small firms that pay about 60-80k. If debt is no issue for you, because your parents are rich or you have a trust fund, then go to NUSL, but only if you're positive you want to work in Boston maybe NY, Alaska, and Cali. If you want to work in the private sector, I would say take the LSAT again. You should def be able to increase to above 160 but you have to put the work in. Focus on the logic games. you should be able to get through that whole section. Focus on the arguments section since its two sections. Apply to schools earlyyyyyy! (like submit in October). I cant emphasize this enough. Since your gpa is above every school's 75% percentile some schools would be willing to admit you despite having a LSAT score below their 25th percentile, but only if they feel they can make up for your low lsat score with other applicants. You have two months to study for the October LSAt. Lock in and see where you're at late September. I'd imagine even with a score like 159 you'd have a chance at UMiami. Especially if you apply early. Def do not go to St. Thomas. People on these forums tend to be a little harsh on any school that isnt t14 - with good reason i guess but they are completely right about St. Thomas. If you have any other questions about NUSL just PM or something I'm not sure how this works this is my first post ever.

Thank u so much for your feedback. I know the right thing to do would be study for the test and take it again but I don't want to go another year out of school. I took a year off, however, I was offered a great job position to work in deal management (contracts administrator) at Oracle. I know I should had prioritized the LSAT, since going to law school has been my goal since my first day in college, but I wanted to have some experience in contracts. I thought I was going to be able to work full-time and study for the LSAT simuntaneously but in practice it was much harder to work all day and still be able to go to prep course at night (and actually focus/study for the test). Lesson learned.
That being said, I will prob start at NUSL and try to transfer to a better school after the first year like you did. I'm gonna message you directly for more info.

Thanks again everyone!

You have a great job at Oracle, just stay and do that for another year, build up some work experience for your app
You can't count on transferring because that requires top grades and because of the forced curve in law school and the fact that law school exams are different from other tests you have taken, you cannot count on having top grades
Don't go to Northeastern at close to sticker, study and retake the LSAT

I just replied to your PM and I spoke about how difficult these final exams can be. You basically have four hours. sometimes less, to dissect a fact pattern (sometimes 10 pages long), and write an amazing legal analysis. It is super challenging. From my experience the ppl that did the best

[capo]

I just finished my first year at NUSL and I'm transferring to a t12. NUSL is a great school if you received a full ride, want to practice in the Boston area and want to work in the public sector. Their OCI is extremely limited (about 15 firms) and you have be in the top .5% to even be considered by the Boston powerhouses (Goodwin, Ropes. Wilmer, Foley, Mintz etc.) Like you said, NUSL's co-op program is amazing and can lead to full time employment, but only at public interest orgs, the gov, or a small firms that pay about 60-80k. If debt is no issue for you, because your parents are rich or you have a trust fund, then go to NUSL, but only if you're positive you want to work in Boston maybe NY, Alaska, and Cali. If you want to work in the private sector, I would say take the LSAT again. You should def be able to increase to above 160 but you have to put the work in. Focus on the logic games. you should be able to get through that whole section. Focus on the arguments section since its two sections. Apply to schools earlyyyyyy! (like submit in October). I cant emphasize this enough. Since your gpa is above every school's 75% percentile some schools would be willing to admit you despite having a LSAT score below their 25th percentile, but only if they feel they can make up for your low lsat score with other applicants. You have two months to study for the October LSAt. Lock in and see where you're at late September. I'd imagine even with a score like 159 you'd have a chance at UMiami. Especially if you apply early. Def do not go to St. Thomas. People on these forums tend to be a little harsh on any school that isnt t14 - with good reason i guess but they are completely right about St. Thomas. If you have any other questions about NUSL just PM or something I'm not sure how this works this is my first post ever.

Thank u so much for your feedback. I know the right thing to do would be study for the test and take it again but I don't want to go another year out of school. I took a year off, however, I was offered a great job position to work in deal management (contracts administrator) at Oracle. I know I should had prioritized the LSAT, since going to law school has been my goal since my first day in college, but I wanted to have some experience in contracts. I thought I was going to be able to work full-time and study for the LSAT simuntaneously but in practice it was much harder to work all day and still be able to go to prep course at night (and actually focus/study for the test). Lesson learned.
That being said, I will prob start at NUSL and try to transfer to a better school after the first year like you did. I'm gonna message you directly for more info.

Thanks again everyone!

You have a great job at Oracle, just stay and do that for another year, build up some work experience for your app
You can't count on transferring because that requires top grades and because of the forced curve in law school and the fact that law school exams are different from other tests you have taken, you cannot count on having top grades
Don't go to Northeastern at close to sticker, study and retake the LSAT

I just replied to your PM and I spoke about how difficult these final exams can be. You basically have four hours time, sometimes less, to dissect a fact pattern (sometimes 10 pages long), and provide an amazing legal analysis including all the relevant caselaw you've memorized. It is super challenging. From my experience the ppl that did the best on finals were English lit majors, philosophy types. I was history and poli sci and the finals were still very challenging. The time constraint is a lot to deal with. I wouldn't say you are on track to wreck your life but i do agree that you should stop and breathe. I was in the same boat, didn't want to wait a whole other year but really what is another year? I ultimately ended up waiting five, took the LSAT multiple times and applied to schools during multiple cycles. I've found that firms actually like applicants with significant work experience. You already have a job and if you get that score to 160 and apply early you will have much better options. There are some really smart folks at NUSL who are there on full scholarships. It is not all that easy to do well and stand out at NUSL, despite it's ranking.

[Jay2716]

Thanks, I'm not at all familiar with those states and what sort of regulatory work would be unique to marijuana. I imagine all other stuff relating to marijuana shops is just generic corporate/lit work, right? Or is there something truly unique to marijuana in corp/lit?

They aren't biglaw shops - thy are usually small firms with about 10 attorneys. I think they do transactions and compliance work for getting set up as well as litigation if there are state audits on their business etc to ensure compliance. I assume they pay the same 40-50k other small law firms pay.

My guess as to why they are unique and not encompassed by other law firms is because the laws are very new and recent. Would not surprise me if dispensary owners also only wanted to use 420 friendly lawyers because they prolly have a stigmatized view of lawyers as squares and people that helped special interests keep weed illegal for a long time.

Again the jobs are not super common and I'm not sure where they exist - other than Colorado. Only reason I know a little about it is because my good friend lives in Colorado and has been trying to get into one of these firms for a while but can't.

I know this is a little old, but I just came across this and had something to contribute as I do occasional work in this area.

A major part of "marijuana law," at least in my market, is land use and licensing work. That is, zoning, use permits, licensing key individuals, etc. I am not in CO, so this could be really market-specific, but this is higher-end work in my market. Privileged licensing work tends to bill out at top-of-the-market rates here, and land use isn't much cheaper. it can be a pretty good niche, but my guess is very few lawyers work in marijuana exclusively right now. I don't do licensing and land use exclusively, and marijuana makes up probably only 10-15% of the work I do in that area.