which schools for Miami FL Big Law? Forum

[MyattDamonn]

Hi everyone, first time poster.

Which law schools would be recommended for a placement in big law in Miami Fl. I assume southern T14 schools such as Duke and UVA are likely the best options but what about those outside T14, looking at Vanderbilt specifically among others. Also how would UF fare, given their rise in the rankings?

[nealric]

Is your number 1 goal biglaw, or being in Florida? The best schools for biglaw are of course the T14 (ideally the upper part of those), with other T20ish schools being ok, but a setup down. Once you have biglaw experience (in NYC or elsewhere), it's probably easier to lateral into a Florida role, especially if you have ties there. You may also be able to get a food in the door at a firm with a heavy Florida presence like Greenberg Traurig in NYC and then transfer to one of their Florida offices. On the other hand, if you will only ever consider working in Florida, then Florida is probably your best bet save HYS and maybe CCN.

The ranking of UF or change thereof is irrelevant. The relevant thing is that it's the best law school in Florida, which means graduates will be first in line for Florida jobs after the elite schools. If you miss out on biglaw, there will still be plenty of other Florida employers who know and respect the UF degree. On the other hand, you will be an odd person out with a Washington University degree looking for a job in Florida, and would probably be better off at Florida despite the higher magazine ranking of WUSTL.

[MyattDamonn]

Is your number 1 goal biglaw, or being in Florida? The best schools for biglaw are of course the T14 (ideally the upper part of those), with other T20ish schools being ok, but a setup down. Once you have biglaw experience (in NYC or elsewhere), it's probably easier to lateral into a Florida role, especially if you have ties there. You may also be able to get a food in the door at a firm with a heavy Florida presence like Greenberg Traurig in NYC and then transfer to one of their Florida offices. On the other hand, if you will only ever consider working in Florida, then Florida is probably your best bet save HYS and maybe CCN.

The ranking of UF or change thereof is irrelevant. The relevant thing is that it's the best law school in Florida, which means graduates will be first in line for Florida jobs after the elite schools. If you miss out on biglaw, there will still be plenty of other Florida employers who know and respect the UF degree. On the other hand, you will be an odd person out with a Washington University degree looking for a job in Florida, and would probably be better off at Florida despite the higher magazine ranking of WUSTL.

Thank you for your incredibly helpful reply. Ultimately if I had to choose, I'd say that biglaw is my top priority and thus I'll be shooting for the T14 schools, most likely UVA and Northwestern considering they are supposedly quite friendly to splitters such as myself, though I will be applying broadly across the T14.

One of the main points I got from your post was essentially aim for the T14, otherwise go to the most prestigious schools in the state where you wish to practice law. What I would like to know is how much do connections matter with regards to law placement in comparison to the prestige of one's school? Lets say for example that there were two students both in the top 10% of their class, one goes to UF with no connections to the Florida market whereas the other individual goes to UM and has plenty of ties to the Miami and the legal market there, who has the advantage?

[nealric]

Is your number 1 goal biglaw, or being in Florida? The best schools for biglaw are of course the T14 (ideally the upper part of those), with other T20ish schools being ok, but a setup down. Once you have biglaw experience (in NYC or elsewhere), it's probably easier to lateral into a Florida role, especially if you have ties there. You may also be able to get a food in the door at a firm with a heavy Florida presence like Greenberg Traurig in NYC and then transfer to one of their Florida offices. On the other hand, if you will only ever consider working in Florida, then Florida is probably your best bet save HYS and maybe CCN.

The ranking of UF or change thereof is irrelevant. The relevant thing is that it's the best law school in Florida, which means graduates will be first in line for Florida jobs after the elite schools. If you miss out on biglaw, there will still be plenty of other Florida employers who know and respect the UF degree. On the other hand, you will be an odd person out with a Washington University degree looking for a job in Florida, and would probably be better off at Florida despite the higher magazine ranking of WUSTL.

Thank you for your incredibly helpful reply. Ultimately if I had to choose, I'd say that biglaw is my top priority and thus I'll be shooting for the T14 schools, most likely UVA and Northwestern considering they are supposedly quite friendly to splitters such as myself, though I will be applying broadly across the T14.

One of the main points I got from your post was essentially aim for the T14, otherwise go to the most prestigious schools in the state where you wish to practice law. What I would like to know is how much do connections matter with regards to law placement in comparison to the prestige of one's school? Lets say for example that there were two students both in the top 10% of their class, one goes to UF with no connections to the Florida market whereas the other individual goes to UM and has plenty of ties to the Miami and the legal market there, who has the advantage?

A lot of what the more prestigious school does is give you a cushion if you aren't near the top of your class. The best assumption (for planning purposes) is that you will probably end up somewhere in the middle of your class. Almost every incoming student sets their sights on being at the top, but it's a zero sum game, and most inevitably won't be in the top 10%. Another thing a more prestigious school does is protect you during a downturn. During the great recession (class of 2011 hiring market), even the top schools saw a downturn in their biglaw placement, but if you went to HYSCCN, it was maybe the difference between everyone with a pulse getting biglaw and a few folks at the bottom of the class or with bad interviews/strategy getting shut out. If you were at a school ranked in the 20-50 range, it went from the top 20% getting biglaw, to maybe a few folks at the tippy top of the class (much more significant percentage decline).

So, someone at median at UM has essentially zero chance of biglaw regardless of their connections (close to zero at UF as well). You need a certain school/class rank combo to be a viable candidate. So that might be top 20% for UF and top 10% for UM (not real numbers, just a rough ballpark). Once you are a viable candidate in the first place, connections can help you get over the line. Connections can also help you quite a bit if you are at a T14 school and looking to move to a market like Florida. Someone who has zero connections to Florida may be met with skepticism even if they are top of their class at HYS.

Finally, it's easier to pick a given market once you are established. I got shut out of my chosen market during OCI (during the great recession) and ended up in NYC. After 3 years of NYC biglaw, I had no trouble lateraling to my chosen market.

[MyattDamonn]

Is your number 1 goal biglaw, or being in Florida? The best schools for biglaw are of course the T14 (ideally the upper part of those), with other T20ish schools being ok, but a setup down. Once you have biglaw experience (in NYC or elsewhere), it's probably easier to lateral into a Florida role, especially if you have ties there. You may also be able to get a food in the door at a firm with a heavy Florida presence like Greenberg Traurig in NYC and then transfer to one of their Florida offices. On the other hand, if you will only ever consider working in Florida, then Florida is probably your best bet save HYS and maybe CCN.

The ranking of UF or change thereof is irrelevant. The relevant thing is that it's the best law school in Florida, which means graduates will be first in line for Florida jobs after the elite schools. If you miss out on biglaw, there will still be plenty of other Florida employers who know and respect the UF degree. On the other hand, you will be an odd person out with a Washington University degree looking for a job in Florida, and would probably be better off at Florida despite the higher magazine ranking of WUSTL.

Thank you for your incredibly helpful reply. Ultimately if I had to choose, I'd say that biglaw is my top priority and thus I'll be shooting for the T14 schools, most likely UVA and Northwestern considering they are supposedly quite friendly to splitters such as myself, though I will be applying broadly across the T14.

One of the main points I got from your post was essentially aim for the T14, otherwise go to the most prestigious schools in the state where you wish to practice law. What I would like to know is how much do connections matter with regards to law placement in comparison to the prestige of one's school? Lets say for example that there were two students both in the top 10% of their class, one goes to UF with no connections to the Florida market whereas the other individual goes to UM and has plenty of ties to the Miami and the legal market there, who has the advantage?

A lot of what the more prestigious school does is give you a cushion if you aren't near the top of your class. The best assumption (for planning purposes) is that you will probably end up somewhere in the middle of your class. Almost every incoming student sets their sights on being at the top, but it's a zero sum game, and most inevitably won't be in the top 10%. Another thing a more prestigious school does is protect you during a downturn. During the great recession (class of 2011 hiring market), even the top schools saw a downturn in their biglaw placement, but if you went to HYSCCN, it was maybe the difference between everyone with a pulse getting biglaw and a few folks at the bottom of the class or with bad interviews/strategy getting shut out. If you were at a school ranked in the 20-50 range, it went from the top 20% getting biglaw, to maybe a few folks at the tippy top of the class (much more significant percentage decline).

So, someone at median at UM has essentially zero chance of biglaw regardless of their connections (close to zero at UF as well). You need a certain school/class rank combo to be a viable candidate. So that might be top 20% for UF and top 10% for UM (not real numbers, just a rough ballpark). Once you are a viable candidate in the first place, connections can help you get over the line. Connections can also help you quite a bit if you are at a T14 school and looking to move to a market like Florida. Someone who has zero connections to Florida may be met with skepticism even if they are top of their class at HYS.

Finally, it's easier to pick a given market once you are established. I got shut out of my chosen market during OCI (during the great recession) and ended up in NYC. After 3 years of NYC biglaw, I had no trouble lateraling to my chosen market.

Understood, I will most definitely follow your advice and you've covered everything I wanted to know and more.

Thanks again nealric.