| Topic Name: |
tier 3/4 schools |
| Message Name: |
tier 3 |
| Date Posted: |
10/08/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
I am sure there is a huge difference between starting slaraies of a tier3 vs tier1 graduate. I was curious to find out what jobs and roles do tier 3/4 student end up with, what if they are in top 10% of their class, can they still compete for the similar jobs as the students from tier1 schools? any opinions?? |
| Message: |
There is no one rule for all tier 3s. In some states, tier 3s are the "principal" law school in the state, and thus, the larger city firms recruit at those tier 3s as if those were the "key" law school for the region. In NYC, by contrast, local top 5 schools coupled with other top 10 schools with tons of grads who want to come to LA means that a tier 3 grad is facing much more stiff competition.
Thus, a tier 3 grad in the top 10 to 20 percent in a midwestern or southern state can almost always get a job with a large regional firm. A tier 3 grad in SF or NYC or LA will in an up economy get a job with a firm near the top drawer, but in a weaker economy get only a top-ish but a bit second-drawer job.
For those not in the top, the results vary widely. Some law schools in the third tier place nearly all their grads, because their region is good at soaking up new grads (parenthetically, these schools often are in areas in which entry level salaries never exploded through the roof, making absorption easier for law firms). Some law schools in the third tier have a very hard time easily placing all but the top quarter or so of their grads with larger or midsize firms.
Typically, non-top grads from all but the top 10 or 20 schools go to small firms and state government work, not to larger firms. Although school reputation can matter to some small firms just as it does to large firms, in general small firms are less strictly rank-conscious than larger firms.
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