Law school decision - Louisiana French law

jennilynn89

Hey everyone!

Here's a question that's been on my mind for quite some time. I've long been contemplating the various school's I'm going to apply to (knowing that my final LSAT score is going to be the deciding factor on this). I know everyone says to apply to a reach school in the state you want to practice, but I personally would most likely practice wherever I go to law school. I don't feel tied down anywhere, and am very much open to moving and exploring life in another area.
Now with that being said, I have a friend that is starting law school at Tulane this year. She's lived in Louisiana her whole life, and does not plan on ever moving to a different state (but never say never, right!!). Now, for people that would like to eventually move later in life (perhaps after the 5 year reciprocity period is over), what is your opinion on being a lawyer in LA? I love New Orleans (actually have family/friends there) and am interested in applying to Tulane. Since LA is a civil law state and the rest of the US are common law states, would staying and practicing law in LA actually be detrimental to a law career if you decide to move to another state later on in life?

Just something I've been very curious about.

BruiserWoods

I know a lawyer in Boston who graduated from Tulane Law School. I'm not sure if he had to take additional classes or what. (I know he did have to take the MA bar exam, obviously). Idk if that helps you or not. But there's at least 1 person who did it. haha

UsernameChange

I'm not sure practicing in Louisiana will be detrimental to moving later in life, but Tulane will severely limit your career in terms of location. (i.e. if you go to Tulane, bank on being in Louisiana) As someone who hails from the boot, if you aren't 100% ok living in Lousiana the rest of your career, don't go to Tulane. Not to say it would be impossible to move somewhere else, but you will have a big uphill battle.

Nicole Hopkins

This is a tough question. NOLA is a weird legal market and employment market generally. If you're happy to stay in LA (especially NOLA), sounds good. If not, you'd better be at the very, very top of the class to be able to get out of the area.

jdawg113

@UsernameChange said:
if you aren't 100% ok living in Lousiana the rest of your career, don't go to Tulane. Not to say it would be impossible to move somewhere else, but you will have a big uphill battle.

this

jennilynn89

Thank you everyone for your input! @BruiserWoods @UsernameChange @"Nicole Hopkins" @jdawg113

I will probably revisit this contemplation once I actually get closer to application time. Just something I was wondering about.