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But really though, I need your vote!

Michelle ObamaMichelle Obama Alum Member
in Law School Admissions 111 karma

The objective: work in Seattle after law school
The problem:
1) I am a CO native with a strong network in CO and I have a full-tuition scholarship to DU (ranked 63)
2) I got accepted at UW (ranked 44), tuition is 35k, I have 5k financial aid
Does it matter which school I choose if I'm trying to break into the WA legal community?

Which school??
  1. Which school makes sense to attend?19 votes
    1. DU
      42.11%
    2. UW
      57.89%
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Comments

  • Adam HawksAdam Hawks Alum Member
    990 karma

    Both schools are regional. If you want to be in Seattle, go to UW. But the money they're giving you doesn't look like a good reason to attend.

  • drbrown2drbrown2 Alum Member
    2227 karma

    I’ve heard Seattle in particular is a more difficult market to get into if you didn’t go to school there. However, I have a friend who went to school in AZ, worked for a few years for a firm in AZ, then transferred to a firm in Seattle.

  • LSAT_WreckerLSAT_Wrecker Member ⭐
    4850 karma

    @"Leah M B" ???

  • Leah M BLeah M B Alum Member ⭐
    8392 karma

    Thanks for the tag, @LSAT_Wrecker!

    So from everything I have heard and read, the Pacific NW is highly highly sensitive to having ties to the area. If you don’t already have ties (like, born and raised in Seattle, the entirety of your family lives there and it’s the absolutely only place you are even considering living), it’s extremely difficult to break into. Tales abound even of people born and raised in Seattle, went to UW undergrad, left to go to a T14 and struck out trying to get back to the Seattle market. I don’t say this to be a naysayer or depressing, but to hopefully be realistic. Even going to UW, if you don’t have ties to the area, you might have a tough go of things.

    There are a few exceptions - if you’re interested in PI/government, it seems like they are less sensitive to ties. But biglaw is incredibly difficult to get, and even midlaw from what I’ve heard. It’s just a very very small market here, and between the handful of law schools in the area, there are already more grads than jobs. So from the employer’s perspective, why hire someone with no ties who may bolt after a year or two because they hate the weather or housing costs are higher than they thought, when they could invest in someone they won’t have to worry about leaving the area for greener pastures.

    So that said, if you don’t have any ties to the area, UW is your only hope at making some. However, I can’t really advise someone to take out $100k+ in loans to attend a school that doesn’t even have that great of employment statistics, all things considered. It’s a huge catch 22. It might be smarter for you to attend DU, work your butt off to get summer jobs in WA, and hope for the best. Maybe try to get the honors program for WA state AG, or prosecutor/PD job in the area. But I’d have a very solid back up plan.

    This thread at LSL is the most comprehensive, informative thing I’ve seen about the PNW. I highly recommend reading through this. You would also likely get a response and and advice if you post your question in this thread too - there are working attorneys who attended UW and/or know the market well that can help.

    https://www.lawschool.life/forums/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1868

  • AudaciousRedAudaciousRed Alum Member
    2689 karma

    I kinda agree with Leah. If it's going to be a "maybe" either way, take the maybe that is fully paid for. You can do a lot without the debt load. Then, you just have to worry about the job opening, and not how much it will need to pay for loan repayment. It gives you more flexibility.

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