If I wanna practice law in California, should I go to a law school in California???

Question

I'm sending out my law school applications soon, and I got 23 of them! I know thats a lot, but I was worried about getting into a school, or I should say a good school.
Yesterday, my professor, who is not an attorney told me that if I go to one of my out-of-state schools, like Brooklyn Law School, or South Texas School of Law, they will not have any recruiters from California there to conduct interviews...which makes sense. My plan is to work for the District Attorney, in Orange County, where I live. But my professor says that they will prefer alumni from CA law schools.

Hopefully I will go to a law school in California. But if I go to an out-of-state school, and its not Harvard or Yale, do you think I will be able to make the connections and transition back to California and become and District Attorney here???

Answer 1

It's really not worth it to go out of state unless it's a top law school.

I certainly wouldn't bother applying to Brooklyn Law or South Texas Law.

The reason is you'd like to be a DA. Well, becoming a DA in a state like NY or Texas is just as competitive as being one in CA. Since your ultimate goal is to be a DA in CA, why make your life harder by going out of state. You're not going to get any help at school in passing the CA bar. Any reference to the bar will be towards passing that state's bar (they're not all the same).

If you want to get a job at the DA's straight out of law school, you want to intern there first. There will NOT be any recruiters at those two schools. They'll get plenty of applicants at the CA schools.

Is it possible to get an internship from out of state? Yes. However, it's hard enough to do it from a nationally recognized school that's below the top 20 (which it doesn't sound like is within your reach). Unless you know the head DA personally, realistically it'll be impossible coming from a 4th tier school out of state.

Save your money and don't bother applying to those schools. There are enough 4th tier school in CA to apply to. 23 apps is pretty insane. I applied to like 4. 1 reach, 2 maybe's, and one safety. Went to one of my maybes. That's already like $200 in fees.

Answer 2

I would stay in-state. The tuition is cheaper and the law schools are better known. California attorneys are familiar with even lower ranked schools, but not South Texas etc. At the very least, you should stay on the West Coast if that's where you want to work.

Also, keep in mind that each state has it's own bar exam, which you must pass to practice law in that state. You would be better prepared to pass the California bar and practice in the state if you went to law school in California. California also has quirky laws and is more bureaucratic than other states...it is best to study there if you want to pratice law in the state.

Answer 3

Technically, you do not need a law fegree to practice law in California. CA is one of a small number of states (including Virginia and Maine) where you can read law.

However, you still need to pass the California Bar Exam. Since law school is not a requirement -- they make it the toughest bar in the country.

Going to a law school in California would prepare you better for the california portion of the Bar. oing to a great law school anywhere will give you a good basis for law and prepare you well for the non-California portion of the bar.

Someone said go to Harvard or Yale. Yes -- going to a top ten Law School will open lots of doors for you -- in California and elsewhere. The same can be said for schools like Duke, NYU, Columbia and Michigan. You would be better off at a top-20 out of state school than at a California school that is not highly ranked.

That being said -- California has several highly ranked law schools. If you can get a law degree from Berkeley or Stanford, you can write your own ticket.

Good luck.

PS -- on a personal note, this answer pushes me to level 7.

Answer 4

No. You can major in anything. Accounting is highly advised because lawyers deal with situations involving money. Engineering is advised for those studying patent law. English is advised because lawyers have to write a lot. Math is advised because logical analytical thinking is often necessary. I would advise majors in a field you choose that also has employment possibilities with a bachelors degree. You may want to make money more than go to law school after college. The first question on most law school applications is "How are you gonna pay for all of this?". Law school has a cost plus an opportunity cost. The opportunity cost is income you could be making with a instead of going to law school.

Answer 5

it doesn't matter where you go to law school because you have to pass the State Bar Exam for whatever state you want to practice in...you don't learn the law in law school, you learn how to be a lawyer, no law school teaches just the laws for the state they are in, you cover very broad topics and study Supreme Court cases to become familiar with decisions and precedent...you learn the law your first 2-3 years while working 80-90 hrs a week as an underling in some massive firm...

Answer 6

23 schools? you sound very unfocused.
save your application fee $$$. if you are thinking of that many schools, you are a lower tier student.
pick the closest ABA approved school, don't bother with south coast or whittier or other non-accredited schools. it may be UCSD depending on where you live.
the OCDA doesn't recruit, they don't have the budget.
if that's really your goal, show some spirit by walking in the door and asking for an interview with an ADA. they will be happy to tell you what to do.
p.s. it's a crappy job.

Answer 7

you probably should go to a law school right there inyour area in california but if you go to one of the other law schools you best check with them to make sure they will sponsor you back to be a district attorney in california but most likely you can use what school that you go through

Answer 8

Harvard or Yale first choice
Then CA law schools-better to learn it first hand