Law Schools

Northwestern Law Students Snub Potential Employers

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northwestern law school.gifA friend of ATL brings us a surprising report from a recruitment event at Northwestern University School of Law on Wednesday night. Despite the rough economic times, rampant layoffs, rescinded job offers, and general end of the legal employment world as we know it, many students decided to skip out on the chance to mingle with recruiters from Biglaw, the DOJ, and the SEC. Says our source from a New York Biglaw firm:

Went to “meet the employers night” at northwestern last night — there was practically no turnout.

The event was aimed at 1Ls, but open to all students. One recruiter complained that “it was f***ing full of LLMs and no one else.”

There were lots of firms there (even Latham), but everyone was shocked at how few students showed up. We talked to maybe 5 the whole night (2 hours). I had a bunch of friends there from other firms — they all had the same reaction — expecting tons of students, shocked at how few showed up…. All said turnout was noticeably lower than in previous years.

Hey Northwestern kids, what’s up with that?

The firm folks speculated as to the reason for the low turnout, and here are the theories they came up with:

1) they’re resigned to not getting jobs

2) they’re more worried than usual about saying something stupid

3) they’re more worried than usual about studying

Northwestern’s head of placement was perplexed, says our source. The firm representatives were perplexed. We are perplexed. What’s the explanation here?

“Northwestern kids are surprisingly confident in their ability to secure jobs this fall,” hypothesized our source, a bemused, but proud, Northwestern alum.

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Umm … So, There’s This

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So, you know how we at Above the Law love to bring you something a little bit later in the day for our west coast and late night readers? I bring this up lest you think I have masturbatory ulterior motives for the timing of this post.

So, this lady is apparently a law student somewhere in Miami:

Click below the fold for the rest of this story. (Arguably not safe for work, children, Jesus, reasonable people, Princess Leia, or PETA).

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Cooley Law School Develops More Useless Than Normal Law School Rankings

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Cooley law school logo.jpgThomas M. Cooley Law School’s tenth annual Judging the Law Schools rankings are available. (Hat tip: ATL commenters.)
I was not aware that this school list existed. But now that I’ve seen it, I can’t stay the same. The rationale behind this list is rigorous and powerful:

Imagine that college football teams are ranked each year by the quality of the freshman recruits and the pre-season polls of the press and the coaches. Games don’t count, only what people expect, based upon the potential of the high school players and the pre-season assessment of two groups with some involvement in football. Imagine as well that the rankings for the year are determined just once, before the season begins and those players are tested by competition.

Dude, totally. Keep talking, I’ll roll the next one:

That unimaginable scenario is pretty much what happens when law schools are ranked. The quality of the incoming class and the reputation of the schools according to the academics and lawyers control the rankings.

This is just like that time when we were on that thing, and we saw all those little dudes. And they were running man, remember? But where? Where were they going, man? So fast:

Legal education is one of the last places in America where ignorance is used as a basis of judgment (I never heard of it, so how good can it be?) and where subjectivity and bias are actually valued over objectivity and fair-mindedness (this or that school has a good or bad reputation).

I’m totally wigging out.
You will be shocked to learn that Cooley Law School’s “objective” and “fair-minded” list ranks Thomas M. Cooley Law School 12th best, among the 197 ABA-accredited law schools.
See the top 20, plus some notes on Cooley’s methodology, after the jump.

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Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: A First for Seton Hall

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Supreme Court hallway Above the Law Above the Law Above the Law.JPGWe take back what we previously wrote about Justice Samuel Alito being “a bit secretive about his clerk hiring.” Presumably Justice Alito signed off on this press release issued by Seton Hall Law School, announcing the hiring of Lucas Townsend (Seton Hall 2004 / Ackerman (D.N.J.) / Trump Barry) as an Alito clerk for October Term 2009.

Congratulations to Townsend and to Seton Hall, which has placed its first graduate into a SCOTUS clerkship. From a tipster:

We just got this email [a slightly tweaked version of the press release] from the dean. Not bad for a school that most of the elitists on ATL would consider a TTT. Although SHU will never sniff the T-14, the school has been steadily climbing the U.S. News rankings, and I think this alum’s accomplishment might help that cause.

We also had the best showing of New York Vault 100 placement ever by this year’s 2L class. Things are looking good on this side of the Hudson.

Additional Supreme Court clerk hiring news, plus updated lists of Supreme Court clerks for OT 2009 and OT 2010, after the jump.

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Thoughts On the Global Economic Meltdown From Columbia University

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columbia law school logo.jpgWe’ve done a few stories on how the financial crisis is hurting public and private law schools. Over the past couple of weeks, administration officials at Columbia have shared some candid thoughts with the student body.

Law School Dean David Schizer let students know how he personally dealt with the last economic recession:

In conversations with many of you, I’ve heard that the economy is very much on your mind, so I wanted to share some thoughts with you based on my own experience. I was in law school during an economic downturn. I remember that some employers cut back on their hiring, and it turned out to be a serious mistake because, when the economy later rebounded — as it always does — they didn’t have the staffing in place.

According to Dean Schizer, this “mistake” will not be repeated:

In conversations with graduates who are involved in hiring decisions, in both the public interest area and in private practice, I’ve learned that memories are clear on this point, and that many employers who are of particular interest to you are eager to avoid this mistake. This is all the more true for Columbia graduates, who are always in great demand at the top of the legal profession. We know that our country will be going through some difficult times and know that you, as Columbia-educated lawyers, will have much to contribute to shaping our future.

Nothing is f***** here dude, nothing is f*****.

After the jump, Lee Bollinger weighs in on the general university finances.

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University of Chicago Law School The Latest to Change Fall OCI

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Not Hiring sign.jpgThus far, the University of Chicago Law School has been immune to the fever of grade reform. While other law schools bend over backwards to make the same level of education look better on a transcript, Chicago has held the line.

But it’s not like U of C Law is just ignoring the economic realities of the day. Another trend among top law schools it to make their on-campus interview process start earlier so firms don’t “fill up” on other candidates. Chicago is officially moving in that direction:

The fall 2009 on-campus interview program may seem very far away during the Chicago winter, but the Office of Career Services has begun planning in order to maximize your opportunities during this important phase of the job market for students exploring law firm careers. This planning has led to a notable calendar change: The University of Chicago Law School’s fall on-campus interviews will be held August 17-28, with an orientation to the program scheduled for August 15th.

After the jump, Chicago Law makes its intentions clear — but there are other problems with changing the timing of OCI.

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Santa Clara Law School Gets Creative

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Santa Clara Law Logo.JPGAre you familiar with Second Life? It’s a virtual world where real people can interact and do business with other real people, without the pesky interference of “the mortal coil.”

Santa Clara Law has decided to take this phenomenon to what I suppose is its logical conclusion. Competing to attract the best students, Santa Clara will host an application workshop in Second Life tomorrow. From the press release:

Posing as her own self-created avatar, “Penny Canucci,” SCU Law School Dean of Admissions Jeanette Leach will play host to prospective students who sign in for the event, taking place from 6 to 8 p.m. at “Santa Clara Island” on Second Life.

They’ll view a video welcome from Santa Clara Law Dean Donald Polden (appearing in real-life video footage, not as an avatar). After Leach’s workshop, participants will be able to ask questions of the admissions office staff and gather information about applying to Santa Clara Law.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. And when dealing with a digital generation that finds face-to-face interaction “a little weird,” I guess your only choice is to jack into the Matrix.

More on Santa Clara’s Second Life strategy after the jump.

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Update: Cooley’s Layoffs Were Worse Than We Thought

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Cooley Godward logo.JPGWe reported earlier today that Cooley Godward laid off a number of attorneys and staff. The firm just sent out its official press release, and it turns out the cuts run even deeper than we previously reported.

According to the firm, 52 attorneys and 62 staff were let go today:

Given the continued slowdown we have experienced in pockets of the Firm over the last five months and the forecast for continuing global economic turmoil in 2009, the Executive and Management Committees concluded that a reduction is necessary at this time. At all levels throughout the Firm we strive to provide an opportunity for everyone to grow professionally and at an appropriate pace. It was the collective judgment of the Firm’s management that in the current environment we would compromise our ability to achieve that goal without reducing the Firm’s headcount across the board.

Our tipsters report that the San Diego office was particularly hard hit. In addition, a commenter said that New York took it on the chin as well.

Read the full Cooley release after the jump. Good luck to all those let go today.

Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of law firm layoffs

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Economic Downturn Continues to Hammer Law Schools

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Will Work for Food 2 Above the Law blog.JPGKaren Sloan over at the National Law Journal has an interesting report on how the economic crisis continues to cause pain to the nation’s law schools:

Instead of an expected 1% budget increase, the dean of the Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law learned that she would need to cut about 2% of the budget for the current academic year. The reductions were necessary because the Pennsylvania government — facing a major budget shortfall — was preparing to cut funding to the university by more than 4%.

Great. Just when the declining legal market might suggest (ahem) a reduction in law school tuition costs, budget shortfalls make it almost certain that legal education will remain ridiculously expensive.

And if public schools are feeling the pinch, you best believe that private schools are crying tears of poverty all over your tuition check for this semester. More after the jump.

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University of Kentucky College of Law Updates Facebook Status

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Kentucky law facebook.JPGIt’s been a tough year for Kentucky. They were on the wrong side of the Obama-wave. They killed a horse. Rick Pitino isn’t walking through that door.

And it’s not like University of Kentucky College of Law students are immune from the larger problems in the legal market. But unlike Churchill Downs, the UK Law administration is looking for creative ways to deal with emerging realities. In response to the cratering job market, UK Law’s interim dean has suggested that students spend more time on Facebook:

We want you to know that you can sign up for the UK College of Law Alumni group on Facebook. Even though you are not technically yet alums, you will be soon and I thought that participating in our Facebook page might help you make contacts that would assist you with your job search.

I realize that your class is graduating into a difficult job market. It’s my intention for the Dean’s Office to do whatever we can to make your job search less stressful and more productive. One idea is that you could sign up on Facebook and use your profile to describe your interests, including the fact that you are looking for a job after graduation.

Well, every great idea looked a little bit ridiculous before it worked right?

And there’s some salient Facebook pimping advice for those inclined to try it out:

I’ll be sending a “wall” message to those alums who are already participating, asking them to help us with placement for our grads. You never know who might know about the perfect job for you, so be sure to make your profile and any comments you post something that is “professional.” Yes, I know that some grads put up pictures of their dogs—and far be it from me, of all persons, to criticize dog photos—but I think that if you are using this as a marketing opportunity you want to be careful what you post.

Read the Dean’s full Good Will Hunting-esque message after the jump. And remember you can share this post on Facebook with other job seekers friends.

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