Law School at Empire College, Santa Rosa, CA? (San Francisco, Davis: credit, attorneys) - City-Data Forum

RunningWild · 06-09-2011, 10:52 AM

I am looking at moving to Sebastopol and going to law school at Empire College in Santa Rosa, CA. Can anybody tell me a little more about the law school? Pros, cons, etc. Would the drive from Sebastopol be long? It didn't seem too bad. What are your feelings about the school? I am 41 with a 5 year old. My husband and I work from home. We are thinking of moving in a year or so.

SportyandMisty · 06-09-2011, 11:48 AM

Every credible econometric model of the supply of and demand for attorneys shows a massive oversupply with the exception of a handful of fairly specialized legal sub-areas such as patent law (are you an engineer or scientist?) and tax law (CPA?)

If you plan to graduate in the top 50% of a top 10 law school you will probably be fine. If you graduate in the top 10% of a top 30 law school you will probably be fine. Graduating from a 3rd or 4th tier law school? good luck.

eureka1 · 06-09-2011, 02:21 PM

The previous poster is correct re: the job market but if you're clever ( and an attorney should be clever, no?) you may be able to carve a niche for yourself. You can't just hang out your shingle. Figure out a specialty and do whatever it takes; learn another language , whatever.
Regarding the school, Empire is well-regarded and at least one judge in SR is an alumnus, probably more by now since it's been awhile since I read that. Good luck! Study hard.

RunningWild · 06-10-2011, 09:27 AM

Thanks for the info. I already have a niche, as I already work for attorneys. I am not thrilled about being an attorney, but it would bring in a lot more money. I am lucky. I already know what I will be doing when I get out. I won't need to find a law firm to work for. I am just wondering if anybody has any suggestions or comments prior to my getting serious about this school? I am looking at moving to Sebastopol with my 5 year old and husband. I have another thread, asking about Sebastopol. Any info is helpful, as I am not from CA.

eureka1 · 06-11-2011, 11:11 AM

All I can tell you about Sebastopol is that it WAS famous for its apple orchards which have now been lost to development. Hopefully someone with more current info can answer.

Bulldogdad · 06-11-2011, 01:10 PM

I know an ex-girl friend of my from high school is a Professor there.

Surftown831 · 06-11-2011, 01:48 PM

Empire law school isn't even ABA accredited. I wouldn't go to a non-ABA accredited school if it was completely free. I wouldn't even go if someone paid me $35k a year to go. It would be a complete waste of my time and resources, even if I did have a firm ready to hire me when I got out, because I might not want to be there forever and other firms won't even look at 99% of people from non-ABA law schools.

I'd at least look at University of San Francisco and Golden Gate University, and even those graduates are finding it hard to compete with the top law schools in the area (Berkely, Hastings, Davis, Stanford).

RunningWild · 06-12-2011, 11:47 AM

Yes, thanks, UNLV09. That was one of my worries- that it isn't ABA accredited. I am anticipating to be in California for the rest of my life and I don't need to be hired by a law firm. I already have a position in place for myself. But, I do worry about the possibility of moving and then what? I've wasted 4 years of my life in a non-ABA accredited school. But, I am 41 and I don't have tons of career time left anyway, by the time I get out, so I don't know. Guess it could depend if I could even get into any other law school. I guess it would be smart to take a look at the others and then see, particularly before I move to those areas.

Meanwhile, if anybody else has any other info they'd like to share, I'm all ears.

Surftown831 · 06-12-2011, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningWild

Yes, thanks, UNLV09. That was one of my worries- that it isn't ABA accredited. I am anticipating to be in California for the rest of my life and I don't need to be hired by a law firm. I already have a position in place for myself. But, I do worry about the possibility of moving and then what? I've wasted 4 years of my life in a non-ABA accredited school. But, I am 41 and I don't have tons of career time left anyway, by the time I get out, so I don't know. Guess it could depend if I could even get into any other law school. I guess it would be smart to take a look at the others and then see, particularly before I move to those areas.

Meanwhile, if anybody else has any other info they'd like to share, I'm all ears.

Golden Gate is the easiest ABA school to get into in the area. As long as you get a decent score on the LSAT and have some work experience, you should have no problem. USF is probably the next easiest to get into. Since you went to college a long time ago they won't be too concerned about your GPA, they are going to be looking at your work experience and your LSAT score.

RunningWild · 06-12-2011, 01:01 PM

Thanks, UNLV09. I will look into these schools. I am actually a little worried about the LSAT, as I have a learning disorder, although I have been tested and show high reasoning abilities, etc. But, this winter, I also will be completing my Masters in Education with a 4.0, likely. (I'm a hard worker.) I had to design and implement a research project, which is no easy task! I also received a BA in Biology from a great liberal arts college in the midwest. And, I currently work for attorneys and run my own company. So, I feel I have the smarts and background, but I don't know if I will do well on the LSAT. I am not anticipating a high score, unfortunately. I likely will need the easiest school to get into that will accept me, due to this. I just need a law degree so that I can make more money and take the cases that would just drop in my lap! So, I am wondering about your opinion....if I have a job pretty much lined up when I get out of law school, and if I weren't against staying in CA, and if I didn't get into an accredited school, then do you think I should consider a non-accredited school? Do you think that I am wasting my time? Are non-accredited schools terrible /limited in other ways, other than being shunned by firms? Obviously, if it seems that I should apply to an accredited school first, but if I am not accepted, then do you think a non-accredited school would be a waste? And, could I transfer from Empire to another ABA accredited school, later, if I wanted? Are you an attorney?
Any info is appreciated! I am just beginning to get info on all of this, as you can see.