MN Law Schools (Minneapolis, Eagan, Wells: insurance, lawyer, look for a job)

[wallstreet1986]

Hi all I'm applying to law schools and would like to know which ones are the best for the Minneapolis market, have a good reputation, and are worth the $$$$ I will spend to go to them. I am interested in business and tax law

University of Minnesota -- my top choice if I get in (fingers crossed)
University of Wisconsin Madison
Hamline $$
William Mitchell $$
Marquette $$$

And if I dont get in I'll probably have to look at business or finance jobs. I got a 147 on the LSAT on the first try and have about a 3.5 GPA. Nonetheless I have been studying a lot to retake it in February.

Thanks.

[Robert P Stewart]

I work with attorneys everyday, and for the most part (95%), they're on top of things. They come from every law school imaginable too.

The ones who went to Hamline and William Mitchell both seemed to have really good feedback on their school. They have a sense of pride that just didn't seem evident in the others, unless of course they went to Harvard or somewhere like that...

Hope that helps.

[politikally]

Hey,

As an attorney in the MN market, I'll tell you right now it doesn't matter where you goto law school. Most of my colleagues went to William Mitchell or to a school out of state. Very few went to the private schools or UofMN.

If I may here are few pieces of advice for someone going to law school:

1. Go to a school in the region where you want to practice. This bodes better for internships, jobs, etc.
2. Go to the cheapest school you can get into. It's a common misconception of first year law students that you have to goto the "best" law school to get a job. When in reality - all law schools teach exactly the same thing. (Torts, Property, Con law, Contracts, etc). 9 times out of 10 no one cares where you went to school (unless you want to work for one of those slave driving mega-firms). You'll thank me when you come out less in debt than your colleagues.
3. Try to get an intership where you want to work when you graduate.


That's it! Good luck to you - and don't worry about the LSAT. It has nothing to do with the practice of law It's just a hurdle.

[EframInIllinois]

Hi,

Can you elaborate a little on the MN market for attorneys? Are people pretty friendly?

I'm an attorney down in IL and am considering relocating to the Twin Cities area and am just doing some exploration.

As for the original poster, I'd agree with the previous poster that it doesn't necessarily matter where you go to school. I depends alot on what areas of law you are interested in and where you want to practice though. If you want to do big-firm stuff, you'd probably have to go to a top school, but for most everything else, it doesn't matter at all.

Out of the schools that you mentioned, obviously UM and UW are the better of the schools. But, if you want to work in the TC, it'd probably be better to go to UM or UW, and if you don't get into those schools, you will probably want to stay local, do well, make some connections, and go from there.

In my experience, being a good lawyer has nothing to do with where you went to school. Its all about working hard and knowing the other lawyers in the community and having a good, solid reputation.

[politikally]

Originally Posted by EframInIllinois

Hi,

Can you elaborate a little on the MN market for attorneys? Are people pretty friendly?

I'm an attorney down in IL and am considering relocating to the Twin Cities area and am just doing some exploration.

As for the original poster, I'd agree with the previous poster that it doesn't necessarily matter where you go to school. I depends alot on what areas of law you are interested in and where you want to practice though. If you want to do big-firm stuff, you'd probably have to go to a top school, but for most everything else, it doesn't matter at all.

Out of the schools that you mentioned, obviously UM and UW are the better of the schools. But, if you want to work in the TC, it'd probably be better to go to UM or UW, and if you don't get into those schools, you will probably want to stay local, do well, make some connections, and go from there.

In my experience, being a good lawyer has nothing to do with where you went to school. Its all about working hard and knowing the other lawyers in the community and having a good, solid reputation.

Hi Efram,

I really enjoy the MN market. Almost every Attorney I've come across has been wonderful. I will say this though -- the market here is far more corporate oriented than anything else. Most attorneys quickly move on to corporate positions after practicing with a firm for 2-5 years.

As for the types of law practiced/needed:

-Banking/Securities Law is big (Wells Fargo, TCF, and US Bank have massive presences in the Twin Cities)
-IP Law is a fast growing market around here. Most of the job openings I see are in the IP area.
-ED Law (very new) is becoming big and it seems to be based here (lots of new companies and firms in the biz). (ED=Electronic Discovery)

Outside of that there are many people in non-traditional legal roles. I'd say a good 25-40% of the people in the market around here jump ship on the traditional law firm and go into non-traditional roles for corporations.

[EframInIllinois]

Thanks for the info.

What kind of corporations do most of the attorneys you know end up working for?

What kind of work do they usually do in these corporations?

I don't blame them for leaving the traditional practice of law at all.

Efram

[politikally]

Originally Posted by EframInIllinois

Thanks for the info.

What kind of corporations do most of the attorneys you know end up working for?

What kind of work do they usually do in these corporations?

I don't blame them for leaving the traditional practice of law at all.

Efram

Many do legal work for the corporations (contracts, mergers, etc), but a great many more move on to be CEOs, CFOs (if you have an accounting degree with a JD), directors, etc. I think the biggest draws to the corporate environment are #1 - the hours are generally 9 to 5; #2 - steady paycheck (no more contingency fees!); #3 - Insurance.

One of the biggest assets that the Twin Cities has is Thomson West who I'm sure you've heard of. They're based out of Eagan, MN (a southern suburb). It's by far the largest employer of JD's around. I'd venture to say they have 2,000 to 3,000 lawyers under one roof over there and close to 7,000 or 8,000 employees in total.
If you're looking to move to the TC area and you have JD - Thomson is the place to look for a job. It will at least get you settled

[mudmuffin]

politikally, yep Thomson West has many lawyers in many departments. I believe the company has improved in some respects since Thomson became the owner. I used to work there years ago. Thomson West has other locations too so you may be able to transfer to another state.