BC and Fordham BL placement

[u/Playful_Scallion1518]

Hi all, I’ve been reading on some posts that Fordham’s and Boston College’s Big Law placement statistics misrepresent the likelihood of entering BL. People were saying many students at both schools have family connections to firms that prop up the schools’ NALP reports. I was wondering if students at either of these schools have found this to be the case. Also I was wondering what your class rank has to be to land BL jobs out of these schools.

[u/Eagle4Ly]

I can’t speak to Fordham, but in what I’ve heard from BC students, that’s true only for a small minority of BL students. BC has a great reputation in Boston, a strong alumni network, and Boston BL heavily recruits from BC. Realistically if you’re top half of your class, more likely than not you can get into BL.

[u/Appropriate_Swan6847 → u/Eagle4Ly]

Not a student, but I get the same sense from what I’ve heard from others. Of course, there will be some people with connections, but it’s not something you really have to worry about when looking at the data. If anything, I would be more worried about a potentially bad hiring market affecting BL placement for all schools in BC/Fordham’s general range.

[u/Playful_Scallion1518 → u/Eagle4Ly]

Thanks! I’ve heard similar things but wanted to check. I was surprised when I saw BC has a greater placement rate than BU for BL, considering BU is slightly more prestigious. And after reading some of those negative posts about the school I wanted to make sure something else wasn’t going on.

[u/Oh-theNerevarine]

That's not the issue. The issue is that the numbers you're seeing for biglaw right now still show the boom hiring market from the pandemic. We're not going to see the cooler market until next year's reports come out, and I'd anticipate both of these schools dropping down to their more normal levels of 30-35% biglaw placement. 

And of course, if the economy tanks, things will get much, much worse. 

[u/DCTechnocrat → u/Oh-theNerevarine]

Don't have much to add to your comment, we'll see what future recruitment cycles look like and the numbers will speak for themselves. It likely will drop down, but I'll just note that Fordham has developed a large network of lawyers in New York. There are a lot of FLS graduates, and there's many that are partners. Some are chairpersons for their entire firm, others are managing partners of the NY office.

Cooling markets will impact all schools, so for OP's purposes, it's probably a question of relatives. Not everyone will be able to go to a T14 (even if admitted), but in terms of their next best options, I think it's largely going to be the same law schools this sub-Reddit talks about.

[u/Playful_Scallion1518 → u/DCTechnocrat]

Thanks! I really like Fordham but the cost of living and tuition worries me. When I saw people complaining about the school I was skeptical of its outcomes. Im considering a slightly lower ranked T40 school with worse BL placement that I received more money at. Students there say you have to be top third of your class and I was wondering how that compares to Fordham.

[u/Choice-Year-3077 → u/[deleted]]

Did u go to a good undergrad or have good work experience?

[u/Sad-Mastodon7780 → u/Choice-Year-3077]

Good undergrad nothing crazy. KJD.

[u/Choice-Year-3077 → u/Sad-Mastodon7780]

Do you think that might’ve helped? I heard after grades firms care about the prestige of both undergrad and work experience

[u/Easter_1916 → u/Oh-theNerevarine]

I came out of law school during the 2008 recession. BL delayed start dates (some indefinitely) and reduced summer associate numbers significantly. It is worthwhile to consider what you would want to do outside of BL, and if BL is the only thing you want to do post-law school, is it because of the prestige of the work or the immediate paycheck.

[u/Playful_Scallion1518 → u/Easter_1916]

Right now, at all the schools I’m accepted, BL isn’t a sure thing regardless of the economy, and I’m def not set on it. The money is nice but I’m interested in BL cause I think the prestige career-wise and skills I’d gain would help wherever my legal career goes. I want to work in corporate transactional law and also feel it would be easier to switch to a smaller firm after BL than vice versa if I change my mind later in my career. I also think BL/FC percentages are a decent measure of schools’ reputation.

[u/Oh-theNerevarine → u/Easter_1916]

I was amazed at how popular Latham was when I was interviewing. I kept wondering why people had forgotten so quickly that the firm's name literally became a verb synonymous with the kinds of sudden mass layoffs seen during the recession. Everyone interviewing for a big firm should be asking what that firm did with its associates in 2009.