California

I've always thought to myself that I'd practice law in New York. Big time NYC lawyer sounded so appealing. I imagined some sharply dressed Asian guy carrying a briefcase into an impressive looking building.

These thoughts have led to my decision to apply not only to the top schools, but also regional schools. After the top schools, law firms tend to hire on a geographical basis, so it would make sense for me to attend a school like Fordham or Brooklyn over non-local schools that are ranked higher.

Lately, however, I've been thinking more and more about moving to the west coast. Weather plays a big part in why I want to go. I also think it would do my family and kids a world of good to be surrounded by more Asians, to be surrounded more by people who look like them. Law firm life, while still tough, is not as bad as the NYC law firm hours. NYC prides itself in working long and hard.

So now the problem is this. I will not qualify for admission to top law schools in California. UCLA, USC, and Berkeley (forget about Stanford) seem to only take people who have >3.4 GPA, regardless of LSAT. I have an outside shot at Hastings, which is a lower tier 1 school. I have even odds at Loyola law school, which is upper tier 2. The problem with attending these two schools is that I am not afforded the mobility option. If I attend either, I must be committed to California.

If I receive admission to one of the top national law schools, I won't have to worry about all this. The problem is, if I don't, I'm really going to have to do some long and hard thinking. If I can't figure it out by then, I will most likely attend a semi-national school like WUSTL or similar to keep my options open. The best plan is to figure out, before matriculation, where I want to practice. I have a year and a half to figure this out.