BU Vs Fordham Law ?
Q: I am having difficulty choosing between these two schools. First, a
little background on my future career interests: I want to practice
either banking/securities law or tax law in the New York City area,
preferably at a medium to large size firm. With this in mind, please
help me by answering the following questions:
(1) Which school has a better reputation among firms in NYC? I tend to
believe that Fordham has a better rep, but it is not a "national" school
like BU. USN&WR ranked them approximately equal, but BU had a better
reputation ranking. Starting salaries were also reported as being
approximately equal.
(2) After perusing both admissions brochures, I observed that Fordham
offers more courses in the Corporate/Securities Law area. Does BU offer
any seminars on such topics as "Commodity Futures Regulation" or
"Initial Public Offerings"?
Are graduates of both BU and Fordham competetive with the Ivy League
graduates in this specialized area (securities law)?
A:Within NYC, the edge probably belongs to Fordham. Outside of NYC,
the edge belongs to BU. Really sure on where you want to work? After three
years of law school, and 2 summers in the legal market, many students decide
they do not want to work for a medium to large NYC firm. Plus, those jobs
are difficult to get. I don't know the exact current placement situation at
Fordham but I am quite sure that if you don't rank in the top half, you will
not be competitive for such jobs. At the end of the year, it is always a
surprise to see who ranks in the top half and who doesn't.....
No. And I hope they never do. BU does offer Securities Regulation
and Securitization. That is enough as far as I am concerned. You only have
so many credits to "spend" in law school. I would rather take Bankrupcty
and Antitrust than "Commodity Futures Regulation." Ask Fordham if they
actually teach all those courses or if they are simply in the Catalog... If
they do actually teach them, my reply would be "Who wants to specialize to
that degree?"
Fordham also is a "national" law school, very few these days are not.
Since you want to practice in NYC, it will be easier to find summer
internships through Fordham's placement office, and because so many
Fordham graduates work in the firms you will be applying to (they know
the program...)
One reason for the umerous offerings in securities law at Fordham, esp.
the seminars, is that many adjunct profeesors, professionals in these
fields, come to Fordham to teach part-time. My impression, is that the
popularity of Securities law has made it so very competitive that firms
are not just looking at Ivy League applicants, but are more concerned
with the canidates performance at school. The top graduates from any of
the Ivy or first tier schools will have the best chances.
I am graduating Fordham Law in May of this year. I have all positive
things to say about my time there. Fordham is appropriately known as the
nice