Visiting Law Schools: Chicago

Chicago, Berkeley and Stanford each had their ASW on the same weekend. As for UPenn - the dean of admission called me to personally tell me not to come (long yet funny story). Since Berkeley and Stanford are only four-driving-hours away, I visited them the week preceding ASW. Here's a brief review on Stanford and Berkeley, then a thorough review on Chicago.

I was honestly more impressed with Berkeley students than with Stanford students. It may have been their "not a big deal" attitude about studying. I'm sure the "pass, honor & high-honor" grading system had a part. Although Stanford's architecture reminded me of a huge taco bell, the facilities and equipment at Stanford were much more posh than Berkeley's. Students at both schools boasted their amazing job prospects. One Stanford remarked, "The hardest part is choosing from the loads of options. Employers love us. Coming from Stanford you pretty much have the job, so you really have to purposely try for an employer to revoke an offer." Lastly, I was pleasantly surprised that Boalt wasn't "hippy" town.

Chicago was amazing. I should admit from the outset that I'm a bit infatuated with University of Chicago (yet another long and funny story for another time). To sum it up Chicago's ASW was a weekend of being wined and dined. I was particularly impressed with Dean Levmore, the faculty panel and the trivia contest.

I arrived to Chicago via Las Vegas (I won $11.00 from the airport slot machine...beginners luck!). At Las Vegas I met another admitted student. He and I sat together on our plane ride to Chicago. Once at Midway airport, my 2L host picked us up with his car. We stopped by his apartment (Regents Park) to drop off my luggage. Regents Park is in every sense of the word "a luxury apartment" - beep-in-security revolving door, elevator with elevator music, and a 24-hour security-doorman. My host's apartment was large with 2-bedroom and 2-baths. He had the Nintendo Wii, Playstation 2 and X-box 360....a video gamer's dream come true!

Afterwards we went directly to the law school. Chicago Law's architecture wasn't bad; in fact, I thought it was really nice (a lot of windows). Once inside at the Green lounge (the main lounge), I spotted admitted students, current students, professors, administrators and a dog (help dog that guides the disabled). I walked over to the table where Dean Perry and Mike Machen were registering and welcoming people. After finishing the formalities I spent the next hour chatting with current students. It felt nice and natural.

Next on the agenda was filing into charter buses to go to downtown Chicago. My ride there was pleasant due to the girl sitting next to me - her rather sarcastic and slap-in-the-face humor was just the thing to let time fly by. Shiff Hardin (the law firm) hosted us on the 66th floor of Sears Tower. The rolled-up shrimps, edamame, fried-dumplings, sushi, and open bar were definitely a nice touch. Throughout the reception partners walked up to me trying to sell their law firm - one even offered me a job (he may have been joking, but what the heck, it felt good).

Afterwards, it was off to Sluggers (the bar). This bar had a batting cage, so I spent the rest of the night hitting soft-balls. =)

The day after, Dean Levmore gave a rather amusing and superb welcome. He was very witty and to-the-point in answering everyone's question. He made it a point that Chicago is unique amongst other law schools because of its "life of the mind" and intimacy. Faculty panel followed next with Professors Baird, Buss, Samaha, and Henderson on the table. Professor Samaha and Henderson blew me away - they were absolutely brilliant. Professor Baird and Buss were also great, but Prof. Baird didn't speak much and Prof. Buss' topic of choice was far from my interest. The next big highlight for me was the "Faculty v. Student Trivia Contest" - it was hilarious! The students won with the faculty trailing very close behind (1 point).

Now my notorious list of positives and negatives:

Positive:
- Faculty is amazing (by far the best I've sampled thus far).
- A bus ride away from a great city
- Nice facilities
- Rigor: students are smart and serious
- Intimate and close-knit community
- Amazing job prospect and reputation
- Generally friendly student body


Negatives:
- Less than perfect weather (Windy City)
- Not the most safest neighborhood
- Rigor: students are smart and serious ("Where fun comes to die")