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Looking to Land That Tech Lawyering Dream Job? Go Local

By George Khoury, Esq. on July 31, 2017 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

For those aspiring lawyers looking to work in-house at one of the top tech companies, you might not need to have that Ivy League pedigree.

A recent scraping of publicly available data showed that Apple's most represented law school wasn't the Harvard of the West (Stanford), or the Michigan of the West (Berkeley), but rather Santa Clara University School of Law.

Now most of you must be asking: Santa Who?

Going Local Gets Your Foot in the Door

Santa Clara University is a private, Jesuit university "located in the heart of Silicon Valley." While, Stanford and Berkeley are the more prestigious schools in the area, and San Francisco has the notorious judge-producing UC Hastings, and all three are close to Silicon Valley, yada yada yada, location location location. The two schools with the most lawyers at Apple after Santa Clara are Berkeley, then Hastings.

Being a stone's throw away from Apple's campus, as well as the countless other tech companies that adorn the valley, appears to have paid off for a few handfuls of the Santa Clara, and other local law grads. If the industry you want to work has geographic center or hub, like the tech industry and Silicon Valley, then going to school nearby can increase your chances of landing a job in the industry after graduation.

Why Local Matters

This is something that is seen across many industries. Employers will often hire from local schools, not just due to proximity, but also due to alumni pride after a few grads infiltrate a department.

Being local means that the students have roots in the community that the business is in. It also means the students will have more exposure to the jobs and internships during the school year. And, while dreaded by all, students at local schools have the opportunity to network with the local professionals in their area.

Have an open position at your law firm? Post the job for free on Indeed, or search local candidate resumes.

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