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<p>Uh, no, I said that they would choose the hiring strategy of hiring the Harvard guy quietly. Obviously once they did so, they would then leverage the brand name loudly - in the precise manner as the law firms in the above links. </p>
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<p>Frankly, I suspect some law firms probably do, although they wouldn’t be Harvard graduates. </p>
<p>But, as I asked before, if the Harvard brand name truly carries no value, then why were the law firms stated above emphasizing their Harvard connection so strenuously? {Granted, perhaps they’re being stupid, but the paycheck from a stupid employer is just as valuable as one from a smart employer.} </p>
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<p>Uh, we’re not talking about biglaw firms. If you had a biglaw job, then obviously you wouldn’t be worried about LRAP anyway, as your salary would cover whatever tuition and interest payments you’ve incurred. </p>
<p>Keep in mind, we’re talking about low-level firms, of which many exist. Be honest - how many such firms have all of their associates billing 2000 hours a year? I would say almost none. It is widely understood that lower-level firms pay less than biglaw, but in return for less work. </p>
<p>Southwestern University Law School is a 3rd tier law school according to USNews. I think we can agree that very few of its graduates are billing 2000 hours a year at biglaw firms, and indeed a whopping 45% of its graduates who entered private practice did so at firms of no more than 10 attorneys, where the billing hours were probably attenuated (compared to biglaw). And, again, this is a third tier law school. Surely as a HLS grad, you can find some such firm that would indeed agree to pay you relatively little in return for a relatively light workload. Even leaving aside the value of the HLS marketing brand, the mere fact that you went to HLS indicates that you are clearly more academically capable than the average new law grad those firms would usually be able to hire. </p>
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<p>No, you have freely conceded that the marketing scheme does exist, in that some firms are indeed attempting to leverage the HLS brand. Whether the scheme works or not is a different matter, all that matters is that some firms think it works. And since they think it works, that also implies that they would attach some dollar value to it, however theoretical it may be. If no law firm thought the brand had any value whatsoever, then you really would see zero law firms attempting to leverage that brand. </p>
<p>What you seem to be referring to is the scheme where firms deliberately try to obtain the Harvard brand. But of course no law firm is going to explicitly state that this is what they’re doing, just like no company is going to discuss the details of their marketing strategy publicly. By the same token, movie studios are never going to admit that they deliberately insert the most interesting parts of the movie into their trailers while leaving out all of the boring material, even though we all know that that’s exactly what studios do. </p>
<p>Finally, again, nobody is arguing that this is a plan that anybody attending HLS would ever truly want to use. Obviously most HLS grads want to garner high-paying biglaw jobs. Nobody wants to be poor. </p>
<p>However, as I’ve said before, as a backstop, it’s not that hard as a HLS grad to find a $45k law job that isn’t particularly grueling. Does anybody want to seriously argue that a HLS grad truly can’t find such a job?</p>