Really? I never got this sense at all, and I worked in biglaw in SV for the better part of a decade. We recruited from SLS, and none of those students were remotely conservative. As I think back on them, they were among the most progressive young lawyers that I knew.
I'm curious to know what influenced your opinion that SLS is on the conservative side (even within the legal academy, which is generally quite progressive).
Every one of the dozens of lawyers I've met from Stanford Law (here in LA, prior to COVID) has been a member of the far-right Federalist Society, and Stanford Law works closely with the far-right Hoover Institution think tank. Trump's and the RNC's legal team at Jones Day was also heavy with Stanford Law graduates during Trump's term.
I get the sense that the ones staying in a liberal area like the Bay Area are most likely to be the progressive ones. LA is less progressive and has a significantly larger conservative population than the Bay Area (by absolute numbers, LA is one of the most conservative metropolitan areas in the U.S.; roughly 40ish% of the 13 million people in LA, or about 5.2 million are registered Republicans, which is why Republicans constantly make trips to LA to raise money)
Interesting! I actually started my legal career in LA (went to UCLAW and interned there), but didn't bump into any SLS grads during my time in the area. I didn't realize that LA is that conservative — I thought LA was pretty liberal, but OC was more conservative. I'm going to have to look into this further, now that you've piqued my curiosity!
I'm curious to know what influenced your opinion that SLS is on the conservative side (even within the legal academy, which is generally quite progressive).