Current URM students taking Q's Forum

[D Brooks]

Ran here.

[D Brooks]

Random question: do boutique firms offer SA positions?

Kohinoor: what can you tell me about the AA alumni network at UVA? have any 2Ls/3Ls you know used it to find employment?

[Aberzombie1892]

Random question: do boutique firms offer SA positions?

They usually don't OCI, but if you convince them to take you - they'll take you (but depending on the boutique, you are among a sea of other individuals trying to get with the firm as well).

However they are a harder sell because they have to feel comfortable taking you on and you have to show a lot of interest.

[Mr. Matlock]

Ran here.

Damn, that was a long run then.

[D Brooks]

Random question: do boutique firms offer SA positions?

They usually don't OCI, but if you convince them to take you - they'll take you (but depending on the boutique, you are among a sea of other individuals trying to get with the firm as well).

However they are a harder sell because they have to feel comfortable taking you on and you have to show a lot of interest.

The head of UVA's Supreme Court Clinic is a partner at Robbins Russell and that'd be a boutique I'd love to work at (I'm a 0L so take this with a grain of salt). How do people even go about approaching these types of firms... is it just massing mail your resume/cover letter/transcript?

[Kohinoor]

Random question: do boutique firms offer SA positions?

Kohinoor: what can you tell me about the AA alumni network at UVA? have any 2Ls/3Ls you know used it to find employment?

The AA alumni network here seems nice. I do know people here that have used it to find employment and others trying to do so now with projected success. It's best suited for UVA's feeder firms and markets.

[Kohinoor]

Random question: do boutique firms offer SA positions?

Blanket statement is 'usually no', but if anyone can make it happen, a URM from a T14 could. Definitely sounds like it would be a strategic thing involving connections as opposed to mass mail/OCI.

[D Brooks]

Random question: do boutique firms offer SA positions?

Kohinoor: what can you tell me about the AA alumni network at UVA? have any 2Ls/3Ls you know used it to find employment?

The AA alumni network here seems nice. I do know people here that have used it to find employment and others trying to do so now with projected success. It's best suited for UVA's feeder firms and markets.

Care to name the top five or so off the top of your head?

[Kohinoor]

Random question: do boutique firms offer SA positions?

Kohinoor: what can you tell me about the AA alumni network at UVA? have any 2Ls/3Ls you know used it to find employment?

The AA alumni network here seems nice. I do know people here that have used it to find employment and others trying to do so now with projected success. It's best suited for UVA's feeder firms and markets.

Care to name the top five or so off the top of your head?

For what market?

[D Brooks]

Random question: do boutique firms offer SA positions?

Kohinoor: what can you tell me about the AA alumni network at UVA? have any 2Ls/3Ls you know used it to find employment?

The AA alumni network here seems nice. I do know people here that have used it to find employment and others trying to do so now with projected success. It's best suited for UVA's feeder firms and markets.

Care to name the top five or so off the top of your head?

For what market?

NY and DC

[DavidYurman85]

oops. will pm

[hiromoto45]

1. Do urm students talk about their LSAT score with each other or is it not a topic of conversation after matriculating?

2. Do you participate in study groups? If so is it with only other urms? If so is it because other students don't think you are competent because you are an urm?

[Kohinoor]

1. Do urm students talk about their LSAT score with each other or is it not a topic of conversation after matriculating?

2. Do you participate in study groups? If so is it with only other urms? If so is it because other students don't think you are competent because you are an urm?

1. Some do, others don't. There is a high correlation between considering that a valid conversation topic and being a huge douche-nozzle.

2. Yes. By choice, I personally study with like 2 other people who happen to be URMs. Other URMs have white study partners.

[Aberzombie1892]

1. Do urm students talk about their LSAT score with each other or is it not a topic of conversation after matriculating?

2. Do you participate in study groups? If so is it with only other urms? If so is it because other students don't think you are competent because you are an urm?

1. No. Many people have disclosed their LSAT score to me, URM and otherwise. I have never disclosed mine. There is really not point in disclosing it because no matter what you think about someone before disclosure, if their score is lower than a certain threshold - you will think less of the abilities of the person. I know an ORM (haha) who made <155. I still think the guy is really smart - but my perception has changed. Regardless, you and all of your classmates will graduate in three years with a law degree from X (unless you quit). So there are more important things to worry about (i.e. finals/LRW).

2a. Do I participate in study groups?
No. I think that study groups are pretty useless. True they potentially have value, but that value is rarely reached.
2b. Do I participate in study groups with only URMs?
No (obviously). But other URMs do not only do it with URMs.

***On a side note: while a nice portion of the URMs hang out together, a significant portion do not really hang out with other URMs beyond BLSA meetings - if even then (a nice portion of the AA population is not part of BLSA). I'm one of those people who really doesn't hang out that much in general - too much work to be done. However I do have more ORM friends than URM friends at the law school. Is that by design or choice? I'm not really sure - this is the first time I've thought about it. I don't ever think about things in terms of race (from my experiences, apparently that is rare).

[hiromoto45]

1.This may have been asked already but can any of you speak about Biglaw/V50 recruiting of urms for 1L summer?
2. How did URMs fair compared to non-urms?
3. Did grades matter more or less for urms? Or did urms with connections pull off big firm summer placements more than urms with higher grades?

[Kohinoor]

1.This may have been asked already but can any of you speak about Biglaw/V50 recruiting of urms for 1L summer?
2. How did URMs fair compared to non-urms?
3. Did grades matter more or less for urms? Or did urms with connections pull off big firm summer placements more than urms with higher grades?

1. Seemed fairly robust. Somewhere around maybe a quarter to third of the class got biglaw (keep in mind this is not a high absolute number)?
2. Dunno. Don't discuss grades enough to make analyses.
3. See above. I'd suggest grades did matter quite a bit from anecdotal experience.

[Warbucks]

Is there any data on how many AA males get a 180 per test? Would a 180-AA male be Auto Admit at Yale down?

[newyorker88]

Is there any data on how many AA males get a 180 per test? Would a 180-AA male be Auto Admit at Yale down?

maybe not Yale but everywhere else I suspect.

[legalized]

1. What do you wish you had known about the law school application process before going through it?

2. What do you think URMs need to do differently than everyone else applying that the more PC advisors may not come out and say?

3. Is there any discussion in classes that discuss civil rights and the related movements as to why black males are behind everyone else according to stats?

4. Please name your school and if possible, state what you think (or found out) made you stand out to the adcomm of that school and get accepted. PM if it's too identifying please.

5. What's the story on the fail-out rate of URMs, particularly black students? I have read some serious allegations that about half the URMs admitted at law schools around the nation fail out but no one talks about it. Fact, fiction, or is there a NOTICEABLE difference in the success rate (success defined as graduating law school above the bottom 25% and passing the bar) for T14 URMs vs. the rest of them?

6. How strong is the sense of covert racism from other students not of your race, on a scale of 1 weakest and 5 strongest? From the professors? I see both actual serious thought and simple ignorance of not knowing on this site...as well as blatant "I can't wait to prove [insert URM category here] doesn't deserve to be here with us" sentiment. Wondering how these students and future students' true colours they show here play out in law school.

7. What clinics are you involved in, how do you get accepted into it, and what have been the high and low points of it thus far?

8. What should URMs make very sure to do on their applications (can specify it to your school if you can't speak in general)?

[Kohinoor]

1. What do you wish you had known about the law school application process before going through it?

Apply early and get your LoRs together because they're important and can be difficult to organize.

2. What do you think URMs need to do differently than everyone else applying that the more PC advisors may not come out and say?

Ignore your advisors. How many black law school applicants do you think they see?

3. Is there any discussion in classes that discuss civil rights and the related movements as to why black males are behind everyone else according to stats?

Not black males per se but in con law affirmative action and the performance gap can come up.

4. Please name your school and if possible, state what you think (or found out) made you stand out to the adcomm of that school and get accepted. PM if it's too identifying please.

UVA/cute face that nobody can say no to

5. What's the story on the fail-out rate of URMs, particularly black students? I have read some serious allegations that about half the URMs admitted at law schools around the nation fail out but no one talks about it. Fact, fiction, or is there a NOTICEABLE difference in the success rate (success defined as graduating law school above the bottom 25% and passing the bar) for T1 URMs vs. the rest of them?

For the T14 at least, nobody fails out.

6. How strong is the sense of covert racism from other students not of your race, on a scale of 1 weakest and 5 strongest? From the professors? I see both actual serious thought and simple ignorance of not knowing on this site...as well as blatant "I can't wait to prove [insert URM category here] doesn't deserve to be here with us" sentiment. Wondering how these students and future students' true colours they show here play out in law school.

Strong.

7. What clinics are you involved in, how do you get accepted into it, and what have been the high and low points of it thus far?

8. What should URMs make very sure to do on their applications (can specify it to your school if you can't speak in general)?

Go all out. Targeted letter, have an advocate on campus, LOCI, visit. It's a pretty important process.

[vanwinkle]

Do you have any resentment toward those who claim URM status but look white and don't talk with a thick accent? If not, why not?

[Kohinoor]

Do you have any resentment toward those who claim URM status but look white and don't talk with a thick accent? If not, why not?

Too busy worrying about own problems.

[TheBigMediocre]

What are your thoughts on this Harvard 3L e-mail situation (Crimson DNA, as ATL calls it)? How has your BLSA reacted?

[D Brooks]

6. How strong is the sense of covert racism from other students not of your race, on a scale of 1 weakest and 5 strongest? From the professors? I see both actual serious thought and simple ignorance of not knowing on this site...as well as blatant "I can't wait to prove [insert URM category here] doesn't deserve to be here with us" sentiment. Wondering how these students and future students' true colours they show here play out in law school.

Strong.

@ UVA?

Everyone I met at the PILA beer pong tourney seemed cool as hell and very welcoming.

[Aberzombie1892]

1. What do you wish you had known about the law school application process before going through it?

How much of a big deal applying early is. I applied after I received my fall semester grades because I knew that they would increase my gpa significantly.

2. What do you think URMs need to do differently than everyone else applying that the more PC advisors may not come out and say?

My undergrad advisor had a Ph.D. and not a JD. Enough said. But seriously, advisors are useless.

3. Is there any discussion in classes that discuss civil rights and the related movements as to why black males are behind everyone else according to stats?

None. Kohinoor is right about Constitutional Law dealing with discrimination though.

4. Please name your school and if possible, state what you think (or found out) made you stand out to the adcomm of that school and get accepted. PM if it's too identifying please.

Tulane and I would rather not.

5. What's the story on the fail-out rate of URMs, particularly black students? I have read some serious allegations that about half the URMs admitted at law schools around the nation fail out but no one talks about it. Fact, fiction, or is there a NOTICEABLE difference in the success rate (success defined as graduating law school above the bottom 25% and passing the bar) for T14 URMs vs. the rest of them?

I read about that too, but I don't know that many URMs that aren't returning (that have at least informed people of that fact). Our 1L class resident is a URM AA male and he is not returning. While he is pursuing grad school somewhere else (not a JD, obviously), it's still sad.

Anyone can pass the bar. I wouldn't let a bar passage rate at a school prevent me from going there (or me recommending a student go there). What surprised me the most was that Louisiana has the lowest bar passage rate overall (I know its off topic, but still).

6. How strong is the sense of covert racism from other students not of your race, on a scale of 1 weakest and 5 strongest? From the professors? I see both actual serious thought and simple ignorance of not knowing on this site...as well as blatant "I can't wait to prove [insert URM category here] doesn't deserve to be here with us" sentiment. Wondering how these students and future students' true colours they show here play out in law school.

It's strong. Not just against AA's though. Spanish-decent individuals as well (which we have a rather large population of). However please note that it is probably the same at any higher education institution.

7. What clinics are you involved in, how do you get accepted into it, and what have been the high and low points of it thus far?

None. I have 0 desire to participate in a clinic.

8. What should URMs make very sure to do on their applications (can specify it to your school if you can't speak in general)?

URMs need to express how they have built character over their lives and not just claim that they are "diverse" simply because they are a minority.