Top Law Schools

amc987 wrote:

hyakku wrote:Nice amc, hadn't seen you around in a bit. Yea, it's not showing any NYC availability for me, which kind of sucks because I'm here in Jersey like five minutes away from their HQ for the next few days.

Thanks, hyakku. And I'm surprised you haven't seen me around. I've been doing a bit of celebrating and a lot of lamenting (mostly about schools taking so long to process my apps, but some about being sans KB1. Sigh). Anyway, it's good that you're in the same boat I am. I thought it must've just been something I was doing wrong not to see any availability for DC or NYC. How has your cycle been going?

1212 wrote:t may be a better apporoach to look at what these firms actually do. The DC firms represented have strong regulatory aspects, maybe the ones in Palo Alto are more IP related? I am completely just guessing, please correct me if I am wrong. I choose DC because since my focus is more govt/PI, I felt like I could tie why I was interested in private practice into my interests and experience. I am preferencing DC, Houston (to be close to home), and SF Bay (bc I am pretty set on Stanford).

I think that there are small differences in what the firms do. The international law firms tend to be centered in DC and NYC, the Bay area has more IP, etc. But I think that in the context of what interns will actually be doing -- assisting with general corporate law-related work in fields like M&A, securities, etc.-- the special practice areas of each firm may not be so important. In fact, I think there's probably so many similarities among these large corporate firms that it might be difficult to differentiate them at all. I've heard that firm culture varies, but that's much more difficult to determine from a website than from actually going and meeting associates who work there.

I went to an SEO info session earlier this fall and they stressed that they try to place people in or close to the cities they'd eventually like to practice in. This also ties into which school you end up attending. So it would be unlikely for someone attending UVA to get placed in LA, for example, but the soon-to-be Columbia student could very well get placed in NYC. I'm not sure how this works if you attend a place with national-level prestige (i.e. Stanford) and aren't interested in practicing in California. The people who talked also said it was important to figure out whether you're more interested in transactional law or litigation because that can have an impact on your placement as well.

It sounds like a great opportunity, though. I'm more PI-focused in theory, but it'd be great to get some corporate experience under my belt before I start!

Champion wrote:Champion checking in!! Congrats to all on the interview. I have NY (hometown) as my first option, second SF (most likely attending Berkeley), and then DC third.

1212 wrote:

amc987 wrote:

hyakku wrote:Nice amc, hadn't seen you around in a bit. Yea, it's not showing any NYC availability for me, which kind of sucks because I'm here in Jersey like five minutes away from their HQ for the next few days.

Thanks, hyakku. And I'm surprised you haven't seen me around. I've been doing a bit of celebrating and a lot of lamenting (mostly about schools taking so long to process my apps, but some about being sans KB1. Sigh). Anyway, it's good that you're in the same boat I am. I thought it must've just been something I was doing wrong not to see any availability for DC or NYC. How has your cycle been going?

1212 wrote:t may be a better apporoach to look at what these firms actually do. The DC firms represented have strong regulatory aspects, maybe the ones in Palo Alto are more IP related? I am completely just guessing, please correct me if I am wrong. I choose DC because since my focus is more govt/PI, I felt like I could tie why I was interested in private practice into my interests and experience. I am preferencing DC, Houston (to be close to home), and SF Bay (bc I am pretty set on Stanford).

I think that there are small differences in what the firms do. The international law firms tend to be centered in DC and NYC, the Bay area has more IP, etc. But I think that in the context of what interns will actually be doing -- assisting with general corporate law-related work in fields like M&A, securities, etc.-- the special practice areas of each firm may not be so important. In fact, I think there's probably so many similarities among these large corporate firms that it might be difficult to differentiate them at all. I've heard that firm culture varies, but that's much more difficult to determine from a website than from actually going and meeting associates who work there.

I went to an SEO info session earlier this fall and they stressed that they try to place people in or close to the cities they'd eventually like to practice in. This also ties into which school you end up attending. So it would be unlikely for someone attending UVA to get placed in LA, for example, but the soon-to-be Columbia student could very well get placed in NYC. I'm not sure how this works if you attend a place with national-level prestige (i.e. Stanford) and aren't interested in practicing in California. The people who talked also said it was important to figure out whether you're more interested in transactional law or litigation because that can have an impact on your placement as well.

It sounds like a great opportunity, though. I'm more PI-focused in theory, but it'd be great to get some corporate experience under my belt before I start!

Interesting. Thanks for the info. Did the speakers mention how many corporate law interns they were taking on this year? Has the economy led to cut backs in the program?

Rand M. wrote:Just a general tip. Not much matters outside of the interview. Don't stress too much about essays and recs. Their importantce pales in comparison to the interview. You really need to be prepared for it if you are going to have a reasonable expectation of getting this. Good luck, all.

ajudk8 wrote:I'm completing my application now and I'm sooo happy to see this thread!

Congratulations to those who got interviews! I've been wondering, how long did it take you to hear back once you'd submitted your application? Also, when are the interviews? I head back to school pretty late in January and (in the unlikely event that I get an interview) I don't know whether to request the site closest to my house or my school on the application.

SEO WEBSITE wrote:If you choose, please upload a conservative business appropriate photograph of yourself

1212 wrote:

ajudk8 wrote:I'm completing my application now and I'm sooo happy to see this thread!

Congratulations to those who got interviews! I've been wondering, how long did it take you to hear back once you'd submitted your application? Also, when are the interviews? I head back to school pretty late in January and (in the unlikely event that I get an interview) I don't know whether to request the site closest to my house or my school on the application.

Hi! I applied in October (first round) and received an interview invitation right before Christmas. The interviews for this round are mid to late January. If you haven't submitted your application yet, you probably will receive your interview invitation later in the spring, so I'd say school. When you get an interview invitation, you can select the site you prefer and it does not necessarily have to be the same as what you put on your original application. They ask in the application so they have a rough estimate of how many slots to make available in each city.

horrorbusiness wrote:

SEO WEBSITE wrote:If you choose, please upload a conservative business appropriate photograph of yourself

Hmm, would a close-up headshot of me against a plain white background be ok if you can see that I'm wearing a plain black t-shirt? You can really only see right around my neck.

Sh@keNb@ke wrote:

horrorbusiness wrote:

SEO WEBSITE wrote:If you choose, please upload a conservative business appropriate photograph of yourself

Hmm, would a close-up headshot of me against a plain white background be ok if you can see that I'm wearing a plain black t-shirt? You can really only see right around my neck.

I've been told from SEO alums that you really want to be as professional as possible. SEO is very much interested in polish. I'd suggest a suit and tie with the picture taken from your shoulders up. This is another opportunity for you to show SEO that you mean business so I doubt a plain black t-shirt is going to get the job done. Just my $.02.

1212 wrote:

amc987 wrote:

hyakku wrote:Nice amc, hadn't seen you around in a bit. Yea, it's not showing any NYC availability for me, which kind of sucks because I'm here in Jersey like five minutes away from their HQ for the next few days.

Thanks, hyakku. And I'm surprised you haven't seen me around. I've been doing a bit of celebrating and a lot of lamenting (mostly about schools taking so long to process my apps, but some about being sans KB1. Sigh). Anyway, it's good that you're in the same boat I am. I thought it must've just been something I was doing wrong not to see any availability for DC or NYC. How has your cycle been going?

1212 wrote:t may be a better apporoach to look at what these firms actually do. The DC firms represented have strong regulatory aspects, maybe the ones in Palo Alto are more IP related? I am completely just guessing, please correct me if I am wrong. I choose DC because since my focus is more govt/PI, I felt like I could tie why I was interested in private practice into my interests and experience. I am preferencing DC, Houston (to be close to home), and SF Bay (bc I am pretty set on Stanford).

I think that there are small differences in what the firms do. The international law firms tend to be centered in DC and NYC, the Bay area has more IP, etc. But I think that in the context of what interns will actually be doing -- assisting with general corporate law-related work in fields like M&A, securities, etc.-- the special practice areas of each firm may not be so important. In fact, I think there's probably so many similarities among these large corporate firms that it might be difficult to differentiate them at all. I've heard that firm culture varies, but that's much more difficult to determine from a website than from actually going and meeting associates who work there.

I went to an SEO info session earlier this fall and they stressed that they try to place people in or close to the cities they'd eventually like to practice in. This also ties into which school you end up attending. So it would be unlikely for someone attending UVA to get placed in LA, for example, but the soon-to-be Columbia student could very well get placed in NYC. I'm not sure how this works if you attend a place with national-level prestige (i.e. Stanford) and aren't interested in practicing in California. The people who talked also said it was important to figure out whether you're more interested in transactional law or litigation because that can have an impact on your placement as well.

It sounds like a great opportunity, though. I'm more PI-focused in theory, but it'd be great to get some corporate experience under my belt before I start!

Interesting. Thanks for the info. Did the speakers mention how many corporate law interns they were taking on this year? Has the economy led to cut backs in the program?

JDcand wrote:
Anyone have advice for interview? I get the sense there will be some trickery involved and it won't be the typical interview. Also, does anyone know if there are multiple interviews? I hear the CFL program has a series of interviews/phone interviews.

Rand M. wrote: As far as whether it matters when you interview, I can't see it making a huge difference. They only take the people they want to. If they don't want you, being early won't help. If they want you, being late won't hurt. Just kill the interview.

Rahsaan wrote:

JDcand wrote:
Anyone have advice for interview? I get the sense there will be some trickery involved and it won't be the typical interview. Also, does anyone know if there are multiple interviews? I hear the CFL program has a series of interviews/phone interviews.

i was in the cfl program. i had a phone interview, in-person, and a skype interview. good luck this cycle, guys! i plan on applying in a few years.

Rand M. wrote: As far as whether it matters when you interview, I can't see it making a huge difference. They only take the people they want to. If they don't want you, being early won't help. If they want you, being late won't hurt. Just kill the interview.

I do not think this is correct. Spots fill very fast. SEO uses rolling admission, so if they need 50, they make sure they get a good number of those admitted early on and then save just a few spots for late in the cycle.

also, dress up for the damn picture.

Rand M. wrote: As far as whether it matters when you interview, I can't see it making a huge difference. They only take the people they want to. If they don't want you, being early won't help. If they want you, being late won't hurt. Just kill the interview.

ososmooth wrote:Did my interview already... now i just have to send in the rest of the supplemental materials. I really hope I am given this opportunity, its such a great program.