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Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 7:56 pm
by Anonymous User
Hey guys,
I am contemplating Philadelphia instead of NY for post-grad work for several reasons: 1) tamer city, 2) more affordable - 350-400K would get me a beautiful house in the suburbs (albeit with a longer commute) instead of a studio, which brings me to 3) more space for my money, 4) I just like Philly's charm over NY's hustle and bustle. I have worked for long periods of time in both cities, and I really can't see myself happy in NYC or raising a family there. I know I would be taking a paycut (normally from 160K to 145K), and that's fine with me if my quality of life would be better.
So.....b/c Philly firms don't come to my school's OCI, I will be sending out letters on my own this summer. Problem is - I can't seem to find a good list of top corporate firms in Philadelphia. Vault lumps NJ, DE, and PA under the general topic of NY. Does anyone have any good feedback, other than just generally saying to check NALP or Vault (again)? I am looking for like a specific list of top firms.
I'd appreciate any help.
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:02 pm
by SteelReserve
I know I would be taking a paycut (normally from 160K to 145K), and that's fine with me if my quality of life would be better.
So.....b/c Philly firms don't come to my school's OCI, I will be sending out letters on my own this summer.
Assuming no flame, there are a lot of obvious red flags here. How do you expect to get a bigfirm job without OCI? Mailings can't hurt but it would be rather foolish to base a law career on spamming firms, especially since large firms hire almost exclusively through OCI.
Do you have a federal clerkship lined up or something?
Hopefully the Philly posters can chime in but from what I understand Philly has been devastated in terms of biglaw hiring.
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:06 pm
by pany1985
I assume you've already looked through all the Philly firms listed on NALP, so you can see how severely a lot of the SA programs have been cut. I'd just mail out a resume to every firm you can find and hope somebody actually wants to interview you.
I really like Philly too, but it seems like the market is pretty bad there right now.
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:07 pm
by Anonymous User
SteelReserve wrote:I know I would be taking a paycut (normally from 160K to 145K), and that's fine with me if my quality of life would be better.
So.....b/c Philly firms don't come to my school's OCI, I will be sending out letters on my own this summer.
Assuming no flame, there are a lot of obvious red flags here. How do you expect to get a bigfirm job without OCI? Mailings can't hurt but it would be rather foolish to base a law career on spamming firms, especially since large firms hire almost exclusively through OCI.
Do you have a federal clerkship lined up or something?
Hopefully the Philly posters can chime in but from what I understand Philly has been devastated in terms of biglaw hiring.
OP here -my school's OCI orientation specifically mentioned doing mailings for out of state schools that do not come to OCI, with success for past students. I am at a T10 (not sure if this even matters), but the smaller regional markets generally do not send representatives clear across the country for OCI. Rather, they post job announcements on the schools' career websites (and expect students to be diligent about checking this), or students with ties to the area reach out to the firms directly. I didn't say it would be easier, but it's a different route for non-OCI participating firms.
Again, just looking for a general list of top Philly firms.
And any info from PA law students on the legal market there would be helpful as well.
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:09 pm
by Anonymous User
pany1985 wrote:I assume you've already looked through all the Philly firms listed on NALP, so you can see how severely a lot of the SA programs have been cut. I'd just mail out a resume to every firm you can find and hope somebody actually wants to interview you.
I really like Philly too, but it seems like the market is pretty bad there right now.
OP here - I did notice smaller amts of SAs. I think you're right - just send our resumes and pray for the best.
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:12 pm
by 270910
NALP in 2008 - 2009 - 2010 wrote:BLANK ROME LLP 24 - 14 - 6
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 15 - 23 - 0
Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP 8 - 5 - 2
REED SMITH LLP - PHILADELPHIA 12 - 5 - 3
DECHERT LLP 30 - 22- 12
DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH LLP - 24 - 19 - 12
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:17 pm
by rando
SteelReserve wrote:I know I would be taking a paycut (normally from 160K to 145K), and that's fine with me if my quality of life would be better.
So.....b/c Philly firms don't come to my school's OCI, I will be sending out letters on my own this summer.
Assuming no flame, there are a lot of obvious red flags here. How do you expect to get a bigfirm job without OCI? Mailings can't hurt but it would be rather foolish to base a law career on spamming firms, especially since large firms hire almost exclusively through OCI.
Do you have a federal clerkship lined up or something?
Hopefully the Philly posters can chime in but from what I understand Philly has been devastated in terms of biglaw hiring.
Not true. Success rate is generally very low for mass mailings but targeting firms' recruiters through their websites or NALP can give you success if you have the credentials to catch their attention.
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:23 pm
by Anonymous User
disco_barred wrote:NALP in 2008 - 2009 - 2010 wrote:BLANK ROME LLP 24 - 14 - 6
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 15 - 23 - 0
Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP 8 - 5 - 2
REED SMITH LLP - PHILADELPHIA 12 - 5 - 3
DECHERT LLP 30 - 22- 12
DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH LLP - 24 - 19 - 12
Thx - this is exactly the type of info I was looking for. I'm not too familiar with NALP, and I think I researched on NALP using the wrong criteria.
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 11:44 pm
by RonSantoRules
Other big Philly firms (100+ lawyers, most of these are much bigger):
Pepper Hamilton
Duane Morris
Cozen O'Connor
Ballard Spahr
Saul Ewing (200+ lawyers, no summer program in 2010)
Stradley Ronon
White and Williams
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2010 11:56 pm
by FunkyJD
disco_barred wrote:NALP in 2008 - 2009 - 2010 wrote:BLANK ROME LLP 24 - 14 - 6
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 15 - 23 - 0
Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP 8 - 5 - 2
REED SMITH LLP - PHILADELPHIA 12 - 5 - 3
DECHERT LLP 30 - 22- 12
DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH LLP - 24 - 19 - 12
[strike]For the 0Ls in the room (me), can you translate what these numbers represent?[/strike]
Never mind, got it.
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 12:00 am
by RonSantoRules
FunkyJD wrote:disco_barred wrote:NALP in 2008 - 2009 - 2010 wrote:BLANK ROME LLP 24 - 14 - 6
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 15 - 23 - 0
Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP 8 - 5 - 2
REED SMITH LLP - PHILADELPHIA 12 - 5 - 3
DECHERT LLP 30 - 22- 12
DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH LLP - 24 - 19 - 12
For the 0Ls in the room (me), can you translate what these numbers represent?
Summer clerks taken each summer. FYI, that big fat zero next to Morgan Lewis isn't good, nor is the fact that most firms have cut their summer programs by 50% or more.
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 12:01 am
by 270910
FunkyJD wrote:disco_barred wrote:NALP in 2008 - 2009 - 2010 wrote:BLANK ROME LLP 24 - 14 - 6
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP 15 - 23 - 0
Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP 8 - 5 - 2
REED SMITH LLP - PHILADELPHIA 12 - 5 - 3
DECHERT LLP 30 - 22- 12
DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH LLP - 24 - 19 - 12
For the 0Ls in the room (me), can you translate what these numbers represent?
Firm name - summer associates in 2008 - summer associates in 2009 - summer associates in 2010
For your first legal assignment, using the above data analyze the current state of the legal market in Philadelphia.
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 12:02 am
by FunkyJD
I figured it out just before y'all posted, but thank you for confirming.
What it means, I believe, is that now is the time for me to start drinking, given my interest in the Philly market. That and do very, very well my first year.
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 12:09 am
by 270910
FunkyJD wrote:I figured it out just before y'all posted, but thank you for confirming.
What it means, I believe, is that now is the time for me to start drinking, given my interest in the Philly market. That and do very, very well my first year.
This is the smartest and most credited thing I have ever seen a 0L post.
To be fair, that's not saying much
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 12:15 am
by FunkyJD
disco_barred wrote:FunkyJD wrote:I figured it out just before y'all posted, but thank you for confirming.
What it means, I believe, is that now is the time for me to start drinking, given my interest in the Philly market. That and do very, very well my first year.
This is the smartest and most credited thing I have ever seen a 0L post.
To be fair, that's not saying much
I plead no contest to posting sins past.
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 12:22 am
by Anonymous User
Duke 2L here, I know for a fact we're sending at least 2 into philly at big firms. OP said he was at a t10, but even though some of these firms don't technically do OCI at more than the top and regional schools in the surrounding area, a couple people I know got their jobs from resume collection through symplicity. This is a direct line that can get you a callback without even an OCI screening interview.
My $.02 is that big philly firms want at least one or two top students in their class from every top school if possible. This can be a boon for top schools outside philly because few of your classmates will probably apply. Also, connection to the city helps more than GPA in a lot of ways.
Best of luck.
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 12:31 am
by Anonymous User
OP, I will be working at a mid-sized firm in Philly (100-200 lawyers). Of the small group of summer clerks at the Philly office, 3 are from T14 schools and 2 are from T6 schools, but, to my knowledge, all had Philadelphia ties (e.g., from the area or significant other in the area). I got grilled on ties to Philly in my interview, as it is my impression that they are worried about flight to some of the other East Coast cities. It is a great place though for all of the reasons you mentioned.
Also, what Anon above said jives with what what little I know about firms outside of my own.
Re: Philadelphia firms??
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 1:50 am
by 270910
Anonymous User wrote:My $.02 is that big philly firms want at least one or two top students in their class from every top school if possible.
Uh... many (most?) philly firms had fewer than 14 summer associates this year.