Offer contingent upon background check Forum

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:29 am

Quinn says they do, but not sure if they actually do it. Nothing showed up on my credit score but I can't remember if they said they'd do that. Also none of my references ever mentioned being called.

Firms should background check. If you can't pass C&F, they wasted an entire summer on you...Maybe the credit score is about that too. I'd imagine only a super shitty score would raise any eyebrows.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by CanadianWolf » Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:45 am

Not overestimating my legal skills, just aware that we don't know enough facts & that there are many approaches that can be taken. Problems, besides not knowing the facts, are damages & a paying client.
Denigrating my legal skills because I am polite & realize that certain points are not worth arguing about says much more about you. Posters who consistently dismiss others' points by claiming that the other posters don't know what they are talking about are probably just young & inexperienced. Law is hardly about certainty.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:57 am

Anonymous User wrote:i'm not trying to simply plain the old man card but haven't any of you held a corporate job before? of the jobs i have held, 2/3 have conducted background checks. i can see why you all think that this is an elevated check given the legal nature of your potential job, but it's really just not all that big of a deal, and definitely not exclusive to jobs at elite law firms.
I've held corporate jobs and done background checks before. What makes this different is that I've accepted their offer and now have a duty to decline my remaining callbacks/offers asap. Meanwhile, the firm has the option of dropping me for essentially any reason.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:16 pm

I was also worried about the background/credit check when I was a summer associate because I had credit report blemishes due to layoffs/ITE prior to attending law school. I submitted the paperwork, then also sent a note to the recruiting department letting them know the circumstances surrounding the problem. When the report came back, the contact person wrote me back and said that they saw the issues I'd flagged for them and that they felt comfortable still proceeding, in part based on my honesty up front.

In the meantime, I kept interviewing for other positions so I wouldn't get stuck with no job. This was, BTW, a V25 firm.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:19 pm

Anonymous User wrote:I was also worried about the background/credit check when I was a summer associate because I had credit report blemishes due to layoffs/ITE prior to attending law school. I submitted the paperwork, then also sent a note to the recruiting department letting them know the circumstances surrounding the problem. When the report came back, the contact person wrote me back and said that they saw the issues I'd flagged for them and that they felt comfortable still proceeding, in part based on my honesty up front.

In the meantime, I kept interviewing for other positions so I wouldn't get stuck with no job. This was, BTW, a V25 firm.
Mind if I ask what your credit score was?

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Anonymous User
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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Sep 08, 2010 2:40 pm

I don't actually know my credit score. I had paid almost everything, but there were three bills that went unpaid. I then just used my summer associate money to pay those debts so it wouldn't be an issue in the future.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:21 pm

So I also have one of these at a low V10 firm. I also have a misdemeanor open container ticket from when I was 21. Should I be worried?

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Sep 08, 2010 10:37 pm

Anonymous User wrote:So I also have one of these at a low V10 firm. I also have a misdemeanor open container ticket from when I was 21. Should I be worried?
I'm worried about a traffic citation from 2 years ago... If they really are looking to drop people, it's certainly not helpful to have anything less than a perfect record.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:26 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:So I also have one of these at a low V10 firm. I also have a misdemeanor open container ticket from when I was 21. Should I be worried?
I'm worried about a traffic citation from 2 years ago... If they really are looking to drop people, it's certainly not helpful to have anything less than a perfect record.
Do y'all really think that a prestigious firm is going to go through all this effort to recruit top students at top schools, offer them employment and then pull the rug out based on something less than a sparkly pristine background check? Contrary to popular belief:

a) Firms don't like to make it onto ATL; and,

b) At the V5-10 level, the firms are in competition with each other to get the same top students

also, FWIW - it sounds like the earlier poster who had their offer yanked has a crime of moral turpitude on their record

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Anonymous User
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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Sep 09, 2010 1:34 am

do you think an alcohol incident in school would raise flags? i was caught by the campus police and went through the university's judicial process - thus this shouldn't count as a "conviction" for the question "have you ever been convicted of an offense" right???

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Kohinoor

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Kohinoor » Thu Sep 09, 2010 1:55 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:So I also have one of these at a low V10 firm. I also have a misdemeanor open container ticket from when I was 21. Should I be worried?
I'm worried about a traffic citation from 2 years ago... If they really are looking to drop people, it's certainly not helpful to have anything less than a perfect record.
Do y'all really think that a prestigious firm is going to go through all this effort to recruit top students at top schools, offer them employment and then pull the rug out based on something less than a sparkly pristine background check? Contrary to popular belief:

a) Firms don't like to make it onto ATL; and,

b) At the V5-10 level, the firms are in competition with each other to get the same top students

also, FWIW - it sounds like the earlier poster who had their offer yanked has a crime of moral turpitude on their record
Non-violent and non-drug sounds like an alcohol related offense, no?

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YCrevolution

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by YCrevolution » Thu Sep 09, 2010 9:18 am

..

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Sep 10, 2010 11:54 am

I just had an offer rescinded due to a background check. Anybody with a criminal record, be careful.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Sep 10, 2010 11:58 am

Anonymous User wrote:I just had an offer rescinded due to a background check. Anybody with a criminal record, be careful.
Oh Shit! Sorry, mang. Out the firm!!! Was it a conviction or just an arrest?

Also, did they give you the offer and then rescind it before you accepted? Or did you accept, cancel all your other callbacks/decline other offers, and then they rescinded?

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Sep 10, 2010 12:07 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I just had an offer rescinded due to a background check. Anybody with a criminal record, be careful.
Oh Shit! Sorry, mang. Out the firm!!! Was it a conviction or just an arrest?

Also, did they give you the offer and then rescind it before you accepted? Or did you accept, cancel all your other callbacks/decline other offers, and then they rescinded?
It was a conviction. They made the offer, I disclosed to them at that point (making it clear that I intended to accept only if the conviction was not a problem), and then they rescinded. In hindsight, I wish I disclosed earlier. From the beginning, I certainly intended to be honest and upfront about the conviction, although the timing of my disclosure was not ideal. (It could have been worse, of course -- it would have been horrible to spend a summer at the firm only to then find out that I was not eligible for a permanent position.)

Out of respect for the firm, I will not out them. I will offer as advice to anybody who has a conviction in their background: be honest and upfront about your history. The sooner the disclosure is made, the better, I think.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Sep 10, 2010 12:10 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I just had an offer rescinded due to a background check. Anybody with a criminal record, be careful.
Oh Shit! Sorry, mang. Out the firm!!! Was it a conviction or just an arrest?

Also, did they give you the offer and then rescind it before you accepted? Or did you accept, cancel all your other callbacks/decline other offers, and then they rescinded?
It was a conviction. They made the offer, I disclosed to them at that point (making it clear that I intended to accept only if the conviction was not a problem), and then they rescinded. In hindsight, I wish I disclosed earlier. From the beginning, I certainly intended to be honest and upfront about the conviction, although the timing of my disclosure was not ideal. (It could have been worse, of course -- it would have been horrible to spend a summer at the firm only to then find out that I was not eligible for a permanent position.)

Out of respect for the firm, I will not out them. I will offer as advice to anybody who has a conviction in their background: be honest and upfront about your history. The sooner the disclosure is made, the better, I think.
Did they directly ask you to disclose (via form, etc.)? Or did you just volunteer the info out of the blue?

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Sep 11, 2010 12:21 am

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:I just had an offer rescinded due to a background check. Anybody with a criminal record, be careful.
Oh Shit! Sorry, mang. Out the firm!!! Was it a conviction or just an arrest?

Also, did they give you the offer and then rescind it before you accepted? Or did you accept, cancel all your other callbacks/decline other offers, and then they rescinded?
It was a conviction. They made the offer, I disclosed to them at that point (making it clear that I intended to accept only if the conviction was not a problem), and then they rescinded. In hindsight, I wish I disclosed earlier. From the beginning, I certainly intended to be honest and upfront about the conviction, although the timing of my disclosure was not ideal. (It could have been worse, of course -- it would have been horrible to spend a summer at the firm only to then find out that I was not eligible for a permanent position.)

Out of respect for the firm, I will not out them. I will offer as advice to anybody who has a conviction in their background: be honest and upfront about your history. The sooner the disclosure is made, the better, I think.
Was it a felony or a crime of moral turpitude?

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Anonymous User
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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Sep 11, 2010 12:22 am

Kohinoor wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:So I also have one of these at a low V10 firm. I also have a misdemeanor open container ticket from when I was 21. Should I be worried?
I'm worried about a traffic citation from 2 years ago... If they really are looking to drop people, it's certainly not helpful to have anything less than a perfect record.
Do y'all really think that a prestigious firm is going to go through all this effort to recruit top students at top schools, offer them employment and then pull the rug out based on something less than a sparkly pristine background check? Contrary to popular belief:

a) Firms don't like to make it onto ATL; and,

b) At the V5-10 level, the firms are in competition with each other to get the same top students

also, FWIW - it sounds like the earlier poster who had their offer yanked has a crime of moral turpitude on their record
Non-violent and non-drug sounds like an alcohol related offense, no?
Non-violent, non-drug - leaves a huge wide open area - could be fraud, embezzlement, stealing, etc. etc.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Sep 11, 2010 6:37 am

The sad part is the lack of information on this subject. This is the first time I've seen it mentioned at all. I'm guessing very few aspirants realize that getting into law school may not equate to being eligible for biglaw positions.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Sep 11, 2010 8:32 am

[I'm the poster with the rescinded offer, above].

It was a felony. Like the other person said, non-violent, non-drug.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Sep 11, 2010 12:43 pm

did you voluntarily offer the info or were you asked to disclose this at some point in the hiring process and chose to do so when the offer was rendered?

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Sep 11, 2010 1:05 pm

How is your latter option even remotely plausible? "Please tell us if you have a criminal conviction -- you can tell us at any point you like. We're happy to make you a job offer and you can tell us after that some time." Seriously? No, I was never asked.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Sep 11, 2010 1:09 pm

I don't want to be mean or harsh, but why is this surprising? It's not exactly surprising that a large law firm, or any law firm, is going to be hesitant about hiring a felon. When you're billing $300+/hr for an associate's time, a client is going to raise his eyebrows at paying that much for a felon. There are also serious issues with entrusting client money with a felon - the firm might believe in you, but will the client?

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Sep 11, 2010 1:14 pm

Anonymous User wrote:How is your latter option even remotely plausible? "Please tell us if you have a criminal conviction -- you can tell us at any point you like. We're happy to make you a job offer and you can tell us after that some time." Seriously? No, I was never asked.
DPW, for example, has you fill out forms at the beginning of the callback asking you to disclose any convictions. Maybe you checked no, got the offer, then came clean. Who knows? People do all sorts of crazy shit. This is why lawyers exist.

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Re: Offer contingent upon background check

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Sep 11, 2010 1:20 pm

Only convictions? Not charges?

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
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