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From what I've seen UVA is placing really well recently. I could be wrong tho. It happens.

I think the basic take home is this - you have the grades to do really well, but they aren't high enough to make anything a sure thing. Just keep doing what you're doing and you'll have plenty of opportunities.

What about the chances of DC firms with a very strong DC tie? (I know DC is harder than NY)

Anonymous User wrote:What about the chances of DC firms with a very strong DC tie? (I know DC is harder than NY)

DC doesn't really care about ties. Top 10% gives you a chance at all the DC firms, but it's a far tougher market than NYC. You just have to keep in mind that you're competing with the top of the class at UVA and all the other T14s. In other words, you'll have a good chance at many of the DC firms, but there's nothing guaranteed.

vamedic03 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:What about the chances of DC firms with a very strong DC tie? (I know DC is harder than NY)

DC doesn't really care about ties. Top 10% gives you a chance at all the DC firms, but it's a far tougher market than NYC. You just have to keep in mind that you're competing with the top of the class at UVA and all the other T14s. In other words, you'll have a good chance at many of the DC firms, but there's nothing guaranteed.

Thanks for the response!

Anonymous User wrote:What about the chances of DC firms with a very strong DC tie? (I know DC is harder than NY)

You certainly don't need to avoid DC with top 10% grades--or even top 25% grades--but as vamedic said, nothing is guaranteed. DC firms tend to have class sizes ranging from 10 to 25, so they are a lot more picky about who they hire than NY firms with massive class sizes. If you bid DC, spread your bids around to cover the different tiers of firms, and make sure you use a lot of bids on NY too (the NY firms, not the DC firms, will be your safeties).

Cavalier wrote:Top 25% is good enough for V10s at UVA... you can go even lower if you write on to Law Review. V5s are a lot more selective; to my knowledge, Davis Polk is the only firm that will dip a lot lower than a 3.7. This is all NY; DC is a much more difficult market to get.

You forgot Skadden, bro.

To 0Ls/1Ls: let's stop equating Vault rank with GPAs.

Especially at UVA, where lots of the grade-ons would probably rather go to a Steptoe or a Patton Boggs in DC over a V10 in NYC, or a W&C/Covington/GDC/Wilmer/A&P in DC over SullCrom in NYC, the correlation just isn't that strong.

To OP: kick ass and grade on. At top 10%, the only OGI firm that's closed off to you is Cravath.

But every bit of GPA helps, and Law Review is a lifetime distinction you don't want to barely miss out on. Worst case scenario: you tank it this semester, drop down to 3.4-3.5, and are still in the ballpark for tons of top firms (however you want to define them) if you interview well.