Firm Jobs in Portland, OR Forum

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know what firm recruiting is like in the Portland area? I go to a T2 on the east coast, but would like to go back to Portland to practice hopefully after graduation. Is hiring competitive out there? I'm hoping that my hometown ties will have some effect on my application, considering my school is on the east coast, and not a T-14.

[bdubs]

Does anyone know what firm recruiting is like in the Portland area? I go to a T2 on the east coast, but would like to go back to Portland to practice hopefully after graduation. Is hiring competitive out there? I'm hoping that my hometown ties will have some effect on my application, considering my school is on the east coast, and not a T-14.

You're probably going to have a really hard time recruiting in Portland. The number of SA positions in Portland is really small (less than 30), most of them are going to go to top students at local schools and T14 students with ties.

[rinkrat19]

0L here, but I have some data on this. Portland's market is EXTREMELY small. It is dominated by Lewis & Clark and Oregon, followed by UW and a mix of T14s, and then a few T1s with lay prestige (ND, BC). Very, very few T2 grads.

Here's a list of last year's summer associate hires:
--LinkRemoved--
As you can see, it is a short list.

And this data I gleaned myself. It's an approximate count of the last 11-ish years of associate hires by Portland NALP firms, by school:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... 0VkE#gid=0
I used the NALP search for a list of Portland firms. (There are obviously a lot more firms, mid-and small-law, but NALP seems like a good place to start since NALP follows the rules for OCI and such. And most smaller firms aren't doing SA programs.)

Then I went to each firm's site, did a search for lawyers in the Portland office, and went through all the profiles to find people who graduated in 2000 or later. It's not perfect. Some firms don't list grad year so I was approximating by their photo and possible clues in their bio.

[Anonymous User]

I was at the top of one of the Lewis & Clark/Oregon classes going into 2L OCI, and I got callbacks at five of the major firms. I grew up in Oregon and have all of my family there.

It is EXTREMELY competitive. The largest firms have class sizes ranging from 1-4, and there are probably only a handful of firms that you can consider large in Portland.

While I ended up with a V10 at a major city, I struck out in Portland. From what I heard, I think only a handful of Oregon/Lewis & Clark law school students got offers, and the rest were T6 (I met several harvard/yale during interviews) students with substantial connections.

And lastly, some of these firms with extremely small class sizes have no-offered in the last few years.

[Anonymous User]

I was at the top of one of the Lewis & Clark/Oregon classes going into 2L OCI, and I got callbacks at five of the major firms. I grew up in Oregon and have all of my family there.

It is EXTREMELY competitive. The largest firms have class sizes ranging from 1-4, and there are probably only a handful of firms that you can consider large in Portland.

While I ended up with a V10 at a major city, I struck out in Portland. From what I heard, I think only a handful of Oregon/Lewis & Clark law school students got offers, and the rest were T6 (I met several harvard/yale during interviews) students with substantial connections.

And lastly, some of these firms with extremely small class sizes have no-offered in the last few years.

Can vouch for this, to an even more extreme degree. Top 20% HYS, and my 4 CBs in Portland resulted in 1 offer. Lots of ties to the Pacific Northwest (but, unfortunately for me, not Portland). Batted nearly 1.000 at non-Portland firms during OCI. Really, really wanted to be there long term, and no one believed me.

It is very, very hard to get a job in Portland. Outside some southern cities and Honolulu, it might be the most insular market in the country that's also desirable to live in.

[Anonymous User]

Here's a list of last year's summer associate hires:
--LinkRemoved--
As you can see, it is a short list.

updated list for 2012
http://034aac7.netsolhost.com/WordPress/law-students/

[Anonymous User]

Here's a list of last year's summer associate hires:
--LinkRemoved--
As you can see, it is a short list.

updated list for 2012
http://034aac7.netsolhost.com/WordPress/law-students/

I'm one of the summer associates on that list. Everything about the market being insular, possibly the most insular outside of a few southern markets and hawaii, is credited.

I don't think they care so much about grades as they do about the "will he/she stay?" factor. They've been burned too many times by students who spend a few summers at their office and then jump ship to NYC.

[Anonymous User]

I was at the top of one of the Lewis & Clark/Oregon classes going into 2L OCI, and I got callbacks at five of the major firms. I grew up in Oregon and have all of my family there.

It is EXTREMELY competitive. The largest firms have class sizes ranging from 1-4, and there are probably only a handful of firms that you can consider large in Portland.

While I ended up with a V10 at a major city, I struck out in Portland. From what I heard, I think only a handful of Oregon/Lewis & Clark law school students got offers, and the rest were T6 (I met several harvard/yale during interviews) students with substantial connections.

And lastly, some of these firms with extremely small class sizes have no-offered in the last few years.

This is the first I've heard about no-offers... how bad was it, and which firms?

[Anonymous User]

stoel no offered a few people in the last few years. a combination of financial issues and summer associates not being a match for the firm. apparently, if you're going to get no-offered, you know it's coming.


meh.

[Anonymous User]

I'm the OP. I grew up in the Portland area, and have family there, so I'd really like to return. I feel that I can make a pretty compelling case, but my school sucks (T2), so I'm really worried about how competitive it is there.

Does anyone know if the Seattle market might be better? I'd prefer Portland, but I'll settle for Seattle.

What about lateral hiring? I'm considering working in the city my school is in for a few years, and then transferring to Portland/Seattle.

[bdubs]

I'm the OP. I grew up in the Portland area, and have family there, so I'd really like to return. I feel that I can make a pretty compelling case, but my school sucks (T2), so I'm really worried about how competitive it is there.

Does anyone know if the Seattle market might be better? I'd prefer Portland, but I'll settle for Seattle.

What about lateral hiring? I'm considering working in the city my school is in for a few years, and then transferring to Portland/Seattle.

Did you read the post from the person who was top quartile from HYS who couldn't get a job in Portland? I don't think it bodes well for you coming from an East Coast T2. Seattle is larger, but still too small for you to have anything but an outside shot at.

Are you in the top 5% at your school? If you're doing really well, you should probably shoot to transfer to a West Coast school. If you're not among the top students at your current school, your chances are probably miniscule anyway.

[Anonymous User]

What was your GPA/rank if you don't mind? I've heard as well that OCI will have less interviews, meaning if a firm genrally extended interviews to the top 10%, expect it to be limited to the top 5% possibly for this year.

Here's a list of last year's summer associate hires:
--LinkRemoved--
As you can see, it is a short list.

updated list for 2012
http://034aac7.netsolhost.com/WordPress/law-students/

I'm one of the summer associates on that list. Everything about the market being insular, possibly the most insular outside of a few southern markets and hawaii, is credited.

I don't think they care so much about grades as they do about the "will he/she stay?" factor. They've been burned too many times by students who spend a few summers at their office and then jump ship to NYC.

[Anonymous User]

Everything about the market being insular, possibly the most insular outside of a few southern markets and hawaii, is credited.

I don't think they care so much about grades as they do about the "will he/she stay?" factor. They've been burned too many times by students who spend a few summers at their office and then jump ship to NYC.

I can vouch for this. I went to a T2 in California and interviewed for a SA gig at a medium sized Portland firm (~30 attorneys). Got aced out by a local kid. They hammered me about whether I could move back to Oregon after living in 'sunny California' for 8 years.

Stoel, Miller Nash, Scwabe, Tonkon Torp, and Lane Powell all have insanely small summer programs. Not sure about Perkins Coie and Davis Wright Tremaine...But I'm guessing they hand-pick T14s with local ties.

[Anonymous User]

Everything about the market being insular, possibly the most insular outside of a few southern markets and hawaii, is credited.

I don't think they care so much about grades as they do about the "will he/she stay?" factor. They've been burned too many times by students who spend a few summers at their office and then jump ship to NYC.

I can vouch for this. I went to a T2 in California and interviewed for a SA gig at a medium sized Portland firm (~30 attorneys). Got aced out by a local kid. They hammered me about whether I could move back to Oregon after living in 'sunny California' for 8 years.

Stoel, Miller Nash, Scwabe, Tonkon Torp, and Lane Powell all have insanely small summer programs. Not sure about Perkins Coie and Davis Wright Tremaine...But I'm guessing they hand-pick T14s with local ties.

What was your GPA/rank? I've heard that most firms in Portland aren't hiring SA's at all, and if they are, very few people. I'm wondering how students in OR are even surviving? What kind of jobs do they end up taking if they're not at firms? Government? Court clerkships?

[Anonymous User]

Everything about the market being insular, possibly the most insular outside of a few southern markets and hawaii, is credited.

I don't think they care so much about grades as they do about the "will he/she stay?" factor. They've been burned too many times by students who spend a few summers at their office and then jump ship to NYC.

I can vouch for this. I went to a T2 in California and interviewed for a SA gig at a medium sized Portland firm (~30 attorneys). Got aced out by a local kid. They hammered me about whether I could move back to Oregon after living in 'sunny California' for 8 years.

Stoel, Miller Nash, Scwabe, Tonkon Torp, and Lane Powell all have insanely small summer programs. Not sure about Perkins Coie and Davis Wright Tremaine...But I'm guessing they hand-pick T14s with local ties.

What was your GPA/rank? I've heard that most firms in Portland aren't hiring SA's at all, and if they are, very few people. I'm wondering how students in OR are even surviving? What kind of jobs do they end up taking if they're not at firms? Government? Court clerkships?

I interviewed in 2010, when the market was even crappier. I didn't have stellar credentials (top 40%, no LR or MC), but had clerk experience at AUSA and for a fed judge. I also knew a partner at the firm...

[abc12345675]

I think you should try to start out a firm on the east coast that has a Portland office. Establish yourself and then transfer out there.

[grtbooks91]

I'm one of the summer associates on that list. Everything about the market being insular, possibly the most insular outside of a few southern markets and hawaii, is credited.

I don't think they care so much about grades as they do about the "will he/she stay?" factor. They've been burned too many times by students who spend a few summers at their office and then jump ship to NYC.

Can this user, if they are still watching this thread, PM me? Thanks!

[modus pwnens]

Don't just PM. There are others of us out here that are quite interested in the topic, too. :)

[Anonymous User]

I tried to get this discussion going for Seattle, but nobody showing my threadany love.

Any deets on Schwabe? Class size last year, offers, etc?