The Vale of Tears (3L Job Hunting) (No advice for 0/1/2Ls) Forum

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 4:52 pm

Lunch with the managing partner from a firm I met at a networking event. Suit or business casual for the lunch?

rinkrat19 · Post by **rinkrat19** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 5:10 pm

I just got really good news! The DA's office back home where I would love to get hired permanently has said they will take me as a Fellow! (Subject to background check and UA, but those won't be a problem.)

Now I can apply for the fellowship, which supposedly I have a great shot at getting. Last year only 12-15 people applied for 10 fellowships, and it's focused more on commitment to PI than grades, and my resume is basically all government. And I can register for the Oregon bar (hooray for really late on-time deadlines).

This could be my foot through the door in the Portland market!!! I'm one step closer to going home!!

JCougar · Post by **JCougar** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 5:12 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Lunch with the managing partner from a firm I met at a networking event. Suit or business casual for the lunch?

Sounds like suit to me. Better to be wrong and over-dressed rather than wrong and under-dressed. Since you can't predict what this guy/gal is going to think, go with the suit.

Pleasye · Post by **Pleasye** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 5:13 pm

Awesome news rink. Fingers crossed everything stays on track for you.

rinkrat19 · Post by **rinkrat19** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 5:46 pm

Pleasye wrote:Awesome news rink. Fingers crossed everything stays on track for you.

Thanks! I keep trying not to get too optimistic, but this step was a big one.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 7:47 pm

JCougar wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Lunch with the managing partner from a firm I met at a networking event. Suit or business casual for the lunch?
Sounds like suit to me. Better to be wrong and over-dressed rather than wrong and under-dressed. Since you can't predict what this guy/gal is going to think, go with the suit.

OP.

I was leaning that way until I found out they want to go to a divey bar/grill.

JCougar · Post by **JCougar** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 7:54 pm

Anonymous User wrote: I was leaning that way until I found out they want to go to a divey bar/grill.

Yeah, then probably not. You could always ask. It's a perfectly legitimate question.

A. Nony Mouse · Post by **A. Nony Mouse** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 9:42 pm

rinkrat19 wrote:I just got really good news! The DA's office back home where I would love to get hired permanently has said they will take me as a Fellow! (Subject to background check and UA, but those won't be a problem.)

Now I can apply for the fellowship, which supposedly I have a great shot at getting. Last year only 12-15 people applied for 10 fellowships, and it's focused more on commitment to PI than grades, and my resume is basically all government. And I can register for the Oregon bar (hooray for really late on-time deadlines).

This could be my foot through the door in the Portland market!!! I'm one step closer to going home!!

Hooray!! Fingers crossed on the fellowship!

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 11:51 pm

My wife had her offer rescinded due to new ownership. I just fucking took the bar in the state where she would have worked. FUUCCKKK.

Devlin · Post by **Devlin** » Tue Mar 03, 2015 11:54 pm

Anonymous User wrote:My wife had her offer rescinded due to new ownership. I just fucking took the bar in the state where she would have worked. FUUCCKKK.

That is terrible. Hopefully the firm will help her land on her feet elsewhere.

Good luck with your hunt as well.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 11:41 am

I missed a phone call this morning. No voice mail left. I traced the phone number and it's a number to a firm that I mass mailed. It's the office's main line.

Surely it's a positive they are calling? I'm worried about the lack of voice mail though.

When I call back should I just tell the receptionist that I'm returning a call w/ no voice mail?

JCougar · Post by **JCougar** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 12:50 pm

Anonymous User wrote:When I call back should I just tell the receptionist that I'm returning a call w/ no voice mail?

Might as well. Worst case scenario, this shows you are interested.

BVest · Post by **BVest** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:58 pm

JCougar wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:When I call back should I just tell the receptionist that I'm returning a call w/ no voice mail?
Might as well. Worst case scenario, this shows you are interested.

I think the actual worst case is that the receptionist has no idea who called you from there and you have a brief but awkward conversation with him/her that is fruitless. But that still means you might as well call.

JenDarby · Post by **JenDarby** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 2:45 pm

rinkrat19 wrote:
Pleasye wrote:Awesome news rink. Fingers crossed everything stays on track for you.
Thanks! I keep trying not to get too optimistic, but this step was a big one.

That's awesome rink!!! Its great that it puts you into employment in your target state which is REALLY helpful for a later job search (which hopefully won't be necessary, but just in case).

rinkrat19 · Post by **rinkrat19** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 3:08 pm

JenDarby wrote:
rinkrat19 wrote:
Pleasye wrote:Awesome news rink. Fingers crossed everything stays on track for you.
Thanks! I keep trying not to get too optimistic, but this step was a big one.
That's awesome rink!!! Its great that it puts you into employment in your target state which is REALLY helpful for a later job search (which hopefully won't be necessary, but just in case).

Thanks JD! I'm filling out the background check stuff and will email it back as soon as I get to a campus scanner. It's nice to feel optimistic for the first time in a while.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 3:08 pm

BVest wrote:
JCougar wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:When I call back should I just tell the receptionist that I'm returning a call w/ no voice mail?
Might as well. Worst case scenario, this shows you are interested.
I think the actual worst case is that the receptionist has no idea who called you from there and you have a brief but awkward conversation with him/her that is fruitless. But that still means you might as well call.

OP here. They actually followed up w/ email to schedule an interview for Friday.

I feel like I'm about to bust out of the vale, but I'm in a slightly touchy situation.

Situation:

I'm clerking at a firm that I love but they can't extend an offer due to economics (will give me outstanding recs).

Had a lunch interview the other day and the firm wants me to come clerk the rest of the semester with them and if I do a good job there will be an offer waiting for me. Obviously I will jump ship to clerk w/ them since that has a great chance to turn in to employment, BUT...

I have two different interviews on this Friday.

So I didn't straight up accept the offer to clerk because I don't want to take an interview Friday and potentially (hopefully) get an offer then have to back out of the clerkship that I just recently started. Same time, I don't want to take too long to accept the clerkship and potentially blow that (they know about my two interviews and were cool about it but don't seem to want to wait all day long for it)

My main goal is to get a full time jerb. I like all three potential firms. I feel like I'm in a great position but things could easily screw up.

Thoughts?

JCougar · Post by **JCougar** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 3:23 pm

Anonymous User wrote: My main goal is to get a full time jerb. I like all three potential firms. I feel like I'm in a great position but things could easily screw up.

Thoughts?

You should not turn down a full time job in this environment. Promises of what might happen in the future are often illusory. I would take the first sure thing if you have the opportunity.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 3:35 pm

JCougar wrote:
Anonymous User wrote: My main goal is to get a full time jerb. I like all three potential firms. I feel like I'm in a great position but things could easily screw up.

Thoughts?
You should not turn down a full time job in this environment. Promises of what might happen in the future are often illusory. I would take the first sure thing if you have the opportunity.

OP.

No doubt about it - I will accept the first of these three potential offers. However, I have a pseudo offer to clerk and then likely get a job offer if I do a good job. Should I immediately accept that? What if it does not turn in to the offer?

What if I accept the clerkship, then later receive an offer. Do I back out of the clerkship after a few weeks?

JCougar · Post by **JCougar** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 3:54 pm

Anonymous User wrote: What if I accept the clerkship, then later receive an offer. Do I back out of the clerkship after a few weeks?

I'm assuming the firms you are interviewing with later are for after graduation? If so, accept the clerkship, but tell them that you will still be looking for other FT jobs until they make their FT offer final.

They should be able to understand how that makes sense. If not, they're being ridiculous.

anon sequitur · Post by **anon sequitur** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 3:59 pm

Don't give a firm a fucking ounce of loyalty for a law clerk position. Accept whatever clerk position you think is good for you, don't feel obligated to mention you'll still be looking for other positions, and accept any full-time associate position that you think would be good for you. Unless you really prefer one firm to another, why would you turn down an actual offer in favor of a potential offer?

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 4:08 pm

anon sequitur wrote:Don't give a firm a fucking ounce of loyalty for a law clerk position. Accept whatever clerk position you think is good for you, don't feel obligated to mention you'll still be looking for other positions, and accept any full-time associate position that you think would be good for you. Unless you really prefer one firm to another, why would you turn down an actual offer in favor of a potential offer?

Right right.

Sounds like I'm going to take my interviews on Friday and assuming I don't hear anything back from either firm by mid next week then accept the new clerkship and then go from there?

Alcibiades · Post by **Alcibiades** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 5:40 pm

Longtime lurker first time poster. Looking for any advice.

Stats:
I'm a 3L at T-20
My GPA is a 3.1 (Upward trend from bad 1l year)
Straight K-JD
BS in Pol Sci from a state university
My legal experience is a summer externship with a state judge and another summer externship with a federal agency, neither is capable of hiring
Graduating with no debt and I'm fluent in Spanish
Nothing in my resume really screams focus: just bar classes, a couple of seminars, and some clinics: trial advocacy.
I would ideally hope to stay in SoCal or California in general, signed up for the Cal Bar, but beggars can't be choosers

Been networking and checking simplicity, I definitely could be more through but I'm really not sure what to do anymore, feeling depressed. Anyone have any ideas/suggestions?

Pleasye · Post by **Pleasye** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 5:41 pm

Isn't the clerkship for right now? Just accept it right now and then go to the interviews. The clerkship isn't going to give you an offer any time soon anyway (or else they would have already given you a full-time offer).

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 5:50 pm

Pleasye wrote:Isn't the clerkship for right now? Just accept it right now and then go to the interviews. The clerkship isn't going to give you an offer any time soon anyway (or else they would have already given you a full-time offer).

Well they gave me a week or so to decide. I would rather get an offer outright from one of those Friday interviews and stay clerking at my current firm (because $$). Unless I get an offer by next week (which is very unlikely) I will probably accept the other clerkship.

Stanford4Me · Post by **Stanford4Me** » Wed Mar 04, 2015 5:58 pm

JCougar wrote:
Anonymous User wrote: What if I accept the clerkship, then later receive an offer. Do I back out of the clerkship after a few weeks?
I'm assuming the firms you are interviewing with later are for after graduation? If so, accept the clerkship, but tell them that you will still be looking for other FT jobs until they make their FT offer final.

They should be able to understand how that makes sense. If not, they're being ridiculous.

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