OC v. LA Forum

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Tue Jul 09, 2013 3:47 pm

GW top 35% (closer to top 15% than to 35%) transfer to USC/UCLA. I have some ties to OC and would prefer OC to LA. I was talking with career services and they said with a tie to OC that OC will be less competitive than LA and that I should bid those firms high. I was not planning on having OC firms especially high because they're smaller offices with smaller class sizes (based on nalp). I don't have an IP background. Is career services correct, would OC firms actually be less competitive/the same as LA given going to USC/UCLA and ties to OC?

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Tue Jul 09, 2013 4:56 pm

I don't know the answer to your specific question, but I, as a current student, do know that UCLA's career services is rather under par. I would take what they say with a grain of salt. Ask other people.

desertlaw · Post by **desertlaw** » Tue Jul 09, 2013 5:12 pm

You can PM me, but there's some truth to the fact that most people wanting BigLaw in Cali don't want to be in OC. They'd rather be in LA/SF. That being said, the class sizes are significantly smaller in OC and people just want a job now instead of being too picky on location (whereas in years past, OC firms had to really recruit/convince people why OC was a good place)...

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Tue Jul 09, 2013 5:41 pm

career services is correct for once. every school from yale to the top 10% of whichever school you just transferred to has dozens of students with ties to sf/la trying to crawl to/back to sf/la. very few of them are aiming for oc

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Tue Jul 09, 2013 7:46 pm

Not OP, but in that vein, if you have ties to OC but bid on both OC and LA offices of a single firm, would that undermine your chances of working in OC by way of seeming like the majority of candidates who prefer LA and put OC as a back up, even if that's not the case?

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Tue Jul 09, 2013 8:11 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Not OP, but in that vein, if you have ties to OC but bid on both OC and LA offices of a single firm, would that undermine your chances of working in OC by way of seeming like the majority of candidates who prefer LA and put OC as a back up, even if that's not the case?

I'd like to know the answer to this too. I grew up in LA, did my undergrad in the OC and lived/worked there for a year after undergrad, and am back in LA for law school. I'd be happy working in either OC or LA. A number of firms coming to OCI are interviewing for both offices. Am I better off having a preference? Unless there's a major difference between OC/LA offices of a particular firm, I'm more concerned about getting a job instead of being picky about location.

anon168 · Post by **anon168** » Tue Jul 09, 2013 9:06 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Not OP, but in that vein, if you have ties to OC but bid on both OC and LA offices of a single firm, would that undermine your chances of working in OC by way of seeming like the majority of candidates who prefer LA and put OC as a back up, even if that's not the case?
I'd like to know the answer to this too. I grew up in LA, did my undergrad in the OC and lived/worked there for a year after undergrad, and am back in LA for law school. I'd be happy working in either OC or LA. A number of firms coming to OCI are interviewing for both offices. Am I better off having a preference? Unless there's a major difference between OC/LA offices of a particular firm, I'm more concerned about getting a job instead of being picky about location.

Having done OCI, my understanding is that the OC market (especially for biglaw firms that have OC outpost offices like OMM, LW, PH, etc.) it's actually quite competitive, and maybe more so than their LA counterparts. It might be more competitive for OC-based midsized firms like Manatt, etc.

There are quite a few people who want to live/work in the SoCal area, get paid LA salary without the hassles of traffic, and live in a nice (some say "white-washed" and boring) community like Irvine or Newport Beach.

So, I say if you have a preference and ties to OC, then definitely bid on OC.

thelibear · Post by **thelibear** » Wed Jul 10, 2013 1:39 am

Current SA in an OC big law firm. The following post is based on my experience at OCI & from conversations with attorneys at my firm.

The OC job market is quite competitive and a lot of people want OC because it's a great place to live (my office overlooks the ocean). It's almost impossible to get an offer without some kind of connection to OC. The OC firms care a lot about your connection to the area. They can tell in interviews if you're actually committed to OC. It's risky for firms to take people who have no connection to OC -- after they invest in the SA for an entire summer, they want to make sure that the SA chooses their firm in the end.

If you are seriously considering OC firms, I'd rank them high. You will stand apart from the other applicants if you have strong ties to the area.

Happy to answer other questions by PM if you want.

t-14orbust · Post by **t-14orbust** » Wed Jul 10, 2013 2:03 am

thelibear wrote:Current SA in an OC big law firm. The following post is based on my experience at OCI & from conversations with attorneys at my firm.

The OC job market is quite competitive and a lot of people want OC because it's a great place to live (my office overlooks the ocean). It's almost impossible to get an offer without some kind of connection to OC. The OC firms care a lot about your connection to the area. They can tell in interviews if you're actually committed to OC. It's risky for firms to take people who have no connection to OC -- after they invest in the SA for an entire summer, they want to make sure that the SA chooses their firm in the end.

If you are seriously considering OC firms, I'd rank them high. You will stand apart from the other applicants if you have strong ties to the area.

Happy to answer other questions by PM if you want.

Do they pay 160k?

UnderrateOverachieve · Post by **UnderrateOverachieve** » Wed Jul 10, 2013 2:22 am

t-14orbust wrote:
thelibear wrote:Current SA in an OC big law firm. The following post is based on my experience at OCI & from conversations with attorneys at my firm.

The OC job market is quite competitive and a lot of people want OC because it's a great place to live (my office overlooks the ocean). It's almost impossible to get an offer without some kind of connection to OC. The OC firms care a lot about your connection to the area. They can tell in interviews if you're actually committed to OC. It's risky for firms to take people who have no connection to OC -- after they invest in the SA for an entire summer, they want to make sure that the SA chooses their firm in the end.

If you are seriously considering OC firms, I'd rank them high. You will stand apart from the other applicants if you have strong ties to the area.

Happy to answer other questions by PM if you want.
Do they pay 160k?

http://www.nalpdirectory.com/employer_p ... 0Wilmer%22}

Big firm right outside the top 100 in Costa Mesa (borders Newport Beach). Starting salary is 160k. There is much more than that. That was the first that came to mind.

Lasers · Post by **Lasers** » Wed Jul 10, 2013 3:19 am

off the top of my head...jones day, latham, greenberg, bryan cave, kl gates, o'melveny, gibson, snell, rutan & tucker, stradling, mckenna all have offices or are exclusively in the oc.

the oc is a nice market to be in, and definitely competitive, but probably less so than sf/la. if you prefer the oc, i would definitely mix several of the oc offices into your top 10, but just be wary of the smaller class sizes (most seemed to take 3-5; some a few more or less).

thelibear · Post by **thelibear** » Thu Jul 11, 2013 2:52 am

t-14orbust wrote:
thelibear wrote:Current SA in an OC big law firm. The following post is based on my experience at OCI & from conversations with attorneys at my firm.

The OC job market is quite competitive and a lot of people want OC because it's a great place to live (my office overlooks the ocean). It's almost impossible to get an offer without some kind of connection to OC. The OC firms care a lot about your connection to the area. They can tell in interviews if you're actually committed to OC. It's risky for firms to take people who have no connection to OC -- after they invest in the SA for an entire summer, they want to make sure that the SA chooses their firm in the end.

If you are seriously considering OC firms, I'd rank them high. You will stand apart from the other applicants if you have strong ties to the area.

Happy to answer other questions by PM if you want.
Do they pay 160k?

Yep.

off the top of my head...jones day, latham, greenberg, bryan cave, kl gates, o'melveny, gibson, snell, rutan & tucker, stradling, mckenna all have offices or are exclusively in the oc.

Just to piggyback on Lasers' post, other firms in OC: Irell, Knobbe, Sheppard Mullen, Paul Hastings...probably others I'm forgetting.

t-14orbust · Post by **t-14orbust** » Fri Jul 12, 2013 1:20 pm

edit: didn't realize this was the Legal Employment forum, sorry bros. I'll be back come 1L next year.

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