Top Law Schools

I found this thread from last year very helpful -- thought I'd help others with updated info:

UChicago, Class of 2014, What some of us did this past summer:

15.3% in the V5
12% in the V5-10 range (so 27.3% total in the V10)
12.5% in the V11-20 (so 39.9% total in the V20)
11.6% in the V21-30 range (so 51.4% total in the V30)
8.3% in the V31-50 range (so 59.7% total in the V50)
13.4% in the V51-100 range (so 73.1% total in the V100)

5.1% at mid-size Chicago firms that are not Vault ranked (i.e., Schiff Hardin, Edwards Wildman, Eimer Stahl, etc.)

Another ~5% are at elite or top of the market firms that are not Vault rank. That includes boutiques like Susman Godfrey and Kellog Huber, as well as small-market leaders like Polsinelli (in AZ), Dinsmore & Shohl (Cincinnati), Faegre Baker (Minneapolis), etc. that people may likely have chosen over NYC Vault offers.

I should add that the Vault rankings don't really do UChicago justice compared to say, NYU, since the rankings are so NYC-centric – taking Mayer Brown Chicago over a NYC V5 is not uncommon since many students very much prefer Chicago.

Anonymous User wrote:UChicago, Class of 2013, What some of us are doing this summer:

9.4% in the V5
12.1% in the V5-10 range (so 21.4% total in the V10)
16.2% in the V11-15 range (so 33.5% total in the V15)
4.5% in the V16-20 range (so 37.9% total in the V20)
8.5% in the V21-30 range (so 46.4% total in the V30)
10.3% in the V31-50 range (so 56.7% total in the V50)
12.1% in the V51-100 range (so 68.8% total in the V100)
8.5% at firms not in Vault, but in the NLJ250 (so 77.2% total in the V100/NLJ250)

I should add that the Vault rankings don't really do UChicago justice compared to say, NYU, since the rankings are so NYC-centric; a significant portion of people from UChicago choose to go other places (Chicago, Texas, DC, California, etc.).

Here's what they were last year (Class of 2012):

7.1% in the V5
8.6% in the V5-10 range (so 15.7% total in the V10)
16.2% in the V11-20 range (so 31.9% total in the V20)
6.2% in the V21-30 range (so 38.1% total in the V30)
13.8% in the V31-50 range (so 51.9% total in the V50)
11.4% in the V51-100 range (so 63.3% total in the V100)
5.7% at firms not in Vault, but in the NLJ250 (so 69% total in the V100/NLJ250)

I was not OP but that's ~83% in market paying firms for those too lazy to calculate it. I think this gels with what was said over the summer when our who worked where list first came out.

I'd be surprised if c/o 2015 was not 80%+ as well in speaking with classmates. I think we will be tilted heavier toward the V10 than 15% though.

Wow thats great. I guess we will have a new leader in big law placement. As someone from P i do not think we did this well at all.

Do people really think it'll be the same for C/O 2015? Seems like it's been rough across top schools.

This is awesome if you did this via the Who Worked Where list

Anonymous User wrote:Do people really think it'll be the same for C/O 2015? Seems like it's been rough across top schools.

It's always hard to tell because people those who have struck out aren't very vocal about it. That said, C/O 2015 seems to have done really well, especially at the NY v10s.

Sadly, I know people who have struck out. Esp in non-NYC markets.

Anonymous User wrote:This is awesome if you did this via the Who Worked Where list

OP here -- yes, I worked off the Who Worked Where List.

TemporarySaint wrote:That said, C/O 2015 seems to have done really well, especially at the NY v10s.

This is my sense too. I can think of ~15 in C/O 2015 people going to V3. That's like 7% of the class.

Anonymous User wrote:Sadly, I know people who have struck out. Esp in non-NYC markets.

Unfortunately you're right. Obviously it's impossible that 100% of the class would get a firm job, but my one observation about those I know who had trouble/struck out is that it was NOT due to grades. Actually the two people I know without jobs are both 179+. Poor bidding/lack of research seemed like the biggest predictors of failure in this regard. If you're unwilling to work in NY -- the single biggest legal market in the country with half of all biglaw positions -- don't be surprised if you end up in the cold. Also, it doesn't help that some of the big and less selective NYC firms (think Wilkie, Cahill, Schulte, etc.) don't come to OCI and many people didn't mass mail them.

TemporarySaint wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Do people really think it'll be the same for C/O 2015? Seems like it's been rough across top schools.

It's always hard to tell because people those who have struck out aren't very vocal about it. That said, C/O 2015 seems to have done really well, especially at the NY v10s.

+1

V3 might legitimately be 20 people; additionally, I think 4 are going to Simpson, I can think of 3 people that I think are going to DPW. FWIW, I think we also slayed it at Kirkland Chicago. It seems like the class self-selected in a way that maximized our placement power.

EDIT: also confirming the c/o 2014 numbers that were pulled from the Who Worked Where List -- I got the same 83% number when I did the math earlier this year.