UChicago OCI Alums Answering Questions About the Job Hunt Forum

[2014]

To the 179 posters. I had essentially the same GPA last year. Bid at least some NY. You never know what will happen and OCI can be weird, especially since Chicago can be a tough market to crack. If it comes down between striking out and working in NY, I don't think that's a particularly hard decision. I think 2014 is very on with the whole 'no real cut-offs' thing for essentially every firm, but I don't think you should take that to get too comfortable.

Absolutely. I keep repeating it to stop the 177- folks from getting discouraged and the ~178.5+ folks from thinking they are home free. It's all often seen as the same shit and by the time people get that it can be too late.

[Anonymous User]

I was just admitted as a transfer student, and I'm thrilled to be given the opportunity to be at Chicago.

How should I bid at OCI? I'm top 10% with LR at a T40, originally from the Midwest (but no ties to Chicago itself).

I know the standard advice around here is to bid NY to be safe - is that applicable to UChi students, too? Or can I / should I bid Chicago?

[Neal Patrick Harris]

I was just admitted as a transfer student, and I'm thrilled to be given the opportunity to be at Chicago.

How should I bid at OCI? I'm top 10% with LR at a T40, originally from the Midwest (but no ties to Chicago itself).

I know the standard advice around here is to bid NY to be safe - is that applicable to UChi students, too? Or can I / should I bid Chicago?

Wish I could tell you. I can say that transfers did very well overall, but I wasn't one.

[WheninLaw]

What does LA look like for someone with a 178.0-178.5?

I know MTO/Irell are out, but what about GDC, OMM, Latham, etc.

MTO is absolutely out. Chance at Irell is slim-to-none, but it exists. GDC will be tough, but possible. You'll really need to knock the interview out of the park. I think Gibson is willing to slide down a bit for the right kind of person. The other LA firms should be in reach. Y'all should specify things like URM/female if they apply to you, since it changes the equation a bit.

And for the person that asked about LR - 179.6 was the cutoff last year, which was very low. Three people had the grades but did not do the write-on. My guess is the cutoff will be 179.7-.8, but who knows.

[Anonymous User]

What does LA look like for someone with a 178.0-178.5?

I know MTO/Irell are out, but what about GDC, OMM, Latham, etc.

MTO is absolutely out. Chance at Irell is slim-to-none, but it exists. GDC will be tough, but possible. You'll really need to knock the interview out of the park. I think Gibson is willing to slide down a bit for the right kind of person. The other LA firms should be in reach. Y'all should specify things like URM/female if they apply to you, since it changes the equation a bit.

And for the person that asked about LR - 179.6 was the cutoff last year, which was very low. Three people had the grades but did not do the write-on. My guess is the cutoff will be 179.7-.8, but who knows.

A total of three (that is, is this insider information), or three people who had the grades reported not doing the writing competition?

[WheninLaw]

What does LA look like for someone with a 178.0-178.5?

I know MTO/Irell are out, but what about GDC, OMM, Latham, etc.

MTO is absolutely out. Chance at Irell is slim-to-none, but it exists. GDC will be tough, but possible. You'll really need to knock the interview out of the park. I think Gibson is willing to slide down a bit for the right kind of person. The other LA firms should be in reach. Y'all should specify things like URM/female if they apply to you, since it changes the equation a bit.

And for the person that asked about LR - 179.6 was the cutoff last year, which was very low. Three people had the grades but did not do the write-on. My guess is the cutoff will be 179.7-.8, but who knows.

A total of three (that is, is this insider information), or three people who had the grades reported not doing the writing competition?

A total of three.

edit: may have misunderstood your question. There were 3 people that, had they done the write-on, would have made LR.

[Anonymous User]

What does LA look like for someone with a 178.0-178.5?

I know MTO/Irell are out, but what about GDC, OMM, Latham, etc.

MTO is absolutely out. Chance at Irell is slim-to-none, but it exists. GDC will be tough, but possible. You'll really need to knock the interview out of the park. I think Gibson is willing to slide down a bit for the right kind of person. The other LA firms should be in reach. Y'all should specify things like URM/female if they apply to you, since it changes the equation a bit.

And for the person that asked about LR - 179.6 was the cutoff last year, which was very low. Three people had the grades but did not do the write-on. My guess is the cutoff will be 179.7-.8, but who knows.

A total of three (that is, is this insider information), or three people who had the grades reported not doing the writing competition?

A total of three.

Wow, I'm just honestly surprised so many people do the damned competition.

[AspiringAcademic]

Wow, I'm just honestly surprised so many people do the damned competition.

More than half the class turned in something this year, and it'd be surprising if students with higher GPAs weren't much more likely to do so.

I guess lots of people are either worried about OCI or dreaming of clerkships?

[Neal Patrick Harris]

Wow, I'm just honestly surprised so many people do the damned competition.

More than half the class turned in something this year, and it'd be surprising if students with higher GPAs weren't much more likely to do so.

I guess lots of people are either worried about OCI or dreaming of clerkships?

wow you two are different people!?

also lol at them releasing that information

[Anonymous User]

A total of three (that is, is this insider information), or three people who had the grades reported not doing the writing competition?

A total of three.

Wow, I'm just honestly surprised so many people do the damned competition.

I know about that many people in grade-on range (not sure if above, for obvious reasons) this year who just didn't do it. LR seems like a stupid amount of work and if it doesn't fit with your goals, no sense subjecting yourself to that. I'd actually be surprised if there weren't more.

also lol at them releasing that information

Yeah, uh, what?

[Anonymous User]

Looking at the WWW for the past couple of years it seems like very few people go to Texas (10 or fewer). Is this because few people are interested in Texas (which would explain why so few of the major regionals are at OCI), or is it just really hard to get a job there? In other words, how competitive is it and how high should I be bidding those firms?

[Anonymous User]

Looking at the WWW for the past couple of years it seems like very few people go to Texas (10 or fewer). Is this because few people are interested in Texas (which would explain why so few of the major regionals are at OCI), or is it just really hard to get a job there? In other words, how competitive is it and how high should I be bidding those firms?

Going off this, how important are ties to the area, and what passes for a good tie? I have extended family there and am from another southern state, and I'm interested in possibly bidding either Houston or Dallas.

[gchatbrah]

177.5. Decent WE. Non-URM.

What sort of firms should I be aiming for?

Also: Do firms calculate our GPA or just look at our transcripts? And do they care if you have an upward trend?

Focus on NYC; your success will largely turn on personality/interviewing ability -- basically every v20 firm went down to median-ish last year (with the exception of WLRK and maybe Cleary).

Honestly, New York is a market where interviewing ability can make a world of difference because of (1) the large class sizes in NYC and (2) the small amount (~30-35ish each year) of people that head to NYC from our law school. 177.4ish, K-JD, with success across the entire v20 (excepting the following: didn't bid S&C or Cravath, and obviously didn't bid WLRK); ended up taking V10 offer. Feel free to PM if you want to talk interviewing strategy. Some of the most successful people from our class in NYC (outside of the LR gradeons) had median to slightly above median grades; I know a number of people that got post-CB rejected at firms with GPAs that were a full point and change higher than mine, while I was able to secure the post-CB offer. Personality and targeted interview preparation can make a world of difference, particularly in NYC.

[Anonymous User]

Can you explain a little more about "targeted interview strategy" or anything along those lines?

[Anonymous User]

175.5. NYC because I don't want to be unemployed. Which firms do I have a shot at and which should I avoid entirely?

[gchatbrah]

Can you explain a little more about "targeted interview strategy" or anything along those lines?

PM me for more specifics. In general, much of OCS's interview prep focuses on how to talk about your own resume, how to highlight "the skills" you could bring to a law firm, and how to ask general questions.

That gets you somewhere, but if you really want to shine in these interviews -- especially during the ridiculously-short 20 minute interviews at the screener stage -- you want to be talking about all of those things in a way that's specifically tailored to the firm in front of you. Focus on what that firm does well, the kind of clients they have, the type of assignment system they have, the type of rotational system they have, etc.

That means:
(1) doing as much research as you can -- Chambers, Vault, AmLaw, even old auto-admit threads can provide mile-markers for you;

(2) cold-emailing alums at the firms you'll be interviewing with -- this allows the "tailoring" you're doing to be based on as small a percentage of BS as possible, since you'll have a previous conversation to reference; and

(3) emailing 3Ls that got offers there and find out what they did/said/whatever -- we're super eager to help, and we did this literally a year ago, so we have the best memories of how this whole thing works.

Email us NOW! It'll make it easier to have a conversation (or two or three), and it gives us plenty of time to respond in case we're busy. I can't emphasize enough how willing we are to help -- it makes all of you way more fun next year if you all have jobs!

Anyone should feel free to PM me. Please.

[Anonymous User]

If any alums want to critique bid lists over in the OCI thread I would appreciate it. Don't want to clog up this thread with bid list mechanics.

http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 3&t=231959

[Anonymous User]

(3) emailing 3Ls that got offers there and find out what they did/said/whatever -- we're super eager to help, and we did this literally a year ago, so we have the best memories of how this whole thing works.

Is there a way to know who got offers?

[gchatbrah]

(3) emailing 3Ls that got offers there and find out what they did/said/whatever -- we're super eager to help, and we did this literally a year ago, so we have the best memories of how this whole thing works.

Is there a way to know who got offers?

I mean email people from the WWW list that are going there -- we have a representative at enough NYC firms that it's helpful. You can definitely feel free to ask them where else they looked/got offers besides the firm at which they're summering -- most of us interviewed at all the same places.

[Anonymous User]

Apparently K&E Houston is giving a $10k stipend to summer associates plus a $10k signing bonus. Is that as abnormal as I think it is? Especially since they say they're only expecting 5 summer associates.

[Anonymous User]

Apparently K&E Houston is giving a $10k stipend to summer associates plus a $10k signing bonus. Is that as abnormal as I think it is? Especially since they say they're only expecting 5 summer associates.

Not sure where you got this information, but I'm not entirely surprised. Kirkland is dedicated to the success of the new office and is willing to pay for it. I'm sure they have done similar things in the lateral market. Expect competition to be fierce.

Don't be afraid to email people from the other offices if you're interested in the Houston office. Interviewers at OCI will understand that it's a new office.

[Anonymous User]

Looking to get a second suit for OCI. Any recommendations on where in Chicago to buy one?

[beepboopbeep]

Looking to get a second suit for OCI. Any recommendations on where in Chicago to buy one?

http://us.suitsupply.com/en_US/store?St ... es-Chicago

Highly recommended. Bought one from them last year pre-1L and will be buying a second from them pre-OCI. Great quality for the price point, and they'll rush tailor things for you in-store.

[Mal Reynolds]

I love suit supply. I have two and might get a third soon. Just don't let the sales people put you in anything too fashion forward. Ask for their conservative cuts and don't let them push you into something that is on smaller end of your size. That's their whole style but make sure you like the way you look.

JAB signature golds are also solid and a little cheaper than suit supply if that works better for your budget. I don't have one but have heard good things.

[Anonymous User]

For firms that don't come to OCI and have online applications, is it ok not to submit a cover letter if the only documents the application requires are resume and transcript, and a cover letter isn't mentioned? Or would that be a major error?

I am ok with writing one, but I want to make sure I'm not wasting time.