"Why DC?" Forum

[Anonymous User]

Any input on this? I have a handful of OCI interviews with DC offices of V20 firms. I have never been to DC, but had some friends give me some info on popular spots, restaurants, etc. that I can drop in my interview (if I try to pretend like I've been there). Basically, how can I sell firms I want to be in DC other than "I have zero desire to live in NYC and you're the next up biggest/most prestigious legal market."

[baal hadad]

Any input on this? I have a handful of OCI interviews with DC offices of V20 firms. I have never been to DC, but had some friends give me some info on popular spots, restaurants, etc. that I can drop in my interview (if I try to pretend like I've been there). Basically, how can I sell firms I want to be in DC other than "I have zero desire to live in NYC and you're the next up biggest/most prestigious legal market."

Uh dude you better talk about the work that happens in DC And what the firm does in DC and make a strong case for why you want to do that work

Name dropping restaurants isn't gonna cut it

[Anonymous User]

DC is one of the easiest cities to answer that question for. The federal government is there and you can say you are interested in working on regulatory and administrative law issues (in any field other than finance) and DC is legitimately the best legal market for that. Just don't say you are interested in the corporate practice.

[vandalvideo]

DC is one of the easiest cities to answer that question for. The federal government is there and you can say you are interested in working on regulatory and administrative law issues (in any field other than finance) and DC is legitimately the best legal market for that. Just don't say you are interested in the corporate practice.

What is wrong with mentioning corporate practice in D.C.? As a local and a person infatuated with business associations, I am curious.

[soj]

the work unique to dc plus the work that the firm specializes in

[baal hadad]

DC is one of the easiest cities to answer that question for. The federal government is there and you can say you are interested in working on regulatory and administrative law issues (in any field other than finance) and DC is legitimately the best legal market for that. Just don't say you are interested in the corporate practice.

What is wrong with mentioning corporate practice in D.C.? As a local and a person infatuated with business associations, I am curious.

I mean if the firm truly specializes in it that's fine but what you can't say is "I want to be in DC bc it is an incredible place for m&a"

It's just not a place were super sexy corporate shit goes down

[Anonymous User]

the work unique to dc plus the work that the firm specializes in

Any input on the work unique to DC?

[vandalvideo]

the work unique to dc plus the work that the firm specializes in

Any input on the work unique to DC?

Depends on the type of law you wanna do. We have a lot of special Children in Need of Services cases where the kids are from overseas. Sparks a bunch of interesting federal issues. I guess if you like family law? Other than that, federal contracts are a thing, as are taxes. KPMG is lurking around here.

[Anonymous User]

the work unique to dc plus the work that the firm specializes in

Any input on the work unique to DC?

Depends on the type of law you wanna do. We have a lot of special Children in Need of Services cases where the kids are from overseas. Sparks a bunch of interesting federal issues. I guess if you like family law? Other than that, federal contracts are a thing, as are taxes. KPMG is lurking around here.

OP here, I'm leaning heavily lit.

[soj]

the work unique to dc plus the work that the firm specializes in

Any input on the work unique to DC?

regulatory work. if you can, express interest in a specific industry (eg healthcare) or practice area (eg antitrust). other government-related work (eg tax). high-level litigation. you'll need to do your own research so you can then explain why these things appeal to you.

be careful of saying things like appellate litigation, sports law, entertainment law, or fields with sexy political implications. not that you can't pull it off, but so many 1ls want to do that shit that you'll have to work harder to overcome a presumption that you don't know wtf you're talking about. plus, recruiters vastly overstate the size of these sexy practices because they know that's what law students are attracted to, but interviewers obviously know better.

[vandalvideo]

the work unique to dc plus the work that the firm specializes in

Any input on the work unique to DC?

Depends on the type of law you wanna do. We have a lot of special Children in Need of Services cases where the kids are from overseas. Sparks a bunch of interesting federal issues. I guess if you like family law? Other than that, federal contracts are a thing, as are taxes. KPMG is lurking around here.

OP here, I'm leaning heavily lit.

There are a bunch of boutique firms that handle the outside litigation for the major tax firms. So if you want to get a good head start, I would highly recommend taking a bunch of tax classes if you can handle it. You will do a lot of creditor's rights stuff and contracts litigation.

[09042014]

Figure out what kind of lit the firm does. The industry is moving away from general lit and into small specialities.

Antitrust, FCPA, Employment, White Collar, Securities, IP, Intl Arb., etc. etc.

[lhanvt13]

Don't say u wanna live IN DC. Anyone who knows DC knows that all cool people live in nova.

[filibuster]

Dude, you have no idea why you want to be in DC. I think you should go with the whole "I hear it has some good restaurants" thing. At least you will be honest and won't need to lie that you are interested in healthcare regulatory law....

[spleenworship]

Take a trip to DC. After you fall in love, check out the firms' websites and find a practice area. Done and done.

[Nelson]

OP here, I'm leaning heavily lit.

Honestly, saying you want to do litigation is enough. DC is a litigation-focused market. Pitching regulatory sounds ridiculous unless you have relevant experience. V20 is a weird metric because a lot of the top New York firms have tiny DC offices with small summer classes and narrow practice areas. If by "V20" you mean top DC firm, then pitching just lit and saying you don't want to live in NYC is probably enough.

[Anonymous User]

Saying you want to litigation is not enough. I've had 3 sets of callbacks in DC V10s and the first question of all 12 interviews, 1 of the lunches, and 2 of the end of day meetings with recruiting was "Why DC?" "Litigation" isn't going to quite cut it.

While my SO and I choosing that market made my sell easier, it felt like they were looking for something decently far beyond "I want litigation and this office does litigation. Also, DC is cool."

[lhanvt13]

Saying you want to litigation is not enough. I've had 3 sets of callbacks in DC V10s and the first question of all 12 interviews, 1 of the lunches, and 2 of the end of day meetings with recruiting was "Why DC?" "Litigation" isn't going to quite cut it.

While my SO and I choosing that market made my sell easier, it felt like they were looking for something decently far beyond "I want litigation and this office does litigation. Also, DC is cool."

How about, I'm from the dmv area and so is my SO who works in the dmv area and my parents live there

[Nelson]

Saying you want to litigation is not enough. I've had 3 sets of callbacks in DC V10s and the first question of all 12 interviews, 1 of the lunches, and 2 of the end of day meetings with recruiting was "Why DC?" "Litigation" isn't going to quite cut it.

While my SO and I choosing that market made my sell easier, it felt like they were looking for something decently far beyond "I want litigation and this office does litigation. Also, DC is cool."

If you don't have personal reasons or a connection to the city, what other answers are there? Litigation plus an aversion to NYC is fine. The firms know people want to be in DC and the entire city is transplants. Your grades are going to be much more of a determining factor than your fake sounding answer about your passion for FCPA compliance.

[soj]

duh, obviously don't make it sound fake. practice, talk to attorneys, and make it sound genuine. you don't need expertise to sound like you have genuine interest. just do a little bit of research and be humble about your limited knowledge. hell, after a while, your interest might actually become real.

and there's a way to express strong interest in a niche area without awkwardly pigeonholing yourself. you can say you're broadly interested in litigation (because X) but have a specific interest in enforcement work (because Y).

not that all of this research is strictly necessary if you have good grades, but every little bit helps.

[minnbills]

It's DC, not podunk. There's arguably no better place to be a lawyer in the world.