Grades are in and OCI bidding is active. In this thread, we help one another put together suitable bidlists, share information, assuage fears, offer advice on interviews and callbacks, etc.
Past threads:
2014: http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... 4#p7842955
2013: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... i#p6968932
Here are the rules and some tips from another poster:
I. Anonymous Handles
To maintain privacy but to keep track of one another, use the anonymous post feature but sign your posts with a handle. E.g.: "- RIPDOUBLEDAVES69"
II. Bidding
The basics of bidlist stuff should be straightforward: if you think other people are more likely to bid on a firm, you should bid it high. Firms that are less grade-selective or that have fewer interview spots are more competitive, so you should probably rank them higher. Don’t rank a firm high just because you want it, but if you really want a particular firm it might be good to rank it high for your peace of mind. The Excel file with median GPAs of screeners awarded is your friend. Finally, spreading bids out between multiple markets increases the risk of striking out, especially if you don't have strong ties to those markets.
III. Callbacks
Once we’re at least part-way through the first rings of interviewing hell, people will get callbacks. In past years, people would post the firm name and the initials of the person who interviewed them when they received a callback so that people would know that callbacks had gone out.
Here is some Texas-specific stuff from an old thread (if someone wants to update it, be my guest):
- RIPDOUBLEDAVES69Largest Firms in Texas*
*Based on # of attorneys in Texas, not firm-wide
1. Fulbright Jaworksi (or Norton Rose Fulbright, whatever)
2. Vinson & Elkins
3. Baker Botts
4. Haynes and Boone
5. Jackson Walker
6. Andrews Kurth
7. Bracewell Guiliani
8. Locke Lord
9. Winstead
10. Thompson Knight
11. Gardere
12. Strasburger & Price
13. Jones Day
14. Akin Gump
15. Kelly Hart & Hallman
2013/2012 Summer Associate Hiring:
Firm - # of 2013 SAs / # of 2012 SAs. Note, these are Texas-wide numbers. Office specific numbers should be available through NALP.
1. Fulbright Jaworksi - 56 / 66
2. Vinson & Elkins - 76 / 87
3. Baker Botts - 66 / 80
4. Haynes and Boone - 46 / 47
5. Jackson Walker - 23 / 20
6. Andrews Kurth 40 / 43
7. Bracewell Guiliani - 46 / 37
8. Locke Lord - 44 / 42
9. Winstead - 15 / 12
10. Thompson Knight - 17 / 18
11. Gardere - 7 / 10
12. Strasburger & Price - 12 / 8
13. Jones Day - no info
14. Akin Gump - 11 / 14
15. Kelly Hart & Hallman - 8 / 5
In regards to these numbers, they reflect some of the current hiring trends. You'll notice some of firms had much smaller classes even though the firm itself is larger (for example Fulbright and Jackson Walker vs. Locke Lord and Bracewell). While Texas firms have traditionally split summer, more firms are moving towards only having 1st half classes. Additionally, many of those firms that have typically had a large # of SAs are starting to take smaller classes (ex: Baker Botts going from 80 to 66). That reflects a shift in some firms' decision-making process. They're becoming more selective on the front-end, taking smaller classes, and maintaining high offer rates. I'm sure people can debate about that more in-depth but I just wanted to initially address some of those trends.
2012 2L Offer Rates
Firm: # of 2012 SAs/# of offers given - 2012 Offer Rate / 2011 Offer Rate
1. Fulbright Jaworksi: 49/40 - 81.6% / 90%
2. Vinson & Elkins: 71/65 - 91.5% / 94.7%
3. Baker Botts: 67/59 - 88.1% / 89.8%
4. Haynes and Boone: 41/38 - 92.7% / 75%
5. Jackson Walker: 17/14 - 82.4% / 75%
6. Andrews Kurth: 32/30 - 93.8% / 84%
7. Bracewell Guiliani: 27/24 - 88.9% / 78.6%
8. Locke Lord: 25/23 - 92% / 88.2%
9. Winstead: 12/10 - 83.3% / 71.4%
10. Thompson Knight: 18/14 - 77.8% / 77.8%
11. Gardere: 10/5 - 50% / 100%
12. Strasburger & Price: no info
13. Jones Day: 26/26 - 100% / 87%
14. Akin Gump: 11/10 - 90.9% / 92.9%
15. Kelly Hart & Hallman: 5/4 - 80% / N/A
Note: The prior table includes 1L SAs, one of the reasons why the numbers might not match up.
Generic advice:
- Make sure you've got your suits/clothes squared away before hand. Take inventory and make sure everything fits, matches, etc. Get a haircut. Little details go a long way to making a good first impression. You don't want to be the person who forgot their good tie or who didn't realize their dress shirt was stained until 2 min. before your first interview.
- Print extra copies of your resume, transcript, writing sample, anything you may possibly want to give them. Maybe your interviewer lost their copy of your resume. Maybe they didn't originally request a writing sample. Maybe they just want to see how prepared you are.
- If you worked at a firm, judicial internship, or did any sort of hands-on litigation work during your 1L summer, make a case list that you can give them. 2L OCI isn't really the time to ask about conflicts but just it case, it shows that you're prepared. Better yet, it gives you a chance to show off some of your work/knowledge. I only got to use mine three times over the course of two weeks but it was worth the 5 minutes it took to prepare and print.
- This might be a bit too late but review your writing samples. If yours is anything like mine, it's crap. Mine was the memo from my 1L fall and when I read back over it the following July I was embarrassed (but hey, you had 2 months of law school when you wrote that, what do yo expect?). If it's too late to get another writing sample then just do a quick edit of your old one. Again, you probably won't need it if they haven't asked for it yet, but it's better to be prepared.
- DO YOUR RESEARCH. Use ChamberAssociates, Vault, Lexis litigation profiles, anything you can. You don't want to be the jerkoff asking the generic questions that your interviewers have heard four times in the past hour. Researcher your interviewers. If you have a common interest or outside connection, find a way to bring it up (but of course avoid saying "So I was stalking you online and saw...").
More Texas-specific advice:
Texas ties:
- If you have them, stress them. You love Texas, it's your home and you can't wait to get back to Dallas/Houston/San Antonio and start your family there. You didn't even know there were law offices north of the Red River. What the hell is "New York"? Go Cowboys/Texans/Spurs.
- If you don't have Texas ties, then find them. You have family here (doesn't matter that it's your second cousin living in El Paso). You came to UT because you want to live in Texas forever, and swore you'd never go back to your home state. Go Cowboys/Texans/Spurs.
Receptions:
- This was the subject that caused the most stress for me last year just because I didn't know the set-up. Generally, the large firms will have a reception either the evening before or after their interviews. Most are just general receptions; they'll probably be more students than attorneys. Keep your suit on. Stay long enough to talk to at least a couple attorneys, try to find the ones who interviewed you to make sure they remember you. Keep the conversation light, the interviewers just spent 6 hours talking to law students, they don't want your take on punitive damages, they'd rather talk about college football or reality tv.
- In terms of manners, just use overall common sense. Don't get too drunk.
- DO stay out. If the attorneys are going out after the reception and invite you along, go with them. For many attorneys these recruiting trips are a chance to have a good time on the firm's dime. You want them to remember you as someone who they can have a good time with, not just the man/woman in the 2:15-2:30 interview slot. I don't care that you have another interview tomorrow morning at 8:30. No excuses, play like a champion.
- Obviously, don't go to receptions for firms that you didn't have an interview with. However, if there is a general reception, just because your interviewer doesn't expressly mention it or tell you to come doesn't mean you should skip it. I had a friend last year who wouldn't go to a reception unless the interviewer expressly invited him themselves, bad idea. If you're unsure, call the recruiting coordinator and check.
- On that note, be nice to the recruiting coordinators. This will vary from firm to firm, but often times the recruiting coordinator is the person at the firm that you'll have the most direct contact with. You're stupid if you think you can be rude to them and it won't come up before the hiring committee.
- Dinners: Some firms will have invitation-only events. These may be based on grades (top 10% only, TLR only, etc.), or just on them extending invitations to people they like. Obviously, if you're not invited, don't go. That said, if you aren't invited it's not the end of the world. I know multiple people who ended up getting offers from firms that hadn't invited them to a private dinner the night before.
