UChicago OCI 2016 Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone heard back after A&O NY CB? Had mine last Thursday and haven't heard back.

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone heard back from Williams & Connolly yet? Recently changed my address so unsure if I'll get the rejection letter in time.

[Anonymous User]

Any news from Norton Rose Fulbright after CB?

[Anonymous User]

Any news from Norton Rose Fulbright after CB?

I haven't heard back, either.

[Anonymous User]

Sorry to disrupt, but now that things are winding down I wanted to post my bid list for posterity

Lit. 178.5 All hits unless otherwise noted.

1 Sidley Austin CHI 84
2 Kirkland Ellis CHI 84
3 Jenner Block CHI 63
4 Latham Watkins CHI 69
5 Jones Day CHI 42
6 Skadden Arps CHI 84
7 Mayer Brown CHI 73
8 Paul Weiss NY 42
9 Perkins Coie CHI 34
10 Cleary Gottleib NY 42
11 Davis Polk & Wardwell NY 42
12 Sullivan Cromwell NY 42
13 Simpson Thatcher Bartlett NY 56
14 Debevoise & Plimpton NY 63
15 McDermott Will & Emery CHI 63
16 K&L Gates CHI 21 - MISS
17 Paul Hastings CHI 21 - MISS
18 Dechert CHI 21 - MISS
19 Proskauer Rose CHI
20 Vinson & Elkins NY 21
21 Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP CHI 10
22 Pircher Nichols & Meeks CHI 21
23 Duane Morris CHI 37

Ended up picking up two or three extra screeners along the way.

Middling OCI performance. 5 callbacks. 4 in NY. 1 in Chicago.

3 Offers. 2 in NY. 1 in Chicago. Accepted the Chicago.

Take OCI seriously. It's not hard per se but it needs preparation. My first few interviews were essentially a waste of time because I didn't have my groove yet.

BID NEW YORK. It's easier (although still not easy). Your confidence will go through the roof if you can get an offer, even if you don't want to work there. And working there isn't that bad.

Accept that, regardless of your interviewing/grades/whatever, some parts of this process are essentially random. I had interviews that I bombed that turned into CBs, and interviews that I knocked out of the park that turned into nothing. Always be trying to improve your interviewing but don't read tea leaves.

[Anonymous User]

Take OCI seriously. It's not hard per se but it needs preparation. My first few interviews were essentially a waste of time because I didn't have my groove yet.

BID NEW YORK. It's easier (although still not easy). Your confidence will go through the roof if you can get an offer, even if you don't want to work there. And working there isn't that bad.

Accept that, regardless of your interviewing/grades/whatever, some parts of this process are essentially random. I had interviews that I bombed that turned into CBs, and interviews that I knocked out of the park that turned into nothing. Always be trying to improve your interviewing but don't read tea leaves.

This is very important future 2Ls. Although remember that while it's important to be prepared, you do not want to be rehearsed.

[Sacred Cow]

Your confidence will go through the roof if you can get an offer, even if you don't want to work there.

I second just about everything in this post, but I would add one more point: don't wait until OCI to reach out to firms! OCI is much, much less stressful if you already have an offer going in, even if it's not from your dream firm. And it's much easier to get callbacks when you're more relaxed and confident.

[Anonymous User]

Your confidence will go through the roof if you can get an offer, even if you don't want to work there.

I second just about everything in this post, but I would add one more point: don't wait until OCI to reach out to firms! OCI is much, much less stressful if you already have an offer going in, even if it's not from your dream firm. And it's much easier to get callbacks when you're more relaxed and confident.

Very true! I didn't mass mail, so I couldn't speak to it. But I do recommend pre-oci mailing to future classes for sure. It would have been very helpful and for better or worse I think its only going to get more common.

[Anonymous User]

Your confidence will go through the roof if you can get an offer, even if you don't want to work there.

I second just about everything in this post, but I would add one more point: don't wait until OCI to reach out to firms! OCI is much, much less stressful if you already have an offer going in, even if it's not from your dream firm. And it's much easier to get callbacks when you're more relaxed and confident.

Very true! I didn't mass mail, so I couldn't speak to it. But I do recommend pre-oci mailing to future classes for sure. It would have been very helpful and for better or worse I think its only going to get more common.

Didn't mass mail pre-OCI. Thankfully I didn't have to either, but I still wish I did. 1Ls: mass mail. It sucks, but you'll be infinitely more relaxed and everyone else is mass mailing so you might as well.

[Eldon Tyrell]

Why didn't any of you people mass mail? Did you not know that you should or did you just ignore the advice?

[landshoes]

Why didn't any of you people mass mail? Did you not know that you should or did you just ignore the advice?

because we're dumb, obvs

[Anonymous User]

Why didn't any of you people mass mail? Did you not know that you should or did you just ignore the advice?

I ignored the advice. Thankfully it worked out but I do regret it.

[Eldon Tyrell]

Why didn't any of you people mass mail? Did you not know that you should or did you just ignore the advice?

because we're dumb, obvs

Very much so.

[Sacred Cow]

I contacted a couple firms, enough to have an offer going in, but in hindsight I would have done a lot more.

[Anonymous User]

Went into OCI with below median grades. Gotta admit it's not easy when your grades are not shining, but it's also not impossible. 5 CBs from OCI, 3 CBs from mass-mailing, 3 offers total (V40, V100, and a mid-law).

Some tips:
1) Network. Go to networking events, go to affinity group events, and find mentors. Didn't lead to an offer, but they've been a great resource in honing my interview skills nonetheless.

2) Don't worry too much about the GPA cutoff. The cutoff varies from year to year, as the sample sizes can be small and thus fluctuate greatly. Sure, I didn't bid firms that I knew were out of my reach, but I had all my callbacks with firms that I didn't meet the GPA cutoff for the year before.

3) Bid firms with bigger summer class sizes. Firms with smaller summer class sizes tend to be pickier with whom they hire even at the callback stage.

4) Try to get as many firms as you can from bidding. Also, try to add as many firms as you can, either by approaching interviewers or adding 2 a day on Symplicity. More screeners = more practice. I had about 27 from initial bidding, but ended up doing about 40 by the end of the OCI. I performed significantly better during the second week, probably because I was getting used to doing interviews.

5) Mass mail. Mass-mailed about a couple hundred offices in cities that I had ties to, however remote. Got 8 screeners (turned 2 down), 3 CBs, and an offer. The mass mailing process is tedious, but it gets you something. Start early July when you have time, and follow up with firms after the OCI.

[Eldon Tyrell]

Good for you, anon.

[zhenders]

Congrats, anon -- and thanks for leaving that advice for posterity; looks good. So glad to hear OCI was a success for you =)

[Anonymous User]

I agree about large class sizes. The firms with class sizes around 10-20 were tough to crack, even at the callback stage.

[Anonymous User]

anon you're awesome! Your hard work paid off You deserve it!

[Anonymous User]

Posting for posterity:

Pre-OCI: 9 screeners after being pre-selected. 3 callbacks, 0 offers
OCI: 45 screeners. 2 callbacks, 0 offers
Post-OCI: 2 screeners, 3 callbacks (1 straight to callback). Received offers. I should note that all these post-OCI firms were much higher ranked than the callbacks I received during OCI.

Things I would change doing it again: Mass mail beginning in June. Annoying but best to start early especially in small markets. Do not underestimate pre-OCI hiring. In markets with small class sizes, there are usually only 1-3 spots left due to pre-OCI hiring by the time OCI rolls around. Post-OCI around 0-1 spots left.

General advice: Spend 1L summer in a market you want because networking is invaluable and worth the lost rent. Grades matter to a point and then they don't. NY has lower grade cutoffs but you need a coherent story. If you want corporate, you're set. If you want corporate, have a corporate degree plus corporate work experience, you'll rock NY and will probably get tons of opportunities. However, if you want lit and have strong ties to another market (Chicago, Texas, etc.) NY is not safe by any means. Know your resume and how it reads, find the market that is most open to it. Hope this helps for future UChicago students!

[Anonymous User]

What do you think was the reason why you didn't get an offer from OCI?

[Anonymous User]

What do you think was the reason why you didn't get an offer from OCI?

I focused on the wrong market and on small class sizes

[Anonymous User]

I think the most recent for-posterity poster has some really valuable insights. I agree that there seems to be movement towards doing more interviews and hiring before OCI. A handful of partners I spoke with at callbacks feel the same way.
I think this means that mass mail is more important than ever, even if it can feel like a total crapshoot. There are a lot of good firms/offices of firms that do not come to our OCI. I mailed ~50 firms, and received screeners from 2, which I ended up declining because I had offers I would take over them by the time I heard back. It also means that the most risk-averse move would be to find a 1L summer position in your preferred market. I was never given this advice generally, but had heard it specifically as a way to develop connections to an insular market. Looking back, the opportunity to network face-to-face and attempt to secure a pre-OCI offer probably would have been worth it.
Finally --and this can't be said enough--reach out to attorneys. Attend receptions and events like Firmwise. If someone is doing work that interests you, shoot that person an email introducing yourself, and tell them just that. You never know what you may learn or where your conversation may lead.

[Anonymous User]

General advice: Spend 1L summer in a market you want because networking is invaluable and worth the lost rent. Grades matter to a point and then they don't. NY has lower grade cutoffs but you need a coherent story. If you want corporate, you're set. If you want corporate, have a corporate degree plus corporate work experience, you'll rock NY and will probably get tons of opportunities. However, if you want lit and have strong ties to another market (Chicago, Texas, etc.) NY is not safe by any means. Know your resume and how it reads, find the market that is most open to it. Hope this helps for future UChicago students!

This. A lot of the firms seemed to care about why NYC.

Also, if you don't have corporate work experience, do the K&E Corporate Lab Transactional Challenge.

[Anonymous User]

General advice: Spend 1L summer in a market you want because networking is invaluable and worth the lost rent. Grades matter to a point and then they don't. NY has lower grade cutoffs but you need a coherent story. If you want corporate, you're set. If you want corporate, have a corporate degree plus corporate work experience, you'll rock NY and will probably get tons of opportunities. However, if you want lit and have strong ties to another market (Chicago, Texas, etc.) NY is not safe by any means. Know your resume and how it reads, find the market that is most open to it. Hope this helps for future UChicago students!

This. A lot of the firms seemed to care about why NYC.

Also, if you don't have corporate work experience, do the K&E Corporate Lab Transactional Challenge.

I'll second this. I had no ties to NYC but I wanted corporate, had a corporate degree, and some corporate WE and no one seemed to blink an eye when bidding NYC. I didn't do the Transactional Challenge, but if you don't have a business degree or business WE this will help show sincerity. When they ask "why NYC?" it's very easy to say "of course NYC, it's the corporate capital of the world". If that is a sincere statement, as shown by your resume, you're golden.