Duke Class of 2013 Forum

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Bosque

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by Bosque » Thu Aug 05, 2010 3:34 pm

quakeroats wrote:
Bosque wrote:Really, it should always come down to whether you like the firm and if you can see yourself thriving there. (Influencing factors would be the culture, the people in the group you will be working with, the way the firm is structured [how the partners are compensated drives the way the firm is run], the location, the clients you will be working with, how soon you will get the experience you want, ect.) That, and the ratio between billables required and the amount you will get paid are pretty much the only things you should care about. The firm "prestige" rankings mean absolutely nothing.
I'd be the first to admit that the Vault rankings are not everything. However, they are a useful proxy for a schools ability to place its students well. They don't measure all the important metrics and even what the do measure, i.e., prestige, they do imperfectly. From what I've seen, Vault rankings are an easy way to distinguish between schools and to see if things have ameliorated (and by how much) since the bottom of the market.
Eh, I would disagree. It is more of a proxy for placement in New York. Duke does well, but that is because we place well in New York. Just because a school like, say, UC Berkeley doesn't place very many students into the V25 or V50, doesn't mean they are not doing a good job placing their students. They are just placing in a different market.

Keep in mind, the entire methodology for how the list is concocted is pretty much just a survey of practicing lawyers asking them what they think of these firms on a scale of 1 to 10. It has no direct connection to profits, hours, number of attorneys, client reputation, credentials of the law students they hire, credentials of the attornies working there, how long the firm has been around, or any of the other factors you might think should go into how "prestigious" a firm is.

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prezidentv8

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by prezidentv8 » Thu Aug 05, 2010 3:38 pm

Bosque wrote:(Although not at Wachtell. One of the founding partners spoke at Duke this last year, and he bsically admitted that you need to have a spouse who can take care of your home for you, since you will never see it. They get paid for it though.).
EPIC!

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quakeroats

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by quakeroats » Thu Aug 05, 2010 4:33 pm

Bosque wrote:Oh, of COURSE you can (Although not at Wachtell. One of the founding partners spoke at Duke this last year, and he bsically admitted that you need to have a spouse who can take care of your home for you, since you will never see it. They get paid for it though.).
That must have been an interesting presentation.

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Jericwithers

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by Jericwithers » Thu Aug 05, 2010 4:39 pm

DO NOT get extended digital cable. On-Demand will be my official cause of 1L death.

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quakeroats

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by quakeroats » Thu Aug 05, 2010 5:02 pm

Jericwithers wrote:DO NOT get extended digital cable. On-Demand will be my official cause of 1L death.
I got the internet-and-nothing-else package. BTW, the cable speeds in Durham need some work. 10 mbps is far too slow. And what's with the 512 kbps upstream?

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Bosque

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by Bosque » Thu Aug 05, 2010 5:05 pm

quakeroats wrote:
Jericwithers wrote:DO NOT get extended digital cable. On-Demand will be my official cause of 1L death.
I got the internet-and-nothing-else package. BTW, the cable speeds in Durham need some work. 10 mbps is far too slow. And what's with the 512 kbps upstream?
Time Warner Cable, in general, is the bane of my existance. I HATE that company.

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Bosque

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by Bosque » Thu Aug 05, 2010 5:10 pm

By the way, you guys got your sections yet? Any of you have Prof. Blocher for Con Law?

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quakeroats

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by quakeroats » Thu Aug 05, 2010 5:14 pm

Bosque wrote:By the way, you guys got your sections yet? Any of you have Prof. Blocher for Con Law?
Not yet. Do you remember how they gave those out?

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Jericwithers

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by Jericwithers » Thu Aug 05, 2010 5:34 pm

quakeroats wrote:
Jericwithers wrote:DO NOT get extended digital cable. On-Demand will be my official cause of 1L death.
I got the internet-and-nothing-else package. BTW, the cable speeds in Durham need some work. 10 mbps is far too slow. And what's with the 512 kbps upstream?
10mbps is pretty reasonable in my opinion (I'm getting less than 7), but I agree the upload is very slow. Comcast has the best internet hands down IMO. At my apt complex it was only $14/month to get digital cable with all the movie channels, but now I'm thinking about canceling it soon after classes start.

Hurry up with the section assignments already, Dook! I'll fill out your survey after I buy books.

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Bosque

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by Bosque » Thu Aug 05, 2010 5:39 pm

quakeroats wrote:
Bosque wrote:By the way, you guys got your sections yet? Any of you have Prof. Blocher for Con Law?
Not yet. Do you remember how they gave those out?
I don't remember how, but I think it was a few days before orientation started.

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los blancos

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by los blancos » Thu Aug 05, 2010 7:13 pm

Bosque wrote:Some of my friends shooting for something really general (or who don't know what they want to do yet) in big markets like DC or New York seem a little more worried than most. But I think everyone has got it into their heads that they shouldn't be relying on OCI alone to get a job, so I don't think anyone will really be worying until October and November roll around and they have not recieved any call backs yet. Yes, you might get a job from OCI. But it is by no means the end all be all of finding a job for 2L summer. Especially since we are a full lottery system, I don't think anyone is counting too much on their chances.
aargh this depresses me

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quakeroats

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by quakeroats » Thu Aug 05, 2010 7:50 pm

los blancos wrote:
Bosque wrote:Some of my friends shooting for something really general (or who don't know what they want to do yet) in big markets like DC or New York seem a little more worried than most. But I think everyone has got it into their heads that they shouldn't be relying on OCI alone to get a job, so I don't think anyone will really be worying until October and November roll around and they have not recieved any call backs yet. Yes, you might get a job from OCI. But it is by no means the end all be all of finding a job for 2L summer. Especially since we are a full lottery system, I don't think anyone is counting too much on their chances.
aargh this depresses me
+1. Bosque, would you say this assessment is dependent on class rank and if so how would that break down in your experience?

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Bosque

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by Bosque » Fri Aug 06, 2010 2:14 am

quakeroats wrote:
los blancos wrote:
Bosque wrote:Some of my friends shooting for something really general (or who don't know what they want to do yet) in big markets like DC or New York seem a little more worried than most. But I think everyone has got it into their heads that they shouldn't be relying on OCI alone to get a job, so I don't think anyone will really be worying until October and November roll around and they have not recieved any call backs yet. Yes, you might get a job from OCI. But it is by no means the end all be all of finding a job for 2L summer. Especially since we are a full lottery system, I don't think anyone is counting too much on their chances.
aargh this depresses me
+1. Bosque, would you say this assessment is dependent on class rank and if so how would that break down in your experience?
Well, we haven't actually gone through OCI yet, so I don't really have experience on this. Also, Duke doesn't rank us. Get used to saying that, you are going to get asked at least a few times what your GPA means for class rank. You know nothing.

And I might have been a bit too doom and gloom. I would not let it depress you. You should just never rely on only one avenue to find a job. I bet a bunch of people do find jobs at OCI. However, a lot of great firms that would love to have a Duke student don't come. I just meant to say that you should always do more than OCI. Relying on OCI alone to get a job would be silly regardless of GPA. If you have a high one, you are severely limiting your options by only interviewing with the 15 or so you get through the lottery system. If you have a low GPA, unless you are smart about how you bid, you might be wasting your ime with OCI.

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los blancos

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by los blancos » Fri Aug 06, 2010 3:25 am

Thanks for clearing that up and making us feel better. Best of luck with the job search. 8)

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Jericwithers

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by Jericwithers » Fri Aug 06, 2010 5:13 am

Nooooo, I lost my Showtime and Cinemax On-Demand!!!!

Must I venture out of my apartment for entertainment now?

Bosque, do you know anyone aiming at the Texas market in particular? If so, how many interviews are they getting and how many firms are there to bid on?

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thickfreakness

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by thickfreakness » Fri Aug 06, 2010 9:16 am

Agreed with Bosque here about OCI. Looking at going back to Alabama, only a couple of firms actually attend OCI, but they all said they'd consider a Duke student for a summer clerkship regardless. One of these firms had two Duke summers last year (per the sheet we were given at Open House), yet they don't interview on campus. That firm's summer class was probably somewhere between 5 and 8 students, so 2 is actually a substantial number.

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Bosque

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by Bosque » Fri Aug 06, 2010 10:04 am

Jericwithers wrote: Bosque, do you know anyone aiming at the Texas market in particular? If so, how many interviews are they getting and how many firms are there to bid on?
*Raises his hand* Yo!

I am trying to get back there, although I am probably trying about as hard to get to DC, California, or the Four Corners. As I said, I am more concerned with my specialty than a specific location (being a Navy Brat will do that to yah). I know I got 4 interviews in Texas, but I got the sense that some of my friends who are very Texan got somewhere around 6 or 7 in the state. There are not as many firms from Texas interviewing at OCI (but see 17 in segment one with offices there, so not too shabby), but as I said before that is not really indicative of your chances of getting a job there. Just put in a little effort to research and email some people and you should be able to find a firm who will take you on easily enough.

And don't discount the Resume collect on Symplicity. That is where I got my 1L job. If you are going to be lazy and reactionary, you might as well be lazy and reactionary through multiple avenues.

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los blancos

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by los blancos » Fri Aug 06, 2010 11:22 am

My goal is to end up in either CA or FL. I figure getting a 1L job in the market you eventually want to work in is crucial if you have no ties to it beforehand, right?

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Jericwithers

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by Jericwithers » Fri Aug 06, 2010 11:53 am

SECTIONS ARE UP!!!!

My small section class is the one with Guy-Uriel Charles teaching Civ Pro at 4-5pm :mrgreen: Anyone else?

I also have property (with an unnamed 'staff' professor) from 3-4 and torts with Beskind from 11-12.

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dresq

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by dresq » Fri Aug 06, 2010 12:01 pm

Congrats to whoever is in section 2. Blocher is fantastic. Small section win for you guys.

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by pelmen74 » Fri Aug 06, 2010 12:04 pm

Jericwithers wrote:SECTIONS ARE UP!!!!

My small section class is the one with Guy-Uriel Charles teaching Civ Pro at 4-5pm :mrgreen: Anyone else?

I also have property (with an unnamed 'staff' professor) from 3-4 and torts with Beskind from 11-12.
+1, see you in section matey.
P.S., the staff professor is likely to be Depoorter as per: http://www.law.duke.edu/curriculum/cour ... ourse?id=5
Last edited by pelmen74 on Fri Aug 06, 2010 12:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Bosque

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by Bosque » Fri Aug 06, 2010 12:10 pm

dresq wrote:Congrats to whoever is in section 2. Blocher is fantastic. Small section win for you guys.
I second this. Blocher was my best professor ever, across my entire academic career. And he had some REALLY good competition.

Although your section number is no where near as cool as ours was. Nothing beats §5 as the name for a Con Law small section. If you don't understand why now, you will about halfway through the semester.

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quakeroats

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by quakeroats » Fri Aug 06, 2010 12:15 pm

I have what appear to be three different sections. Strange.

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Bosque

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by Bosque » Fri Aug 06, 2010 12:19 pm

quakeroats wrote:I have what appear to be three different sections. Strange.
That is quite impossible. What exactly are you looking at that leads you to believe this is so?

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Re: Duke Class of 2013

Post by pelmen74 » Fri Aug 06, 2010 12:23 pm

Bosque wrote:
quakeroats wrote:I have what appear to be three different sections. Strange.
That is quite impossible. What exactly are you looking at that leads you to believe this is so?
Law School
2010 Fall Term
Course Credit
Course - Section, Course Title, Instructor(s), Official Grade, Units, Grading Basis
LAW 100A - 01, INTRO TO LAW & LEG PROF Levi D 0.00 CNC
LAW 110 - 03, CIVIL PROCEDURE Charles G 4.50 GRD
LAW 170 - 01, PROPERTY 4.50 GRD
LAW 180 - 02, TORTS Beskind D 4.50 GRD

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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