Columbia students taking questions Forum

[RSN]

Also if this is where the Cleary event is, damn, I'll go just for the view

[Tiago Splitter]

Alright cool, thanks for the input. Will try to make a few of them. I'm guessing if no dress code in the invite, suit is TCR?

Definitely. Suit is always safe in NYC.

[mylifeis24]

Top 2 1L receptions from last year that all 1Ls should go to regardless of their interest in the firm:

1. PW at Boulud Sud (top-shelf open bar, amazing food from the restaurant of a renowned chef)
2. Akin Gump and MoFo at Mel's Burger Bar (the fried food and alcoholic milkshakes are the bomb)

I went to others but they were all fine/meh/nothing special.

[almondjoy]

Alright cool, thanks for the input. Will try to make a few of them. I'm guessing if no dress code in the invite, suit is TCR?

Nah, still do biz cas

ETA just saw splitters response. Suit is fine, though I imagine you'll be a tad overdressed if you wear a tie.

[Tiago Splitter]

Alright cool, thanks for the input. Will try to make a few of them. I'm guessing if no dress code in the invite, suit is TCR?

Nah, still do biz cas

ETA just saw splitters response. Suit is fine, though I imagine you'll be a tad overdressed if you wear a tie.

You can always take the tie off. Non-suit is no issue but if you're worried just start with the suit and downgrade from there. Now that I don't live in NYC I'm shocked when I go back at how dressed up people get. My firm's offices in NYC and SF both claim to be "business casual" but everyone in NYC wears suits all the time while in my office I have seen someone wearing a tie 3 times in 4 months, and we wear jeans a lot.

[SexualSalad]

Alright cool, thanks for the input. Will try to make a few of them. I'm guessing if no dress code in the invite, suit is TCR?

Nah, still do biz cas

ETA just saw splitters response. Suit is fine, though I imagine you'll be a tad overdressed if you wear a tie.

You can always take the tie off. Non-suit is no issue but if you're worried just start with the suit and downgrade from there. Now that I don't live in NYC I'm shocked when I go back at how dressed up people get. My firm's offices in NYC and SF both claim to be "business casual" but everyone in NYC wears suits all the time while in my office I have seen someone wearing a tie 3 times in 4 months, and we wear jeans a lot.

No suit needed at the lunch events on campus right? Just making sure.

[betty_bojangles]

Hey! I'm not a Columbia student, but I'm looking for some information on USAO EDNY or SDNY internships (I'm choosing between their criminal divisions for the summer). I figured this was a good thread to ask if anyone has worked at one of these offices that could answer some Qs? PM me?

Thanks!

[RSN]

So as a 1L should I be going to those?

I mean free food and booze is nice but is there any other benefit

It's a good test to see if you're aspie.

Hint: You are.

Do a fuckload of practice interviews.

Did practice interview tonight, can confirm aspie.

Nah it was fine, didn't get any significant critiques, but with somewhat of a PI background definitely need to get my answer to "why law firm" more solid. Probably will do another one soon to keep working out the kinks.

[White Dwarf]

So what's the deal with this mandatory "Negotiation Skills" thing this Friday?

[Tiago Splitter]

Alright cool, thanks for the input. Will try to make a few of them. I'm guessing if no dress code in the invite, suit is TCR?

Nah, still do biz cas

ETA just saw splitters response. Suit is fine, though I imagine you'll be a tad overdressed if you wear a tie.

You can always take the tie off. Non-suit is no issue but if you're worried just start with the suit and downgrade from there. Now that I don't live in NYC I'm shocked when I go back at how dressed up people get. My firm's offices in NYC and SF both claim to be "business casual" but everyone in NYC wears suits all the time while in my office I have seen someone wearing a tie 3 times in 4 months, and we wear jeans a lot.

No suit needed at the lunch events on campus right? Just making sure.

At the school definitely not at the faculty club it's a little trickier. I would wear one if it's a business formal firm (Wachtell, Cravath, Jones Day) but it's never going to be a big deal regardless so don't stress about this stuff too much.

[Tiago Splitter]

So what's the deal with this mandatory "Negotiation Skills" thing this Friday?

It's lame, but a good chance to chat with friends.

[Tiago Splitter]

To the dude who PM'd me about an outline please PM me your email. You've turned off receipt of PM's.

[TheoO]

So as a 1L should I be going to those?

I mean free food and booze is nice but is there any other benefit

It's a good test to see if you're aspie.

Hint: You are.

Do a fuckload of practice interviews.[/quote]

I can't overemphasize this enough to people. Unless your grades are stellar, you could always use more practice. Also, someone said to me that an interviewing partner "wasn't pleased" with how CLS people interviewed this past EIP. That students "didn't sell themselves enough." Now, this could be a lone opinion, but do take the time you have to really get your story going.

[TheoO]

So as a 1L should I be going to those?

I mean free food and booze is nice but is there any other benefit

It's a good test to see if you're aspie.

Hint: You are.

Do a fuckload of practice interviews.[/quote]

I can't overemphasize this enough to people. Unless your grades are stellar, you could always use more practice. Also, someone said to me that an interviewing partner "wasn't pleased" with how CLS people interviewed this past EIP. That students "didn't sell themselves enough." Now, this could be a lone opinion, but do take the time you have to really get your story going.

[jbagelboy]

So as a 1L should I be going to those?

I mean free food and booze is nice but is there any other benefit

It's a good test to see if you're aspie.

Hint: You are.

Do a fuckload of practice interviews.[/quote]

I can't overemphasize this enough to people. Unless your grades are stellar, you could always use more practice. Also, someone said to me that an interviewing partner "wasn't pleased" with how CLS people interviewed this past EIP. That students "didn't sell themselves enough." Now, this could be a lone opinion, but do take the time you have to really get your story going.

yea honestly even if you have good grades it's still probably worth practicing interviews. The top firms can still be a little choosy amongst honors students (in the sense that they don't need to offer every one). For people like me that I always tried to do the minimum amount of anything to qualify, it seemed like unnecessary extra work, but I actually regret not doing a few more.

[Tiago Splitter]

yea honestly even if you have good grades it's still probably worth practicing interviews. The top firms can still be a little choosy amongst honors students (in the sense that they don't need to offer every one). For people like me that I always tried to do the minimum amount of anything to qualify, it seemed like unnecessary extra work, but I actually regret not doing a few more.

Same. The tricky thing about OCI is that it's just one quick 20 minute shot and then you're done. Do enough of them and you should be fine, but you'll feel better going into that first day if you've had some practice.

[Nebby]

Tip: you're not as good at interviewing as you think you are.

[iamgeorgebush]

+1 to everyone who has recommended doing practice interviews in preparation for EIP. I did between five and ten over the summer with family and friends, and they helped immeasurably. Once the summer rolls around, find someone (or multiple people) from whom you can get honest feedback (OCS can work, from what I hear), and keep doing practice interviews until you have it down pat. Until then, attending 1L receptions can help you become comfortable talking to real attorneys in a more relaxed setting. Plus, free food and drinks.

[KiltedKicker]

If I want to go into IP law and work in the Bay Area, I'm probably better off going to any of Berkeley, NYU, or Chicago, correct? Columbia seems to place almost exclusively at east coast firms and has I think one IP focused prof. I'd love to hear what Columbia students have to say though, very open to being convinced that I'm wrong

[almondjoy]

If I want to go into IP law and work in the Bay Area, I'm probably better off going to any of Berkeley, NYU, or Chicago, correct? Columbia seems to place almost exclusively at east coast firms and has I think one IP focused prof. I'd love to hear what Columbia students have to say though, very open to being convinced that I'm wrong

Berkeley is probably the best choice among these but saying that Columbia places almost exclusively at East coast firms is objectively wrong. Lots of people go to LA and SF/SV every year. You're probably just seeing selection bias in the placement numbers.

[KiltedKicker]

If I want to go into IP law and work in the Bay Area, I'm probably better off going to any of Berkeley, NYU, or Chicago, correct? Columbia seems to place almost exclusively at east coast firms and has I think one IP focused prof. I'd love to hear what Columbia students have to say though, very open to being convinced that I'm wrong

Berkeley is probably the best choice among these but saying that Columbia places almost exclusively at East coast firms is objectively wrong. Lots of people go to LA and SF/SV every year. You're probably just seeing selection bias in the placement numbers.

Thanks for the feedback. I remember seeing a number saying Bay Area placement was about 1% of the class a year or two ago, maybe that source was off though.

[WhiteCollarBlueShirt]

If I want to go into IP law and work in the Bay Area, I'm probably better off going to any of Berkeley, NYU, or Chicago, correct? Columbia seems to place almost exclusively at east coast firms and has I think one IP focused prof. I'd love to hear what Columbia students have to say though, very open to being convinced that I'm wrong

Berkeley is probably the best choice among these but saying that Columbia places almost exclusively at East coast firms is objectively wrong. Lots of people go to LA and SF/SV every year. You're probably just seeing selection bias in the placement numbers.

Thanks for the feedback. I remember seeing a number saying Bay Area placement was about 1% of the class a year or two ago, maybe that source was off though.

Tbf, below Stone 1L makes the west coast very difficult even with significant ties--as someone who's been there done that/struck out at that.

[WhiteCollarBlueShirt]

deleted, double post

[jbagelboy]

If I want to go into IP law and work in the Bay Area, I'm probably better off going to any of Berkeley, NYU, or Chicago, correct? Columbia seems to place almost exclusively at east coast firms and has I think one IP focused prof. I'd love to hear what Columbia students have to say though, very open to being convinced that I'm wrong

Columbia has "objectively" among the best IP faculty in the country. Many profs who work on IP directly or in some capacity; at least a dozen. So I'd say this is pretty misinformed.

Cal is best for bay area specifically, but CLS is as strong or stronger than NYU and Chicago for CA placement.

[ForgotMyPassword]

If I want to go into IP law and work in the Bay Area, I'm probably better off going to any of Berkeley, NYU, or Chicago, correct? Columbia seems to place almost exclusively at east coast firms and has I think one IP focused prof. I'd love to hear what Columbia students have to say though, very open to being convinced that I'm wrong

Columbia has "objectively" among the best IP faculty in the country. Many profs who work on IP directly or in some capacity; at least a dozen. So I'd say this is pretty misinformed.

Cal is best for bay area specifically, but CLS is as strong or stronger than NYU and Chicago for CA placement.

This is spot on. There are a handful (3-4) of well known, excellent IP professors who teach the majority of the black letter law courses. Then there's a set of classes and seminars that have some combination of those professors and others from firms / industry who co-teach as well, so you won't be left wanting for choice.

If you're 100% locked on Bay Area IP, I'd agree that Berkeley is likely the better call if you didn't grow up in the Bay Area. If you did, and you're going IP, I actually think Columbia pulls even (but I admit I may be wrong on this). IP is still hiring at a fast clip and if you have a CS/EE degree (Or life sciences Masters/PhD) you'll go far in the Bay. Also consider that if you want to maximize your chance of getting biglaw in general and would merely prefer the Bay Area, Columbia is the better call.

WhiteCollar, were you going IP specifically?