Can U Guarantee Biglaw w/ X% Class Ranking at T14? Forum

[scifiguy]

I understand that attending a T14 has traditionally been the best "bet" for obtaining a job in biglaw in terms of the % of classes hired from these schools.

But from reading the jobs/employment forums here, there are people who were top of their class at a T14 who struck out at OCI. I've heard of people with good grades to even being top 10% ( like this person: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=130879 - SEE POST #2) who did not get biglaw.

I'm curious if there's really no % of your class that you can be in that would absolutely lock in biglaw? For example, could the valedictoria of Michigan somehow miss biglaw? ....The person in the post above was top 10% of his T10. ...Are there just no guarantees in the end whatsoever?

Thanks.

[northwood]

sure people can strike out being at the top of their class. after all, once you get the interview, its all about how you peform, and how well you ell yourself and seem to be a fit. Remember, you wll be spending a lot of your time working around these people, so your first impression is hugely key, and if you come of as extremely awkward or what not, or that you would be intolerable to work with, well then they dont have offer you a job.

[scifiguy]

sure people can strike out being at the top of their class. after all, once you get the interview, its all about how you peform, and how well you ell yourself and seem to be a fit. Remember, you wll be spending a lot of your time working around these people, so your first impression is hugely key, and if you come of as extremely awkward or what not, or that you would be intolerable to work with, well then they dont have offer you a job.

True.

This guy seemed super hard working too with sending out apps after striking out:

I applied to nearly 700 federal judges and only got one interview, which got canceled because the judge hired someone else. I applied to nearly 500 state court judges (state supreme court and appellate courts) and I got 4 interviews out of that but no offers (most of those judges seemed to be using career or at least long-term clerks, so I think it was mostly wasted time/money applying to those). I applied to a TON of law firms (at least 1500), and got a good number of interviews from most of the v20 firms (and a few randoms -- e.g. a small boutique firm, and a couple v100 firms), but an offer for 2012 at any of those were all contingent on me actually getting a clerkship, which I didn't. I also applied to all the federal government agencies that have 3L honors programs and haven't heard anything back from any of those yet.

That's a lot of rejections for a top 10% T10 student.

[Tiago Splitter]

That poster you are quoting was a transfer to a top 10 school, not a top 10% student.

[scifiguy]

That poster you are quoting was a transfer to a top 10 school, not a top 10% student.

Hmm, but he says he's top 10% at the T10? I guess for 2L grades?

[Aawaldrop]

There's the point that they were a transfer to a T10 so the 10% seems not to be from 1L which really determine OCI (in addition to fit etc).

Also the person could be a neurotic with a personality disorder, which may give the wrong impressions during communication and meetings.

Also from Sept 2010

[BruceWayne]

If you pull top 10% at ANY top 14 and don't land biglaw, you are doing something wrong.

[scifiguy]

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2&t=198452

There are also other stories on TLS like this though. More recently (2012):

I've seen some improvement on this front lately, especially on TLS, but I think a lot of people still discount the "soft" factors that play into getting a job. Based on what I've seen at my T14, people with substantive work experience who are good interviewers do infinitely better than K-JDs with good grades who aren't comfortable in interviews or similar social settings. There were multiple people with above-median (and even some with top 10% grades) in my class (of 2013) who struck out, whereas several people with worse grades, but who are older, have work experience, and are generally poised, got multiple V10 offers.

[Nelson]

Every single one of your posts is like an advertisement for the search function.

[dextermorgan]

The bigger question is can you guarantee a class ranking?

The answer is no. Expect to be median.

[scifiguy]

I'd potentially have a "strike" against me due to acne (http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 4&t=198798) if I went to law school.

But also a possible 2nd strike. I was going to mention it in another thread, but was too embarassed. My name IRL is G...nn...

But instead of ending with er, it's "ar." It's German. Can't help that my parents picked it. I would be scared to raise my hand in class and ask too many questions in law school.

[Lincoln]

I probably have a "strike" against me due to acne (I actually had a thread about that a while ago) if I went to law school.

But also a possible 2nd strike. I was going to mention it in another thread, but was too embarassed. My name IRL is G...nn...

But instead of ending with er, it's "ar." It's German. Can't help that my parents picked it. I would be scared to raise my hand in class and ask questions in law school.

Totally common name in the part of the world I'm from. Nothing you can do except own that shit. We have way weirder names at my law school (like a first name that is a derogatory term for an ethnic group). Fuck anyone who makes fun of you for it; they belong in grade school.

[ndirish2010]

Stop making stupid threads.

[09042014]

The bigger question is can you guarantee a class ranking?

The answer is no. Expect to be median.

Prepare to be well below median.