MV top 1/3 to V10 possible/likely? Forum

[gaucholaw]

Preface: I know these sorts of questions are annoying from 0L's, just take it as, I have lots of free time lately and am keen on fantasizing... so if you feel so inclined to answer this question:
obviously, I won't be setting any gpa goals for fall semester - but rather just try to survive. Nonetheless, top 1/3 seems like it could plausibly be a decent goal (i mean logically, if grading truly is random, i have a 1 in 3 chance of it happening)

So V10 plausible? lets say any major market is fine... the reason I limited to MV instead of MVPB is because P and B each have home markets which would likely help their odds, whereas as UVA and Mich respectively don't quite have that home base.....
Cali bred and educated (strong ties)
so LA and SF should be ok
and its my understanding that ties aren't necessary for DC NYC.....

[KidStuddi]

Yes.

But V10 is a distinction without meaning. Or at least without the meaning you seem to think it has. V10 is not a ranking of firm selectivity.

[RELIC]

This is a meaningless hypothetical at this point.

[hmlee]

Yes.

But V10 is a distinction without meaning. Or at least without the meaning you seem to think it has. V10 is not a ranking of firm selectivity.

This. The Vault 100 list is a list of firms ranked by peer-assessed "prestige." Is it the case that firms that are higher in prestige are generally more difficult to get hired by? Yes. But it isn't anything like a linear relationship to the Vault list itself.

Using Michigan and this year's Vault list as an example, the ten BigLaw firms that currently have the largest concentration of Michigan associates (this includes any associate, not just first years) are:

Kirkland & Ellis (Vault ranking 9)
Latham & Watkins (VR # 10)
Skadden (VR #3)
Sidley Austin (VR #15)
Jones Day (VR #19)
Foley & Lardner (VR #69)
Jenner & Block (VR #55)
Winston & Strawn (VR #46)
Perkins Coie (VR #67)
McDermott Will & Emery (VR #53)

I should mention that there's quite the difference in concentration from the top of this list to the bottom. Kirkland, for example, currently has 94 associates from Michigan Law, while McDermott has only 41. Based solely on the Vault rankings, Kirkland is way more prestigious than McDermott, but a student with excellent grades from Michigan would arguably have an easier time getting hired by Kirkland than by McDermott.

In any case, using Vault rankings to pick the firm that you want to work at is a terrible idea. Are the rankings interesting to look at? Yes. But they are meaningless when it comes to judging how well you will do at a particular firm, and how much you should want to work there. Much better indicators are the specific metrics of a firm (office location, starting salary, partnership track system, alumni concentration, and eventually profit share per partner), the fuzzier aspects (associate-partner relations, diversity score, work-life balance) and most important of all, your individual fit with a firm's culture.

Looking only or primarily to a firm's vault ranking to determine where to focus your job hunting energy is a recipe for being an unhappy associate.