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Are there non-OCI ways of getting biglaw? Just curious.

OL here trying to figure out my options. I will be attending a T20, but just curious.

Would an MBA open up Biglaw?
LLM? Tax LLM from NYU, Georgetown, Florida?
Maybe get an engineering degree/patent bar elgibility?

Anyone know?

People get interviews with mass mailings and if you get an interview you can ultimately get a jerb, but those are based on grades the same as OCI.

Connections to BigLaw (specifically hiring partners)

A friend of mine sent out resumes like any other job application. No OCI. She took a long weekend, took a train to NYC, and interviewed like crazy. I think she may have done that twice actually. Paid associateship 2L summer, followed by BigLaw offer. She was top 25% (maybe higher) at T14, for the record, but maybe that goes without saying when we're talking BigLaw.

Swimp wrote:A friend of mine sent out resumes like any other job application. No OCI. She took a long weekend, took a train to NYC, and interviewed like crazy. I think she may have done that twice actually. Paid associateship 2L summer, followed by BigLaw offer. She was top 25% (maybe higher) at T14, for the record, but maybe that goes without saying when we're talking BigLaw.

You do NOT need to be top 25% at T14 for biglaw. Not even at the bottom of legal hiring. I am surprised your friend needed to go out of OCI at all.

2014 wrote:People get interviews with mass mailings and if you get an interview you can ultimately get a jerb, but those are based on grades the same as OCI.

This.

Engineering background can help, but otherwise the things you listed will not generally make you competitive for biglaw if you are not otherwise.

IAFG wrote:

Swimp wrote:A friend of mine sent out resumes like any other job application. No OCI. She took a long weekend, took a train to NYC, and interviewed like crazy. I think she may have done that twice actually. Paid associateship 2L summer, followed by BigLaw offer. She was top 25% (maybe higher) at T14, for the record, but maybe that goes without saying when we're talking BigLaw.

You do NOT need to be top 25% at T14 for biglaw. Not even at the bottom of legal hiring. I am surprised your friend needed to go out of OCI at all.

I'm pre-0L and know almost nothing at all about BigLaw hiring other than what I've seen around TLS, so I couldn't say whether she "needed" to go outside OCI or what her priorities were. Just relating an anecdote about someone I know who got it done without OCI.

Swimp wrote:

IAFG wrote:

Swimp wrote:A friend of mine sent out resumes like any other job application. No OCI. She took a long weekend, took a train to NYC, and interviewed like crazy. I think she may have done that twice actually. Paid associateship 2L summer, followed by BigLaw offer. She was top 25% (maybe higher) at T14, for the record, but maybe that goes without saying when we're talking BigLaw.

You do NOT need to be top 25% at T14 for biglaw. Not even at the bottom of legal hiring. I am surprised your friend needed to go out of OCI at all.

I'm pre-0L and know almost nothing at all about BigLaw hiring other than what I've seen around TLS, so I couldn't say whether she "needed" to go outside OCI or what her priorities were. Just relating an anecdote about someone I know who got it done without OCI.

what T14? Just curious

It's possible, but rare. At my firm, we usually have one non-OCI hire per summer class of 20.

Client's kid is probably best. Next would be strong IP credentials. It's possible to get big law from an NYU/GULC tax llm, but most llm people with big law got big law from OCI and are doing it part time as an associate.

TMC116 wrote:

Swimp wrote:

IAFG wrote:

Swimp wrote:A friend of mine sent out resumes like any other job application. No OCI. She took a long weekend, took a train to NYC, and interviewed like crazy. I think she may have done that twice actually. Paid associateship 2L summer, followed by BigLaw offer. She was top 25% (maybe higher) at T14, for the record, but maybe that goes without saying when we're talking BigLaw.

You do NOT need to be top 25% at T14 for biglaw. Not even at the bottom of legal hiring. I am surprised your friend needed to go out of OCI at all.

I'm pre-0L and know almost nothing at all about BigLaw hiring other than what I've seen around TLS, so I couldn't say whether she "needed" to go outside OCI or what her priorities were. Just relating an anecdote about someone I know who got it done without OCI.

what T14? Just curious

It doesn't matter. At any T14 not getting something out of OCI with top 25% grades means you fucked something up. It wasn't her school that made it happen. She'd likely have struck out at any of the T14, but maybe not HYS.

Most large firms:
-Hire incoming associates almost exclusively from the summer associate program.
-Require you to apply to the firm through OCI on-campus if they come to your school.

If a firm comes to your school and you apply to them and don't get an interview you have been rejected as an incoming associate and will likely not get a job with that firm as a first year associate. If you apply as a lateral they will probably ask if you've ever applied in the past.

For large firms that do not visit your school for OCI you may still be able to get an interview:
-Send your resume directly to the recruitment coordinator
-Attend a career fair/diversity in which the firm participates
-Apply for a fellowship/scholarship that allows you to work there as a 1L with the possibility to return (obviously this occurs before 2L OCI). These are not going to be available once you've graduated.

If you are not hired by a large firm after 2L OCI the chances you will work in a large firm truly begin to diminish. You could clerk and try to apply after a year or two of clerking. You can try a government job (DA, Atty General, DOJ) and apply as a lateral. You can work at a mid-sized firm in the area and apply as a lateral. Mid-sized firms typically give associates more substantive work earlier on, and that kind of experience can be very helpful when a large firm is looking for a jr. or mid-level associate in a certain practice area.

If you have the credentials to take the patent bar and you want to do IP work you will likely still have to go up against OCI at some point since most firms don't really hire 2Ls directly into a practice group. If you pass the patent bar you could potentially get to a large firm through job fairs specifically for science/IP/tech firms. These firms may not necessarily be large in size but still carry the prestige and often the pay associated with large firms.