Harvard Class of 2012 Forum

[hls2012]

Did everyone send in two passport photos with their deposit or does uploading a photo to Sidebar replace that? I'm pretty determined to make it official this weekend but getting passport photos will set me back a bit.

[HAZMAT]

It says 2 passport sized photos. Although it's rare these days, if you happen to have a regular sized photo of yourself, you can just cut out your head to make the whole thing passport sized.

[Objection]

Plan to submit my deposit soon! Exciting!

[Krswmact]

I saw the two passport size photos listed in one location (online, red binder etc) and in the other location it said just put the picture on sidebar. I just uploaded my picture on sidebar, and they said they received my deposit and did not mention a lack of pictures.

[pinkflamingo]

I saw the two passport size photos listed in one location (online, red binder etc) and in the other location it said just put the picture on sidebar. I just uploaded my picture on sidebar, and they said they received my deposit and did not mention a lack of pictures.

Good to know, thanks. I'm planning on submitting my deposit tomorrow!

[packergirl13]

Visited this weekend and fell in love! Can't wait

[iagolives]

Visited this weekend and fell in love! Can't wait

Walking around and letting it sink in that "I'm at Harvard" is a pretty surreal experience, isn't it?

[packergirl13]

Surreal is definitely the right adjective. And, contrary to the impressions of many, I found the students and faculty to be very collegial. So, not only did I think "I can't believe I'm going here," but I also thought "I might actually enjoy myself here." What a lovely surprise!

[bgc]

Surreal is definitely the right adjective. And, contrary to the impressions of many, I found the students and faculty to be very collegial. So, not only did I think "I can't believe I'm going here," but I also thought "I might actually enjoy myself here." What a lovely surprise!

HLS is great. I live in Boston and attend events there pretty regularly. The environment always seems charged and dynamic in the best ways. That is VERY different from being unfriendly.

The feeling of connection and engagement there is, in my experience, unparalleled.

[nycRadRead]

Congrats to those who've been accepted! I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I read an alarming article in the NYT (imagine that!) that has got me thinking.

A NYT Editorial last week by Adam Cohen was pretty striking. He posits this recession will remake the current legal landscape, especially affecting T-20 students and BigLaw prospects. Even BigLaw are laying off attorneys at a staggering rate and old, venerable firms are failing. No longer will first-year associates at top firms start at around $160,000; he suggests they may go down to as low as $100,000, where they were about 10 years ago.

To be sure a huge gap exists between private BigLaw practice and public sector jobs, which start new attorneys at anywhere from $40k-$60k a year. There wasn't always such a gap, and it will certainly shrink.

I would add (from what I've read from Alan Blinder and other econ/fed/finance types) that the breakneck growth in the financial sector we've seen over the past 10 years will never happen again, as investment banks like Morgan Stanley are now legally considered "banks", which subjects them to greater regulation and scrutiny. We can be sure hedge funds will also be regulated more closely. The days of leveraging 30 to 1 are over, as are the days of making a 30% return on capital. Greater regulation will obviously greatly decrease fat financial sector profits and therefore affect salaries for BigLaw attorneys of all sorts in the long-run as well.

So those on this forum who are attracted to law principally for the cash may want to rethink their law school plans. Especially since most of us will graduate with around $100k in debt, much of it from private loans carrying a ridiculous interest rate. And those that aren't should take a look at the realities of paying steep loan payments on a lower-than-anticipated salary.

Check out Cohen's article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/opini ... u4.html?em

[packergirl13]

That was depressing. So the 200K in debt I'll graduate with might take a little longer to erase, huh?

[outedtls]

Now Harvard's a TTT, you jdunderground trolls are getting ridiculous.

[Objection]

A NYT Editorial last week by Adam Cohen was pretty striking. He posits this recession will remake the current legal landscape, especially affecting T-20 students and BigLaw prospects. Even BigLaw are laying off attorneys at a staggering rate and old, venerable firms are failing. No longer will first-year associates at top firms start at around $160,000; he suggests they may go down to as low as $100,000, where they were about 10 years ago.

Big Law won't drop to $100,000 or else no one will do big law.

Their salaries are the recruiting tool. If the gap narrows that much between private sector ridiculously hard/ridiculously long hours jobs and more interesting public sector work, why would anyone choose big law?

Common sense.

$145 I can see. $100? Won't even come close to happening.

[Objection]

This winter, a lot of firms announced "slurpee salary freezes." The slurpee firms told associates that they would reevaluate their salary structure depending on market conditions. At the time, few people believed them.

But on Friday, Akin Gump did reevaluate its compensation: and it is going up! A memo went around to all associates late, Friday afternoon:

In order to give us a greater opportunity to evaluate Associate and Counsel compensation in light of the challenging economic times, the Firm deferred the decision on Associate and Counsel compensation for 2009 until the end of the first quarter. After careful consideration, I am pleased to announce a program that we believe allows us to be both prudent in these extraordinary times and responsive to our Associates and Counsel.

Of course, there are complications. More from Akin Gump after the jump.

Some people at Akin will be getting a raise. But only associates who are making their hours will see the pay bump.

For 2009, Associates and Counsel throughout the Firm who are on track to meet a target of 2,000 client hours will be eligible for quarterly payments equal to the amount that they would have received if salaries were not frozen. More details about this program will be forthcoming from Kim Koopersmith on Monday. We are pleased to be able to offer this compensation adjustment and continue to value your significant contributions to the Firm.

The Blog of the Legal Times caught up with Akin Gump's manager of its Washington, DC office, Anthony Pierce:

"It's a very good thing," Pierce says. "This allows us to meet the needs of our associates and counsel while also recognizing that we're in extraordinary economic times and we still need to meet the needs of our clients."

Sidley Austin? Venable? Other firms on the slurpee freeze list? Akin Gump just came up with a whole new slurpee flavor.

What great timing!

--LinkRemoved--

[jrs12]

Passport photos have specific lighting and background requirements, but HLS only asked for passport SIZED photos, so I think you're probably ok just cutting them.

If you want to make your own passport photos, just have someone take a headshot of you against a white background. Crop it to your shoulders in a square, and then make a jpg that's tiled with 6 copies of the square (3 across, 2 down). Print this jpg at 4x6 for about 19 cents at CVS. Beats 8 bucks for having them take the passport photos for you.

[iagolives]

So kind of an off-topic and somewhat useless question but who do we think the new dean's going to be? Any guesses?

[joschmo]

A NYT Editorial last week by Adam Cohen was pretty striking. He posits this recession will remake the current legal landscape, especially affecting T-20 students and BigLaw prospects. Even BigLaw are laying off attorneys at a staggering rate and old, venerable firms are failing. No longer will first-year associates at top firms start at around $160,000; he suggests they may go down to as low as $100,000, where they were about 10 years ago.

Big Law won't drop to $100,000 or else no one will do big law.

Their salaries are the recruiting tool. If the gap narrows that much between private sector ridiculously hard/ridiculously long hours jobs and more interesting public sector work, why would anyone choose big law?

Common sense.

$145 I can see. $100? Won't even come close to happening.

I believe the article referenced above also noted (correctly) that Biglaw firms would also have to lower billable requirements if they were to remain competitive in the labor markets with lower salaries. Assuming the amount of business doesnt change (big supposition), workforces would have to grow to compensate. How that would affect the culture at these firms, I cannot tell. It could be more laid back as the ability to compete via hours billed (due to the inavailability of work on an individual level) shrinks, or it could be more competitive as bonuses and promotions would be sought by a larger number of candidates.

The way I see it, this will make choosing a public sector job far more palatable.

[Objection]

I just don't think it's practical to lower salaries that much. All it takes is a handful of firms NOT to lower salaries and voila, you (the firm who lowered salaries) suddenly went from top dog to unable-to-attract-Cooley-grads. Unless every firm at $160k agrees to drop salaries, it won't happen unless the firm is in serious trouble.

[heyguys]

I just don't think it's practical to lower salaries that much. All it takes is a handful of firms NOT to lower salaries and voila, you (the firm who lowered salaries) suddenly went from top dog to unable-to-attract-Cooley-grads. Unless every firm at $160k agrees to drop salaries, it won't happen unless the firm is in serious trouble.

In the absence of collusion or market-necessity, this is probably correct. Objection overstates the case by saying 'every,' but he's correct that there would need to be a simultaneous mass exodus from the current market rate, which is probably unlikely even given the current economic climate.

[cardinalabyss]

Hi all! I just got my KB2 this afternoon(!) and I was wondering if you guys can advise on how soon I'm likely to hear about financial aid. Will they ship that info to me in the acceptance packet, or is it sent some other way?

Sorry if this has come up here already--I searched a bit, but didn't want to go back through the entire forum to check.

Congrats mightydinosaur! See you next week at the ASP?

Originally, they were getting back to students within 10 business days (2 weeks) but it's taking longer now due to changes in the economy and a backlog of students.

It's been awhile since I my application was complete so I called the financial aid office today and asked when I might receive my preliminary award. The woman just sounded really annoyed and quoted what the letter said. When I asked if I would hear before the May 1st deadline the woman scoffed and me and said, "Of course!" like I was some kind of idiot.

Anyway, to answer your question before May 1st but probably not within 10 days and don't call the financial aid office!

[mightydinosaur]

Thanks, cardinalabyss!

Bummer about the wait, though. I have a scholarship deadline on 4/15 that I am already trying to push back a bit to attend Harvard's ASW (yes, I'll be there!). Hopefully they will get all of our aid processed quickly and it won't be a problem, but we'll see. I'm thrilled about Harvard, but not sure if I can justify paying sticker to go there, so I'm really hoping they'll offer something before I need to decide.

[Pumpkin]

hey guys, do you know what the rent per month is that Harvard figures into the student budget? hard to break down what percentage of the lump sum is rent vs actually eating...

it seems like the dorms run about 1000 a month? is that right?

[hopeful09]

hey guys, do you know what the rent per month is that Harvard figures into the student budget? hard to break down what percentage of the lump sum is rent vs actually eating...

it seems like the dorms run about 1000 a month? is that right?

From http://www.law.harvard.edu/current/sfs/ ... udget.html:

2009-2010 Standard Student Budget (9-Month)
Tuition $ 43,900
Room/Board/Personal* $ 18,457
UHS Health Fee (mandatory) $ 1,126
Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance Fee (waivable) $ 1,714
Optional Student Dental Insurance (estimated) $ 253
Books and Supplies $ 1,100
Travel $ 1,350

TOTAL BUDGET $ 67,900

Hope that helps!

[hopeful09]

Sorry Pumpkin, I read your post really quickly and didn't realize that you wanted the breakdown of the living/personal/etc. expenses.

I know that the dorms seem to run around $6000 to $12,000-ish for 9 months. I'm not sure what figure they use for their calculations. Your $1000/month number seems like a pretty good guess.

[ahnielove]

Just got in. I was expecting a rejection having waited this long, but I'm glad my cycle is over.

Is anyone else going to the Scholar dinner event on the 26th? I had my flight leaving the Yale ASP on the 25th, but now I'm debating whether I should stay on the East Coast another two days and driving up to Cambridge to make it to that event.