UChicago OCI 2014 Forum

[Neal Patrick Harris]

How long does it usually take firms to reimburse you for your expenses after you've submitted the NALP travel reimbursement form?

Anywhere from 5-10 days to a few weeks. Some are faster/slower than others.

[2014]

I wonder if the CB:Offer ratio for UChi will be better than NYC schools in NYC because the firm doesn't lose too much by calling back an NYC student but they have to pay a shit ton to get a Chicago student out there. Then again I guess the biggest loss is in the ~3 billable hours of interviewing.

JUST TRYING TO STAY OPTIMISTIC HERE.

This is probably true because of cost, yield (they have to CB a lot of us to get a few, some might say fuck it), and it being late in the season so some classes are close to full. There are other firms that value UChi highly though and call us back in mass since we are tougher to get and they aren't happy with their numbers in relation to NYU/Columbia/Harvard/UVA/etc.

Anyway don't beat yourself up over your lack of CBs, it doesn't really serve a constructive purpose.

[Anonymous User]

Still waiting on:

Sidley Palo Alto
Sheppard Mullin SF
Latham SF
Perkins Coie Palo Alto
Dechert Mountain View
King & Spalding DC
Harris Wiltshire Grannis DC

Thinking of sending follow up emails confirming my interest.

[Strahilevitz]

Still waiting on:

Sidley Palo Alto
Sheppard Mullin SF
Latham SF
Perkins Coie Palo Alto
Dechert Mountain View
King & Spalding DC
Harris Wiltshire Grannis DC

Thinking of sending follow up emails confirming my interest.

I'm sure OCS has told you this already, but I'll say it as a reminder: do NOT follow up until 2 weeks after the interview date. Doing so makes you seem desperate, as a firm's ideal candidate has enough callbacks to be worried about those rather than following up with screeners

[Anonymous User]

MoFo (NY) ding after the callback.

[Anonymous User]

So I just got an offer from a firm I really like. I kinda want to cancel another callback now, but a friend says I should at least see what this other firm is like. Would it really be silly to cancel?

[Neal Patrick Harris]

So I just got an offer from a firm I really like. I kinda want to cancel another callback now, but a friend says I should at least see what this other firm is like. Would it really be silly to cancel?

Not at all. If there's a chance they could "woo" you into picking them, don't cancel. If there's no chance, then go ahead and cancel. Cancelling saves you time, saves the firm time, and opens up more spots for classmates.

[Mal Reynolds]

MoFo (NY) ding after the callback.

Sunday dings are just wrong.

[Anonymous User]

So I just got an offer from a firm I really like. I kinda want to cancel another callback now, but a friend says I should at least see what this other firm is like. Would it really be silly to cancel?

Not at all. If there's a chance they could "woo" you into picking them, don't cancel. If there's no chance, then go ahead and cancel. Cancelling saves you time, saves the firm time, and opens up more spots for classmates.

Thanks. I'll cancel. I just don't see myself being successfully wooed.

[JuniperCreekEsq]

MoFo (NY) ding after the callback.

Sunday dings are just wrong.

It was Saturday morning. Hadn't even finished my third bowl of cereal. Pigs.

[Anonymous User]

Does anybody know what the rules are for cancelling a CB if you already have made the travel arrangements. Have a CB with a DC firm later this week, but there's no way I would consider them over other options I have.

I don't want to do the CB, but I also don't want to get billed for plane tickets/burn bridges, etc. Any advice? Should I just go through with the CB?

[Mal Reynolds]

I've heard people say to cancel since you're still saving them the money on billables from not having to interview you. They also might get the hotel refunded if they have an account with the hotel. But I'm not sure what I would do if I were in your shoes. Do you really not want to make a quick trip to DC? IF you already have an offer I doubt it's a big deal either way.

[Anonymous User]

I've heard people say to cancel since you're still saving them the money on billables from not having to interview you. They also might get the hotel refunded if they have an account with the hotel. But I'm not sure what I would do if I were in your shoes. Do you really not want to make a quick trip to DC? IF you already have an offer I doubt it's a big deal either way.

Thanks for the advice. I mean, its not big deal for me to do the CB, there just really isn't a point. It'd be a waste of time for me and them. But their travel agency also told me about 3 times these were "non-refundable" plane tickets, so I'm pretty wary of cancelling.

I'll probably just go through with the CB

[20141023]

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[Mal Reynolds]

Wait... will some firms actually try to make you pay for the cancelled airplane tickets / hotel room / other stuff if you cancel your CB?

No my point was that it's initially awkward to say GFY when they already paid for a bunch of stuff. But that it's still saving them money and it's a cost of doing business so it's not a big deal at the end of the day.

[beepboopbeep]

Wait... will some firms actually try to make you pay for the cancelled airplane tickets / hotel room / other stuff if you cancel your CB?

No my point was that it's initially awkward to say GFY when they already paid for a bunch of stuff. But that it's still saving them money and it's a cost of doing business so it's not a big deal at the end of the day.

Also it's kinda their fault; all of my plane tickets have been refundable so far (which is great for us too, because no change fee). Standard practice when you know your candidates might bail. And if they're not buying refundable it's a calculated risk that the cancellations will be less than the cost of refundable tickets. Should be factored in already.

But also, as has been mentioned a million times already, it's still less than the cost of lost billables.

[20141023]

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[Mal Reynolds]

Without getting too law studenty, they offered to pay. I don't think there are any conditions placed on you if you cancel. If you're not going through their travel agency then maybe it's more of a problem.

[DontStopBeliebin]

That's not what non-refundable means

It means you don't get the charge refunded to your credit card completely if it's cancelled. They still get the ticketed amount (minus $150, or less if they have a good corporate deal) refunded to their account balance, so they can still use most of the money of your airfare towards another ticket.

tl;dr: don't worry about the non-refundable part as burning bridges any moreso than cancelling a cb in general

EDIT: Also hotel cancellation deadlines are almost always 4pm day of the reservation so

[caryatis]

FYI I just talked to the recruiting person at Pillsbury DC, who says they sent out decision letters via snail mail on Friday.

[Anonymous User]

Offers at Katten, Schiff, and Skadden (all Chi). Dings from Jenner and McDermott.

Also, I just did a CB in Chicago where every time an interviewer asked me if I was only bidding Chi, I "blamed" OCS for telling us that you can't get away with just doing that so I had also bid a little of another market. None of them understood - and I'm not 180/LR so it wasn't bc my grades make me safe to just bid here -and they said they'd been getting that line from tons of candidates (not just UChi folk) this year, more so even than earlier years where the economy was much worse. Dunno about their observations, but it just reinforced the whole "don't place your future in OCS's hands" theme (at least without a second and third outside opinion) that I've been warming to over the past year.

When was your Katten callback? Just trying to get a feel for how long the wait was. Thanks!

[Anonymous User]

Offers at Katten, Schiff, and Skadden (all Chi). Dings from Jenner and McDermott.

Also, I just did a CB in Chicago where every time an interviewer asked me if I was only bidding Chi, I "blamed" OCS for telling us that you can't get away with just doing that so I had also bid a little of another market. None of them understood - and I'm not 180/LR so it wasn't bc my grades make me safe to just bid here -and they said they'd been getting that line from tons of candidates (not just UChi folk) this year, more so even than earlier years where the economy was much worse. Dunno about their observations, but it just reinforced the whole "don't place your future in OCS's hands" theme (at least without a second and third outside opinion) that I've been warming to over the past year.

When was your Katten callback? Just trying to get a feel for how long the wait was. Thanks!

My bad -- Katten was the one CB I did before OCI (I'd interviewed with them for 1L SA and they did the usual "pass OCI go straight to CB" thing). It was still incredibly long though -- like 3 weeks? They said it was because their hiring committee hadn't met for the first two weeks, but I can't believe that given that my CB was the week before our OCI and many schools start before us.

[Anonymous User]

A&O DC offer. CB was last Thursday.

[20141023]

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[Anonymous User]

am i the only one being forgotten by firms? 4 firms i interviewed with already gave out cbs and rejections, and i have neither