LA Biglaw Forum

[Anonymous User]

I thought PH LA was pretty grade selective? More so than NY.
I'm median at CCN and was told it was too reachy for me. I'm guessing below median at HYS is similar

[notgreat]

Doesn't PH still no-offer a lot?

According to Vault, they only no offered 2 out 63 summers last year.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone know what the salary for manatt is? ive seen conflicting 160k, 145k, and even 125k reports...i really like the firm but this is a huge factor if it only 125k...

[Anonymous User]

list changed.

[Anonymous User]

PSA: Posting a bid list while anonymous, not stating what school you are at, and not giving your GPA will not out you. But it will mean people are less likely to give you accurate information.

[Anonymous User]

How important are ties at LA firms in general, particularly if you are applying without tippy top grades from a nont14 (Vandy/UT)? Interested in the less selective firms, but would appreciate any general input.

[Anonymous User]

Alright, throwing in my bidlist here. 3.44-3.46 GPA (don't want to out myself even though I may be anyway) at USC/UCLA. targeting mostly la and other regions w/ high class sizes but don't care about ties too much (nor cal and NY), OC is not an option (don't ask). Any advice? if you're just gonna steal my ideas at least give me something haha.

What are you looking at doing, transaction or litigation? And what approx. class rank does that put you at?

[Anonymous User]

^I'm really into both, if I had to pick a preference I'd say litigation. My gpa prob puts me between 30-40 percent, im pretty confident its more towards 30.

[Anonymous User]

^I'm really into both, if I had to pick a preference I'd say litigation. My gpa prob puts me between 30-40 percent, im pretty confident its more towards 30.

No GDC? I think they have a large class and I think (although I'm not 100% sure) that 30ish percent should be decent for UCLA/USC.

[iamgeorgebush]

tagged

[Anonymous User]

^I'm really into both, if I had to pick a preference I'd say litigation. My gpa prob puts me between 30-40 percent, im pretty confident its more towards 30.

No GDC? I think they have a large class and I think (although I'm not 100% sure) that 30ish percent should be decent for UCLA/USC.

GDC LA is pretty grade-sensitive; top 3rd for UCLA/USC likely won't cut it

[Yukos]

Is it worth applying to Boies Santa Monica considering how tiny that office is? And is the rumor that they (the firm overall, not necessarily the SM office) like to no-offer a couple SAs so it's a Hunger Games-type atmosphere true? Because I can imagine few things worse.

[bk1]

Is it worth applying to Boies Santa Monica considering how tiny that office is? And is the rumor that they (the firm overall, not necessarily the SM office) like to no-offer a couple SAs so it's a Hunger Games-type atmosphere true? Because I can imagine few things worse.

I see no reason not to apply. I don't know about offer rates but considering most Boies offices have very few SAs I doubt there is that type of atmosphere since you're barely interacting with any other SAs on a regular basis.

[KD35]

Is it worth applying to Boies Santa Monica considering how tiny that office is? And is the rumor that they (the firm overall, not necessarily the SM office) like to no-offer a couple SAs so it's a Hunger Games-type atmosphere true? Because I can imagine few things worse.

I see no reason not to apply. I don't know about offer rates but considering most Boies offices have very few SAs I doubt there is that type of atmosphere since you're barely interacting with any other SAs on a regular basis.

Having more options open never hurts

[Anonymous User]

This might seem totally vague but I was wondering if anyone could list the top firms in LA for general civil litigation work--- in terms of quality of cases, substantive responsibility, etc. I have zero interest in transactional work but am having problems finding enough firms to complete my bid list (only bidding LA)... Thanks.

[KM2016]

Is it worth applying to Boies Santa Monica considering how tiny that office is? And is the rumor that they (the firm overall, not necessarily the SM office) like to no-offer a couple SAs so it's a Hunger Games-type atmosphere true? Because I can imagine few things worse.

I see no reason not to apply. I don't know about offer rates but considering most Boies offices have very few SAs I doubt there is that type of atmosphere since you're barely interacting with any other SAs on a regular basis.

Having more options open never hurts

From their website: "Summer associates work in all of our New York offices, and in our San Francisco Bay Area, Florida, and Washington D.C. offices."

Seems like no SA program at the SM office?

[Yukos]

This might seem totally vague but I was wondering if anyone could list the top firms in LA for general civil litigation work--- in terms of quality of cases, substantive responsibility, etc. I have zero interest in transactional work but am having problems finding enough firms to complete my bid list (only bidding LA)... Thanks.

I would say people generally see MTO, Irell, QE and GDC as the top tier for lit in LA. Basically take Chambers (http://www.chambersandpartners.com/1205 ... torial/5/1) and remove the NorCal firms. Chambers has OMM and Latham above Irell though so maybe I'm wrong.

[Anonymous User]

Can anybody talk about odds at MTO, Irell, QE, GDC or PH if I'm coming from HYS? Does the east coast prestige go as far, or do I need to worry about grades still

[Anonymous User]

Can anybody talk about odds at MTO, Irell, QE, GDC or PH if I'm coming from HYS? Does the east coast prestige go as far, or do I need to worry about grades still

They all hire from HY and they'll all go deeper into the Harvard and Yale classes than they would at most other schools (Stanford probably excepted). The firms are all grade sensitive to a point and that grade sensitivity probably varies between Harvard and Yale. Your school will give you a callback chart that shows interviews/callbacks/offers for each of these firms. That will give you a general idea about how things work out.

This is a bit of a non-answer, but more specific information (school/grades) would help. For example, you're not getting a Munger callback if you have all Ps at Harvard or Yale.

[Anonymous User]

Can anybody talk about odds at MTO, Irell, QE, GDC or PH if I'm coming from HYS? Does the east coast prestige go as far, or do I need to worry about grades still

Yeah, you still need to worry. You're not entitled to any L.A. firm. What are your grades, exactly?

Median from Harvard's not getting MTO nor Irell. QE's weird but worth a shot, PH is probably easier, and Gibson... well, Gibson's the most desirable non-MTO/Irell firm in LA by most people's standards. If you're below median I'd be aware it's not going to be easy.

[Anonymous User]

Is the quality of work really inferior at Gibson compared to MTO/Irell?

[Anonymous User]

Is the quality of work really inferior at Gibson compared to MTO/Irell?

Not necessarily. It's slightly less selective in terms of applicants, at any rate, and I'd emphasize "slightly."

[Anonymous User]

Is the quality of work really inferior at Gibson compared to MTO/Irell?

Not at all. The biggest differences between the three are probably size and culture. GDC is a much bigger firm than the other two and has offices outside of California. GDC also has a corporate department that weighs more heavily in the work mix at the firm. The size of the firm and its work mix will impact many aspects of summer and associate life, so it's something to take into account.

Although GDC is clearly less "selective" than the other two in terms of interview/callback/offer rate and allowable grades, I know people who were rejected by GDC but received offers from Irell/MTO. Grades aren't everything and all three of the firms value cultural fit, especially at the callback stage.

[Anonymous User]

Is the quality of work really inferior at Gibson compared to MTO/Irell?

Not at all. The biggest differences between the three are probably size and culture. GDC is a much bigger firm than the other two and has offices outside of California. GDC also has a corporate department that weighs more heavily in the work mix at the firm. The size of the firm and its work mix will impact many aspects of summer and associate life, so it's something to take into account.

Can anyone speak to the culture of Gibson? I've heard that it is become more like a NY firm--is this true at all?

[Anonymous User]

Are you pretty much out of luck at Munger w/o law review (assuming top grades at a top school)?