UChicago OCI 2014 Forum

[Anonymous User]

WOOO bidding has gone live. Bid list has been approved by 3L via PM but he/she recommended that I post on the thread as well for more feedback before submission. Thanks all in advance!

Leaning corporate (don't know enough to pick lit/corporate with certainty) and would prefer to stay in Chicago

1. Sidley Chicago 84
2. Kirkland Chicago 84
3. Mayer Brown Chicago 63
4. Latham Watkins Chicago 61
5. McDermott Chicago 63
6. Skadden Chicago 84
7. Katten Chicago 42
8. Shearman NYC 21
9. Cleary DC 38
10. Paul Weiss NYC 42
11. Cadwalader NYC 21
12. Schiff Hardin Chicago 84
13. Cleary NYC 42
14. DPW NYC 42
15. Debevoise NYC 63
16. Sullivan & Cromwell NYC 42
17. Cravath NYC 38

[Mal Reynolds]

Pretty sure you don't need Kirkland/sidley 1/2. Seems like firms with less interview slots are better off in those spots.

That's coming from last year's OCI thread since I'm admittedly a 2L.

[Crowing]

I'm curious why you have Cleary DC in there. I would think having to take the hit of admitting you are bidding three markets instead of two is not worth it if you are just going to bid one firm in that third market. But idk anything so I'm moreso just wondering and hoping a 3L or alum can answer.

Also why aren't you bidding STB NY?

[Anonymous User]

I'm curious why you have Cleary DC in there. I would think having to take the hit of admitting you are bidding three markets instead of two is not worth it if you are just going to bid one firm in that third market. But idk anything so I'm moreso just wondering and hoping a 3L or alum can answer.

Also why aren't you bidding STB NY?

Yeah i just removed Cleary DC, realized t'was unwise lol

I had STB in there but i must have accidentally deleted it while amending, thanks for catching

[Anonymous User]

I'm curious why you have Cleary DC in there. I would think having to take the hit of admitting you are bidding three markets instead of two is not worth it if you are just going to bid one firm in that third market. But idk anything so I'm moreso just wondering and hoping a 3L or alum can answer.

Also why aren't you bidding STB NY?

Yeah i just removed Cleary DC, realized t'was unwise lol

I had STB in there but i must have accidentally deleted it while amending, thanks for catching

I don't think it's going to necessarily hurt you to bid one firm in a third market (since you won't be really splitting your bids between three markets), and you don't have to tell people you're bidding three markets. I interviewed in more than three markets (and got CBs in all), never told an interviewer all of the markets I was interviewing in. For Chi/NY firms, I don't think you have to mention DC at all; for Cleary, may need to think of something more detailed.

[Anonymous User]

I'm curious why you have Cleary DC in there. I would think having to take the hit of admitting you are bidding three markets instead of two is not worth it if you are just going to bid one firm in that third market. But idk anything so I'm moreso just wondering and hoping a 3L or alum can answer.

Also why aren't you bidding STB NY?

Yeah i just removed Cleary DC, realized t'was unwise lol

I had STB in there but i must have accidentally deleted it while amending, thanks for catching

I don't think it's going to necessarily hurt you to bid one firm in a third market (since you won't be really splitting your bids between three markets), and you don't have to tell people you're bidding three markets. I interviewed in more than three markets (and got CBs in all), never told an interviewer all of the markets I was interviewing in. For Chi/NY firms, I don't think you have to mention DC at all; for Cleary, may need to think of something more detailed.

oohh i see. How do you think I should handle bidding two cleary offices if they ask about it?

[Anonymous User]

I'm curious why you have Cleary DC in there. I would think having to take the hit of admitting you are bidding three markets instead of two is not worth it if you are just going to bid one firm in that third market. But idk anything so I'm moreso just wondering and hoping a 3L or alum can answer.

Also why aren't you bidding STB NY?

Yeah i just removed Cleary DC, realized t'was unwise lol

I had STB in there but i must have accidentally deleted it while amending, thanks for catching

I don't think it's going to necessarily hurt you to bid one firm in a third market (since you won't be really splitting your bids between three markets), and you don't have to tell people you're bidding three markets. I interviewed in more than three markets (and got CBs in all), never told an interviewer all of the markets I was interviewing in. For Chi/NY firms, I don't think you have to mention DC at all; for Cleary, may need to think of something more detailed.

oohh i see. How do you think I should handle bidding two cleary offices if they ask about it?

(Previous poster) That's a little trickier, because firms have different policies. Some, like Skadden, interview pretty separately and seem to care less about multiple interviews. Other firms won't like it as much. I don't know about Cleary's stance personally, may be helpful to reach out on WWW and see if any current summers have a sense (like maybe some of the other summers are splitting between offices).

[2014]

I told someone else this by PM but if you are just adding in a firm or two in a 3rd/4th market, or are filling your bid list w/ a hodgepodge of firms, I personally wouldn't stress about the ethics of full disclosure when someone asks "where else are you interviewing". I had random secondaries on mine because they didn't fill and I didn't ever give a laundry list to interviewers.

Re: the bidlist above, you should get all of those with the potential exception of Shearman which fills relatively early. I think 7th should be fine though.

[Anonymous User]

transfer from T20 here, so unfamiliar with how grades work

McDermott's Simplicity listing:

Code: Select all

Students must have a GPA of 178 or above. Moot court and law journal experience preferred. Exceptional writing and communication skills required.

Can someone give me a rough idea of where 178 is in the class? Is McDermott that good?

[Mal Reynolds]

178 is above median for sure but a 178.0 is not too far above it. I'm pretty sure the prevailing wisdom for transfers is to look at your previous school's cutoff for firms to see where you stand. I think you're evaluated differently than normal uchicago 1Ls.

[2014]

178.0 is probably top 40%, maybe 35%.

[Anonymous User]

Bidding only Chicago, but open to possibly NYC if you all think it's too risky. Pretty set on litigation. Care about pro bono. 180 and law review. 2 years unrelated work experience. Not bidding Jones Day because I already have a callback with them. Any help is seriously appreciated. (Missing 2L summer #'s for firms I can't find on NALP.) Thanks!

1. Jenner (63/14)
2. Kirkland (84/42)
3. Sidley (84/33)
4. Mayer Brown (63/40)
5. Paul Hastings (21/2)
6. Baker & McKenzie (21/7)
7. Latham (61/12)
8. Skadden (84/27)
9. Katten (42/14)
10. K&L Gates (21/15)
11. McDermott Will & Emery (63/_)
12. Perkins Coie (21/3)
13. DLA Piper (21/34)
14. Grippo & Elden (21/_)
15. Schiff (84/23)
16. Edelson (21/_)
17. Eimer Stahl (21/_)
18. Dechert (21/2)

[WheninLaw]

transfer from T20 here, so unfamiliar with how grades work

McDermott's Simplicity listing:

Code: Select all

Students must have a GPA of 178 or above. Moot court and law journal experience preferred. Exceptional writing and communication skills required.

Can someone give me a rough idea of where 178 is in the class? Is McDermott that good?

In my experience, the "require x" on Simplicity is all smoke and mirrors.

[Anonymous User]

Did anyone in the high 179s get LR? Would make me feel better about skipping out on the write-on if I knew that I wouldn't have gotten it anyways.

[Anonymous User]

How high should one bid the big SV firms, like WSGR, Fenwick, etc?

[gchatbrah]

Did anyone in the high 179s get LR? Would make me feel better about skipping out on the write-on if I knew that I wouldn't have gotten it anyways.

FWIW, 179.7-8ish is typically in play in most years. Below that, it's pretty year-by-year dependent.

[Anonymous User]

Did anyone in the high 179s get LR? Would make me feel better about skipping out on the write-on if I knew that I wouldn't have gotten it anyways.

FWIW, 179.7-8ish is typically in play in most years. Below that, it's pretty year-by-year dependent.

Thanks for making me feel worse, brah.

[WheninLaw]

Did anyone in the high 179s get LR? Would make me feel better about skipping out on the write-on if I knew that I wouldn't have gotten it anyways.

FWIW, 179.7-8ish is typically in play in most years. Below that, it's pretty year-by-year dependent.

I don't think that's true. 179.7 was last year, which was quite low due to: (1) more evenly spread out grades and (2) they increased the number of staffers. Previously, you needed top 10% grades, and now it's more like top 13-15%.

[WheninLaw]

How high should one bid the big SV firms, like WSGR, Fenwick, etc?

Not high. There is a very limited group of people that want these firms. I had WSGR at 19 and got them. Same goes for Fenwick at 22.

[2014]

Bidding only Chicago, but open to possibly NYC if you all think it's too risky. Pretty set on litigation. Care about pro bono. 180 and law review. 2 years unrelated work experience. Not bidding Jones Day because I already have a callback with them. Any help is seriously appreciated. (Missing 2L summer #'s for firms I can't find on NALP.) Thanks!

1. Jenner (63/14)
2. Kirkland (84/42)
3. Sidley (84/33)
4. Mayer Brown (63/40)
5. Paul Hastings (21/2)
6. Baker & McKenzie (21/7)
7. Latham (61/12)
8. Skadden (84/27)
9. Katten (42/14)
10. K&L Gates (21/15)
11. McDermott Will & Emery (63/_)
12. Perkins Coie (21/3)
13. DLA Piper (21/34)
14. Grippo & Elden (21/_)
15. Schiff (84/23)
16. Edelson (21/_)
17. Eimer Stahl (21/_)
18. Dechert (21/2)

Looks pretty good. K&L is unlikely at 10 but I don't see an obvious firm to remove for it. Maybe Paul Hastings. Grippo can be bid lower if you wanted to bump Edelson or Dechert up but I don't think it matters much.

[Anonymous User]

if our 21-50 bids are all a crapshoot anyway, isn't it better to stack that block with firms that are actually likely to have interviews left--even if they're in other/random markets-- as opposed to our target market firms which will likely be all gone anyway? I'm splitting Chicago/NY and I get the sense that there's no point in putting any Chicago firms after a certain point cuz it sounds like they'll all be gone and I'd just be wasting those slots. And I don't think there are enough NYC offices to fill 30 spaces..

[2014]

if our 21-50 bids are all a crapshoot anyway, isn't it better to stack that block with firms that are actually likely to have interviews left--even if they're in other/random markets-- as opposed to our target market firms which will likely be all gone anyway? I'm splitting Chicago/NY and I get the sense that there's no point in putting any Chicago firms after a certain point cuz it sounds like they'll all be gone and I'd just be wasting those slots. And I don't think there are enough NYC offices to fill 30 spaces..

Yes, the goal is to maximize screeners at places that could conceivably hire you. I got like 5 screeners from 27-40 last year by doing what you suggested.

[Crowing]

I told someone else this by PM but if you are just adding in a firm or two in a 3rd/4th market, or are filling your bid list w/ a hodgepodge of firms, I personally wouldn't stress about the ethics of full disclosure when someone asks "where else are you interviewing". I had random secondaries on mine because they didn't fill and I didn't ever give a laundry list to interviewers.

Re: the bidlist above, you should get all of those with the potential exception of Shearman which fills relatively early. I think 7th should be fine though.

Idk maybe I'm paranoid but my worry even with the padding at the end would be like I'd say: "Oh I'm only bidding X and Y markets" then the interviewer I tell that to like sees me walking into an interview with a firm in market Z. Idk how the interview rooms are laid out or anything but I'm just worried about being deceptive at all I guess.

[Neal Patrick Harris]

I told someone else this by PM but if you are just adding in a firm or two in a 3rd/4th market, or are filling your bid list w/ a hodgepodge of firms, I personally wouldn't stress about the ethics of full disclosure when someone asks "where else are you interviewing". I had random secondaries on mine because they didn't fill and I didn't ever give a laundry list to interviewers.

Re: the bidlist above, you should get all of those with the potential exception of Shearman which fills relatively early. I think 7th should be fine though.

Idk maybe I'm paranoid but my worry even with the padding at the end would be like I'd say: "Oh I'm only bidding X and Y markets" then the interviewer I tell that to like sees me walking into an interview with a firm in market Z. Idk how the interview rooms are laid out or anything but I'm just worried about being deceptive at all I guess.

The question comes up much less than you'd expect. it perhaps happens at the callback stage more but it's still a rather rare question.

[Anonymous User]

179.5, no journal. Would like to stay in Chicago ideally but want to go to firm with a strong corporate practice first and foremost.

1. Sidley (Chi) 84
2. Kirkland (Chi) 84
3. Skadden (Chi) 84
4. Latham (Chi) 61
5. Cleary (NY) 42
6. Davis Polk (NY) 42
7. Weil (NY) 21
8. Fried Frank (NY) 21
9. Paul Weiss (NY) 42
10. Shearman (NY) 21
11. White & Case (NY) 21
12. Latham (NY) 31
13. Simpson Thatcher (NY) 57
14. Boies Corporate (NY) 21
15. Sullivan & Cromwell (NY) 42
16. Cravath (NY) 38
17. Skadden (NY) 42
18. Debevoise (NY) 63
19. Wachtell (NY) 42
20. Freshfields (NY) 21

Thoughts?