ITT: Summer Associates Post About Their Anxiety (2012) Forum

[09042014]

Now that I've gotten over the embarrassment, I was cold offered at my firm. It was my fault, and I suspected it would happen about halfway through the summer. I kind of have some options, we'll see what happens.

What happened man?

[sunynp]

Just got no-offered from both summer firms. Won't say the reason or the firms for fear of being outed. But that's it. Got the closure on the summer I wanted.

I know you worked very hard over the summer. I hope it works out for you. I feel like everyone who posts here is rooting for you.

[traehekat]

Man... what the fuck is going on.

[EvilClinton]

Man... what the fuck is going on.

Same thing that happened two years ago. Law firms don't have to give a single fuck about conservative hiring because of the lolschool model.

But wasn't that supposed to be over? I naively thought we were in a "recovery" and that law firm hiring was on the rise.

Fuck this fucking fucked up system.

[bjsesq]

Man... what the fuck is going on.

Same thing that happened two years ago. Law firms don't have to give a single fuck about conservative hiring because of the lolschool model.

But wasn't that supposed to be over? I naively thought we were in a "recovery" and that law firm hiring was on the rise.

Fuck this fucking fucked up system.

Why are you more upset than I am? This was a possibility you knew existed going in. If you didn't, you fucking should have.

[IAFG]

I am not upset firms no-offer. They're entitled. I'm mad they no-offer because they over-hired or are struggling but then say that's not why.

[nygrrrl]

I'm so sorry, you guys.
Thank you for posting about it: it is a good reminder for the rest of us that even people who work their butts off and do everything "right" are not safe.
Hang in there - you have so many people pulling for you.

[MarkRenton]

I am not upset firms no-offer. They're entitled. I'm mad they no-offer because they over-hired or are struggling but then say that's not why.

[Old Gregg]

Man... what the fuck is going on.

Same thing that happened two years ago. Law firms don't have to give a single fuck about conservative hiring because of the lolschool model.

But wasn't that supposed to be over? I naively thought we were in a "recovery" and that law firm hiring was on the rise.

Fuck this fucking fucked up system.

For a couple of hiring seasons and now they're right back to it (corporate appears to be entirely dead). What are law students going to do?

Most law firms aren't back to it. Lots of firms still hiring in low numbers. Firms back to it are places like S&C, etc.

Corporate ain't dead either entirely. Just depends on firm and individual experience. My work stream hasn't slowed down yet and will probably get even busier after Labor Day.

And by busy I mean I could bill 2,400 on this work, but it might end up being 2,800 if more work comes in.

[keg411]

Corporate may not be dead everywhere (and I know for a fact that it's incredibly busy at one firm in particular), but it's pretty clear that with the increased no-offers that firms definitely over-hired.

The only other thing I can think of is there are more 3L's on the board in general and so we're just hearing of more no/cold offers among our peers than in previous years; and of those people, more summered in secondary markets where the offer rate has always been dismal. However, I kind of doubt that is entirely it since I've also heard of no-offers at "safe" NYC firms.

[Big Shrimpin]

Just got no-offered from both summer firms. Won't say the reason or the firms for fear of being outed. But that's it. Got the closure on the summer I wanted.

JFC, sorry, brother rad. Excuse my ignorance, but are you 1L or 2L?

2L. So basically the worst has happened.

Ugh, sorry breh. Just gotta get back out there, apply for clerkships, etc. IIRC, I know of at least a handful of people at GW who picked up biglaw gigs during 3L spring. Anecdotal, sure, but a strong hustle is necessary.

Good luck and godspeed, breh.

[rad lulz]

Just got no-offered from both summer firms. Won't say the reason or the firms for fear of being outed. But that's it. Got the closure on the summer I wanted.

JFC, sorry, brother rad. Excuse my ignorance, but are you 1L or 2L?

2L. So basically the worst has happened.

Ugh, sorry breh. Just gotta get back out there, apply for clerkships, etc. IIRC, I know of at least a handful of people at GW who picked up biglaw gigs during 3L spring. Anecdotal, sure, but a strong hustle is necessary.

Good luck and godspeed, breh.

Totally unprepared for the clerkship hunt and a lot of districts in places I have ties to are off-plan and are done. Worth looking into, but I have a feeling I'm gonna have to look elsewhere.

[0L Hoping for 1]

Do people think its a bloodbath out there? I cannot tell if it is just a skewed sample here or whether everyone should be nervous.

[bk1]

Good luck and godspeed, breh.

This to all you guys.

[TTH]

Do people think its a bloodbath out there? I cannot tell if it is just a skewed sample here or whether everyone should be nervous.

It's probably neither. As far as the last few pages of this thread goes, it's a skewed sample. You're talking about three or four of 3Ls out of how many at T1 schools nationwide getting no-offered and talking about it. That said, the general consensus is that the vast majority of people who have bad outcomes after their SA don't talk about it out of embarassment, so there are a lot of folks out there with no-offers staying mum.

Can't really base market trends off TLS. Those of us who outed ourselves ITT and others are all from different markets, likely went to different sizes/types of firms, and otherwise had different circumstances. Best way to gauge this stuff is to talk to your peers at your school who tend to all have interacted with the same markets and what not.

[Anonymous User]

I was no offered some weeks ago. It's been hard to get over the embarassment and tell people. But you HAVE to suck it up and do it in order to get leads, network, etc.

[Anonymous User]

I was no offered some weeks ago. It's been hard to get over the embarassment and tell people. But you HAVE to suck it up and do it in order to get leads, network, etc.

This is true. I had a partner who really liked me and seemed pretty pissed that I didn't get an offer. He volunteered to act as a reference. I've been dropping his name around everywhere and it's helped a lot so far.

For those of you who got no-offered for whatever reason, I'd suggest calling a friend at the firm and talking to them about being considered for other offices. That's what I did for my SA firm the other day and I have no idea if it's going to yield any fruit, but at least the partner I asked is talking to the firmwide recruiting partner.

[somewhatwayward]

Now that I've gotten over the embarrassment, I was cold offered at my firm. It was my fault, and I suspected it would happen about halfway through the summer. I kind of have some options, we'll see what happens.

wow, man, i'm sorry. weren't you with this firm as a 1L, too? i thought i remembered you posting that you weren't going through OCI last year bc you were sticking with the firm from 1L summer.

[bjsesq]

So, the firm no-offered roughly 1/3 of a large class.

[LawIdiot86]

Now that I've gotten over the embarrassment, I was cold offered at my firm. It was my fault, and I suspected it would happen about halfway through the summer. I kind of have some options, we'll see what happens.

wow, man, i'm sorry. weren't you with this firm as a 1L, too? i thought i remembered you posting that you weren't going through OCI last year bc you were sticking with the firm from 1L summer.

I had that happen to a friend and it seems really sucky on the firms part. The 1L summer should be enough to spot fit, quality and other issues without wasting a person's only other chance to get a firm job.

[rad lulz]

So, the firm no-offered roughly 1/3 of a large class.

Sheeiiitttt. I feel for you BJS.

[Stanford4Me]

Now that I've gotten over the embarrassment, I was cold offered at my firm. It was my fault, and I suspected it would happen about halfway through the summer. I kind of have some options, we'll see what happens.

wow, man, i'm sorry. weren't you with this firm as a 1L, too? i thought i remembered you posting that you weren't going through OCI last year bc you were sticking with the firm from 1L summer.

Yeah, boy do I regret that now. I won't get too specific, but a lot of partners who were in leadership positions during my 1L summer, and who knew the quality of my work/developed a good relationship with me ended up leaving the firm over the past year, and our office is large enough that a lot of the people I met this summer I didn't meet last summer.


For those who asked, I messed up a project early on in the summer--thought I had a clear understanding, updated the partner on my progress, found out I was going in the totally wrong direction and ended up missing the deadline. The partner was a super important partner...very very important. Since pretty much every one of my projects this summer was long term (this was the only one with a quick turn around), I didn't have a chance to fully redeem myself.

If I don't hear anything shortly, I'm going to use some of my dad's connections. One of his clients is a partner at a mid-law ($145) firm and has been keeping track of my progress (of course my dad didn't tell me any of this until I told him about my situation).

Edit: At least I knew this was coming, and it was a legitimate reason on the firm's part. I didn't have a good summer. One of my friends, however, got no-offered for something based loosely on "fit." Didn't find out about it until the firm called to share the bad news at the end of the summer.

[rad lulz]

Now that I've gotten over the embarrassment, I was cold offered at my firm. It was my fault, and I suspected it would happen about halfway through the summer. I kind of have some options, we'll see what happens.

wow, man, i'm sorry. weren't you with this firm as a 1L, too? i thought i remembered you posting that you weren't going through OCI last year bc you were sticking with the firm from 1L summer.

Yeah, boy do I regret that now. I won't get too specific, but a lot of partners who were in leadership positions during my 1L summer, and who knew the quality of my work/developed a good relationship with me ended up leaving the firm over the past year, and our office is large enough that a lot of the people I met this summer I didn't meet last summer.


For those who asked, I messed up a project early on in the summer--thought I had a clear understanding, updated the partner on my progress, found out I was going in the totally wrong direction and ended up missing the deadline. The partner was a super important partner...very very important. Since pretty much every one of my projects this summer was long term (this was the only one with a quick turn around), I didn't have a chance to fully redeem myself.

If I don't hear anything shortly, I'm going to use some of my dad's connections. One of his clients is a partner at a mid-law ($145) firm and has been keeping track of my progress (of course my dad didn't tell me any of this until I told him about my situation).

Yeah my dad's a lawyer in my hometown and I'm hoping I can good 'ol boy my way into something.

[bjsesq]

Now that I've gotten over the embarrassment, I was cold offered at my firm. It was my fault, and I suspected it would happen about halfway through the summer. I kind of have some options, we'll see what happens.

wow, man, i'm sorry. weren't you with this firm as a 1L, too? i thought i remembered you posting that you weren't going through OCI last year bc you were sticking with the firm from 1L summer.

Yeah, boy do I regret that now. I won't get too specific, but a lot of partners who were in leadership positions during my 1L summer, and who knew the quality of my work/developed a good relationship with me ended up leaving the firm over the past year, and our office is large enough that a lot of the people I met this summer I didn't meet last summer.


For those who asked, I messed up a project early on in the summer--thought I had a clear understanding, updated the partner on my progress, found out I was going in the totally wrong direction and ended up missing the deadline. The partner was a super important partner...very very important. Since pretty much every one of my projects this summer was long term (this was the only one with a quick turn around), I didn't have a chance to fully redeem myself.

If I don't hear anything shortly, I'm going to use some of my dad's connections. One of his clients is a partner at a mid-law ($145) firm and has been keeping track of my progress (of course my dad didn't tell me any of this until I told him about my situation).

Yeah my dad's a lawyer in my hometown and I'm hoping I can good 'ol boy my way into something.

My dad works in an auto parts store. Any of you want a new muffler?

[rad lulz]

No offer diaries, Day 1: I have to buy Drain-O because I threw up in my sink last night after I racked up a $65 bar tab.