Columbia 2L: Aimless and Offerless - what should I do? Forum

[Anonymous User]

you should use martindale to find small firms, not just symplicity. i think it might be a little early to apply, but the worst that will happen is they'll tell you to apply later. do you have a home market? if so, apply to small firms there.

also, i realize the EIP ship has sailed, but what market(s) did you bid on?

I bid almost completely on the NYC market, but threw in a few "home" market firms as well.

I could've bid heavier on those "home" firms but part of my was conflicted about it since I would want to get out of that market and back to NYC as soon as possible. I knew that even if I got a big law job in my home market, I would essentially be trying to rip them off at the first possible opportunity. That doesn't jive well with my code of ethics, especially since I'd have to lie my ass through the entire process too (Oh yea, I would LOOOOOVE to work in X City *cough*).

Would I really want to remember my job search process as "finding the one home-state firm willing to take a chance on me, and then screwing them over with the one risk that I had to extensively lie about?"

Outed as flame or insane. You chose striking out instead? Placating your conscience by willingly foregoing a biglaw job?

That's not fair. It's not like you magically get offers from "home" market biglaw firms. It certainly didn't work out that way for me. I got 0 CBs from my "home" market and all of my CBs from NYC. I wouldn't fault OP for doing what he did, and in retrospect I wish I had never bid on my home markets at all because I had no desire to work there and ended up wasting interviews with them.

[mrloblaw]

Outed as flame or insane. You chose striking out instead? Placating your conscience by willingly foregoing a biglaw job?

Believe it or not, there actually are people out there (granted, almost all of them outside the legal profession) who put conscience above $$$$$$ and who won't screw people over solely for personal profit.

[Anonymous User]

Interesting. At Vanderbilt I slated my home market and had less luck in major markets. I guess at Vandy employers didn't get the sense I was ATL or bust or something.

[c3pO4]

Outed as flame or insane. You chose striking out instead? Placating your conscience by willingly foregoing a biglaw job?

Believe it or not, there actually are people out there (granted, almost all of them outside the legal profession) who put conscience above $$$$$$ and who won't screw people over solely for personal profit.

I'm not the first person to call flame on OP.

[mrloblaw]

Outed as flame or insane. You chose striking out instead? Placating your conscience by willingly foregoing a biglaw job?

Believe it or not, there actually are people out there (granted, almost all of them outside the legal profession) who put conscience above $$$$$$ and who won't screw people over solely for personal profit.

I'm not the first person to call flame on OP.

Either I know OP, or there's more than one person in an identical situation.

[c3pO4]

Outed as flame or insane. You chose striking out instead? Placating your conscience by willingly foregoing a biglaw job?

Believe it or not, there actually are people out there (granted, almost all of them outside the legal profession) who put conscience above $$$$$$ and who won't screw people over solely for personal profit.

I'm not the first person to call flame on OP.

Either I know OP, or there's more than one person in an identical situation.

Fair enough.

[Anonymous User]

I tend to keep to myself and I know the screen-names of most of the people who know my situation. So I'd be surprised if anyone here knew me. Still, I have no idea why people instantly jumped on this as a "flame".

Believe it or not, there actually are people out there (granted, almost all of them outside the legal profession) who put conscience above $$$$$$ and who won't screw people over solely for personal profit.

At least someone believes me. Even career services had no moral qualms about me deceiving targets in my home-state just seconds after explaining how important of an investment that summer/young associates are for firms.

[timbs4339]

I think your strategy of bidding on NYC was correct. While it didn't work out for everybody, it seemed that people got screwed over more if they bid on a home market especially if they just assumed the home market would be less selective.

Right now you are in a funk. I know how this feels because I was and still am in the same funk. It sucks. I found that trying to add structure to my life with a job helped because it got me out of the law school area and away from classmates (who were equally bored and aimless but didn't have the stress of nojob hanging over their heads.)

Things on the interview track will be very slow from now until around April/May. You will have a slew of midsize firm and state/local gov't interviews that will not go anywhere. Set a reasonable goal of applying to 2 or 3 firms or gov't orgs a day.

You will find something for the summer, it may not be paid, it may not lead to an offer after the summer. But you'll find something.