Charlotte Big Law Forum

[Anonymous User]

As others have said, ties seem very important to Charlotte. I was top 5% at a T14 with deep ties to NC (grew up and went to undergrad there), and still felt like I got interrogated at every callback about my ties and interest. I was asked very specific questions like, how many times have you been to Charlotte in the last two years, what have you done here when you've visited, how many people do you know here, how many family members do you have that live here, why here and not new york/dc, etc. etc.

Part of it may have been that I was somewhat overqualified (at least in the sense that there probably aren't very many people with my combination of grades/school who interview there), such that they might have been skeptical of why I wasn't really more interested in a larger market. Still, it's hard to think of how someone could have stronger ties to NC (if not Charlotte specifically) than me, and yet I still had interviews where we spent 50% of the time discussing why I was interested in the city.

I did end up receiving a couple offers, but FWIW, a friend at my T14 who is actually from Charlotte got 0 CBs there, despite grades that were at least good enough to receive multiple ATL biglaw offers. I think it's just a really, really tough market.

As for Wake vs. UNC, UNC definitely seemed much more heavily represented at the firms where I interviewed, but I suspect that self-selection might play a role in that--UNC being a state school probably attracts more people who are interested in staying in NC from the beginning. It's possible class size plays a role too, but I don't actually know what their respective class sizes are.

[Anonymous User]

What do people define as ties? I'm from the northeast, but I will have lived in NC for 7 years by graduation. And my wife is from TN. Does this constitute a good tie?

I'm interested in big law here. Am a 0L now. Weighing WFU (full tuition) vs. UNC (waiting on scholly) vs. Duke (waiting on scholly). Which is best for getting NC big law?

[Gail]

What do people define as ties? I'm from the northeast, but I will have lived in NC for 7 years by graduation. And my wife is from TN. Does this constitute a good tie?

I'm interested in big law here. Am a 0L now. Weighing WFU (full tuition) vs. UNC (waiting on scholly) vs. Duke (waiting on scholly). Which is best for getting NC big law?

7 years is good ties.

Duke + living NC for 7 years is lock for Charlotte biglaw if you can land in the top half of your class. I wouldn't be considering WFU or UNC any longer if I were you.

EDIT: Also since you asked about biglaw specifically, I'm guessing that's what you want. In that case. Duke for certain anyways because with the way NC's economy is going, significant job growth probably won't start until the beginning of 2014.

Feel more comfortable about NC when BofA improves.

[Anonymous User]

Not OP here, just curious.

Is it generally assumed that a tie to the South in general but not Charlotte specifically is enough to have a decent chance getting into Charlotte Biglaw? For purpose of example, would say a lower T-14 student from South Carolina have a good shot at Charlotte?

From my buddies from Charlotte, SC might be enough, plus some awesome grades, but just being from the South is not enough. The only real Southern market that flies in is ATL.

No it flies in Birmingham as well. And honestly it will fly in some others too if you have the interview skills and/or grades.

[Anonymous User]

I did a callback in Charlotte as a 1L. We spent 80% of the time talking about Charlotte, which was terrible because I had never been to Charlotte before in my entire life. In fact, it was the third time I had ever been in NC. Needless to say, no offer. I'm surprised they called me back at all. Median at lower T-14 with no ties to NC whatsoever.

[Anonymous User]

How tough is this to crack with no ties, good WE, and top 1/3 at a T-14?

If your t-14 is duke or uva, then you have a pretty solid shot. Plenty of people I know at my UNC/WF got multiple offers from Charlotte biglaw who had no ties to north carolina/charlotte other than attending law school in the state.

This is wrong. Employers are suspicious of Duke students and their desire to stay in the state (the same is not really true of UNC or WF students). Almost everyone that I know that got interviews with any NC firm were from the South (a.k.a. "ties" are important) and grades were essentially irrelevant.

UNC > Duke in the NC market for sure. Not so much for other stuff.

T14 NC native here. Assuming no ties whatsoever, this might be true. But Duke w/ ties >>>> UNC/Wake in NC.

[Anonymous User]

Derail: is anyone else working in Charlotte Biglaw this summer?

[Anonymous User]

Derail: is anyone else working in Charlotte Biglaw this summer?

i am

[beachbum]

Duke + living NC for 7 years is lock for Charlotte biglaw if you can land in the top half of your class.

No it isn't. Charlotte is a small, insular market with a lot of schools feeding into it. If you have ties to Charlotte (ties to NC in general, or to a neighboring state, may or may not be sufficient), then Duke is definitely your best option in NC. But no way is above median at Duke a lock for Charlotte biglaw.

Of course, things get exponentially more difficult as you move down to UNC/Wake. I'm not sure I'd attend either of those schools if I was gunning for Charlotte biglaw.

[Anonymous User]

Derail: is anyone else working in Charlotte Biglaw this summer?

i am

Yup, count me in.

[Anonymous User]

Derail: is anyone else working in Charlotte Biglaw this summer?

i am

Yup, count me in.

+1

[Anonymous User]

Are you all working for regional or national firms? Regional here.

[Anonymous User]

Are you all working for regional or national firms? Regional here.

one of the national firms with a larger office in charlotte.

[Anonymous User]

For anyone still interested in this forum, the comparison btwn Duke and UVA/WFU is a joke. If you get in to Duke with no scholarship and full at other two, still go to Duke. Go to Duke even if they made you pay double tuition if you want to do biglaw. This is true for Charlotte, and double-true if you decide you would rather start in a larger market.

[Anonymous User]

For anyone still interested in this forum, the comparison btwn Duke and UVA/WFU is a joke. If you get in to Duke with no scholarship and full at other two, still go to Duke. Go to Duke even if they made you pay double tuition if you want to do biglaw. This is true for Charlotte, and double-true if you decide you would rather start in a larger market.

As a WF/UNC student I second this. It's really is crazy that anyone would compare the job prospects for big law. Can you do everything a Duke law grad can at WF/UNC? Sure...you just better be at a MINIMUM top 10-15%. Because law school is unpredictable, pay the money at Duke and hedge your bets. Even if I wanted to stay in NC, I would choose Duke. UNC/WF, but especially UNC, get a lot more hype on these forums than they have in real life.

Going to UNC/WF almost seals your fate of having to work in a small firm (if you're lucky a mid-size firm), legal aid or some other comparable position.

[Anonymous User]

How tough is this to crack with no ties, good WE, and top 1/3 at a T-14?

If your t-14 is duke or uva, then you have a pretty solid shot. Plenty of people I know at my UNC/WF got multiple offers from Charlotte biglaw who had no ties to north carolina/charlotte other than attending law school in the state.

This is wrong. Employers are suspicious of Duke students and their desire to stay in the state (the same is not really true of UNC or WF students). Almost everyone that I know that got interviews with any NC firm were from the South (a.k.a. "ties" are important) and grades were essentially irrelevant.

UNC > Duke in the NC market for sure. Not so much for other stuff.

This is just straight up not true, for all keeping tabs. Just not even close (coming from someone who went to neither school, working in Charlotte BigLaw).

[Anonymous User]

Is there any significant M&A going on in the Charlotte market? What about in house opportunities for a mid-level/senior associate with mostly M&A experience coming from a top-tier firm in a bigger market?

[Anonymous User]

Is there any significant M&A going on in the Charlotte market? What about in house opportunities for a mid-level/senior associate with mostly M&A experience coming from a top-tier firm in a bigger market?

There is M&A work going on for sure, especially in particular markets. Most of the highest paying (NY rates) firms will focus on finance and banking / capital markets work, but the 145k starting group, like MVA, KL Gates, and McGuire Woods do M&A here. While the finance work here is equally competitive and complex as that in NY or elsewhere, the M&A clients may not be quite on the NY biglaw level, and from my conversations with guys at KL Gates for example, will be more mid-market deals, and a lot of highly replicable PE deals.

[Anonymous User]

For anyone still interested in this forum, the comparison btwn Duke and UVA/WFU is a joke. If you get in to Duke with no scholarship and full at other two, still go to Duke. Go to Duke even if they made you pay double tuition if you want to do biglaw. This is true for Charlotte, and double-true if you decide you would rather start in a larger market.

As a WF/UNC student I second this. It's really is crazy that anyone would compare the job prospects for big law. Can you do everything a Duke law grad can at WF/UNC? Sure...you just better be at a MINIMUM top 10-15%. Because law school is unpredictable, pay the money at Duke and hedge your bets. Even if I wanted to stay in NC, I would choose Duke. UNC/WF, but especially UNC, get a lot more hype on these forums than they have in real life.

Going to UNC/WF almost seals your fate of having to work in a small firm (if you're lucky a mid-size firm), legal aid or some other comparable position.

+1

[Anonymous User]

Is there any significant M&A going on in the Charlotte market? What about in house opportunities for a mid-level/senior associate with mostly M&A experience coming from a top-tier firm in a bigger market?

There is M&A work going on for sure, especially in particular markets. Most of the highest paying (NY rates) firms will focus on finance and banking / capital markets work, but the 145k starting group, like MVA, KL Gates, and McGuire Woods do M&A here. While the finance work here is equally competitive and complex as that in NY or elsewhere, the M&A clients may not be quite on the NY biglaw level, and from my conversations with guys at KL Gates for example, will be more mid-market deals, and a lot of highly replicable PE deals.

Thanks - very helpful.

[Anonymous User]

Is there any significant M&A going on in the Charlotte market? What about in house opportunities for a mid-level/senior associate with mostly M&A experience coming from a top-tier firm in a bigger market?

There is M&A work going on for sure, especially in particular markets. Most of the highest paying (NY rates) firms will focus on finance and banking / capital markets work, but the 145k starting group, like MVA, KL Gates, and McGuire Woods do M&A here. While the finance work here is equally competitive and complex as that in NY or elsewhere, the M&A clients may not be quite on the NY biglaw level, and from my conversations with guys at KL Gates for example, will be more mid-market deals, and a lot of highly replicable PE deals.

Thanks - very helpful.

+1 I worked for one of those three doing M&A this past summer - there is M&A but it is 100% midmarket, and won't be particularly complex or anything. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[Anonymous User]

Is there any significant M&A going on in the Charlotte market? What about in house opportunities for a mid-level/senior associate with mostly M&A experience coming from a top-tier firm in a bigger market?

There is M&A work going on for sure, especially in particular markets. Most of the highest paying (NY rates) firms will focus on finance and banking / capital markets work, but the 145k starting group, like MVA, KL Gates, and McGuire Woods do M&A here. While the finance work here is equally competitive and complex as that in NY or elsewhere, the M&A clients may not be quite on the NY biglaw level, and from my conversations with guys at KL Gates for example, will be more mid-market deals, and a lot of highly replicable PE deals.

This is pretty accurate, except for the starting salary for MVA/KLG/McGW, unless the incoming SAs were told otherwise (and in that case I'm asking for a raise). I'm fairly certain its still 135. I'm a Jr assoc at a big law shop in CLT.