Median grade, no journal, want California, am I screwed? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Based on hiring data from my schools OCI last year, just above median is going to be tough in CA. Roughly 80% of the big law firms seemed to only be interested in those with 3.5 and above.


Mod Edit: seems worth pointing out that the school in question here is UCLA and thus this is not an apples to apples comparison.

[SmokeytheBear]

Based on hiring data from my schools OCI last year, just above median is going to be tough in CA. Roughly 80% of the big law firms seemed to only be interested in those with 3.5 and above.


Mod Edit: seems worth pointing out that the school in question here is UCLA and thus this is not an apples to apples comparison.

I was the original author of the above comment. I go to UCLA, so my comment still applies. OP can look at hiring data that OCS has provided to confirm.

Maybe the mod is trying to subtly point out to you that the question was regarding t-14 and UCLA is not t-14.

[UVA2B]

Based on hiring data from my schools OCI last year, just above median is going to be tough in CA. Roughly 80% of the big law firms seemed to only be interested in those with 3.5 and above.


Mod Edit: seems worth pointing out that the school in question here is UCLA and thus this is not an apples to apples comparison.

I was the original author of the above comment. I go to UCLA, so my comment still applies. OP can look at hiring data that OCS has provided to confirm.

Maybe the mod is trying to subtly point out to you that the question was regarding t-14 and UCLA is not t-14.

Also, it's an important distinction because most/nearly all UCLA Biglaw is in California, whereas T-14 place all over the place. So where you have to be in your T-14 class isn't as easy as looking at UCLA for CA. Median/above median/below median will pretty clearly let you know your chances of Biglaw out of UCLA in CA. For a school like Northwestern, for instance, it's not as clear/readily apparent if CA Biglaw is doable from at/above/below median.

[bruinfan10]

you're at serious risk of not landing a summer associate gig if you (a) exclusively target CA, given your grades, (b) are not at Berkeley, and (c) do not have ties to Los Angeles or the San Francisco/Palo Alto area. New York biglaw is the market for folks with your credentials. That said, I had a friend at a non-CA lower T14 that managed to get LA biglaw with median grades. (S)he got exactly 1 SA offer and accepted it. Huge risk though, I don't think (s)he realized going in that things would be so tough. And (s)he had ties to Los Angeles.

Secondary journal is totally irrelevant. Law review would be a soft-plus, but not as big a factor as your grades/whether you hit grade cut-offs.

Get a list of grade cut offs from your school's career office and bid on the firms with lower standards. Also, pre-OCI mass mailing worked well for me, but we had different resumes. some law firms dislike pre-OCI mass mailing, and some schools strongly discourage it.

[Anonymous User]

I struck out of Los Angeles, got a V10 in NYC. East Coast law school, ties to California. Read that how you will. OCI threads last year for UCLA, USC, and So Cal in general were a narrative of a horrifying bloodbath with everyone running around like headless chickens.

I wouldn't waste interview slots at official OCI for California firms. Mass Mail. It costs nothing but effort.

[smokeylarue]

As many people have said in this thread, breaking into Cali is not easy at median. Doable yes, but do not go in thinking it will be likely. The smart play is to bid vast majority on NYC. Then mass mail the rest of Cali offices.

I would estimate maybe only 5-10% of my class ended up in California from a T6 school, but certainly it would've been higher if it was easier. The classes in Cali offices are just way smaller, there's just not that many spots and a lot of them will be eaten up by Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, and USC grads.

[Barrred]

a lot of them will be eaten up by Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, and USC grads.

re: UCLA/USC, so is the Cali legal market just a weird alternate dimension where T14 doesn't matter as much as Cali connections + having a lot of your school's alumni at the office where you're interviewing?

[Anonymous User]

a lot of them will be eaten up by Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, and USC grads.

re: UCLA/USC, so is the Cali legal market just a weird alternate dimension where T14 doesn't matter as much as Cali connections + having a lot of your school's alumni at the office where you're interviewing?

For the record, UCI also performs well in OC/LA biglaw. It may not show in the numbers but that's because so many go on to federal clerkships that first year.

I don't have an answer to your question but it would seem the old adage "go to school where you want to work" applies pretty strongly to SoCal.

[BlendedUnicorn]

a lot of them will be eaten up by Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, and USC grads.

re: UCLA/USC, so is the Cali legal market just a weird alternate dimension where T14 doesn't matter as much as Cali connections + having a lot of your school's alumni at the office where you're interviewing?

It's not an either or thing. I would guess that the top of the class at USC and UCLA is on near even footing at a lot of Cali firms as a random t14 student. It's the middle and bottom of their classes that's going to have more trouble- the door probably closes earlier.

Cali's a notoriously tricky market though so really anyone looking for advice has to look at how their specific school does. There's not a good answer to OP's question except that secondary journals probably don't matter as much as (s)he thinks they do.

[BlendedUnicorn]

Also everyone chill with the anon use. It's not outing that you want to work in Cali.

[SmokeytheBear]

a lot of them will be eaten up by Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, and USC grads.

re: UCLA/USC, so is the Cali legal market just a weird alternate dimension where T14 doesn't matter as much as Cali connections + having a lot of your school's alumni at the office where you're interviewing?

For the record, UCI also performs well in OC/LA biglaw. It may not show in the numbers but that's because so many go on to federal clerkships that first year.

I don't have an answer to your question but it would seem the old adage "go to school where you want to work" applies pretty strongly to SoCal.

Yeah this is largely it--the classes in LA/SF/SV offices are smaller than class sizes in New York. Even the larger firms in LA, like Latham and Gibson, don't have near the size of classes as New York. My firm recruits at all of the t-14, but we always have several people from UCLA, SC and UCI. So yes, go to school where you want to practice.