University of Chicago Employment Forum

[Anonymous User]

Please send the information to me as well if you do not mind.

nonswimmer2581@gmail.com

[pehaigllleises]

Please send the information to me as well if you do not mind.

nonswimmer2581@gmail.com

Got you.

[iwantawhiteiphone4]

What do you think: am I more likely to get a Chicago firm with 84 interview slots or a DC with 21 slots if I rank both around 20?

[Anonymous User]

Someone mind sending it to me?

anthracity@gmail.com

[dresden doll]

What do you think: am I more likely to get a Chicago firm with 84 interview slots or a DC with 21 slots if I rank both around 20?

I'd bet on Chicago.

Incidentally, DC promises to be the most competitive city.

[pehaigllleises]

Someone mind sending it to me?

anthracity@gmail.com

done.

Anyone have any anecdotal info on how low you can rank a Chicago firm and get an interview vs how many slots they have? It must vary based on perceived competitiveness or grade snobbiness.

[iwantawhiteiphone4]

Anyone have any anecdotal info on how low you can rank a Chicago firm and get an interview vs how many slots they have? It must vary based on perceived competitiveness or grade snobbiness.

No idea. Bidding is hard. I don't know how to balance (a) the number of interview slots each firm has, (b) the number of summers firms typically hire, (c) popularity, (d) my desire to work at different firms, and (e) my chance of getting hired. Dartboard, anyone?

[Dead Ringer]

So I asked OCS a while ago why they weren't releasing data from last year and they said that because things are changing so much right now they just didn't think it would be very helpful. I think that the current times would just make it a little less helpful and they should have released it anyways.

[dresden doll]

So I asked OCS a while ago why they weren't releasing data from last year and they said that because things are changing so much right now they just didn't think it would be very helpful. I think that the current times would just make it a little less helpful and they should have released it anyways.

What is changing, though? This year's OCI really doesn't promise to be that much more different than last year's. They should just release the data and let us be judges of their utility.

[Dead Ringer]

My thoughts exactly. Why should they hope that this year would be significantly better when last year's was so good considering? I think their hope is that people will have something closer to the traditional amount of call backs (if only a couple more per student) and they don't want people to shy away from firms that were temporarily all but closed for business.

[dresden doll]

My thoughts exactly. Why should they hope that this year would be significantly better when last year's was so good considering? I think their hope is that people will have something closer to the traditional amount of call backs (if only a couple more per student) and they don't want people to shy away from firms that were temporarily all but closed for business.

I was able to see CLS's last year's EIP data and therefore know that more than one firm showed up there, interviewed over 40 people and extended callbacks to no one. Now, that could have been a one time thing, but I'd rather not hedge my bets and waste a bid on that firm if I can help it.

I am finding myself going off of their data because they're our peer school and I assume we must have fared about the same as them. Still, though, I don't think I should be reduced to inferring which firms make for a good bid off of that. If CLS kids got last year's info from their OCS, so should we.

[Anonymous User]

Could someone please send the info to me also?

Thanks - anonemail84@gmail.com

[pehaigllleises]

Could someone please send the info to me also?

Thanks - anonemail84@gmail.com

Done

[zcc2012]

Anybody else having a lot of trouble figuring out where/how to bid? This process is much more complex than it originally appeared to me.

[megaTTTron]

Anybody else having a lot of trouble figuring out where/how to bid? This process is much more complex than it originally appeared to me.

+1. I've been making spreadsheets and lists like a madman for a month now. Still, I feel majorly overwhelmed.

[dresden doll]

My spreadsheet contains 1) numbers of interview slots; 2) firms' SA class sizes in the city of my choice; 3) their last year's offer rates to SAs they did hire out of OCI; 4) vault ranking; and 5) grade cutoffs.

I am none the wiser for having any of this information. I have no idea how to balance anything out.

[rynabrius]

My spreadsheet also includes stuff like number of (equity) partners, partner/associate ratio, profits per partner, profits overall, major practice areas (specifically those I am interested in), notable cases, notable partners, name of the recruiter and some info about them, etc., etc. And like previous posters, I have no idea how any of this helps me.

Looking at firm webpages, I am reminded of a recent xkcd: http://xkcd.com/773/

In the end I feel like I am just going to bid for as many prestigious litigation firms as I can. That is, shoot for the moon at OCI, and then scramble desperately if I don't hit.

Has anybody been emailing people working at the firms? I would feel kind of awkward sending the laundry list of questions OCS advised us to send...

[UChicagoStudent]

A good way I heard to bid was not to divide your choices into #1-#50, but to rank them in groupings. Group 1-5, Group 6-10, Group 10-20, Group 20+, etc.... and then go from there. It's a lot easier to rank your Top 5 choices that way.

[iwantawhiteiphone4]

A good way I heard to bid was not to divide your choices into #1-#50, but to rank them in groupings. Group 1-5, Group 6-10, Group 10-20, Group 20+, etc.... and then go from there. It's a lot easier to rank your Top 5 choices that way.

Good advice.

Anyone know if any 1L's are transferring out? There were a couple people I thought would make a journal but didn't.

[dresden doll]

A good way I heard to bid was not to divide your choices into #1-#50, but to rank them in groupings. Group 1-5, Group 6-10, Group 10-20, Group 20+, etc.... and then go from there. It's a lot easier to rank your Top 5 choices that way.

Good advice.

Anyone know if any 1L's are transferring out? There were a couple people I thought would make a journal but didn't.

At least one person is.

[rayiner]

My spreadsheet also includes stuff like number of (equity) partners, partner/associate ratio, profits per partner, profits overall, major practice areas (specifically those I am interested in), notable cases, notable partners, name of the recruiter and some info about them, etc., etc. And like previous posters, I have no idea how any of this helps me.

Looking at firm webpages, I am reminded of a recent xkcd: http://xkcd.com/773/

In the end I feel like I am just going to bid for as many prestigious litigation firms as I can. That is, shoot for the moon at OCI, and then scramble desperately if I don't hit.

Has anybody been emailing people working at the firms? I would feel kind of awkward sending the laundry list of questions OCS advised us to send...

These are all terrible ideas.

[rayiner]

My spreadsheet contains 1) numbers of interview slots; 2) firms' SA class sizes in the city of my choice; 3) their last year's offer rates to SAs they did hire out of OCI; 4) vault ranking; and 5) grade cutoffs.

I am none the wiser for having any of this information. I have no idea how to balance anything out.

TITCR.

[bwv812]

.

[rayiner]

My spreadsheet contains 1) numbers of interview slots; 2) firms' SA class sizes in the city of my choice; 3) their last year's offer rates to SAs they did hire out of OCI; 4) vault ranking; and 5) grade cutoffs.

I am none the wiser for having any of this information. I have no idea how to balance anything out.

TITCR.

I would add leverage (broken down into #of partners and # of associates, which will also tell you the office size), which was a positive idea from the post that rayiner hated.

I mean I can see how it might help, but when you're trying to optimize your bids the more variables you incorporate the harder the problem becomes. My spreadsheet contained: (1) interview slots; (2) SA class size in 2008/2009; (3) grade cutoffs.

The offer rate is largely useless because it's not a predictor of future performance. And Vault ranking isn't really that relevant at the bidding stage.

[270910]

The offer rate is largely useless because it's not a predictor of future performance.

Slightly disagree, since I think it's useful as part of the big picture. The aggregate of the past 3 years summer class sizes, offer rate, starting salary, layoff news, and deferal news paint a pretty solid picture of firm financial strength and management style when compared across firms.