Dropping law review after interviews? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Didn't mean to anon...

[AVBucks4239]

The only thing sad is making a post like yours. Sorry you struck out dude, but don't be bitter and criticize an entire sector of the legal profession, that's just pathetic.

It's also not relevant to the obvious answer to OP's question: You can probably get away with dropping LR but for a variety of reasons it';s the wrong move

Didn't strike out because I never applied. Also LOL at it being "pathetic" to "criticize an entire sector of the legal profession" when TLS labels almost everything non-biglaw/in-house/fed as "shitlaw." But that's not a battle I'm likely going to win on a forum called Top Law Schools, so I digress.

As to OP's question, I think it largely depends on OP's career intentions. A vast majority of advice ITT assumes that OP wants to go down the conventional TLS/prestige career path, when in fact he/she said that he/she has "zero desire to clerk and zero desire to strive for anything other than $190k."

So I would tell OP to ask him/herself what they actually want to do with their career. If you truly want big law and the prestige and the $190k and the exit options (which you've presumably thought about and digested), then ya, suck it up and stay on law review because that's how the game is played.

But if you don't give a shit about any of that, and you're chasing a giant paycheck to pay off your loans, and you applied merely because similarly situated people are going the big law route, then you're playing the wrong game. You need to read about REPAYE and realize that there's career paths other than big law that will work out just fine for you.

I know it will be hard for some on here to believe, but if you don't care about those prestigious jobs, then big law is not a good place to start out your career.

[Johann]

AVBucks you are arguing with a guy who has never worked a day in biglaw. No need to go after the low hanging fruit so hard. Most practicing attorneys know you are right.

[FSK]

AVBucks you are arguing with a guy who has never worked a day in biglaw. No need to go after the low hanging fruit so hard. Most practicing attorneys know you are right.

your 100% wrong and the RIGOR and PRESTIEGE of biglaw is an inespacable truth and light in our meaningless existance. /s

[Redamon1]

I made LR at my school, and at the time I felt like I wanted to do it. Now that I'm actually doing it, that feeling faded. My problem is that I put it on my resume, obviously. Would my SA firm even find out if I dropped it? Also, how pissed would the LR staff be at me? I have zero desire to clerk and zero desire to strive for anything other than $190k. I don't even want to do litigation. Should I just suck it up for two years?

It's very unlikely that your firm will find out; it would basically take someone from your school telling the firm. And even if the firm did find out, they almost surely wouldn't care.

But just FYI, flaking out on LR is like inverse networking. I go out of my way to help my LR friends who worked hard and who were cool to work with. But people who flaked like you're about to? I will go out of my way to ding them. When I was a 3L, a 2L quit law review in the middle of the semester, leaving an editor with a bunch of unplanned work. The following year, that 2L applied for a clerkship with a judge I was clerking for. Although he had great grades and might've been invited in for an interview, I told my judge the LR story and the app went straight into the reject pile.

^ So much this. You're building a reputation among your peers.

[lavarman84]

The only thing sad is making a post like yours. Sorry you struck out dude, but don't be bitter and criticize an entire sector of the legal profession, that's just pathetic.

It's also not relevant to the obvious answer to OP's question: You can probably get away with dropping LR but for a variety of reasons it';s the wrong move

Didn't strike out because I never applied. Also LOL at it being "pathetic" to "criticize an entire sector of the legal profession" when TLS labels almost everything non-biglaw/in-house/fed as "shitlaw." But that's not a battle I'm likely going to win on a forum called Top Law Schools, so I digress.

As to OP's question, I think it largely depends on OP's career intentions. A vast majority of advice ITT assumes that OP wants to go down the conventional TLS/prestige career path, when in fact he/she said that he/she has "zero desire to clerk and zero desire to strive for anything other than $190k."

So I would tell OP to ask him/herself what they actually want to do with their career. If you truly want big law and the prestige and the $190k and the exit options (which you've presumably thought about and digested), then ya, suck it up and stay on law review because that's how the game is played.

But if you don't give a shit about any of that, and you're chasing a giant paycheck to pay off your loans, and you applied merely because similarly situated people are going the big law route, then you're playing the wrong game. You need to read about REPAYE and realize that there's career paths other than big law that will work out just fine for you.

I know it will be hard for some on here to believe, but if you don't care about those prestigious jobs, then big law is not a good place to start out your career.

This is actually something that has been stuck in my mind since I accepted my offer. Am I sure I want to do this? I figure I'll give it a chance this summer and see. But I'm not sure if biglaw is the route I want to take.

But I'm also not sure what route I want to take or what route I should take.

[wolfie_m.]

.

[rpupkin]

But just FYI, flaking out on LR is like inverse networking. I go out of my way to help my LR friends who worked hard and who were cool to work with. But people who flaked like you're about to? I will go out of my way to ding them. When I was a 3L, a 2L quit law review in the middle of the semester, leaving an editor with a bunch of unplanned work. The following year, that 2L applied for a clerkship with a judge I was clerking for. Although he had great grades and might've been invited in for an interview, I told my judge the LR story and the app went straight into the reject pile.

^ So much this. You're building a reputation among your peers.

Honestly, I would much rather someone quit LR than have to deal with their poor work for two semesters. Either way, I'm not going to go out of my way to screw someone over. But if they interviewed with me down the line at some point, it would be hard to shake that memory.

To be clear, I would not do what that 3L allegedly did a few posts back: I would not make it my mission (or whatever that person said) to get someone's offer rescinded. I'm referring to the application stage, when there are several equally qualified candidates. If you quit something as soon as it was no longer in your personal interest to continue, and if you left others with a bunch of extra work because of your decision, then I'm not going to want to work with you. I won't mind recommending to the person making the hiring decision (the judge, the partner, whomever) that we should pass on your app.

[AVBucks4239]

The ignorance of law students is really shining through ITT.

You're not set for life just because you got a big law job through OCI. The vast majority of you will not be working at your 2L summer firm in a few years. Many of you seem at least vaguely aware of this, as evidenced by the frequent questions about "exit options."

But just think for a moment about how "exit options" work in real life. It's not like you take another LSAT and then use your great score to get into a coveted government/boutique/in-house position. For many of these positions, your chances are greatly improved if you have connections at the places you want to "exit" to. And working on LR in law school is probably the single best opportunity you'll have in your legal career to make a bunch of meaningful connections at once. If you're pleasant to work with, you've instantly created a sizable network of generally successful people who will be spread across different legal sectors.

But who cares about any of that stuff? I mean, you've got it made because you landed that sweet summer associate job at Misery and McSweatshop, LLP!

Aren't you the guy who made the post about "cheating" on the December 2013 LSAT, meaning you only just finished your 2L SA?

To be clear, I would not do what that 3L allegedly did a few posts back: I would not make it my mission (or whatever that person said) to get someone's offer rescinded. I'm referring to the application stage, when there are several equally qualified candidates. If you quit something as soon as it was no longer in your personal interest to continue, and if you left others with a bunch of extra work because of your decision, then I'm not going to want to work with you. I won't mind recommending to the person making the hiring decision (the judge, the partner, whomever) that we should pass on your app.

But this is the latest post of what I was trying to point out earlier--an over-inflated sense of how much influence you and/or your law review peers will have on OP's career if he elects to drop.

OP: How many people are on your law review? 100? How many of them are in your graduating class? 50? How many people actually know you and could point out your name if they saw you? 15-20? How many people will know and remember that you drooped law review four or five years from now? 10? How many will care? 5? And the ultimate question--how many will be asked about you before you get hired? Maybe two or three. Maybe.

(I actually laughed at the above-quoted post, as if he will be consulted before a fellow classmate gets hired).

Meanwhile, there's millions of legal jobs out there. You might burn a handful of bridges by dropping law review. Big deal. Continue to make friends at your current law school (not the "we STRUGGLED through law review together" friends, but friends that you want to get a beer with--those are the ones that you will actually keep in touch with after you graduate). Put together a study group of law review friends when you study for the bar exam. Continue to meet people after you pass the bar. Constantly ask local attorneys to get coffee and/or lunch. The more people you meet, the better.

But to have the narrow-minded view that dropping law review will destroy a bunch of networking opportunities/future exit options leads me to believe that the "advice" in this thread is from a bunch of law students who grossly over-estimate how much influence they will have in any hiring process within the next 4-5 years.

[Yea All Right]

From what I've been able to gather Rpupkin has been a practicing lawyer for 3-5 years now and is clerking for a judge?

[Danger Zone]

.

[rpupkin]

The ignorance of law students is really shining through ITT.

You're not set for life just because you got a big law job through OCI. The vast majority of you will not be working at your 2L summer firm in a few years. Many of you seem at least vaguely aware of this, as evidenced by the frequent questions about "exit options."

But just think for a moment about how "exit options" work in real life. It's not like you take another LSAT and then use your great score to get into a coveted government/boutique/in-house position. For many of these positions, your chances are greatly improved if you have connections at the places you want to "exit" to. And working on LR in law school is probably the single best opportunity you'll have in your legal career to make a bunch of meaningful connections at once. If you're pleasant to work with, you've instantly created a sizable network of generally successful people who will be spread across different legal sectors.

But who cares about any of that stuff? I mean, you've got it made because you landed that sweet summer associate job at Misery and McSweatshop, LLP!

Aren't you the guy who made the post about "cheating" on the December 2013 LSAT, meaning you only just finished your 2L SA?

Damn it, I almost pulled off my charade! I would have gotten away with it if not for AVBucks's devastating investigative skills.

[fats provolone]

this thread has proven conclusively why (a) you shouldn't quit LR and (b) you shouldn't apply for LR in the first place

[Danger Zone]

this thread has proven conclusively why (a) you shouldn't quit LR and (b) you shouldn't apply for LR in the first place

Yes and yes

[grand inquisitor]

rpupkin go study for your corps exam or something

[rpupkin]

rpupkin go study for your corps exam or something

Could you pm me an outline?

[AVBucks4239]

rpupkin go study for your corps exam or something

Could you pm me an outline?

Your trolling is obvious to regular posters here, but I wish TLS had a reddit-like upvote/downvote system so those poor innocent anon posters could more quickly realize how full of shit you are about almost everything.

[jbagelboy]

The ignorance of law students is really shining through ITT.

You're not set for life just because you got a big law job through OCI. The vast majority of you will not be working at your 2L summer firm in a few years. Many of you seem at least vaguely aware of this, as evidenced by the frequent questions about "exit options."

But just think for a moment about how "exit options" work in real life. It's not like you take another LSAT and then use your great score to get into a coveted government/boutique/in-house position. For many of these positions, your chances are greatly improved if you have connections at the places you want to "exit" to. And working on LR in law school is probably the single best opportunity you'll have in your legal career to make a bunch of meaningful connections at once. If you're pleasant to work with, you've instantly created a sizable network of generally successful people who will be spread across different legal sectors.

But who cares about any of that stuff? I mean, you've got it made because you landed that sweet summer associate job at Misery and McSweatshop, LLP!

Aren't you the guy who made the post about "cheating" on the December 2013 LSAT, meaning you only just finished your 2L SA?

To be clear, I would not do what that 3L allegedly did a few posts back: I would not make it my mission (or whatever that person said) to get someone's offer rescinded. I'm referring to the application stage, when there are several equally qualified candidates. If you quit something as soon as it was no longer in your personal interest to continue, and if you left others with a bunch of extra work because of your decision, then I'm not going to want to work with you. I won't mind recommending to the person making the hiring decision (the judge, the partner, whomever) that we should pass on your app.

But this is the latest post of what I was trying to point out earlier--an over-inflated sense of how much influence you and/or your law review peers will have on OP's career if he elects to drop.

OP: How many people are on your law review? 100? How many of them are in your graduating class? 50? How many people actually know you and could point out your name if they saw you? 15-20? How many people will know and remember that you drooped law review four or five years from now? 10? How many will care? 5? And the ultimate question--how many will be asked about you before you get hired? Maybe two or three. Maybe.

(I actually laughed at the above-quoted post, as if he will be consulted before a fellow classmate gets hired).

Meanwhile, there's millions of legal jobs out there. You might burn a handful of bridges by dropping law review. Big deal. Continue to make friends at your current law school (not the "we STRUGGLED through law review together" friends, but friends that you want to get a beer with--those are the ones that you will actually keep in touch with after you graduate). Put together a study group of law review friends when you study for the bar exam. Continue to meet people after you pass the bar. Constantly ask local attorneys to get coffee and/or lunch. The more people you meet, the better.

But to have the narrow-minded view that dropping law review will destroy a bunch of networking opportunities/future exit options leads me to believe that the "advice" in this thread is from a bunch of law students who grossly over-estimate how much influence they will have in any hiring process within the next 4-5 years.

Dropping law review once having joined is stupid. Joining in the first place is a decision people should put more thought into (and maybe not always do), but dropping once you've accepted is pretty pathetic. And I think you're under-estimating how much influence, for small sample size and idiosyncratic hiring practices, a handful of alums commentary on a fellow alum can have.

[Anonymous User]

Christ, I never should have made the thread. I felt in my heart that dropping LR would be a bad idea. Just to clarify, again: I'm not dropping. I get it. I don't even do a shitty job. I put forth a legit effort. Anybody else who wants to write up criticism or support, save yourself a few minutes and don't do it!

[pancakes3]

Dropping law review once having joined is stupid. Joining in the first place is a decision people should put more thought into (and maybe not always do), but dropping once you've accepted is pretty pathetic. And I think you're under-estimating how much influence, for small sample size and idiosyncratic hiring practices, a handful of alums commentary on a fellow alum can have.

This, to me, is an unfixable problem with LR. There will always be x% of people who will hate it, want to quit, and only did it for the preftige.

[fats provolone]

Christ, I never should have made the thread. I felt in my heart that dropping LR would be a bad idea. Just to clarify, again: I'm not dropping. I get it. I don't even do a shitty job. I put forth a legit effort. Anybody else who wants to write up criticism or support, save yourself a few minutes and don't do it!

sorry, the fact that you even considered dropping LR speaks volumes about your character. i will now make it my life's goal to hunt you out of anonymity and make sure you never work in this town again.

signed,
typical LR board member apparently

[A. Nony Mouse]

Christ, I never should have made the thread. I felt in my heart that dropping LR would be a bad idea. Just to clarify, again: I'm not dropping. I get it. I don't even do a shitty job. I put forth a legit effort. Anybody else who wants to write up criticism or support, save yourself a few minutes and don't do it!

Don't worry, OP, this isn't about you any more, it's apparently some weird anti-rpupkin shtick.

[03152016]

to those complaining abt LR, how many hrs a week are u actually putting in?

[rpupkin]

rpupkin go study for your corps exam or something

Could you pm me an outline?

Your trolling is obvious to regular posters here, but I wish TLS had a reddit-like upvote/downvote system so those poor innocent anon posters could more quickly realize how full of shit you are about almost everything.

My trolling apparently isn't obvious to you, as you think I'm a 2L. (For the record, I also don't possess "inside information" about the USNWR rankings.)

90% of my posts are serious, and are based on years of experience as a practicing attorney. If you don't like my advice, you are welcome to state your disagreement, as you've done here. You don't need a downvote system.

[inchipwetrust]

to those complaining abt LR, how many hrs a week are u actually putting in?

I haven't complained about it on here, but I'm on a secondary journal and it's really not that much work at all. We get an assignment (source collect, edit, proofs, etc.) roughly once every 1-2 weeks. Source collects, blue booking and cite checking IMO take the longest but still only takes maybe 2 hours on the long end. Edits and proofs can be done much quicker depending on your ability to spot errors, grammar, etc. quickly and correctly. So varies person-to-person.

Disclaimer: I am a 2l editor and I'm sure senior editors, board, etc. are much busier, but for the most part I believe you can elect to pursue or not pursue those positions. Also, I am sure those on the schools main journal have more on their plate, but I can't imagine it's a substantial amount more.