OCI callbacks thread Forum

[shadowfish]

I think being secretive to some degree is a good solution.

I only talk about my callbacks/offers with those who I know have done well with regards to callbacks. Otherwise I keep my mouth shut, and in public I keep my mouth shut. No need to stress out other students or make them feel bad.

If I had no callbacks I would probably keep my mouth shut too.

I agree with this approach, but it tends to be hard when the job search = life for so many 2Ls.

[Anonymous User]

T14
top 15%
secondary journal, moot court

16 interviews
6 rejects
4 callbacks (V20 range)
DC, NYC (almost complete rejection here), and LA

Side Note: School posted median GPAs for previous students who accepted offers at the firms. I was .5 to .15 above median GPA of those firms for 4 of my rejects.

[NewHere]

Side Note: School posted median GPAs for previous students who accepted offers at the firms. I was .5 to .15 above median GPA of those firms for 4 of my rejects.

GPA is not everything in firm hiring. Of course it could be true that it's because of the economy, but it might be true that in a different year they would also have decided that you are not a good fit for some reason or other.

[Mark71121]

i heard notre dame's OCI was a bloodbath. can anyone confirm or deny?

[Anonymous User]

Notre Dame

Above Top 1/3rd - Below top 1/4th
Secondary Journal

12 Interviews

5 rejections (2 major market, 3 secondary with very, very, very strong ties - would have been almost laughable to get rejected flat out by all of them in a normal year, but here we are)

0 Callbacks

Know one other person with very similar stats that had 2 callbacks, and accepted his first offer without doing the 2nd callback.

Of course, I know of people on law review that are all over the place going to callbacks in DC, Chicago, NYC, so...I guess everyone outside of those numbers is screwed

[Anonymous User]

Top 20 School
Top 20% of Class
Secondary Journal/Moot Court Participant
12 OCI Interviews (standard for my grades at this school, heard last year it would have been 20+)
4 Callbacks (2 D.C., 1 DE, 1 TX) + One Non-OCI Screening Interview
4 Snail-mail rejections
4 technically pending - realistically only 1 pending (no rejection w/other 3, but others have gotten callbacks)

Thankful for what I have!

EDIT: Callbacks are all V100... some closer to V20 and others closer to V90.

[Anonymous User]

Any recommendations for CLS 1L (helpful recommendations)? They say it will be better for us, but I just don't think it will be. Would you redo something during your 1L year if you could?

[Georgetown51]

CLS 1L...There is no secret to getting a Biglaw job. Crush all of your classes and put up a good GPA. You just have to do better than you used to.

Personal advise would be to bypass all of the extracurriculars and focus on you grades. Most of that stuff is generally worthless in helping you to get a job and will only detract from the most important. Unless there is something you are REALLY passionate about, i wouldn't do it.

[chipmunk]

I agree with the above poster. The answer is simple: get awesome grades and make law review. Also, when it comes time to bid for OCI, be modest and don't think any firm is beneath you. Consider secondary markets, establish FIRM ties to the city where you want to work the most (this can be done your 1L summer), and start asking your friends and family if they know anyone who works in a law firm. You'd be surprised how willing attorneys are to talk with interested law students about what they do (when you're not asking them for a job). Once you establish those connections, you can really use them come 2L OCI. Dropping a name or two never hurts.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks, but what should I focus on in the classes? I'm doing the briefs and following along, but I feel like there needs to be something else I should be doing. How do I study for the exams (I've read GTM, and I have LEEWS)? How do I get those good grades?

[Anonymous User]

"Thanks, but what should I focus on in the classes? I'm doing the briefs and following along, but I feel like there needs to be something else I should be doing. How do I study for the exams (I've read GTM, and I have LEEWS)? How do I get those good grades?"

There are so many other posts about this on TLS. Probably this is not the best place to start up a discussion on how to succeed in law school.

[Leeroy Jenkins]

"Thanks, but what should I focus on in the classes? I'm doing the briefs and following along, but I feel like there needs to be something else I should be doing. How do I study for the exams (I've read GTM, and I have LEEWS)? How do I get those good grades?"

There are so many other posts about this on TLS. Probably this is not the best place to start up a discussion on how to succeed in law school.

Why were either of these posts anonymous?

[ToTransferOrNot]

Thanks, but what should I focus on in the classes? I'm doing the briefs and following along, but I feel like there needs to be something else I should be doing. How do I study for the exams (I've read GTM, and I have LEEWS)? How do I get those good grades?

I have a suggestion: learn how to read/comprehend what the different forums are for, and the anonymous function guidelines.

[strawberrysmoothie]

Anonymous User wrote:
Thanks, but what should I focus on in the classes? I'm doing the briefs and following along, but I feel like there needs to be something else I should be doing. How do I study for the exams (I've read GTM, and I have LEEWS)? How do I get those good grades?


I have a suggestion: learn how to read/comprehend what the different forums are for, and the anonymous function guidelines.

TITCR. Please no more how to succeed in law school questions... or at least in this threat and on this forum. I believe the consensus re: GTM and LEEWS is well-established. Not bad questions, just wrong place for them!

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have an offer that actually said what they will be paying this summer? Secured an offer from a v30, but it only said that last year's SAs were paid 3,100/week.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have an offer that actually said what they will be paying this summer? Secured an offer from a v30, but it only said that last year's SAs were paid 3,100/week.

This is not directly on point, but I'm a 3L with an offer of full time employment from a V10. The offer letter says literally nothing about compensation, whereas my recollection is that friends in the class of 2009 had $ figures in their full-time offer letters (different firms, but same market). All of which is to say that I think firms are generally getting more coy about compensation, perhaps in the hope that they can make adjustments later either to economic realities or to what peer firms are doing. Personally, I don't think my firm will backslide from 160k (~$3100/week) to 145k (~2750/week), either for summers or first year associates, but I guess I wouldn't be shocked if it did happen. Looking more broadly at firms, I think a ton of V20-100 firms will move from the 160 scale to the 145 scale in the next year or so. In fact, many have already.

Update: Writing the post above made me curious, so I just took a look at my offer letters from last fall. About a third of the firms I still have letters from say something akin to "as a summer associate, you will receive a salary of not less than X per week." One said that the firm didn't know what it would be paying its 2009 SAs. The remainder, mostly from the higher-end firms among the bunch (including W&C), said nothing regarding salary. So it could be the case that the lack of salary data on fall 2009 offer letters is not something new.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have an offer that actually said what they will be paying this summer? Secured an offer from a v30, but it only said that last year's SAs were paid 3,100/week.

This is not directly on point, but I'm a 3L with an offer of full time employment from a V10. The offer letter says literally nothing about compensation, whereas my recollection is that friends in the class of 2009 had $ figures in their full-time offer letters (different firms, but same market). All of which is to say that I think firms are generally getting more coy about compensation, perhaps in the hope that they can make adjustments later either to economic realities or to what peer firms are doing. Personally, I don't think my firm will backslide from 160k (~$3100/week) to 145k (~2750/week), either for summers or first year associates, but I guess I wouldn't be shocked if it did happen. Looking more broadly at firms, I think a ton of V20-100 firms will move from the 160 scale to the 145 scale in the next year or so. In fact, many have already.

That was more on point than any response from a 2L could have been at this point, thanks.

[Anonymous User]

Seconding the suggestion to forgo extra-currics for grades. I was pretty involved in moot court as a 1L and it definitely affected my 1L grades. Now, I realize that even LR seems like a waste of time -- let alone moot court -- and I would have been much better served by maintaining my first semester GPA than by killing it in moot court. Sadly, I think killing it in moot court is a MUCH better reflection of ability for future litigators than GPA, but firms don't even care / notice. And I won individual awards, etc.

[BradyToMoss]

Seconding the suggestion to forgo extra-currics for grades. I was pretty involved in moot court as a 1L and it definitely affected my 1L grades. Now, I realize that even LR seems like a waste of time -- let alone moot court -- and I would have been much better served by maintaining my first semester GPA than by killing it in moot court. Sadly, I think killing it in moot court is a MUCH better reflection of ability for future litigators than GPA, but firms don't even care / notice. And I won individual awards, etc.

Do most schools have moot court for 1Ls?

[Anonymous User]

t20, top 1%.

2 OCI Interviews
0 Callbacks

Targetted Cover Letters to 22 Firms
6 Dings
3 Screening Interviews
1 Callback (#1 Choice) - Offered and accepted
Never heard from 12 other firms
12 Pending/Lacking the Courtesy to contact me in anyway


School Resume Drop to 7 Firms
0 Callbacks/7 Pending

Cycle Done. I will say that I had much more look with the firms I actually had a real interest in. Regional ties also seemed to play a huge role this year. I had much more luck with firms that were in my school's area than firms in other regions (even the city where I grew up and went to UG).

[Anonymous User]

T20 School, Top 5%, LR...

15 Screenings
8 Callbacks - 1 Offer so far
5 Dings
2 No responses

45 (roughly) Mass Emails
3 Callbacks

Targeting NY

[Elie23]

t20, top 1%.

2 OCI Interviews
0 Callbacks

Targetted Cover Letters to 22 Firms
6 Dings
3 Screening Interviews
1 Callback (#1 Choice) - Offered and accepted
Never heard from 12 other firms
12 Pending/Lacking the Courtesy to contact me in anyway


School Resume Drop to 7 Firms
0 Callbacks/7 Pending

Cycle Done. I will say that I had much more look with the firms I actually had a real interest in. Regional ties also seemed to play a huge role this year. I had much more luck with firms that were in my school's area than firms in other regions (even the city where I grew up and went to UG).

2 OCI interviews?
Were you just extremely picky about choosing which schools you submitted app's too?
1 callback and you got an offer. Sounds like you got extremely lucky.
Though your numbers certainly should have gotten you a lot further in OCI

[FrankReynolds]

Sadly, I think killing it in moot court is a MUCH better reflection of ability for future litigators than GPA, but firms don't even care / notice. And I won individual awards, etc.

Or maybe the firms realize most of your peers do not put time into Moot Court 1L? What do these awards mean if it was really a demonstration in how much time you spend above and beyond your peers, who chose to study instead? Also keep in mind that firms are not hiring future litigators. They are hiring for entry-level associates with full knowledge that most will never actually be litigating with the firm name behind them.

[Georgetown51]

Anyone have an offer that actually said what they will be paying this summer? Secured an offer from a v30, but it only said that last year's SAs were paid 3,100/week.

There are some offer letters that I have received which say what the salary will be as well as mention the length of the summer while others omit both items. I think it just depends.

[Anonymous User]

2 OCI interviews?
Were you just extremely picky about choosing which schools you submitted app's too?
1 callback and you got an offer. Sounds like you got extremely lucky.
Though your numbers certainly should have gotten you a lot further in OCI

Most of the firms that I wanted to work at were not at OCI, so I didn't bid many OCI firms.

And I'm not sure that being extremely lucky is the reason I got an offer.