Columbia EIP 2014 Forum

[Anonymous User]

Question about ties. I'm going with a navy suit and a white shirt, but is it a safe bet to go with some different tie colors (yellow or silver tone) as long as they're not too fancy?

No. Brick red, soft blue. Silver tone is a BIG no, yellow potentially passable if pale.

70% of the ties on this page are acceptable interview ties: http://www.jpressonline.com/striped-2/. You wont find a much higher yield than that.

Another good guide is to google pictures of George W. Bush. He always wore very conservative, interview-style suits and ties.

[itbdvorm]

Dress conservatively. Yes, you'll look like nearly every other law student they see. But repeat after me:

No one, and I mean no one, is hired for their clothes.

They are, however, dinged for their clothes.

Don't give a stupid interviewer a reason to ding you. Tie clip? Looks fine, but some psycho who just got done billing 100 hours this week might not think so. Whimsically patterned shirt? Sharp! But the octogenarian partner hiring with an eye toward who'll look good entombed in his pyramid doesn't agree.

It's grades and personality, folks. And the scary thing about "personality" is that it largely means "do I feel comfortable with this person"--and these people are nearly all rich and white, which is why they spent decades thinking "I'm not racist, I'm just not 'comfortable' with these poor/black/gay kids." Dressing well but conservatively (charcoal/navy suit, white/blue shirt) is how you guarantee that your clothes don't ding you by making the interviewer feel weird ("is this guy better-dressed than I am?" or "ugh, this guy seems poor, get me out of here"). You want these people to think you're one of them already (and guess how they're dressed).

This is correct.

Remember, you're being hired for a job as a junior associate, which means seen and not heard until you prove yourself. It's all well and good that your fancy outfit might one day get you a cool entertainment client, but for now, just aim to not be the guy likely to offend the midwestern CEO

[Anonymous User]

If a firm requests a writing sample, how long is too long? My moot court brief w/ facts and stipulations is 13 pages.

[Anonymous User]

If a firm requests a writing sample, how long is too long? My moot court brief w/ facts and stipulations is 13 pages.

I have mine down to 10 pages

[Anonymous User]

If a firm requests a writing sample, how long is too long? My moot court brief w/ facts and stipulations is 13 pages.

I have mine down to 10 pages

Different anon, but is moot court brief the way to go? what about a successful motion/brief in support you drafted at work (with certain info redacted)? I understand it may be totally inappropriate to submit client related work product but it's unfortunate because I put a lot more research and effort into my actual court-submitted work than my asinine ungraded LPW memos.

[Anonymous User]

If a firm requests a writing sample, how long is too long? My moot court brief w/ facts and stipulations is 13 pages.

I have mine down to 10 pages

Different anon, but is moot court brief the way to go? what about a successful motion/brief in support you drafted at work (with certain info redacted)? I understand it may be totally inappropriate to submit client related work product but it's unfortunate because I put a lot more research and effort into my actual court-submitted work than my asinine ungraded LPW memos.

This does not exist for me since I'm doing transactional work, but if you have that, go for it. I feel much better about my submitting my moot court brief than a contract I happened to blackline.

[Anonymous User]

Ok some of this is obviously flame. Super easy guide:

Shirts: You can wear a white shirt, light blue, or light pink. Checks or stripes are fine if they aren't too aggressive. Just don't wear weird shit (someone last year wore a black shirt, no joke). Avoid anything where the predominant color is not one of the aforementioned. Also avoid darker tones of blue / pink.

Ties: Total flame to say you can only wear "brick" red or "soft" blue. Wear a tie that matches an appropriate shirt and you're fine. There are plenty of ties that are shades of purple, pink, green, etc. that will work including, obviously, navy blue.

The one credited piece of advice is don't be too showy. If you have a pair of ferragamo loafers, congratulations, but don't wear them until you have an offer.

[Anonymous User]

If a firm requests a writing sample, how long is too long? My moot court brief w/ facts and stipulations is 13 pages.

I have mine down to 10 pages

Different anon, but is moot court brief the way to go? what about a successful motion/brief in support you drafted at work (with certain info redacted)? I understand it may be totally inappropriate to submit client related work product but it's unfortunate because I put a lot more research and effort into my actual court-submitted work than my asinine ungraded LPW memos.

I'm sure it'd be fine (caveat: I'm a rising 2L, too), but for my government summer job I need to run every document I take from the office when I leave through their headquarters. I'd love to use one memo in particular as a sample, but it can't be redacted/etc. sufficiently to take back, given the nature of the writing.

Check with your workplace and if they give you the go ahead, go ahead and use that.

But to the last guy, a pink shirt at EIP? Seriously?

[Anonymous User]

If a firm requests a writing sample, how long is too long? My moot court brief w/ facts and stipulations is 13 pages.

I have mine down to 10 pages

Different anon, but is moot court brief the way to go? what about a successful motion/brief in support you drafted at work (with certain info redacted)? I understand it may be totally inappropriate to submit client related work product but it's unfortunate because I put a lot more research and effort into my actual court-submitted work than my asinine ungraded LPW memos.

A good number of things submitted to the court are, or will eventually become, public record. I'd ask your job about the status of the document and if you could use it as a writing sample. A brief I contributed to for my 1LSA is a public document, so I got the okay to use it as a writing sample in place of my similarly mediocre moot court brief.

[Anonymous User]

If you have a pre-EIP callback, do offers go out before EIP, or do firms generally wait and review your fate with the rest of the post-EIP callbacks?

[Anonymous User]

If you have a pre-EIP callback, do offers go out before EIP, or do firms generally wait and review your fate with the rest of the post-EIP callbacks?

The firms I've had callbacks from have varied with respect to when they give out offers.

[Anonymous User]

If you have a pre-EIP callback, do offers go out before EIP, or do firms generally wait and review your fate with the rest of the post-EIP callbacks?

Two of the firms I've interviewed with have promised to get back to me this week

[Anonymous User]

If you have a pre-EIP callback, do offers go out before EIP, or do firms generally wait and review your fate with the rest of the post-EIP callbacks?

Two of the firms I've interviewed with have promised to get back to me this week

Good luck!

[Anonymous User]

Should I be worrying about writing samples much? I am considering just using my moot court brief, as opposed to finding something from work this summer or anything else. Wondering if this is a good idea.

[Anonymous User]

Is a ~3-4 hour pre-EIP interview always a callback? Are there any firms that will still do a second interview?

[Anonymous User]

Is a ~3-4 hour pre-EIP interview always a callback? Are there any firms that will still do a second interview?

I've done a number of these and they were all callbacks. 4 interviews and a lunch is 100% a callback and I've never heard of ppl having to do more than one.

[Anonymous User]

Is a ~3-4 hour pre-EIP interview always a callback? Are there any firms that will still do a second interview?

Yes. Only if you get an offer.

[moonman157]

Are people getting an unlimited metro card for EIP? Not sure if it will be worth it, but it might be nice to have the peace of mind of not having to worry about refilling your card all the time. Any idea how much we'll be traveling?

[ph5354a]

Are people getting an unlimited metro card for EIP? Not sure if it will be worth it, but it might be nice to have the peace of mind of not having to worry about refilling your card all the time. Any idea how much we'll be traveling?

I've been using one this summer for work and will probably keep it for EIP, it's amazing. You can probably get 44+ uses on it if you use it your last week of work too. Even if we don't end up traveling that much in August, I think it's worth a slight premium to not have to think about it.

I would still keep $10 on a backup card though. My unlimited has malfunctioned a few times and says "just used" after "swipe again" which is actually a fairly common problem (means you have to wait 18 minutes before using again). If there's no attendant or there's a really long line, this would be enough to throw me into a mini-meltdown on the way to an interview.

[Anonymous User]

If you have a pre-EIP callback, do offers go out before EIP, or do firms generally wait and review your fate with the rest of the post-EIP callbacks?

Anecdotal, but cb Friday--offer today.

[Anonymous User]

If you have a pre-EIP callback, do offers go out before EIP, or do firms generally wait and review your fate with the rest of the post-EIP callbacks?

Anecdotal, but cb Friday--offer today.

Same. My turnaround times (not including weekends) have been 2 or 3 days. Most firms hire on a rollin basis for pre-eip stuff. The recruiter should give you a rough timeline in the exit interview though.

[Anonymous User]

If you have a pre-EIP callback, do offers go out before EIP, or do firms generally wait and review your fate with the rest of the post-EIP callbacks?

Anecdotal, but cb Friday--offer today.

Same. My turnaround times (not including weekends) have been 2 or 3 days. Most firms hire on a rollin basis for pre-eip stuff. The recruiter should give you a rough timeline in the exit interview though.

Non-Pre-EIP-mass-mailer here. Is the reason/motivation for mass mailing just to have an offer in hand before EIP? I think others have asked this before but the number of people who are doing this is making me nervous. Are you guys mainly doing secondary markets or even the V5/V10 in NYC?

[Anonymous User]

Non-Pre-EIP-mass-mailer here. Is the reason/motivation for mass mailing just to have an offer in hand before EIP? I think others have asked this before but the number of people who are doing this is making me nervous. Are you guys mainly doing secondary markets or even the V5/V10 in NYC?

I got NYC V10 and V15 callbacks.

The motivation's to have an offer in hand before EIP, or if you got the first interview early enough, to be able to avoid having to bid on the firm (thereby freeing up another bid). It wasn't really that I actively sought out early interviews specifically, but a couple opportunities came up through firm events/networking and if someone offers you a chance to maybe interview early, you take it.

[Anonymous User]

If you have a pre-EIP callback, do offers go out before EIP, or do firms generally wait and review your fate with the rest of the post-EIP callbacks?

Anecdotal, but cb Friday--offer today.

Same. My turnaround times (not including weekends) have been 2 or 3 days. Most firms hire on a rollin basis for pre-eip stuff. The recruiter should give you a rough timeline in the exit interview though.

Non-Pre-EIP-mass-mailer here. Is the reason/motivation for mass mailing just to have an offer in hand before EIP? I think others have asked this before but the number of people who are doing this is making me nervous. Are you guys mainly doing secondary markets or even the V5/V10 in NYC?

I did secondary market and got an offer at my top choice. Not doing EIP (which was the goal).

[Anonymous User]

For others who did pre-EIP interviews and got offers, how long are the firms keeping those open? Is it the standard 30 days or are they being more flexible since it's before the rest of your interviews?