V15 Partner/OCI Interviewer Answering Questions... Forum

[Anonymous User]

So I'm a summer. I've been staffed on literally 9 things at once. Got an assignment from one of the members of the hiring committee (33 year old partner). Been working steadily on it, but had to attend meetings pretty much all day. He writes me and says that he needs my assignment finalized in two hours because the client needs it-- he previously mentioned that he needed it next Wednesday.

I work on it throughout a meeting which I needed to be paying attention to. Make two significant errors which he catches (didn't eliminate a provision which didn't apply in the jurisdiction, and referred incorrectly to one of the parties as company instead of corporation). I then turn the rest of the docs in at 5, but he wanted them at 2 or 3. There is literally no way I could have gotten it in to him on time. My other meetings were with the top partners in the firm and clients, and I had a lunch with two other partners at an expensive reservation place which the firm had set up weeks ago and would know if I bailed on.

The partner probably thinks I am a loser who doesn't pay attention to simple provisions/ can't follow deadlines. I ran into him in the hallway and we had a really awkward interchange where we both basically looked at the ground and didn't make eye contact while talking.

I am also not going to go crying to him about my workload/ make excuses. I will just work harder. I have another 10 weeks at the firm.

Am I screwed?

Wow. That sounds absurd. You're a summer, you shouldn't have any sort of real responsibilities yet (didn't summer just start?) and that sounds like just a shockingly high workload.

Do you have any sort of associate mentor? Are the other summers being worked as hard as you? Many people just don't have a sense of what people are staffed on. I'd have a conversation w/someone (anyone) you think you can trust and try to figure it all out. I'd also (if the person's reasonable) apologize to the guy about your mistakes, explain that you had conflicting meetings (do NOT mention the lunch - you should have cancelled on that, sorry) and see if there's anything you can do to fix things

Good luck...

Thanks for the advice. I think it was just a communication issue-- the firm doesn't intend for summers to stay late and has been pretty great so far. I could just be overthinking things.

[itbdvorm]

So I'm a summer. I've been staffed on literally 9 things at once. Got an assignment from one of the members of the hiring committee (33 year old partner). Been working steadily on it, but had to attend meetings pretty much all day. He writes me and says that he needs my assignment finalized in two hours because the client needs it-- he previously mentioned that he needed it next Wednesday.

I work on it throughout a meeting which I needed to be paying attention to. Make two significant errors which he catches (didn't eliminate a provision which didn't apply in the jurisdiction, and referred incorrectly to one of the parties as company instead of corporation). I then turn the rest of the docs in at 5, but he wanted them at 2 or 3. There is literally no way I could have gotten it in to him on time. My other meetings were with the top partners in the firm and clients, and I had a lunch with two other partners at an expensive reservation place which the firm had set up weeks ago and would know if I bailed on.

The partner probably thinks I am a loser who doesn't pay attention to simple provisions/ can't follow deadlines. I ran into him in the hallway and we had a really awkward interchange where we both basically looked at the ground and didn't make eye contact while talking.

I am also not going to go crying to him about my workload/ make excuses. I will just work harder. I have another 10 weeks at the firm.

Am I screwed?

Wow. That sounds absurd. You're a summer, you shouldn't have any sort of real responsibilities yet (didn't summer just start?) and that sounds like just a shockingly high workload.

Do you have any sort of associate mentor? Are the other summers being worked as hard as you? Many people just don't have a sense of what people are staffed on. I'd have a conversation w/someone (anyone) you think you can trust and try to figure it all out. I'd also (if the person's reasonable) apologize to the guy about your mistakes, explain that you had conflicting meetings (do NOT mention the lunch - you should have cancelled on that, sorry) and see if there's anything you can do to fix things

Good luck...

Thanks for the advice. I think it was just a communication issue-- the firm doesn't intend for summers to stay late and has been pretty great so far. I could just be overthinking things.

You probably are. Key thing is to talk to someone about it ASAP - if something did get f'd up don't ignore it, try to deal w/it head on. At the end of the summer when they're discussing your performance, there are three possibilities: it doesn't come up, it comes up but someone can discuss it / explain what happened and mitigate the damage, or it comes up and no one is speaking for your defense. The last one's the killer.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Assuming a firm is actually hoping to extend offers to all its SAs and isn't looking for reasons to weed people out, what kind of substantive work problems might start to actually put you at risk of getting no-offered? Are we talking about a couple typos here and there raising legitimate question marks, or do you have to screw things up pretty substantially before it's likely to become an issue?

[Pate]

When you visit a metro like Philly, do you attempt to place students in their metro, or is it NYC BL or bust? I am asking because my about-to-be significant other has secured a mgt position in Philly, but not law related work. As you might suspect Philly BL is suspicious of local students because of their track record of using their firms as a bridge to NYC. While NYC would be fine with me, I’d prefer Philly.

IYO, law firm wise, is there synergy between the two cities?

[Anonymous User]

I have already presented this issue on a separate thread, but it would be great to get some advice from someone experienced with regard to hiring. My fiance will be a first-year associate a law firm in a city to which I have no other ties. From what I have gathered from my CSO and from my TLS Forum posting, I should mention the fiance in my cover letters to firms in that city to establish the geographical tie.

The question: do you have any advice as to how to do this gracefully, keeping it professional, as opposed to overly personal and/or informal? (Secondarily - do I mention that my fiance is working at a firm in this city as well?)

[itbdvorm]

Assuming a firm is actually hoping to extend offers to all its SAs and isn't looking for reasons to weed people out, what kind of substantive work problems might start to actually put you at risk of getting no-offered? Are we talking about a couple typos here and there raising legitimate question marks, or do you have to screw things up pretty substantially before it's likely to become an issue?

Wide range. What are the typos? Are they made repeatedly?

If you hand me a doc w/a few typos, are they really typos or do they represent laziness/sloppiness/not getting things?

Pattern of behavior. If you're generally quality w/a few slip-ups (i.e., human) probably OK. If everything you give me is messed up or you clearly can't get what I'm asking you to do, bigger issue

[itbdvorm]

When you visit a metro like Philly, do you attempt to place students in their metro, or is it NYC BL or bust? I am asking because my about-to-be significant other has secured a mgt position in Philly, but not law related work. As you might suspect Philly BL is suspicious of local students because of their track record of using their firms as a bridge to NYC. While NYC would be fine with me, I’d prefer Philly.

IYO, law firm wise, is there synergy between the two cities?

I don't totally follow this question. I am a NYC guy. If you have a good reason for being in a city (sadly, "boyfriend/girlfriend" isn't a great one, though fiancee/husband is usually better) usually not a big deal. I don't really know Philly firms that well but my impression is that it's not as xenophobic as DC/SF.

[itbdvorm]

I have already presented this issue on a separate thread, but it would be great to get some advice from someone experienced with regard to hiring. My fiance will be a first-year associate a law firm in a city to which I have no other ties. From what I have gathered from my CSO and from my TLS Forum posting, I should mention the fiance in my cover letters to firms in that city to establish the geographical tie.

The question: do you have any advice as to how to do this gracefully, keeping it professional, as opposed to overly personal and/or informal? (Secondarily - do I mention that my fiance is working at a firm in this city as well?)

Maybe "for personal reasons, I would like to begin my career in city X" but making it clear your plans are for a lnog-term future in that city should do you just fine. Non-personal reasons why you want to be in that city help too (i.e., tech in SV, government in DC, etc.)

[Anonymous User]

I haven't read all of this thread yet so maybe the question has been asked, but what if you get the feeling from a screener that the person is interested in lateralling to a government or public interest gig down the road? Is that a deal breaker? Should someone that has PI/Gov career goals be up front about it or avoid it? Is there a good way to handle that?

Thanks in advance.

[Pate]

When you visit a metro like Philly, do you attempt to place students in their metro, or is it NYC BL or bust? I am asking because my about-to-be significant other has secured a mgt position in Philly, but not law related work. As you might suspect Philly BL is suspicious of local students because of their track record of using their firms as a bridge to NYC. While NYC would be fine with me, I’d prefer Philly.

IYO, law firm wise, is there synergy between the two cities?

I don't totally follow this question. I am a NYC guy. If you have a good reason for being in a city (sadly, "boyfriend/girlfriend" isn't a great one, though fiancee/husband is usually better) usually not a big deal. I don't really know Philly firms that well but my impression is that it's not as xenophobic as DC/SF.

Thanks - got it. If I was chosen, we would only be talking NYC.

[Anonymous User]

You've taked a lot about W/E on this, but how bad is it if someone has no real legal work over their 1L summer?

I still have high grades, in the top handful of students in my class. But not going to get substantive legal experience this summer.

Do you think someone would lose out on a shot at Biglaw because of a lack of 1L summer legal work?

[Flips88]

You've taked a lot about W/E on this, but how bad is it if someone has no real legal work over their 1L summer?

I still have high grades, in the top handful of students in my class. But not going to get substantive legal experience this summer.

Do you think someone would lose out on a shot at Biglaw because of a lack of 1L summer legal work?

What are you doing instead of a legal job this summer?

[Anonymous User]

You've taked a lot about W/E on this, but how bad is it if someone has no real legal work over their 1L summer?

I still have high grades, in the top handful of students in my class. But not going to get substantive legal experience this summer.

Do you think someone would lose out on a shot at Biglaw because of a lack of 1L summer legal work?

What are you doing instead of a legal job this summer?

File Clerk at a large firm in my city, so nothing legal. And I dont know yet if the firm is hiring 2L summers next year. So I'm going into OCI assuming that I will have to find a job at another firm.

[itbdvorm]

I haven't read all of this thread yet so maybe the question has been asked, but what if you get the feeling from a screener that the person is interested in lateralling to a government or public interest gig down the road? Is that a deal breaker? Should someone that has PI/Gov career goals be up front about it or avoid it? Is there a good way to handle that?

Thanks in advance.

I'd strongly advise doing the opposite of what you suggest here. Anything that suggests you won't be fully committed in your first few years is not fantastic.

[itbdvorm]

You've taked a lot about W/E on this, but how bad is it if someone has no real legal work over their 1L summer?

I still have high grades, in the top handful of students in my class. But not going to get substantive legal experience this summer.

Do you think someone would lose out on a shot at Biglaw because of a lack of 1L summer legal work?

What are you doing instead of a legal job this summer?

File Clerk at a large firm in my city, so nothing legal. And I dont know yet if the firm is hiring 2L summers next year. So I'm going into OCI assuming that I will have to find a job at another firm.

Not terrible. Doesn't sound like the worst of jobs. 1L summer's mostly a freebie if it's not great experience, just not as good as being great experience. Doesn't hurt, just doesn't help

[Anonymous User]

I haven't read all of this thread yet so maybe the question has been asked, but what if you get the feeling from a screener that the person is interested in lateralling to a government or public interest gig down the road? Is that a deal breaker? Should someone that has PI/Gov career goals be up front about it or avoid it? Is there a good way to handle that?

Thanks in advance.

I'd strongly advise doing the opposite of what you suggest here. Anything that suggests you won't be fully committed in your first few years is not fantastic.

Well what about a resume that is public interest slanted? What's the best way to spin that or avoid appearing like a flight risk?

[itbdvorm]

I haven't read all of this thread yet so maybe the question has been asked, but what if you get the feeling from a screener that the person is interested in lateralling to a government or public interest gig down the road? Is that a deal breaker? Should someone that has PI/Gov career goals be up front about it or avoid it? Is there a good way to handle that?

Thanks in advance.

I'd strongly advise doing the opposite of what you suggest here. Anything that suggests you won't be fully committed in your first few years is not fantastic.

Well what about a resume that is public interest slanted? What's the best way to spin that or avoid appearing like a flight risk?

Talk about how you want to be a corp lawyer. Be specific.

[Anonymous User]

1. For "diverse" students who participated in SEO in their 0L summer (and also perhaps the clerkship program thier 1L summer), is there an advantage for CBs and offers? Or because those things were done prematurely, it's irrelevant? TIA.

[Anonymous User]

I read that you thought veterans were genrally regarded ok. However, does being an officer vs. enlisted OR active vs. reserve matter? Because someone spent XX # of years in the service (and has no interest in JAG or PI/Govt), will their background be difficult to overcome in the private/corporate sector? Does that person being 4-8 years older than the average law student/graduate matter? How do older students/grads fit into the culture?

[itbdvorm]

1. For "diverse" students who participated in SEO in their 0L summer (and also perhaps the clerkship program thier 1L summer), is there an advantage for CBs and offers? Or because those things were done prematurely, it's irrelevant? TIA.

Undoubtedly a thumbs up, but probably not hugely so.

[itbdvorm]

I read that you thought veterans were genrally regarded ok. However, does being an officer vs. enlisted OR active vs. reserve matter? Because someone spent XX # of years in the service (and has no interest in JAG or PI/Govt), will their background be difficult to overcome in the private/corporate sector? Does that person being 4-8 years older than the average law student/graduate matter? How do older students/grads fit into the culture?

title always matters. but again, generally a thumbs up so long as they're willing to work hard

[Anonymous User]

I got a screener interview last fall with a firm via mass mail. I was really far below their preferred class ranking percentile (essentially median at my school, they like top 20%), but for some reason they called for a screener. Lots of focus on grades, ended up not getting a callback. Over 2L, my class rank increased a good bit, to well within top 1/3.

Any guesstimate on chances of success if I reapply? Also, should I email the general recruiting email like I did last time, or should I communicate directly with the partner who interviewed me?

[drbarry987]

How many deals are you usually working on at one time? This may be a dumb q, but are you usually staffed on one mega deal and spend nearly all your time on it until it closes or is it more common to juggle multiple smaller size deals simultaneously?

[itbdvorm]

I got a screener interview last fall with a firm via mass mail. I was really far below their preferred class ranking percentile (essentially median at my school, they like top 20%), but for some reason they called for a screener. Lots of focus on grades, ended up not getting a callback. Over 2L, my class rank increased a good bit, to well within top 1/3.

Any guesstimate on chances of success if I reapply? Also, should I email the general recruiting email like I did last time, or should I communicate directly with the partner who interviewed me?

No idea...but of course couldn't hurt at all. Go for it. I'd email both the partner and recruiting.

[itbdvorm]

How many deals are you usually working on at one time? This may be a dumb q, but are you usually staffed on one mega deal and spend nearly all your time on it until it closes or is it more common to juggle multiple smaller size deals simultaneously?

Massive variation. Could be 1-2, could be 5-6. All depends on stages.