Top Law Schools

What kind of briefcase (or handbags) do you carry to your interview?

What kind of briefcase (or handbags) do you carry to your summer internship at a law firm?

When you are an attorney, what kind of briefcase (or handbags) do you use?

Suggestions for name brands, web links, model name.

Thank you.

..

...

To interview, I sport a black portfolio I got for free from Westlaw. It's not leather (some kind of "leather-like" substance), but it looks nice. It's surprisingly sturdy, it zips, and it holds my papers and two pens.

If they are still giving away these things, I recommend picking one up. Again... FREE!

lol a folder with the school logo on it in some random laptop-carrier thing. it was vinyl construction

underdawg wrote:lol a folder with the school logo on it in some random laptop-carrier thing. it was vinyl construction

same here, though I try to have my school's logo face my thigh when I'm carrying it around. They're not paying me to advertise.

Corsair wrote:None? What exactly are you expecting to carry to the interview in that? And brands, really?

Ask yourself whether carrying a nearly empty, but expensive briefcase into an interview (as opposed to just a leather folder of some kind) makes you look like a go-getter or a pretentious douche. I think you can come to this conclusion fairly quickly.

Male-centric reply.

I carried a simple black Fossil briefcase in. Our OCI had back to back interviews scheduled. Rather than trying to shove all of the relevant information into a portfolio and carry a purse for wallet, cell, keys, etc., I carried a bag that would fit all of them in neatly. Key is that you don't want it to be noticed, either for being too flashy or too shabby.

If you have a safe place to store a bag, it is nice to just bring in a leather or leather like portfolio with just the information you will need for that interview, but that isn't always possible.

dood wrote:http://www.bosca.com/desk-stationary-wr ... folio.html
No need for a briefcase, get a portfolio. Bosca is a decent brand that is of quality yet not unreasonably expensive. Can be found at stationary, leather goods stores, as well as Macys and Nordstroms.

These look nice and all but, assuming this guy is a law student, there is no way he needs a name-brand portfolio for interviews. The cheapest one on that page is $130. There is really no need to spend that much money on a portfolio, at least not at this point in your life.

You can probably find a black leather portfolio in your school's bookstore for somewhere between 20 and 30 bucks. There's no need for anything more. Your interviewers will not care. Just bring something.

Ferragamo

dood wrote:

What kind of briefcase (or handbags) do you carry to your interview?

--LinkRemoved--
No need for a briefcase, get a portfolio. Bosca is a decent brand that is of quality yet not unreasonably expensive. Can be found at stationary, leather goods stores, as well as Macys and Nordstroms.

What kind of briefcase (or handbags) do you carry to your summer internship at a law firm?

--LinkRemoved--
--LinkRemoved--
Victorinox and Tumi are mid level business brands that would work well for a summer associate. Both brands are definitely "hip", target towards "young professionals", so still relatively inexpensive for decent quality, and not overly pretentious.

When you are an attorney, what kind of briefcase (or handbags) do you use?

--LinkRemoved--
At this point I would consider something more classy. Hartmann has been creating belting leather briefcases since the early 19th century and still creates a beautiful handmade belting leather briefcase.
--LinkRemoved--

Rofl! Since I'm looking for a new laptop case/briefcase thingy I clicked your tumi link and started browsing. I thought, oh this one looks nice. SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS! What a joke. Oh but then once you are not a summer any more, it is time for a 1,750 dollar briefcase. The PORTFOLIOS you linked for going on an INTERVIEW range from 130-280 dollars. LOLOLOL. No matter how much money I make, I will never pay this much for these things. What a rip-off.

You absolutely need a briefcase to be a successful lawyer/person. Mine is made of yellow gatorskin to match my shoes. I owe nearly all my success in life to carrying it with me wherever I go-despite the fact that it is filled mostly with animal crackers and juice boxes. Here's a tip: to look super important, buy some handcuffs to attach the briefcase to your wrist during the interview! You cant go wrong with that move.

BobSacamano wrote:

dood wrote:http://www.bosca.com/desk-stationary-wr ... folio.html
No need for a briefcase, get a portfolio. Bosca is a decent brand that is of quality yet not unreasonably expensive. Can be found at stationary, leather goods stores, as well as Macys and Nordstroms.

These look nice and all but, assuming this guy is a law student, there is no way he needs a name-brand portfolio for interviews. The cheapest one on that page is $130. There is really no need to spend that much money on a portfolio, at least not at this point in your life.

You can probably find a black leather portfolio in your school's bookstore for somewhere between 20 and 30 bucks. There's no need for anything more. Your interviewers will not care. Just bring something.

I would just like to credit this response. I'm a BIGLAW associate and my "briefcase" (actually more of a messenger/laptop bag) costs as much as one of those Bosca portfolios being recommended for law students ($130-$280). And if I actually interviewed a student carrying such a high-end portfolio, I would not look on them any more favorably than someone with the standard-issue $20 model. If anything, the super-expensive version could be a slight negative in my mind, depending on how the candidate presented himself/herself during the interview.

FLS08 wrote:If anything, the super-expensive version could be a slight negative in my mind, depending on how the candidate presented himself/herself during the interview.

This is the same type of douche that intentionally gives T14 interviewees bad reviews simply because he/she graduated from a shiTTThole and has one massive inferiority complex.

Herb Watchfell wrote:

FLS08 wrote:If anything, the super-expensive version could be a slight negative in my mind, depending on how the candidate presented himself/herself during the interview.

This is the same type of douche that intentionally gives T14 interviewees bad reviews simply because he/she graduated from a shiTTThole and has one massive inferiority complex.

Regular old computer bag - black, not flashy for work. For interviews, I always used the school leather one - it works great. No need to go overboard with anything fancy because no one cares. Its not a negative or positive. A regular comp bag got me through 2 years of management consulting no problem.

Herb Watchfell wrote:

FLS08 wrote:If anything, the super-expensive version could be a slight negative in my mind, depending on how the candidate presented himself/herself during the interview.

This is the same type of douche that intentionally gives T14 interviewees bad reviews simply because he/she graduated from a shiTTThole and has one massive inferiority complex.

Ha, you engage in name-calling and school-trashing based on a single sentence in a short forum post, and *I* am the douche. Get over yourself. I went to a pretty highly ranked college (easily within the US News top 10), so I am not intimidated by wealth or academic success. More importantly, my firm is pretty selective, so whenever a candidate's resume crosses my desk, it is usually from someone who not only went to a T14 school (more commonly a T6 school), but also did quite well there. If I gave bad reviews to all T14 interviewees, I would end up writing bad reviews for most of the people I meet. Obviously there are hard-working, down-to-earth people from elite schools and spoiled, egotistical brats from lower-ranked schools. Part of my job is to help my colleagues filter out the brats, regardless of where they came from and using whatever cues are available to me during a pretty short conversation. Owning expensive stuff while still in school does not automatically make someone a brat--they may simply have wealthy parents or enjoy those things more than the average person. But it is one of the things I notice, among many many others. If you think that makes me a douche, then so be it.

guyincognito wrote:You absolutely need a briefcase to be a successful lawyer/person. Mine is made of yellow gatorskin to match my shoes. I owe nearly all my success in life to carrying it with me wherever I go-despite the fact that it is filled mostly with animal crackers and juice boxes. Here's a tip: to look super important, buy some handcuffs to attach the briefcase to your wrist during the interview! You cant go wrong with that move.

ROFL!

+10000000000

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=litigation+bag

Not that hard OP.

dood wrote:

What kind of briefcase (or handbags) do you carry to your interview?

--LinkRemoved--
No need for a briefcase, get a portfolio. Bosca is a decent brand that is of quality yet not unreasonably expensive. Can be found at stationary, leather goods stores, as well as Macys and Nordstroms.

What kind of briefcase (or handbags) do you carry to your summer internship at a law firm?

--LinkRemoved--
--LinkRemoved--
Victorinox and Tumi are mid level business brands that would work well for a summer associate. Both brands are definitely "hip", target towards "young professionals", so still relatively inexpensive for decent quality, and not overly pretentious.

When you are an attorney, what kind of briefcase (or handbags) do you use?

--LinkRemoved--
At this point I would consider something more classy. Hartmann has been creating belting leather briefcases since the early 19th century and still creates a beautiful handmade belting leather briefcase.
--LinkRemoved--

You know way too much about designers for a man. Secondly, I don't think that $150 is a fair price for a leather portfolio, that looks identical to $40 Office Max portfolios. Thirdly, bringing a $150 portfolio is right alongside wearing a Breitling to an interview. You're a poor law student, act like one.

I use my $2,000 deerskin Bottega Veneta bag to carry my resume and a couple blank sheets of printer paper, because that is how much I'm willing to pay to look important

Herb Watchfell just got owned.

hahahaha briefcase, OP is funny guy.

AuroraUsa wrote:I don't know what a "housecall-style" briefcase is, but I like brief bags. They stand upright on the ground, so you can get into them without a desk. They also expand to hold a considerable amount of stuff. As for me i bought atlas for 485$ and you can also choose from that top list https://www.briefcasebash.com/best-brie ... r-lawyers/ of the best briefcases for lawyers in 2017

Whoa. A seven year necro. How far down was this thread?

And not only a necro, but someone felt compelled to report anon abuse in the original post from 2010.

I would personally like to know what briefcase op purchased and where he is now