Summer Associate -- Apply nationwide or not? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Question about summer associate positions...

Do you apply to firms just in your area, or all over the country? Do the firms have to have OCIs at your school in order for you to be eligible to apply, or do you just send resumes/grades out to a ton of firms and hope you get called?

Being top 5% at a TTT, should I be calling firms outside of my area? The career services center is pretty terrible.

Thanks to all who respond.

[legalease9]

At top 5% of a TTT, you should be writing your transfer application. Seriously, step up. If you are really top 5% you can easily climb into Tier 2 if not Tier 1!

[Anonymous User]

At top 5% of a TTT, you should be writing your transfer application. Seriously, step up. If you are really top 5% you can easily climb into Tier 2 if not Tier 1!

Ha, yes, thank you. I'm actually shooting for top 50 or staying here. Not worth it to lose my accomplishments here for a T2 that will most likely be as regional as my current school. (I think.)

I was hoping to do an internship in any event...

[nealric]

Unless you are wedded to a particular geographic area, why wouldn't you apply nationally?

It's not like you have an application quota. If you are at a 3rd tier school, OCI will be pre-select anyways, so you would not be wasting bids. You can mass-mail, but your best bet is to try to network. Ask professors if they know anyone at a particular firm. If you do send cold resumes, make sure they are tailored to the firm (especially if across the country).

I wouldn't transfer unless you can step up to T20 or even T14.

[NYU2011]

I wouldn't waste time applying anywhere you don't have a connection (born there, college there, family lives there, law school is there) unless it's NYC

[nealric]

I wouldn't waste time applying anywhere you don't have a connection (born there, college there, family lives there, law school is there) unless it's NYC

You don't need a connection to DC either. Some larger markets (Chicago, LA) can be broken into without connections (even though it can be a bit harder).

[270910]

You don't need a connection to DC either.

Says the guy going to law school there! This has not been my experience. There be employers for whom you don't, but DC connections are very helpful in my experience.

[Anonymous User]

I wouldn't transfer unless you can step up to T20 or even T14.

Really? I realize transferring to a school outside of the T20 will leave me with regional options, but the vast majority of those regional options will still put a lot more money in my pocket in terms of starting salary. I didn't have a scholarship at my T3 going in, and the school doesn't seem interested in giving us scholarships to try and keep us. If I'm going to pay sticker anyway, why not pay it at a school were my salary will be much better? Was looking into Tulane and even Santa Clara for the IP program...their starting salaries are abnormally nice. Not to sound pompous, but I think I have a fair shot at both being top 5% at a TTT state.

[rando]

Unless you are wedded to a particular geographic area, why wouldn't you apply nationally?

It's not like you have an application quota. If you are at a 3rd tier school, OCI will be pre-select anyways, so you would not be wasting bids. You can mass-mail, but your best bet is to try to network. Ask professors if they know anyone at a particular firm. If you do send cold resumes, make sure they are tailored to the firm (especially if across the country).

I wouldn't transfer unless you can step up to T20 or even T14.

Credited. Especially bolded.

Go to NALP, look up every firm in the cities/regions where you have lived, have family, went to UG, and tailor your cover letters. This will be extremely tedious and will garner you an incredibly small response rate but it is worth a shot and much better than relying solely on OCI.

[nealric]

Was looking into Tulane and even Santa Clara for the IP program...their starting salaries are abnormally nice. Not to sound pompous, but I think I have a fair shot at both being top 5% at a TTT state.

Their published starting salaries are about as real as the Unicorn. You would almost certainly get in with top 5%. you would also have a shot at a GULC transfer.

Says the guy going to law school there! This has not been my experience. There be employers for whom you don't, but DC connections are very helpful in my experience.

They are helpful anywhere (even NYC), but certainly not required like they are in a place like Seattle.

[Anonymous User]

Unless you are wedded to a particular geographic area, why wouldn't you apply nationally?

It's not like you have an application quota. If you are at a 3rd tier school, OCI will be pre-select anyways, so you would not be wasting bids. You can mass-mail, but your best bet is to try to network. Ask professors if they know anyone at a particular firm. If you do send cold resumes, make sure they are tailored to the firm (especially if across the country).

I wouldn't transfer unless you can step up to T20 or even T14.

Credited. Especially bolded.

Go to NALP, look up every firm in the cities/regions where you have lived, have family, went to UG, and tailor your cover letters. This will be extremely tedious and will garner you an incredibly small response rate but it is worth a shot and much better than relying solely on OCI.

From what I've heard, a lot of local firms contact the top percent of each class. Does this not hold any weight? I was also told by our shitty career center that the firms won't be looking for summer associates until May. Probably also wrong.

[NYU2011]

I wouldn't waste time applying anywhere you don't have a connection (born there, college there, family lives there, law school is there) unless it's NYC

You don't need a connection to DC either. Some larger markets (Chicago, LA) can be broken into without connections (even though it can be a bit harder).

You definitely need connections for CA firms, moreso than other markets

[presh]

.

[BradyToMoss]

At top 5% of a TTT, you should be writing your transfer application. Seriously, step up. If you are really top 5% you can easily climb into Tier 2 if not Tier 1!

Not the credited response. Transfers at CCN struggled with OCI this year, let alone people transferring to schools outside of the t14. Transferring into a lower tier-1 or tier-2 school to pay sticker for the last 2 years is not a bright idea, and is not going to significantly improve OP's chances at landing a big firm job.

OP, your best bet will be markets close to your current school. In all honesty, it will not be very helpful for you to send resumes/cover letters to firms in a market that you don't have ties to in some way. If there is a particular practice area in which you're interested (and you have experience to show prospective employers you're hoping to practice in that area) I would send letters/resume to firms around the country that specialize in that area as you may have a chance of catching those employers' attention.

Research firms in your area, and develop individually tailored letters for those firms explaining why you want to work there. Make sure you do all that you can to end on Law Review, your grades are excellent but coming from a TTT employers are also going to want to hire those with "Law Review" on their resume. As others have mentioned, talk to professors and other professionals you know, and see if they could put in a good word for you some place.

[Matthies]

Unless you are wedded to a particular geographic area, why wouldn't you apply nationally?

It's not like you have an application quota. If you are at a 3rd tier school, OCI will be pre-select anyways, so you would not be wasting bids. You can mass-mail, but your best bet is to try to network. Ask professors if they know anyone at a particular firm. If you do send cold resumes, make sure they are tailored to the firm (especially if across the country).

I wouldn't transfer unless you can step up to T20 or even T14.

I have to agree with Nelric here, transfering because you think a school in the say the 50s would mean more money says to me at least, you're putting all your hopes/dreams into the hands of the school. I.e. that school has higher starting salaries so therefore you will to. Wrong attitude. You're a big fish in small pond with some effort networking locally where you are now will likely pay off in better odds of land a decent job (assuming you're in a semi-large city) than transferring and giving over your entire fate to OCI at anew school with no contacts and no history. Unless you have a time machine to go back to 2007 networking from your current school along with top 5% is likely to give you better results than transferring. OCI was never a good strategy alone for 80% of the students outside the top 20 schools anyway, now its almost a guarantee of being unemployed at graduation if that's your only job search method.

[rando]

Unless you are wedded to a particular geographic area, why wouldn't you apply nationally?

It's not like you have an application quota. If you are at a 3rd tier school, OCI will be pre-select anyways, so you would not be wasting bids. You can mass-mail, but your best bet is to try to network. Ask professors if they know anyone at a particular firm. If you do send cold resumes, make sure they are tailored to the firm (especially if across the country).

I wouldn't transfer unless you can step up to T20 or even T14.

Credited. Especially bolded.

Go to NALP, look up every firm in the cities/regions where you have lived, have family, went to UG, and tailor your cover letters. This will be extremely tedious and will garner you an incredibly small response rate but it is worth a shot and much better than relying solely on OCI.

From what I've heard, a lot of local firms contact the top percent of each class. Does this not hold any weight? I was also told by our shitty career center that the firms won't be looking for summer associates until May. Probably also wrong.

Straight up crazy talk.