3.40 at Columbia- Where should I bid? Forum

[Anonymous User]

3.4 (top 1/3) @ CLS.
Missed Stone Scholar by .1.
Does this make much of a difference in where I should be bidding? Any suggestions on how to use my bids?

[Anonymous User]

so my first-hand info is from two years ago, but i've talked to a fair number of rising 3L's. I think you are in decent shape, but not a sure thing. just missing stone hurts, since a lot of people just look for stone on the resume and then don't look to the rest of the grades.

when i was a 2L grades in that range were good for all but Wachtell, maybe Cravath, and W&C. Now, I think your best best is to shoot for larger V-50s. Latham, White and Case, Skadden, Cleary, Weil, etc. If you are interviewing with all firms that take larger classes, you will likely have a few callbacks. Don't waste too many bids on lower ranked firms with smaller summer classes.

[NYAssociate]

I think OP has an outside shot at DPW, Cleary, Simpson, Debevoise. OP should be good for Kirkland and Paul Weiss on down. Weil is also good. Skadden is a wildcard. Don't bother with Cravath or SullCrom or Simpson (or the obviously highly selective non-V10s).

[Anonymous User]

I would bid on S&C. I heard from people who are working there that they are bleeding people. That means a big summer class. I would go with firms that usually had huge summer classes that dramatically reduced the class this summer like Weil and Skadden.

[NYAssociate]

.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Thanks for the responses. A couple more questions if you have any information/advice.

Do you guys think V10 firms are reaches?

Do you have any idea what firms I should use as targets and how low should I go for safeties?

[thesealocust]

edit: n/m

[NYAssociate]

.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Thanks for the responses. A couple more questions if you have any information/advice.

Do you guys think V10 firms are reaches?

Do you have any idea what firms I should use as targets and how low should I go for safeties?

3.4 at Columbia has no 'safties' ITE. The V10 all have different criteria for hiring. Wachtell is more than a reach, I doubt S&C is worth a bid, Skadden is probably feasible. Festering TTT V13 or whatever Williams & Connolly wouldn't give you a second look, etc. Your positioned well, but don't get cocky. Research the hell out of firms - look for big firms with NYC-centric practices, that's the place where the firm is most likely to dig deep into Columbia instead of taking top of the class at lesser ranked schools.

I didn't mean to suggest that anything was safe ITE; I was really trying to figure out where to concentrate my bids and how high/low to go.

I'm only looking in NYC.

Also, your response seems strange in light of this:

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6#p3089266

[Anonymous User]

Casual Observer:

More odd is this post

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2#p3090432

"PSA: If the fact that non-lawyers don't know Virginia gets you down, just wait until you get out into the legal community. It is known and extremely well respected. I told somebody I know at Mason that I was headed to UVA - his response was "Oh. I guess you're set for life then"

what is a 0L UVA student doing giving bid advice?

[Anonymous User]

Casual Observer:

More odd is this post

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 2#p3090432

"PSA: If the fact that non-lawyers don't know Virginia gets you down, just wait until you get out into the legal community. It is known and extremely well respected. I told somebody I know at Mason that I was headed to UVA - his response was "Oh. I guess you're set for life then"

what is a UVA 0l doing giving out advice?

[NYAssociate]

.

[Anonymous User]

ah, you're right.

This seems to be a bizarre trend, and, in light of this, it seems to be rather self-congratulatory.

[Anonymous User]

OP: can we not turn this into flame wars?

[Anonymous User]

Bro, not the OP. I'm just a ccn 3L looking for info.

[Anonymous User]

Bro, not the OP. I'm just a ccn 3L looking for info.

I am the OP, asking everyone not to turn this into flame wars, so I can get some legitimate advice.

[Anonymous User]

In that case, from my own experiences, the advice given so far is pretty credited.

I was in a similar (but slightly better) position than you, but I got interview shit pwned.

If you aren't a social retard, you will be fine.

[romothesavior]

In that case, from my own experiences, the advice given so far is pretty credited.

I was in a similar (but slightly better) position than you, but I got interview shit pwned.

If you aren't a social retard, you will be fine.

Is this an admission that you are a social retard?

[Anonymous User]

In that case, from my own experiences, the advice given so far is pretty credited.

I was in a similar (but slightly better) position than you, but I got interview shit pwned.

If you aren't a social retard, you will be fine.

so should I use most of my bids on bigger firms in the V25-50 range?

[Anonymous User]

yea, I was the kid in the library studying my ass off until 3 am every night. Needless to say, I didn't exactly work on my networking. I naively thought that good grades + ccn = v10. ITE and not ITE this was never true.

2l's go to the lunches, seriously.

[Fyre182]

good luck

[Anonymous User]

yes

[Anonymous User]

In that case, from my own experiences, the advice given so far is pretty credited.

I was in a similar (but slightly better) position than you, but I got interview shit pwned.

If you aren't a social retard, you will be fine.

so should I use most of my bids on bigger firms in the V25-50 range?

How confident are you in your interviewing skills (be honest)?

My interview skills are pretty good, but I'm not sure if they're good enough to convince a firm I'm underqualified for to hire me.

[Fyre182]

good luck

[Anonymous User]

thanks for snuffing out the flames, keep the good info coming!

as an 0L heading to ccn this is premature and career services will probably explain all of this to us next year... but out of curiosity what kind of school-sponsored preparation do you guys get in advance of the bidding process? are there pamphlets that outline what your range of firms are based on your gpa? and do most students reach out to career advisors for help preparing their list? my instincts tell me that the best sources of info would be those 2Ls who have been there and done that. are there career peer mentors for 1Ls?