Current 2L SA seeking to get back to home city--need advice! Forum

[Anonymous User]

Okay, so basically I'm a rising 3L at a T6 with pretty good grades. I currently am an SA in a city that I only took the job in because of my girlfriend. My girlfriend of over a year and a half dumped me in devastating fashion a week before my SA started. I don't know anyone else in the city and have absolutely no reason to stay. I strongly want to return to my home town of Chicago. Things are going fine at work and I don't think I've done anything stupid enough at this point to not get an offer. However, I am trying to figure out a way to get back to Chicago. The problem is the employer list at my school's OCI is absolutely barren in terms of Chicago firms, and even more barren in terms of Chicago firms that are also looking to hire 3Ls. There's literally like one Chicago firm that is hiring 3L's that is coming to OCI.

What is my best plan of action? I figure that assuming I come out with an offer from my current firm, I have a significant leg up on other 3L's that didn't get biglaw this summer. Should I be mass mailing? How bad are my chances of making this happen? Is there any light at the end of the tunnel?

[TTT-LS]

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[Anonymous User]

Mass mail/networking back home is one front. Clerkships are another. You could really make it easier to transition to Chicago biglaw by landing a 7th Cir. or N.D. Ill. clerkship. Hell, any clerkship in the region would probably make the switch easier than trying to do it via 3L OCI.

Do you think the clerkship route entails a lot of risk? What are the odds of me getting a clerkship and then not getting Chicago biglaw afterwards? As much as I want to get out of my current city, I also don't want to run the risk of throwing away my bird in hand and then not getting Biglaw in Chi after the clerkship all to have this 150k+ in debt staring me in the face.

[ggocat]

Mass mail/networking back home is one front. Clerkships are another. You could really make it easier to transition to Chicago biglaw by landing a 7th Cir. or N.D. Ill. clerkship. Hell, any clerkship in the region would probably make the switch easier than trying to do it via 3L OCI.

Do you think the clerkship route entails a lot of risk? What are the odds of me getting a clerkship and then not getting Chicago biglaw afterwards? As much as I want to get out of my current city, I also don't want to run the risk of throwing away my bird in hand and then not getting Biglaw in Chi after the clerkship all to have this 150k+ in debt staring me in the face.

If you get an offer from your current firm and a fed clerkship, your current firm is likely to welcome you back (with a bonus).

[Anonymous User]

Mass mail/networking back home is one front. Clerkships are another. You could really make it easier to transition to Chicago biglaw by landing a 7th Cir. or N.D. Ill. clerkship. Hell, any clerkship in the region would probably make the switch easier than trying to do it via 3L OCI.

Do you think the clerkship route entails a lot of risk? What are the odds of me getting a clerkship and then not getting Chicago biglaw afterwards? As much as I want to get out of my current city, I also don't want to run the risk of throwing away my bird in hand and then not getting Biglaw in Chi after the clerkship all to have this 150k+ in debt staring me in the face.

If you get an offer from your current firm and a fed clerkship, your current firm is likely to welcome you back (with a bonus).

Hrmm...this is very true. I kinda forgot about that.

[ggocat]

Mass mail/networking back home is one front. Clerkships are another. You could really make it easier to transition to Chicago biglaw by landing a 7th Cir. or N.D. Ill. clerkship. Hell, any clerkship in the region would probably make the switch easier than trying to do it via 3L OCI.

Do you think the clerkship route entails a lot of risk? What are the odds of me getting a clerkship and then not getting Chicago biglaw afterwards? As much as I want to get out of my current city, I also don't want to run the risk of throwing away my bird in hand and then not getting Biglaw in Chi after the clerkship all to have this 150k+ in debt staring me in the face.

If you get an offer from your current firm and a fed clerkship, your current firm is likely to welcome you back (with a bonus).

Hrmm...this is very true. I kinda forgot about that.

That was the norm in a good economy. Of course, some clerks ITE had offers rescinded while they were clerking. I don't think it will happen too much in the future, though.