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For OCI, is it ok to interview with a firms NYC and DC office? How will the firm feel about this?

Interviewed today with Cahill Gordon which has three offices - 2 national & 1 intl. If they say no to one you could always try for another office.

Some schools don't let you do this. I think mine does, but I avoided the situation regardless. I've heard mixed things, though.

The almost universal advice is that such a move is bad strategy. Firms will share notes between offices, and you need to sell your desire to the firm. Yes, we're desperate law students and we all would take a job anywhere at this point - but saying so won't help you. You need to be mature enough to narrow your search and tailor your "sales pitch."

What about a firm that has 3 offices in the same location?

ex: OMM has an LA, Century City, and OC office.

How do you handle cover letters in such a situation? It seems silly to pull the whole "I have family in City X and want to work there" for both offices.

I actually have interviews with three different offices of the same firm, and actually met most of the interviewers at a reception a while back. I have no idea how this going to end....

Ask OCS or the firm. Some firms offices are completely siloed, other firms coordinate recruiting; some ask you to rank office preferences, others prohibit multiple interviews.

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bwv812 wrote:

disco_barred wrote:The almost universal advice is that such a move is bad strategy. Firms will share notes between offices, and you need to sell your desire to the firm. Yes, we're desperate law students and we all would take a job anywhere at this point - but saying so won't help you. You need to be mature enough to narrow your search and tailor your "sales pitch."

By "almost universal," he means that people disagree. Some (including NYAssociate) feel it is fine if you can articulate good reasons for different offices.

Sorry, should have clarified that by almost universal I meant amongst the several hiring attorneys I've spoken with about this at major law firms.

As long as you have a good reason, I'm not sure it's such a big deal. If you're only into environmental law...maybe only 8 firms from DC at your school's OCI do it and maybe another 6 in NYC do it. And say one of them has an office in both cities. I'm not sure it would be a huge issue.

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disco_barred wrote:

bwv812 wrote:

disco_barred wrote:The almost universal advice is that such a move is bad strategy. Firms will share notes between offices, and you need to sell your desire to the firm. Yes, we're desperate law students and we all would take a job anywhere at this point - but saying so won't help you. You need to be mature enough to narrow your search and tailor your "sales pitch."

By "almost universal," he means that people disagree. Some (including NYAssociate) feel it is fine if you can articulate good reasons for different offices.

Sorry, should have clarified that by almost universal I meant amongst the several hiring attorneys I've spoken with about this at major law firms.

I interviewed with more than one market and received callbacks / offers from more than one at the same firm. I think this is unusual and like disco said it often hurts more than it helps.

The key, in my view, is articulating good reasons for both offices. I don't think it would be held against you if you lived your entire life in Boston and went to NYU if you expressed interest at both the Boston / NYC offices. It's harder to make the case if you bid SF/NYC and have no ties to either. You look like a waffle at that point.