OCI Satisfaction Poll Forum

[MrKappus]

All Vault firms pay the same....so people shouldn't really worry about rankings.

good general sentiment, but factually untrue

This has always bothered me. I know that bonuses differ, but where do you find this information?

NALP's a good starting point, if you're willing to search firm-by-firm. I'm not sure if it's all compiled in a handy table somewhere (to save you ~100 Quick Searches).

[Anonymous User]

HYS, multiple H's, flagship LR.

15 interviews, 2 callbacks (V10 and V15). Mildly disappointed. I bid overconfidently and tried to hit too many markets.

Are you a really bad interviewer? Don't these stats make you competitive for a feeder clerkship? And you're having trouble getting firm callbacks?

I think the problem is my resume screams " I'm going to take your money and experience from one summer and vanish into academia! "

But yeah, maybe I'm just a bad interviewer.

Do you want to vanish into academia?

[Anonymous User]

All Vault firms pay the same....so people shouldn't really worry about rankings.

good general sentiment, but factually untrue

This has always bothered me. I know that bonuses differ, but where do you find this information?

NALP's a good starting point, if you're willing to search firm-by-firm. I'm not sure if it's all compiled in a handy table somewhere (to save you ~100 Quick Searches).

Well, NALP has starting salaries, and a lot of the top 50ish firms, especially those in NYC, pay $160k. But that doesn't mean that the compensation is the same at all of them. Some firms will have higher bonuses, even though starting salary is the same. This is the information I don't know where to find, if it even exists...

[MrKappus]

Sorry....RC fail on my part. ATL is the only place I've been able to find bonus info.

[lovelaw27]

http://lawshucks.com/bonus-tracker/

[wiseowl]

Well, NALP has starting salaries, and a lot of the top 50ish firms, especially those in NYC, pay $160k. But that doesn't mean that the compensation is the same at all of them. Some firms will have higher bonuses, even though starting salary is the same. This is the information I don't know where to find, if it even exists...

i'm not even talking about bonuses...there are just plenty of firms in the lower V100 (if that's what we're calling "Vault") that pay 145.

[Anonymous User]

Personally, I think rankings still matter as far as exit options go.

How so? I accepted an offer from a V60 firm over a V15 b/c I liked the culture better and am planning a family. Does this make me less attractive for my next steps after working at the firm?

From what I've seen, lateraling into another firm or transitioning to a U.S. Attorney's Office (just to take two examples) would each be easier for someone coming from a higher ranked firm.

[Anonymous User]

Personally, I think rankings still matter as far as exit options go.

How so? I accepted an offer from a V60 firm over a V15 b/c I liked the culture better and am planning a family. Does this make me less attractive for my next steps after working at the firm?

From what I've seen, lateraling into another firm or transitioning to a U.S. Attorney's Office (just to take two examples) would each be easier for someone coming from a higher ranked firm.

So I'm essentially f*cked then, for taking the lower ranked firm. Awesome.

[Anonymous User]

To the poster above don't let none of these know-it-all law school students who know nothing about "exit options" get you down. Why don't you ask the 300 people at Latham and the 300 at White & Case and the thousands of others from top-ranked firms where their "exit options" are getting them now? Law students live and die on hierarchy so they will cling to anything that distinguishes them from the rest of the pack. Not saying that those firms are not superior to lower-ranked firms, just saying ITE:

WHO CARES?

[Cavalier]

To the poster above don't let none of these know-it-all law school students who know nothing about "exit options" get you down. Why don't you ask the 300 people at Latham and the 300 at White & Case and the thousands of others from top-ranked firms where their "exit options" are getting them now? Law students live and die on hierarchy so they will cling to anything that distinguishes them from the rest of the pack. Not saying that those firms are not superior to lower-ranked firms, just saying ITE:

WHO CARES?

+1

[wiseowl]

To the poster above don't let none of these know-it-all law school students who know nothing about "exit options" get you down. Why don't you ask the 300 people at Latham and the 300 at White & Case and the thousands of others from top-ranked firms where their "exit options" are getting them now? Law students live and die on hierarchy so they will cling to anything that distinguishes them from the rest of the pack. Not saying that those firms are not superior to lower-ranked firms, just saying ITE:

WHO CARES?

good question, since you hid behind anonymous

[radek]

To the poster above don't let none of these know-it-all law school students who know nothing about "exit options" get you down. Why don't you ask the 300 people at Latham and the 300 at White & Case and the thousands of others from top-ranked firms where their "exit options" are getting them now? Law students live and die on hierarchy so they will cling to anything that distinguishes them from the rest of the pack. Not saying that those firms are not superior to lower-ranked firms, just saying ITE:

WHO CARES?

You're not cool unless you work at Skadden or better. Also, peeing your pants is cool.

[Anonymous User]

HYS, multiple H's, flagship LR.

15 interviews, 2 callbacks (V10 and V15). Mildly disappointed. I bid overconfidently and tried to hit too many markets.

Are you a really bad interviewer? Don't these stats make you competitive for a feeder clerkship? And you're having trouble getting firm callbacks?

I think the problem is my resume screams " I'm going to take your money and experience from one summer and vanish into academia! "

But yeah, maybe I'm just a bad interviewer.

Do you want to vanish into academia?

Shhhhhhh. Quiet down. You're as bad as my resume!

[Anonymous User]

A little bit above top quarter at a BU/BC type school, with a journal and non-prestigious WE. I bid on smallish V100s and midlaw, and was pleasantly surprised by my number of screening interviews. I suspect, like the future academic's resume, that mine might also have telegraphed "get me out of here," though not for the same reasons, and without the benefit of HYS. I thought some of my interviews went really well, but even so, not expecting callbacks. I may get a sizable stack of rejections (I have several already), but I knew my risk going in, so I can hardly be dissatisfied.

I should add that many people at a similar rank (and slightly below) have gotten callbacks here. It's not a despairfest for everyone, though there are very distinct haves and have nots. Whatever happens, at least I am all but certain this is not a reflection on me as an interviewer or the work I've put in since starting law school. And technically speaking, I have heard from fewer than half of my interviewers, so I could yet be surprised.

[Anonymous User]

A little bit above top quarter at a BU/BC type school, with a journal and non-prestigious WE. I bid on smallish V100s and midlaw, and was pleasantly surprised by my number of screening interviews. I suspect, like the future academic's resume, that mine might also have telegraphed "get me out of here," though not for the same reasons, and without the benefit of HYS. I thought some of my interviews went really well, but even so, not expecting callbacks. I may get a sizable stack of rejections (I have several already), but I knew my risk going in, so I can hardly be dissatisfied.

I should add that many people at a similar rank (and slightly below) have gotten callbacks here. It's not a despairfest for everyone, though there are very distinct haves and have nots. Whatever happens, at least I am all but certain this is not a reflection on me as an interviewer or the work I've put in since starting law school. And technically speaking, I have heard from fewer than half of my interviewers, so I could yet be surprised.

Are you going for academia too?

[Anonymous User]

A little bit above top quarter at a BU/BC type school, with a journal and non-prestigious WE. I bid on smallish V100s and midlaw, and was pleasantly surprised by my number of screening interviews. I suspect, like the future academic's resume, that mine might also have telegraphed "get me out of here," though not for the same reasons, and without the benefit of HYS. I thought some of my interviews went really well, but even so, not expecting callbacks. I may get a sizable stack of rejections (I have several already), but I knew my risk going in, so I can hardly be dissatisfied.

I should add that many people at a similar rank (and slightly below) have gotten callbacks here. It's not a despairfest for everyone, though there are very distinct haves and have nots. Whatever happens, at least I am all but certain this is not a reflection on me as an interviewer or the work I've put in since starting law school. And technically speaking, I have heard from fewer than half of my interviewers, so I could yet be surprised.

Are you going for academia too?

Haha, no. I could hardly have academia in my position. The similarity is that my resume also broadcasts strong interests in areas not typical for people applying to firms. In some cases, this was absolutely all interviewers could talk about. Do most employers have a set idea of what they are looking for, aside from school/grades/personality? These are the three factors we hear discussed most often, with work experience thrown in sometimes, but I could swear there is more to the picture, especially regarding fit. I assume interviewers may have thought I would not be happy or fit the culture in a big firm. Possibly they are right, but I wonder if this is a factor at all.