thoughts on next year's OCI Forum

[sk95]

http://www.xoxohth.com/thread.php?threa ... forum_id=2

one 2L's take

[NYAssociate]

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[JG Hall]

I really don't think summer class sizes are going to get noticeable bigger between this year and next. firms have realized that they don't need to be. plus, DOUBLE DIP.

[2LLLL]

Expect class sizes to be roughly the same.

Any increase due to economic improvement (if any) will be offset by a decrease caused by firm mergers.

We're clearly at the beginning of another round of mergers (see, e.g., hogan lovells, Orrick-Akin, Reed-Thompson, Kilpatrick-Townsend negotiation) and the merged firm will need fewer SAs then the combination of both legacy firms.

[MrAnon]

What is he supposed to say? "I am concerned that 2011 OCI will be worse than this year"? "I am concerned the 2011 OCI will be more of the same?" The point is, he knows about as well as you or I whether OCI will be better, worse, or non-existent. He hopes it will be better, but nobody knows, and there is no trend despite what media and career services offices want people to believe. Those groups have to say something about the issue, so they choose to say that. Nobody wants to say the sky is falling.

The housing crisis is nowhere near over.
The President is raising taxes.
Employment levels are flat.
Banks are closing at a faster rate than last year and the year before and really any year except S&L crisis and depression.
But Summer Associate hiring is expected to improve?? It flies in the face of all evidence.

[tome]

What is he supposed to say? "I am concerned that 2011 OCI will be worse than this year"? "I am concerned the 2011 OCI will be more of the same?" The point is, he knows about as well as you or I whether OCI will be better, worse, or non-existent. He hopes it will be better, but nobody knows, and there is no trend despite what media and career services offices want people to believe. Those groups have to say something about the issue, so they choose to say that. Nobody wants to say the sky is falling.

The housing crisis is nowhere near over.
The President is raising taxes.
Employment levels are flat.
Banks are closing at a faster rate than last year and the year before and really any year except S&L crisis and depression.
But Summer Associate hiring is expected to improve?? It flies in the face of all evidence.

There will be more jobs if there is more legal work. You would have to say a lot more than you have here to show there will not be more legal work in the near future. There is also reason to believe that law firms over reacted to the crisis in terms of hiring and layoffs.

[Auguste Estoppel]

As someone whose target market is neck-deep in displaced attorneys and appears poised to remain as such for the foreseeable future, I'm not terribly optimistic.

I mean, you've got people fighting to work for free.

[Cavalier]

From my experience, a few more employers came to OGI this year than in 2011, which presumably helped somewhat. Also, some of the major New York firms are taking on larger classes than last year. But even if these trends continue, I don't think they will have a significant impact on SA hiring, especially outside of New York.

[Kohinoor]

From my experience, a few more employers came to OGI this year than in 2011, which presumably helped somewhat. Also, some of the major New York firms are taking on larger classes than last year. But even if these trends continue, I don't think they will have a significant impact on SA hiring, especially outside of New York.

Every firm I talked to that mentioned class size was slashing them though. I think there were a few big increases in class size and then dozens of small decreases.

[Anonymous User]

From my experience, a few more employers came to OGI this year than in 2011, which presumably helped somewhat. Also, some of the major New York firms are taking on larger classes than last year. But even if these trends continue, I don't think they will have a significant impact on SA hiring, especially outside of New York.

Every firm I talked to that mentioned class size was slashing them though. I think there were a few big increases in class size and then dozens of small decreases.

I experienced the same thing. I think v10s may be increasing class sizes, but all of the v20s to v50s in New York that I interviewed with seem to be slashing class sizes. They were still interviewing a TON of applicants for the much reduced summer associate classes. I would expect next year's OCI to be the same as this year's.

[Anonymous User]

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[Anonymous User]

Cravath will have a large increase, as will Skadden. I don't expect DPW, STB, Cleary, etc. to go beyond 100, or maybe even 90. K&E Chi and NY will be roughly doubling up.

These increases may produce a trickle-down effect, but it seems that these increases will be offset by the numerous decreases in class sizes at lower-ranked firms.

[Anonymous User]

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[MrAnon]

There will be more jobs if there is more legal work. You would have to say a lot more than you have here to show there will not be more legal work in the near future. There is also reason to believe that law firms over reacted to the crisis in terms of hiring and layoffs.

Why is it my burden to prove legal services needs will not grow, grow, grow? You assume there will be more legal work or that it grows every year. As the past has shown this simply is not true. The truth is that it can grow, shrink, or remain flat. The only work that is growing out there is related to government investigations, health care regulatory work, and banking regulatory work, and bankruptcy. General corporate is flat at best and general commercial litigation is flat at best. The only growth fields are largely government supported.

[NYAssociate]

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[dood]

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[jchoggan]

1st to say: NY TO $190K!!!!!

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