Firm jobs in small NY markets Forum

[acdisagod]

I'm trying to figure out if it is realistic to expect that I will be able to land a somewhat prestigious job [i.e. nlj 250 firm, clerkship, good government job] in small markets like Albany, Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse and Binghamton. From what I can tell, aside from binghamton, there seem to be a few large firms in each market and each firm hires around 5 2L's every year. On average there are about 20-30 2L's hired in each market.

I'm a 1L at Cornell and I have some ties to the Rochester and Albany markets. The problem seems to be there are just so few job openings in these markets, but then again I don't know how many people are applying for jobs in these markets. Does anyone here have any experience trying to land jobs in these markets?

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 2L at Cornell and I've been trying to get a job in Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, or Binghamton. The upstate market is very tough this year- every firm I've interviewed with is only hiring 2 summer associates this year because of the economy. And you're competing with students from Syracuse, SUNY Buffalo, and Albany law schools for these jobs, who typically feed into big upstate firms, so being from Cornell doesn't give you all that much of an edge. So basically upstate is a very competitive market this year. Cornell's OCI recruiting with upstate firms is also very limited, there are a lot of upstate firms that don't come to Cornell but recruit at other upstate law schools. Ties to the area is also very important- I have family in Rochester but am not from Rochester myself (although I am from upstate New York) and some Rochester firms haven't felt that those are sufficient ties- many interviewers found it hard to believe that a Cornell student wouldn't want to work in NYC.

[Anonymous User]

Mail out resumes and cover letters to the Upstate firms that don't come to Cornell OCI. You might want to even mail the ones that do in early July to get their attention. The above poster is correct, most firms are hiring an even smaller summer class this year.

Also, you're not just competing with upstate New York law schools. There are usually a couple people who grew up in the area and want to settle here coming in from T6 schools.

[acdisagod]

Would going to undergrad right outside of Rochester count as a tie to the area? The real reason I want one of these markets is I'm trying to stay near my significant other and she is likely to end up in one of these cities.

[Anonymous User]

Would going to undergrad right outside of Rochester count as a tie to the area? The real reason I want one of these markets is I'm trying to stay near my significant other and she is likely to end up in one of these cities.

I think so. It would still be a good idea to really sell to them that you want to stay upstate anyway, they really look for people who are committed to staying in the area long-term.

[FlanAl]

out of curiosity I thought I would necro this thread and see if anyone from any school has any anecdotal experience regarding the smaller upstate markets from this past fall.