About transfer between law firms after SA Forum

[mjitbswyd]

If someone gets an offer out of an 2L SA, then needs to work in another city due to family reason, will the previous offer help (or hurt) the chance of getting a new job during 3L? Would it be helpful if the first SA is in NYC(I heard it's easier to transfer from NYC to other cities, but not sure if it applies here)?

thank you!

[Renzo]

You can bet that anyone who interviews you will ask "did you get an offer to come back to _________?"

If the answer is "no" they'll assume your a screwup, and you're going to have to convince them otherwise.

[mjitbswyd]

You can bet that anyone who interviews you will ask "did you get an offer to come back to _________?"

If the answer is "no" they'll assume your a screwup, and you're going to have to convince them otherwise.

Thank you for the reply!

But assume I took the first offer, would that cause the interviewer think I'm a runner or something?

Would a 2L summer SA with an offer have a significant better chance in getting a 3L SA in another firm(same level with the previous firm)?

[Renzo]

You can bet that anyone who interviews you will ask "did you get an offer to come back to _________?"

If the answer is "no" they'll assume your a screwup, and you're going to have to convince them otherwise.

Thank you for the reply!

But assume I took the first offer, would that cause the interviewer think I'm a runner or something?

Would a 2L summer SA with an offer have a significant better chance in getting a 3L SA in another firm(same level with the previous firm)?

Isn't this the same question you just asked?

[FlightoftheEarls]

You can bet that anyone who interviews you will ask "did you get an offer to come back to _________?"

If the answer is "no" they'll assume your a screwup, and you're going to have to convince them otherwise.

Thank you for the reply!

But assume I took the first offer, would that cause the interviewer think I'm a runner or something?

Would a 2L summer SA with an offer have a significant better chance in getting a 3L SA in another firm(same level with the previous firm)?

While it's hard to know for sure, the common wisdom seems to suggest that an offer with a firm that the student has SA'd with will be very helpful for rising 3Ls hoping to be hired by another firm. While it's not impossible, for example, to land a 3L OCI position without an offer, the majority of the offers reportedly go to students who are "trading up" because firms assume that they have already been "vetted" and "approved". I can't provide any qualitative data to help with your question, but the general idea is that an offer is bordering on (but not completely) necessary to have much luck at 3L OCI hiring in this economy.

To answer your first question, I don't think firms are too worried about you appearing to be a runner, as (1) they know you probably went to the best firm you could at the time and would have preferred them (since you're contemplating leaving your firm for them), and (2) they know that you don't really have any other chance to "trade up" following 3L hiring season. Those would be my suspicions, at least, although perhaps somebody more familiar with 3L hiring can speak more knowledgeably than I can.

[mjitbswyd]

You can bet that anyone who interviews you will ask "did you get an offer to come back to _________?"

If the answer is "no" they'll assume your a screwup, and you're going to have to convince them otherwise.

Thank you for the reply!

But assume I took the first offer, would that cause the interviewer think I'm a runner or something?

Would a 2L summer SA with an offer have a significant better chance in getting a 3L SA in another firm(same level with the previous firm)?

Isn't this the same question you just asked?

Yes.. But your reply made me think that I asked the question in the wrong way so I thought I should restate it..Thank you anyway!

[mjitbswyd]

You can bet that anyone who interviews you will ask "did you get an offer to come back to _________?"

If the answer is "no" they'll assume your a screwup, and you're going to have to convince them otherwise.

Thank you for the reply!

But assume I took the first offer, would that cause the interviewer think I'm a runner or something?

Would a 2L summer SA with an offer have a significant better chance in getting a 3L SA in another firm(same level with the previous firm)?

While it's hard to know for sure, the common wisdom seems to suggest that an offer with a firm that the student has SA'd with will be very helpful for rising 3Ls hoping to be hired by another firm. While it's not impossible, for example, to land a 3L OCI position without an offer, the majority of the offers reportedly go to students who are "trading up" because firms assume that they have already been "vetted" and "approved". I can't provide any qualitative data to help with your question, but the general idea is that an offer is bordering on (but not completely) necessary to have much luck at 3L OCI hiring in this economy.

To answer your first question, I don't think firms are too worried about you appearing to be a runner, as (1) they know you probably went to the best firm you could at the time and would have preferred them (since you're contemplating leaving your firm for them), and (2) they know that you don't really have any other chance to "trade up" following 3L hiring season. Those would be my suspicions, at least, although perhaps somebody more familiar with 3L hiring can speak more knowledgeably than I can.

This is very helpful. Thank you!

[Anonymous User]

You can bet that anyone who interviews you will ask "did you get an offer to come back to _________?"

If the answer is "no" they'll assume your a screwup, and you're going to have to convince them otherwise.

True in the past. Not anymore. Unless you went to a firm that gave mostly offers, employers realize that this can be a factor of the economy. At least the past two years had no offers for economic reasons. I'd imagine this summer will be the same, at least to an extent.

But yes, being no offered will still suck. And if you're at a firm that gives 80%+ offers, and you're no-offered, the screwup assumption might attach.

[Renzo]

You can bet that anyone who interviews you will ask "did you get an offer to come back to _________?"

If the answer is "no" they'll assume your a screwup, and you're going to have to convince them otherwise.

True in the past. Not anymore. Unless you went to a firm that gave mostly offers, employers realize that this can be a factor of the economy. At least the past two years had no offers for economic reasons. I'd imagine this summer will be the same, at least to an extent.

But yes, being no offered will still suck. And if you're at a firm that gives 80%+ offers, and you're no-offered, the screwup assumption might attach.

No, it will still hurt. It may be easier to overcome the interviewers presumption that you were no-offered because you weren't as good as your classmates, but the presumption will still be there.

OP: what I was trying to say is that an offer won't help, as it's not going to create a job that wasn't otherwise available, or make you eligible for an employer that otherwise would pass you over. But, not having an offer will hurt you, as you'll have to convince potential employers that you A) didn't get no-offered because you suck and B) aren't just interviewing in whatever far away city you want to be in out of desperation for a job.

[concurrent fork]

You can bet that anyone who interviews you will ask "did you get an offer to come back to _________?"

If the answer is "no" they'll assume your a screwup, and you're going to have to convince them otherwise.

True in the past. Not anymore. Unless you went to a firm that gave mostly offers, employers realize that this can be a factor of the economy. At least the past two years had no offers for economic reasons. I'd imagine this summer will be the same, at least to an extent.

But yes, being no offered will still suck. And if you're at a firm that gives 80%+ offers, and you're no-offered, the screwup assumption might attach.

Come on...how many big firms have <50% offer rates? And - even if your firm is still running significantly lower offer rates (more likely the rate is now comparable due to reduced SA class sizes) - the interviewer can fairly make the assumption that you were one of the weaker performers.