How to break into WLRK? Forum

[Anonymous User]

according to some hls data ive got here for a given eip, wlrk interviewed 94 candidates and ultimately made 4 offers. all 4 accepted.
every kid i know heading there this summer had a serious shot at the sears prize.

wachtell is essentially where brilliant law students go as an alternative to chasing a supreme court clerkship. this thread may as well be debating the merits of entering the nba draft or something. so few have a shot that it ends up being a colossal waste of time.

LOL, this is where things get out of control. It's just a firm. I know people going there this summer/have been there previous summers who aren't even on law review, let alone in the running for SC clerkships. And people who want SC clerkships generally do litigation, not corporate, which is really what attracts candidates to WLRK, so the overlap isn't THAT significant. Potential SC clerks go to or are already at lit boutiques, not WLRK (with exceptions of course, there are definitely ex-clerks there, but there are ex-clerks at lots of firms--it's not like WLRK is overflowing with them). Maybe so few at HLS have a shot, but at YS it's not totally crazy with a healthy dose of Hs/a genuine interest in what they do (the interviewers pride themselves on being able to see through who just wants to be there for the name, not the work).

Actually yeah I think APNS' anecdote might be atypical. Somebody asked this basic question to a WLRK partner at a HLS event this year, and he said generally there is a rough cutoff (20%? maybe) but its not a bright line rule. In fact there was a SA from H a couple years ago who was medianish.

(Although of course, extremely high grades is probably closer to the rule than the exception)

Their stated "cut-off" means nothing when they reveal their preferences for top top students by selecting them. Whatever the hiring partner said at that event (I know, I was there) should provide little solace.

[Kimchi_smile]

Are you an alumni at that eagle school? Where is that?
Doesn't look like a school in Virginia.

Yang?

That's the symbol for Yonsei University, a prestigious university in Korea that is the most open to exchange students.

Your posts are hugely irrelevant to the discussion on WLRK.

[bhan87]

Are you an alumni at that eagle school? Where is that?
Doesn't look like a school in Virginia.

Yang?

That's the symbol for Yonsei University, a prestigious university in Korea that is the most open to exchange students.

Your posts are hugely irrelevant to the discussion on WLRK.

I was just answering his question

But back on topic, maybe getting into WLRK isnt as tough as my initial post stated, but it's still a crapshoot for most people. So, best advice for you is to maximize your LSAT and get into the best law school possible if you want to work for them. You should also check out what current associates say about working at WLRK (on vault or whatnot). It really does take a special type of person to enjoy the insane workload WLRK associates have

[RevolverX]

Doesn't bingham offer more dough or something

[FlightoftheEarls]

Doesn't bingham offer more dough or something

http://abovethelaw.com/2010/03/inside-t ... hen-bonus/

Doesn't look like it.

[Kimchi_smile]

It really does take a special type of person to enjoy the insane workload WLRK associates have

Considering how much more insanely Korean corporations enslave their employees, I'd rather be enslaved by WLRK but earn a much better return.

[RevolverX]

Btw, on their website, why the hell don't they show a recruiting calendar or schools where they will be doing OCI? Are they too good for that shit?

[20160810]

Are you an alumni at that eagle school? Where is that?
Doesn't look like a school in Virginia.

Yang?

That's the symbol for Yonsei University, a prestigious university in Korea that is the most open to exchange students.

Your posts are hugely irrelevant to the discussion on WLRK.

I'm curious how relevant you'll be to WLRK once you actually (1.) select a law school and (2.) get your 1L grades.

[Kimchi_smile]

Are you an alumni at that eagle school? Where is that?
Doesn't look like a school in Virginia.

Yang?

That's the symbol for Yonsei University, a prestigious university in Korea that is the most open to exchange students.

Your posts are hugely irrelevant to the discussion on WLRK.

I'm curious how relevant you'll be to WLRK once you actually (1.) select a law school and (2.) get your 1L grades.

Probably not much. But I'm trying to shoot for the stars, so as to give myself some motivation, and if I don't make it to WLRK, perhaps my hard work gets me good enough results to still do something with the law degree.

Thanks everyone for your inputs!

[Anonymous User]

As someone who will likely be in the running for WLRK (HYS, likely top 5-10% after this semester), I'm still torn about whether winning the "prize" of a WLRK SA will be worth the loss of personal life to come along with it. I've posted earlier in this thread about how the exit options from there are a cut above other firms, but I have no researched evidence to back it up apart from a few friends.

It's not like aiming for HYS and being thrilled you did well enough to get in. There's no drawback from attending those institutes. Going to WLRK, on the other hand, has a distinct drawback that may make any sort of thrill of getting there fade away after a couple 70-80 hour weeks.

[quakeroats]

As someone who will likely be in the running for WLRK (HYS, likely top 5-10% after this semester), I'm still torn about whether winning the "prize" of a WLRK SA will be worth the loss of personal life to come along with it. I've posted earlier in this thread about how the exit options from there are a cut above other firms, but I have no researched evidence to back it up apart from a few friends.

It's not like aiming for HYS and being thrilled you did well enough to get in. There's no drawback from attending those institutes. Going to WLRK, on the other hand, has a distinct drawback that may make any sort of thrill of getting there fade away after a couple 70-80 hour weeks.

If billing 3000-3500 hours doesn't sound like fun, then you're instincts are probably right.

[Kimchi_smile]

As someone who will likely be in the running for WLRK (HYS, likely top 5-10% after this semester),

HYS doesn't have grading, so how do you know you're top 5-10%? How do they have class ranks?

[Anonymous User]

As someone who will likely be in the running for WLRK (HYS, likely top 5-10% after this semester),

HYS doesn't have grading, so how do you know you're top 5-10%? How do they have class ranks?

If you have enough H's, you can approximate with substantial certainty.

[liLtuneChi]

according to some hls data ive got here for a given eip, wlrk interviewed 94 candidates and ultimately made 4 offers. all 4 accepted.
every kid i know heading there this summer had a serious shot at the sears prize.

wachtell is essentially where brilliant law students go as an alternative to chasing down a supreme court clerkship. this thread may as well be debating the merits of entering the nba draft or something. so few have a shot that it ends up being a colossal waste of time.

same thing at Columbia

last year something like 75 people interviewed with Wachtell.......they gave out 4 offers.......however only 2 people accepted

it seems like WLRK has like 4 slots for the elite schools like Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Columbia. and then might pick 1 or 2 people in the other schools they recruit


I don't think Wachtell gives out offers to just anyone at even places like Yale or Stanford. You need to be top of the class and then interview well.

[Renzo]

Their stated "cut-off" means nothing when they reveal their preferences for top top students by selecting them. Whatever the hiring partner said at that event (I know, I was there) should provide little solace.

ITT 0L uses anonymous poasts; pretends to be HLS student knowledgeable in the ways of WLRK.

[quakeroats]

Their stated "cut-off" means nothing when they reveal their preferences for top top students by selecting them. Whatever the hiring partner said at that event (I know, I was there) should provide little solace.

ITT 0L uses anonymous poasts; pretends to be HLS student knowledgeable in the ways of WLRK.

A named partner (this should really narrow it down) was part of a panel for one of our classes that's still talked about. We never posted the video, but rumor has it that he said things like "most of our partners are on their second marriages and their children hate them" and "we've got lots of porsches and divorces" and "you need a wife at home to work here."

[SOCRATiC]

The last I want to do is to become a litigator. Too much speaking.

lol.

[Kimchi_smile]

The last I want to do is to become a litigator. Too much speaking.

lol.

I've already realized my ignorance and lack of knowledge. Thanks for continuously picking this out for the whole world to see.

[Kabuo]

The last I want to do is to become a litigator. Too much speaking.

lol.

I've already realized my ignorance and lack of knowledge. Thanks for continuously picking this out for the whole world to see.

[Anonymous User]

I don't think Wachtell gives out offers to just anyone at even places like Yale or Stanford. You need to be top of the class and then interview well.

Sure, but it sounds like competition at Harvard and Columbia for WLRK is far more intense than at Stanford, at least. I suspect that WLRK is aiming to fill a similar number of SA spots from S/Y as from H/Columbia, yet as other posters have described above, the firm is not nearly so desired at Stanford. Certainly, all of the 3-4 people going to Wachtel from Stanford this year are good students, and all around lovely people. And I suspect that they all fall in roughly the top 30-40% at Stanford. But, the students with mostly Hs and multiple book prizes generally weren't interested in WLRK at Stanford, so those aren't the students going to the firm from my class. This is in no ways to diminish the accomplishments of the students going to WLRK--I'd hire any of them for my firm. And that's not to say that getting an SA at WLRK is easy out of Stanford--I suspect that many more people interviewed for spots than received offers (although I doubt it's anywhere close to level of competitiveness of 75 people interviewing for 4 offers described above for Harvard). My sense is that getting a WLRK SA position at Stanford, like most things here, is far more about "fit" than about being top of the class. I suspect Yale is similar. Sure, you're probably not going to get an offer if you're below median, but I suspect that if you have a good smattering of Hs and the right personality, you'll have a real shot.

[liLtuneChi]

I don't think Wachtell gives out offers to just anyone at even places like Yale or Stanford. You need to be top of the class and then interview well.

Sure, but it sounds like competition at Harvard and Columbia for WLRK is far more intense than at Stanford, at least. I suspect that WLRK is aiming to fill a similar number of SA spots from S/Y as from H/Columbia, yet as other posters have described above, the firm is not nearly so desired at Stanford. Certainly, all of the 3-4 people going to Wachtel from Stanford this year are good students, and all around lovely people. And I suspect that they all fall in roughly the top 30-40% at Stanford. But, the students with mostly Hs and multiple book prizes generally weren't interested in WLRK at Stanford, so those aren't the students going to the firm from my class. This is in no ways to diminish the accomplishments of the students going to WLRK--I'd hire any of them for my firm. And that's not to say that getting an SA at WLRK is easy out of Stanford--I suspect that many more people interviewed for spots than received offers (although I doubt it's anywhere close to level of competitiveness of 75 people interviewing for 4 offers described above for Harvard). My sense is that getting a WLRK SA position at Stanford, like most things here, is far more about "fit" than about being top of the class. I suspect Yale is similar. Sure, you're probably not going to get an offer if you're below median, but I suspect that if you have a good smattering of Hs and the right personality, you'll have a real shot.

that is a straight up LIE because I was talking to a partner from Williams & Connolly (Stanford alum) a couple of months ago and she said that even when she was at Stanford (10 years ago) everyone wanted WLRK and she said not much has changed since.

maybe everyone doesn't say it out loud but why on earth would strivers (at places like HYSCCN) who have chased the next hoop to jump through at each point in their lives stop now when it comes to law firms

I don't think there is any difference between students at any of the top schools. There are just as many people (by percentage) at Stanford/Yale as there are at Columbia or Harvard gunning for Wachtell. I don't think people at Stanford are any different when it comes to gunning for the top spot.

[Anonymous User]

I don't think Wachtell gives out offers to just anyone at even places like Yale or Stanford. You need to be top of the class and then interview well.

Sure, but it sounds like competition at Harvard and Columbia for WLRK is far more intense than at Stanford, at least. I suspect that WLRK is aiming to fill a similar number of SA spots from S/Y as from H/Columbia, yet as other posters have described above, the firm is not nearly so desired at Stanford. Certainly, all of the 3-4 people going to Wachtel from Stanford this year are good students, and all around lovely people. And I suspect that they all fall in roughly the top 30-40% at Stanford. But, the students with mostly Hs and multiple book prizes generally weren't interested in WLRK at Stanford, so those aren't the students going to the firm from my class. This is in no ways to diminish the accomplishments of the students going to WLRK--I'd hire any of them for my firm. And that's not to say that getting an SA at WLRK is easy out of Stanford--I suspect that many more people interviewed for spots than received offers (although I doubt it's anywhere close to level of competitiveness of 75 people interviewing for 4 offers described above for Harvard). My sense is that getting a WLRK SA position at Stanford, like most things here, is far more about "fit" than about being top of the class. I suspect Yale is similar. Sure, you're probably not going to get an offer if you're below median, but I suspect that if you have a good smattering of Hs and the right personality, you'll have a real shot.

that is a straight up LIE because I was talking to a partner from Williams & Connolly (Stanford alum) a couple of months ago and she said that even when she was at Stanford (10 years ago) everyone wanted WLRK and she said not much has changed since.

maybe everyone doesn't say it out loud but why on earth would strivers (at places like HYSCCN) who have chased the next hoop to jump through at each point in their lives stop now when it comes to law firms

I don't think there is any difference between students at any of the top schools. There are just as many people (by percentage) at Stanford/Yale as there are at Columbia or Harvard gunning for Wachtell. I don't think people at Stanford are any different when it comes to gunning for the top spot.

So you're gonna take the word of a person who hasn't been here in ten years over the word of current students? I'm not the anon above, but I agree 100% with his/her assessments of the desirability of WLRK at Stanford (and also that the people that are going are lovely, smart people! this does not diminish their accomplishments). But I think the number of SLS students going to NYC this year as a 2L SA from here is ~15 TOPS. I can't speak to how typical that is, maybe someone else can. This year, the number of people going to DC/SF/LA is easily 70% of the 2L class (of the ones who did OCI), and probably a little over 50% of the 1Ls (a lot are going abroad). People really value quality of life around here. The reputation of WLRK as where associates go to die is just not attractive to us. In talking with people and where they want to work, I literally haven't heard of a single 1L gunning for WLRK.

[Anonymous User]

I don't think Wachtell gives out offers to just anyone at even places like Yale or Stanford. You need to be top of the class and then interview well.

Sure, but it sounds like competition at Harvard and Columbia for WLRK is far more intense than at Stanford, at least. I suspect that WLRK is aiming to fill a similar number of SA spots from S/Y as from H/Columbia, yet as other posters have described above, the firm is not nearly so desired at Stanford. Certainly, all of the 3-4 people going to Wachtel from Stanford this year are good students, and all around lovely people. And I suspect that they all fall in roughly the top 30-40% at Stanford. But, the students with mostly Hs and multiple book prizes generally weren't interested in WLRK at Stanford, so those aren't the students going to the firm from my class. This is in no ways to diminish the accomplishments of the students going to WLRK--I'd hire any of them for my firm. And that's not to say that getting an SA at WLRK is easy out of Stanford--I suspect that many more people interviewed for spots than received offers (although I doubt it's anywhere close to level of competitiveness of 75 people interviewing for 4 offers described above for Harvard). My sense is that getting a WLRK SA position at Stanford, like most things here, is far more about "fit" than about being top of the class. I suspect Yale is similar. Sure, you're probably not going to get an offer if you're below median, but I suspect that if you have a good smattering of Hs and the right personality, you'll have a real shot.

that is a straight up LIE because I was talking to a partner from Williams & Connolly (Stanford alum) a couple of months ago and she said that even when she was at Stanford (10 years ago) everyone wanted WLRK and she said not much has changed since.

maybe everyone doesn't say it out loud but why on earth would strivers (at places like HYSCCN) who have chased the next hoop to jump through at each point in their lives stop now when it comes to law firms

I don't think there is any difference between students at any of the top schools. There are just as many people (by percentage) at Stanford/Yale as there are at Columbia or Harvard gunning for Wachtell. I don't think people at Stanford are any different when it comes to gunning for the top spot.

So you're gonna take the word of a person who hasn't been here in ten years over the word of current students? I'm not the anon above, but I agree 100% with his/her assessments of the desirability of WLRK at Stanford (and also that the people that are going are lovely, smart people! this does not diminish their accomplishments). But I think the number of SLS students going to NYC this year as a 2L SA from here is ~15 TOPS. I can't speak to how typical that is, maybe someone else can. This year, the number of people going to DC/SF/LA is easily 70% of the 2L class (of the ones who did OCI), and probably a little over 50% of the 1Ls (a lot are going abroad). People really value quality of life around here. The reputation of WLRK as where associates go to die is just not attractive to us. In talking with people and where they want to work, I literally haven't heard of a single 1L gunning for WLRK.

Can anyone speak about how difficult it is to lateral from WLRK as a 1st- or 2nd-year associate to a firm in SF/LA if that is where you want to permanently reside?

[thecilent]

The Stanford-is-too-good-and-loves-life-too-much-to-gun-for-Wachtell trolling itt is ridiculous.

[Nom Sawyer]

Actually yeah I think APNS' anecdote might be atypical. Somebody asked this basic question to a WLRK partner at a HLS event this year, and he said generally there is a rough cutoff (20%? maybe) but its not a bright line rule. In fact there was a SA from H a couple years ago who was medianish.

(Although of course, extremely high grades is probably closer to the rule than the exception)

Their stated "cut-off" means nothing when they reveal their preferences for top top students by selecting them. Whatever the hiring partner said at that event (I know, I was there) should provide little solace.

Hmm did you even read my post? Of course they show preference for those with high grades, but the actual SAs hired with lower grades (both from knowing 2nd and 3rd year students and the past hires that the partner talk about) show that the stated cutoff isn't even an absolute wall.

Either way though I would never want to work there. 3000 hours sounds absolutely horrible... Haven't they heard of the backwards bending utility curve for salary?