Law firm recruiter answering questions for a bit Forum

[Anonymous User]

Lawfirmrecruiter, thanks for taking questions.

My question is: do all big law firms conduct background checks? If so, what types of things will get someone dinged?

I'm #1 in my class at a T25 school, but I have a pretty tainted criminal background (two misdemeanor theft charges and multiple minor alcohol misdemeanors). How will this affect my employment opportunities with law firms?

Any information is appreciated.

Thanks.

[Coolgrnmen]

tl;dr. can you provide a summary?

fly away, shithead

@admin...these types of posts should bring the ban-hammer quicker in forums where professionals in the field are doing the users of TLS a favor, IMHO. (Reprisal...not Guchster)

[nonprofit-prophet]

tl;dr. can you provide a summary?

fly away, shithead

@admin...these types of posts should bring the ban-hammer quicker in forums where professionals in the field are doing the users of TLS a favor, IMHO. (Reprisal...not Guchster)

I agree completely.

[Anonymous User]

Thank you for taking questions.

I have a undergrad GPA of 3.2 from HYS and a 1L GPA of 3.9 at a top 20 law school with four years of strong work experience after college as well as strong extra-curriculars, both in undergrad and in law school.

Should I take my undergrad GPA off my resume because it is so much lower than my law school GPA or would taking it off make employers think that it's even lower than it is?

[rupret1]

I'm a mother who went back to school because it has always been a goal and desire to study law. What's your opinion on talking about having children in an interview? To this point i've tried to avoid it because of a lack of certainty how employers will view that info, but it seems to come up naturally. For instance, most of my volunteer activities on my resume relate to my kids' schools, and a large part of why I chose the law school i did was because of schooling for my kids. That also plays a big role in where i want to live/work after law school.

I have significant work experience in accounting/finance. I've worked full time with kids and I'm top 10% at a t-14 with kids. In my mind it should be a positive thing that I've accomplished it all while being a mom, but I don't know if that's how it's viewed by firms.

Thanks!

[nonprofit-prophet]

I'm a mother who went back to school because it has always been a goal and desire to study law. What's your opinion on talking about having children in an interview? To this point i've tried to avoid it because of a lack of certainty how employers will view that info, but it seems to come up naturally. For instance, most of my volunteer activities on my resume relate to my kids' schools, and a large part of why I chose the law school i did was because of schooling for my kids. That also plays a big role in where i want to live/work after law school.

I have significant work experience in accounting/finance. I've worked full time with kids and I'm top 10% at a t-14 with kids. In my mind it should be a positive thing that I've accomplished it all while being a mom, but I don't know if that's how it's viewed by firms.

Thanks!

Are you in section 3 at UT? I'm guessing the answer to your Q will be firm specific. I can see Locke Lord not worrying about it, since work/life balance is a selling point for them.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks for taking questions.

Do practicing attorneys use IRAC when writing a motion for a case? Is there more flexibility once you are in practice as opposed to what you experienced in LRW, or is there still a culture of rigidity with regard to the IRAC method?

[Anonymous User]

This may have already been asked, but law school students seem to be obsessed with rankings... do firms know about them just as much?

Obviously I'm sure you know the very elite schools, but what about those that fall outside of that reign

For example... are you more impressed by schools such as University of Minn / Boston University than Case Western / Pitt or do they kind of all become grouped together as schools that are decent but below the top schools?

[jarofsoup]

What do you think with transfer students?

[ph14]

When looking at laterals, what is most important to you? i.e., practice group of the firm you're working at? what projects they were involved with and what roles they had? selectiveness/reputation of the original firm? etc. etc.

[Anonymous User]

I didn't land an SA position at a firm for this summer, but I did land a job with a legal services office where I will actually be handling a full case load and getting REAL litigation experience (everything from interviewing clients to arguing motions to trial advocacy).

I really want a firm job when I graduate within a litigation practice. I would also be fine with a corporation practice, but litigation is preferred.

To the point: when looking for entry-level positions with firms...will they look at my actual litigation experience and give me a leg up over the next guy, or will they see me on the same level as someone else where the firm will still see it as them needing to train me just as much as them?

Recommendations aside...

[r6_philly]

.

[Anonymous User]

What is your firms grade cutoff for emory and similarly ranked schools? (but really just emory)

[johansantana21]

When looking at laterals, what is most important to you? i.e., practice group of the firm you're working at? what projects they were involved with and what roles they had? selectiveness/reputation of the original firm? etc. etc.

[Anonymous User]

I didn't land an SA position at a firm for this summer, but I did land a job with a legal services office where I will actually be handling a full case load and getting REAL litigation experience (everything from interviewing clients to arguing motions to trial advocacy).

I really want a firm job when I graduate within a litigation practice. I would also be fine with a corporation practice, but litigation is preferred.

To the point: when looking for entry-level positions with firms...will they look at my actual litigation experience and give me a leg up over the next guy, or will they see me on the same level as someone else where the firm will still see it as them needing to train me just as much as them?

Recommendations aside...

I'm OP of quoted...hope LFR wasn't turned away by the unprofessionalism...

[3|ink]

I didn't land an SA position at a firm for this summer, but I did land a job with a legal services office where I will actually be handling a full case load and getting REAL litigation experience (everything from interviewing clients to arguing motions to trial advocacy).

I really want a firm job when I graduate within a litigation practice. I would also be fine with a corporation practice, but litigation is preferred.

To the point: when looking for entry-level positions with firms...will they look at my actual litigation experience and give me a leg up over the next guy, or will they see me on the same level as someone else where the firm will still see it as them needing to train me just as much as them?

Recommendations aside...

I'm OP of quoted...hope LFR wasn't turned away by the unprofessionalism...

I'm pretty sure that's what happened. Can't say I blame him/her.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

Lawfirmrecruiter, thanks for taking questions.

My question is: do all big law firms conduct background checks? If so, what types of things will get someone dinged?

I'm #1 in my class at a T25 school, but I have a pretty tainted criminal background (two misdemeanor theft charges and multiple minor alcohol misdemeanors). How will this affect my employment opportunities with law firms?

Any information is appreciated.

Thanks.

Yes, all big firms conduct nationwide criminal checks. The theft charges especially will most likely raise some pretty serious concerns and red flags.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

Thank you for taking questions.

I have a undergrad GPA of 3.2 from HYS and a 1L GPA of 3.9 at a top 20 law school with four years of strong work experience after college as well as strong extra-curriculars, both in undergrad and in law school.

Should I take my undergrad GPA off my resume because it is so much lower than my law school GPA or would taking it off make employers think that it's even lower than it is?

IMHO it would be fine to leave it on. Shows intellectual improvement and you hit your stride in law school.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

I'm a mother who went back to school because it has always been a goal and desire to study law. What's your opinion on talking about having children in an interview? To this point i've tried to avoid it because of a lack of certainty how employers will view that info, but it seems to come up naturally. For instance, most of my volunteer activities on my resume relate to my kids' schools, and a large part of why I chose the law school i did was because of schooling for my kids. That also plays a big role in where i want to live/work after law school.

I have significant work experience in accounting/finance. I've worked full time with kids and I'm top 10% at a t-14 with kids. In my mind it should be a positive thing that I've accomplished it all while being a mom, but I don't know if that's how it's viewed by firms.

Thanks!

It certainly shows your work ethic is strong! Firms cannot ding you because of your children and they certainly should not be the ones to bring it up in the interview. From your point of view, however, you should be interviewing the firms to determine their commitment to women's issues,etc.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

This may have already been asked, but law school students seem to be obsessed with rankings... do firms know about them just as much?

Obviously I'm sure you know the very elite schools, but what about those that fall outside of that reign

For example... are you more impressed by schools such as University of Minn / Boston University than Case Western / Pitt or do they kind of all become grouped together as schools that are decent but below the top schools?

Firms are aware of and look at rankings but it is only one factor when considering candidates. Example - A top candidate from a lower ranked regional school with strong local ties may look better to us than a candidate from an elite with no ties.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

What do you think with transfer students?

Transfers are fine but I do like to know why they wanted to make the move.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

When looking at laterals, what is most important to you? i.e., practice group of the firm you're working at? what projects they were involved with and what roles they had? selectiveness/reputation of the original firm? etc. etc.

The starting points always experience. When we hire laterals, we are looking for specific experience in a particular type of work.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

I didn't land an SA position at a firm for this summer, but I did land a job with a legal services office where I will actually be handling a full case load and getting REAL litigation experience (everything from interviewing clients to arguing motions to trial advocacy).

I really want a firm job when I graduate within a litigation practice. I would also be fine with a corporation practice, but litigation is preferred.
U
To the point: when looking for entry-level positions with firms...will they look at my actual litigation experience and give me a leg up over the next guy, or will they see me on the same level as someone else where the firm will still see it as them needing to train me just as much as them?

Recommendations aside...

They should look at your experience and you should try to highlight that as much as possible. All entry level associates need training regardless of SA experience so this should not be a factor.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

What is your firms grade cutoff for emory and similarly ranked schools? (but really just emory)

Top 20%

[Anonymous User]

What do you think with transfer students?

Transfers are fine but I do like to know why they wanted to make the move.

Is it appropriate to tell the recruiter the following:

"I was conscious of my employment opportunities at my previous school and knew they would likely be better at my new school."

Or is it better to stick to the typical advice of avoiding citing employment as a reason for transfer?