Law firm recruiter answering questions for a bit Forum

[Anonymous User]

Hello,

I really want to work for a medium to large law firm because I worked for a couple years before law school, and I enjoy working for larger organizations. I'm in the top 15% at a top 50 school with law review and moot court experience; however, there are a lot of qualified candidates.

There are a couple medium-sized firms that I am interested in working for this spring in hopes that I will get a full-time job offer. Would it be acceptable if I offered to volunteer my time in the spring? This would give me experience and allow them a chance to evaluate my work. How would you, as a recruiter, react to a cover letter offering to essentially work for free?

Thank you so much!!

[happy187]

How do most law firms view age of applicant. I will be 33 when I graduate. Do you view older with kids as stable and in it for the long haul, or too old to be lab atomized to the way of the firm?

[Anonymous User]

My goal is to be at a big NYC law firm, however, it looks unlikely right now.

In your opinion, how marketable is a candidate who works for a Fortune 500 company such as Goldman, Coach, Chartis etc. during his/ her 2L summer in their legal department? Or do you feel the candidate should work for a medium or small law firm to get more law firm experience and then try to lateral?

Thoughts / suggestions on taking an alternate route besides clerking to reach big law in NYC?

[Anonymous User]

Does having a DUI from a couple years prior rule someone out for a job at OCI, even if they've completed all required follow up bar and court requirements? If it does not preclude consideration, how badly would it hurt one's chances? When is an appropriate time to disclose a DUI to an interviewer?

[lawfirmrecruiter]

Hello,

I really want to work for a medium to large law firm because I worked for a couple years before law school, and I enjoy working for larger organizations. I'm in the top 15% at a top 50 school with law review and moot court experience; however, there are a lot of qualified candidates.

There are a couple medium-sized firms that I am interested in working for this spring in hopes that I will get a full-time job offer. Would it be acceptable if I offered to volunteer my time in the spring? This would give me experience and allow them a chance to evaluate my work. How would you, as a recruiter, react to a cover letter offering to essentially work for free?

Thank you so much!!

You can certainly offer to volunteer, but for liability insurance reasons, it may be difficult for a firm to let you work for free. If you receive that answer, ask if they have any specific projects or cases they may need clerk help with instead.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

How do most law firms view age of applicant. I will be 33 when I graduate. Do you view older with kids as stable and in it for the long haul, or too old to be lab atomized to the way of the firm?

We do not consider age when looking at candidates.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

My goal is to be at a big NYC law firm, however, it looks unlikely right now.

In your opinion, how marketable is a candidate who works for a Fortune 500 company such as Goldman, Coach, Chartis etc. during his/ her 2L summer in their legal department? Or do you feel the candidate should work for a medium or small law firm to get more law firm experience and then try to lateral?

Thoughts / suggestions on taking an alternate route besides clerking to reach big law in NYC?

Since I am not in the NYC market, this is difficult to answer. The Fortune 500 experience would be a plus, especially if they are a client of the firm and you can network with connections at a target firm. Of course, if you want to be in a firm, the medium firm experience would be better so you can get a feel for what it is like to be in a firm.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

Does having a DUI from a couple years prior rule someone out for a job at OCI, even if they've completed all required follow up bar and court requirements? If it does not preclude consideration, how badly would it hurt one's chances? When is an appropriate time to disclose a DUI to an interviewer?

No, a DUI will not hurt you in OCI. Just be honest on your application when asked if you have any convictions. I would not necessarily bring it up in the interview unless specifically asked (which you most likely will not be).

[Renne Walker]

There are a lot of contradicting opinions regarding December 1st being THE day our resume packages HAVE to be postmarked to law firms, judges and others who will be hiring for SA positions.

Is December 1st like Black Friday, if you miss it you are toast? I realize that it might be wise to mail on December 1st, but if your miss this date, is your resume tossed, like many have strongly stated?

[lawfirmrecruiter]

There are a lot of contradicting opinions regarding December 1st being THE day our resume packages HAVE to be postmarked to law firms, judges and others who will be hiring for SA positions.

Is December 1st like Black Friday, if you miss it you are toast? I realize that it might be wise to mail on December 1st, but if your miss this date, is your resume tossed, like many have strongly stated?

I don't think we (or any other firm for that matter . . . ) ever looks at a postmark at all. The December 1st date is simply the first date, according to NALP Guidlines, that students and firms can officially contact one another. It is not an actual deadline.

D. Summer Employment Provisions for First Year Students
- Law schools should not offer career services to first-semester first year law students prior to November 1 except in the case of part-time students who may be given assistance in seeking positions during the school term.
- Prospective employers and first year law students should not initiate contact with one another and employers should not interview or make offers to first year students before December 1.
- All offers to first year students for summer employment should remain open for at least two weeks after the date made.

[Anonymous User]

What advice can you give to 2011 grads who still have been unable to find a law job, either in a firm or otherwise?


I graduated from a top ten school with median grades and can't even get any firms (or anyone else, really) to even interview me.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

What advice can you give to 2011 grads who still have been unable to find a law job, either in a firm or otherwise?


I graduated from a top ten school with median grades and can't even get any firms (or anyone else, really) to even interview me.

It will be difficult, but you absolutely can still find a position with a firm if you work hard at it. Have you take/passed he bar in your current state? I would suggest you sign up with a contract firm such as Special Counsel or Counsel on Call. Also, try to offer your help to firms directly on a project basis. By getting some experience you will develop a reputation of being a hard worker and that can lead to a job with a firm. Focus on smaller firms that do the type of work you want. At this point, networking and proving yourself will be your best bet.

[Anonymous User]

I entered law school in fall 2011, but had to take a leave of absence for personal/health reasons. Consequently, I will have to restart 1L in fall 2012. Will this be a red flag? I intend to be productive during the hiatus (seeking treatment, gaining additional work experience, etc.)

[Agent]

Can you please comment on how 2L grades affect post-summer offers? There's been much debate about this around the forum, but I'd really like to hear what you have to say.

Maybe it's trolling, but this post concerns me:

This q reminds me if when I worked hr at a large law firm. The hiring partner would tell me each year to look at offered summers' final transcript and subtract it from the transcript they submitted as 2Ls. He was so anal about it, I would have to deliver a spreadsheet and yellow highlight anyone with a drop and red highlight anyone with more than a .1 drop. You can guess how.many of the reds I saw at the firm the next fall! (Tip: 0)

http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thr ... 2233aa068b

Thanks.

[Anonymous User]

What kind of bonus does your firm pay for 2 years of Art. III clerkships (i.e., one 2-year clerkship, or two one-year clerkships)? I received $50k for one year in DC, but have a friend who is looking at firms now, coming off of a 2-year district court gig. She is curious re: how prevalent $70k is for people in her situation.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

I entered law school in fall 2011, but had to take a leave of absence for personal/health reasons. Consequently, I will have to restart 1L in fall 2012. Will this be a red flag? I intend to be productive during the hiatus (seeking treatment, gaining additional work experience, etc.)

Every potential employer will want to hear an explanation but a LOA does not equal an outright ding. It probably depends on what you are looking for - BigLaw, MidLaw, SmallLaw, PI? Be prepared to explain (without too many details) why you took the leave, how the leave helped you get perspective, etc. and why you are still pursuing your dream of being a lawyer.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

Can you please comment on how 2L grades affect post-summer offers? There's been much debate about this around the forum, but I'd really like to hear what you have to say.

Maybe it's trolling, but this post concerns me:

This q reminds me if when I worked hr at a large law firm. The hiring partner would tell me each year to look at offered summers' final transcript and subtract it from the transcript they submitted as 2Ls. He was so anal about it, I would have to deliver a spreadsheet and yellow highlight anyone with a drop and red highlight anyone with more than a .1 drop. You can guess how.many of the reds I saw at the firm the next fall! (Tip: 0)

http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thr ... 2233aa068b

Thanks.

This seems a bit extreme to me. When we had a summer program, I did check the 2L grades prior to the summer program but we never had a partner take the time to do anything like this. We check grades to make sure there was not a serious problem. While some grade slippage is okay, we would question a SERIOUS drop. Moving to a 3L apprentice program completely removed this issue for us and students because we no longer have the long time gap between application and job offer.

[Anonymous User]

Even though you are not focusing on 1Ls, were you swamped with resumes on December 1st? If so, does swamped equate to dozens, a hundred or hundreds?

[Anonymous User]

My job prior to law school was working as an investigator for a large financial services firm in the fraud division. Is there a specific practice in most large firms for white collar crime, and if so, how hard is it to get into said practice?

[lawfirmrecruiter]

Even though you are not focusing on 1Ls, were you swamped with resumes on December 1st? If so, does swamped equate to dozens, a hundred or hundreds?

Not really swamped but I think that is mainly because students generally know that there are not that many openings for 1Ls.

[lawfirmrecruiter]

My job prior to law school was working as an investigator for a large financial services firm in the fraud division. Is there a specific practice in most large firms for white collar crime, and if so, how hard is it to get into said practice?

Absolutely and this is definitely one of the growing "hot" practices right now. While entry levels are hard to find in this area (for now), your background should definitely help you.

[rijed]

First of all, thank you for taking questions. Second, how do you weigh military experience when hiring? Does being in specialty units (Special Forces or Rangers for example) help at all?

[Anonymous User]

Would your firm - and, in your educated opinion, in-house positions and other firms - give consideration to someone with 2-3 years of experience in a biglaw debtor-side bankruptcy group, who has to leave the markets where those groups thrive due to personal circumstances?

I am kind of petrified that I'm not going to have any lateral options because debtor-side bankruptcy isn't really a specialty that translates well into anything done in-house, and basically isn't a group that exists outside of certain markets.

[ScrabbleChamp]

First of all, thank you for taking questions. Second, how do you weigh military experience when hiring? Does being in specialty units (Special Forces or Rangers for example) help at all?

+1 (Force Recon)

[Anonymous User]

Dear LFR:

I'm a 3L and I took a class this fall taught by a partner at a mid-sized (~75 attorneys) law firm in my region. At my end of semester evaluation she was very impressed with my writing. I got almost perfect scores on all 5 assignments. The partner is in the practice area that I am very interested in. What is the best way to approach her to network and hopefully get some information about a job at her firm or at a firm that she has friends at? It seems a little awkward to just email her and ask these questions. Thanks!