CLS EIP Bidding Recs
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 11:33 pm
GPA is ~3.44, bidding on SF and SoCal. Interested in IP (but not patent), Employment and Labor. What firms should, realistically, be at the top of my bid list?
Check out the bid -> OCI interview rates on SF/SV firms, and you'll see that in many cases the rate is >100% -- meaning that there were fewer bids than slots, so people could add interviews on the day of. At your GPA, you should be in the mix with a number of SF firms. Unfortunately, it seems like the firms with the biggest summer classes are also among the most grade-selective and routinely hire from the T6, so you have no guarantees.
With a lack of an science or engineering degree (which is what I assume by "IP but not patent"), you may struggle with SV offices. So, I'd definitely look at SF practices. Also, you may want to broaden your reach to corporate. Do not be sucked in by SV firms that have one or two partners in labor/employment -- what this means is that they have a tiny practice in labor supporting their corporate clients.
Also, you should express an interest in patent even if you don't have a tech background, since Bay Area lit practices tend to do a lot of patent work anyway, and I know of at least a few (and I'm sure all except the boutiques) put associates to work on those cases.
My advice is to put some NYC firms you like in the upper half of your bid list. Consider also LA firms that have big summer classes. Alternate bids between SF and other markets in the top half of your bid list. Then, put your less favored Bay Area firms, like the ones with only Silicon Valley offices or that are more corporate-heavy, towards the bottom of your list, with maybe some reaches. With your GPA and SF contacts, you're looking good, but it's worth having some backup in case things go badly.