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Top 2% at TTT. 2L SA in California possible?
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 12:45 am
by Anonymous User
Hello,
I am prepping for the Summer Associate application season for summer 2012, and I am wondering If I even have a shot. Any tips to improve my chances?
Re: Top 2% at TTT. 2L SA in California possible?
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 1:09 am
by 20160810
Ties?
Grades are fine, even at a TTT, but you'll probably live or die by ties. Also, transfer to Berkeley immediately.
Re: Top 2% at TTT. 2L SA in California possible?
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 1:54 am
by Anonymous User
SBL wrote:Ties?
Grades are fine, even at a TTT, but you'll probably live or die by ties. Also, transfer to Berkeley immediately.
I don't know if this is strong or not, or if I should mention these ties in my cover letter:
My family and my wife's family are in San Diego. My child was given a full ride to a Catholic private school there. I went to undergrad in San Diego and worked there as a teacher for years.
Re: Top 2% at TTT. 2L SA in California possible?
Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 2:00 am
by 3ThrowAway99
Anonymous User wrote:SBL wrote:Ties?
Grades are fine, even at a TTT, but you'll probably live or die by ties. Also, transfer to Berkeley immediately.
I don't know if this is strong or not, or if I should mention these ties in my cover letter:
My family and my wife's family are in San Diego. My child was given a full ride to a Catholic private school there. I went to undergrad in San Diego and worked there as a teacher for years.
Yes, those count as ties. Something to make a potential employer think you may stick around for a while.
Re: Top 2% at TTT. 2L SA in California possible?
Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 2:03 am
by Anonymous User
California - IME, especially Northern California - is notoriously parochial. If you're top 2% at a TTT in California itself, then yes, you *definitely* have a chance at 2L SA, especially if you're considering the specific region you live in. E.g. the very top of the Bay Area's TTTs occasionally break into SF/SV biglaw.
If you're an out-of-state TTT, it'll be noticeably tougher. If you're out-of-state, PERIOD, even if you're top 10 percent at HY, you need to explain persuasively that you are committed to building your career in California. Emphasizing any personal or other "reasons" you have for being COMMITTED to (not "interested in," *committed* to) a career in California is near-mandatory. There is nothing wrong with doing so in the cover letter.
EDIT I'm a Bay Area litigator. I don't know the San Diego market at all, and your post makes it sound like that might be the market you want. But I'm very confident of my advice as regards SF/SV, and Los Angeles is fairly similar, from what friends tell me.