Birmingham Law Firms - from Vandy and Duke Forum

[Real Madrid]

Any idea where one would have to place in their class to get a 1L SA from Vandy or Duke? What about a firm offer for employment after graduation? (Assume the student has ties to Alabama.)

Are we talking top of class, median, or even below median?

[Anonymous User]

Top 1/3 and you're competitive. Top 10% including ties is basically a lock. This is based on the two dookies I know..

[Anonymous User]

top 1/3 and ties and you'd be fine for one of the bigger firms. Going to school there is sufficient for any of the smaller firms.

[Anonymous User]

What do the bigger Birmingham firms generally pay first-year associates?

(anon b/c I have an interview scheduled with a firm).

[Anonymous User]

What do the bigger Birmingham firms generally pay first-year associates?

(anon b/c I have an interview scheduled with a firm).

110,000K for first years at the Birmingham "biglaw" firms.

[Real Madrid]

So top 1/3 to be competitive for a 1L SA seems to be the credited response. Where would one have to rank from Duke/Vandy to be competitive at the "big law" Birmingham firms for a post-grad associate job?

[Anonymous User]

Bump

[PM61]

Firms will hire most new attorneys from their summer associate programs, so top third is still what you want to be competitive

[Real Madrid]

Really? Seems strange that they would require such competitive grades when someone in the top 1/3 could get NY or Atlanta big law. Seems like they'd have a hard time attracting anyone when going up against those cities and much larger salaries.

[denimchickn]

Really? Seems strange that they would require such competitive grades when someone in the top 1/3 could get NY or Atlanta big law. Seems like they'd have a hard time attracting anyone when going up against those cities and much larger salaries.

I'd keep in mind that most people on here have no concrete evidence to back up the numbers they throw out. Of course, being at the top of your class is better than NOT being at the top of your class, but I can't imagine that any large Birmingham firm would automatically turn anyone with ties away just because they're not top 1/3 at a T-14.

I don't have much to go on either, but I'd be willing to wager a guess that most of the people who apply for jobs in Birmingham have some sort of connection to the area. Strictly from a numbers standpoint, I find it hard to believe that there are enough of these people who happen to have top grades at top law schools to say that only those in the top 1/3 are competitive. That seems kind of absurd.

[Anonymous User]

SA in Birmingham here. From T14 school almost any GPA is competitive for a Birmingham "biglaw" job. However, some of the more elite firms do require better grades, with some not hiring below median.

Anecdotaly it seems that the requirements from Vandy would be around Top 1/3.

[PM61]

Really? Seems strange that they would require such competitive grades when someone in the top 1/3 could get NY or Atlanta big law. Seems like they'd have a hard time attracting anyone when going up against those cities and much larger salaries.

These firms wouldn't be out of reach with grades in the top half. Top 1/3 would give you a better shot. I don't think you're going to get a better answer than that off of TLS

[Anonymous User]

Top half is sufficient from a T14. Not sure what the Vandy cut is, but probably similar. Demonstrating your ties and interviewing well are far more important than grades if you're coming from a top school.

[Anonymous User]

I interviewed for a 1L SA with one of the big Bham firms and had flawless first semester grades from a T-30. Literally every office I stepped into, in the first 3 minutes of the conversation it was some variation of "so what's your connection to Birmingham?" I had no connections and received no offer. Moral of the story: Have connections or be more convincing than I was.

[Grizz]

1/3 from Bham you will probably get something at Vandy. Top half probably is still competitive if you are from Bham. Top 1/3 at Vandy people look at NYC and ATL generally.

[Anonymous User]

1/3 from Bham you will probably get something at Vandy. Top half probably is still competitive if you are from Bham. Top 1/3 at Vandy people look at NYC and ATL generally.

Wow so you have to be top 1/3 to have a good shot at Atlanta biglaw? 70 percent of the class is out of luck!?

[Doritos]

I feel that some in this thread are talking about getting a 1L firm job while others are talking about getting a 2L firm job. One is much harder to obtain than the other.

[Grizz]

1/3 from Bham you will probably get something at Vandy. Top half probably is still competitive if you are from Bham. Top 1/3 at Vandy people look at NYC and ATL generally.

Wow so you have to be top 1/3 to have a good shot at Atlanta biglaw? 70 percent of the class is out of luck!?

You don't have to be, but ATL is not back from the recession yet. Jobs are scarce. The way I've had recruiting at Vandy explained to me is that top 1/3 (and it's hard to say what that is) isn't a lock for biglaw, but if you don't get a job with a big or medium-sized firm somewhere, then it's not your grades holding you back, it's something else.

Even for 2010 grads about half the class or more got NLJ250 + AIII + prestigious PI/govt. And that doesn't count good non-NLJ firms in 2ndary markets.

[Grizz]

I feel that some in this thread are talking about getting a 1L firm job while others are talking about getting a 2L firm job. One is much harder to obtain than the other.

Pretty much all the main Bham players hire significant numbers of 1Ls.

ETA: I got a reject letter from a Bham firm whose class is already full, because they hired back all their 1Ls, presumably.

[duckmoney]

Would the cutoff be any lower from CCN w/ ties?

[Anonymous User]

???

[Anonymous User]

Would the cutoff be any lower from CCN w/ ties?

Probably

[Anonymous User]

Would the cutoff be any lower from CCN w/ ties?

Maybe, maybe not. They might not take you as seriously if you went that far away. Birmingham firms are obsessed with hiring UVA students. If you want Birmingham, you should go to UVA and they'll give you a 1L SA without grades.

[duckmoney]

Would the cutoff be any lower from CCN w/ ties?

Maybe, maybe not. They might not take you as seriously if you went that far away. Birmingham firms are obsessed with hiring UVA students. If you want Birmingham, you should go to UVA and they'll give you a 1L SA without grades.

That's pretty discouraging. My CCN actually gave me a better scholarship than UVA so I'm hoping they'll understand why I went so far away.

[Anonymous User]

Would the cutoff be any lower from CCN w/ ties?

Maybe, maybe not. They might not take you as seriously if you went that far away. Birmingham firms are obsessed with hiring UVA students. If you want Birmingham, you should go to UVA and they'll give you a 1L SA without grades.

That's pretty discouraging. My CCN actually gave me a better scholarship than UVA so I'm hoping they'll understand why I went so far away.

Just make sure you get in touch with the firms during your fall semester about attending their Christmas recruiting parties. You go to those, make a favorable impact, and they'll want to interview you before you go back to school.