V15 Partner/OCI Interviewer Answering Questions... Forum

[tedalbany]

1) Is there anything a law student could do to work on leadership skills, or do you think it's more of an innate trait?

2) How much socialization is required? What kind of social skills (or lack thereof) will cause it to be held against you (either in advancement, Associate offers, etc)? I'm not the socially awkward type in that I usually say wildly inappropriate things, weird people out, etc... but I am fairly introverted and it takes a while for me to warm up to a new work environment, so I'm not sure how much this will hinder me.

Just putting this back out there.

Also, how would a transfer from a T30 (Top 5%) to a T6 fare? Would it hurt if they transfered away from your market (i.e. a Fordham to Chicago transfer interviewing with NY firms)?

[jarofsoup]

As a transfer student what should I expect at OCI and does transferring raise concerns.

This question is way too broad. Where are you transferring from/to? What context are you talking about in terms of what to expect?

I do not know where I am transferring to yet... I hope a top 14 school like Cal or Northwestern.I have been accepted into GWU and I am at a tier 2 right now. I do not have my second semester grades yet, so I do not know if I will actually attend GWU or get into another school. I am interested in corporate governance and M & A work. The Dean at my current school told the class that if we transfer we will be viewed at as traders by any hiring associate and they will just view us as using their firm as a stepping stone to a bigger and more important job. I do not buy his argument...

Do you think transferring from a (T2 60-70 in rank) to GWU will make me more attractive to employers?

Was wondering how I should prepare for a interview and if transferring is looked down upon by recruiters?

When interviewing a transfer student what are your concerns?

Thank you

[itbdvorm]

If I accepted a clerkship with a state judge and later that state judge went to make an 18 month stint in the family law division of the court (meaning that I would spend a year and a half of my two year clerkship doing family law), would you consider me pigeon-holed at that point even though I don't want to practice family law? Is it enough that at least 6 months of my clerkship would be spent dealing with a general civil and criminal docket?

pigeon-holed, no idea. but certainly not a useful skill for our purposes

[itbdvorm]

1) Is there anything a law student could do to work on leadership skills, or do you think it's more of an innate trait?

2) How much socialization is required? What kind of social skills (or lack thereof) will cause it to be held against you (either in advancement, Associate offers, etc)? I'm not the socially awkward type in that I usually say wildly inappropriate things, weird people out, etc... but I am fairly introverted and it takes a while for me to warm up to a new work environment, so I'm not sure how much this will hinder me.

Just putting this back out there.

Also, how would a transfer from a T30 (Top 5%) to a T6 fare? Would it hurt if they transfered away from your market (i.e. a Fordham to Chicago transfer interviewing with NY firms)?

Lack of outward leadership is not going to be held against you at the junior level. More senior, maybe. Getting leadership experiences / practicing running things is probably the best way to get better.

On the transferring...I don't know. Fordham top 5% will probably do just fine interviewing w/NY firms.

[itbdvorm]

As a transfer student what should I expect at OCI and does transferring raise concerns.

This question is way too broad. Where are you transferring from/to? What context are you talking about in terms of what to expect?

I do not know where I am transferring to yet... I hope a top 14 school like Cal or Northwestern.I have been accepted into GWU and I am at a tier 2 right now. I do not have my second semester grades yet, so I do not know if I will actually attend GWU or get into another school. I am interested in corporate governance and M & A work. The Dean at my current school told the class that if we transfer we will be viewed at as traders by any hiring associate and they will just view us as using their firm as a stepping stone to a bigger and more important job. I do not buy his argument...

Do you think transferring from a (T2 60-70 in rank) to GWU will make me more attractive to employers?

Was wondering how I should prepare for a interview and if transferring is looked down upon by recruiters?

When interviewing a transfer student what are your concerns?

Thank you

Step 1 - I am quite worried about your proofing skills. These posts are frankly terribly written and laden with typos ("traders?").

I think frankly this isn't a fantastic question for me because (sorry) the odds of you receiving an offer from us are quite low. Do you have a chance at places? Sure. Will you not have a chance at others? Sure. Do I know whether or not you should transfer? No, I don't. Figure out who transferred from your school last year, where they ended up, people w/similar status as you last year, where they ended up. If a big difference, there's your answer.

[Anonymous User]

What type of knowledge about your firm impresses you in an interview? Put another way, what are some non-generic facts that interviewees have impressed you with?

If you don't interview, just potential associates in general.

Just wanted to bump this back up

[itbdvorm]

What type of knowledge about your firm impresses you in an interview? Put another way, what are some non-generic facts that interviewees have impressed you with?

If you don't interview, just potential associates in general.

Just wanted to bump this back up

Specific references, instead of generalities. Every firm has things that are unusual about it (assignment system, specific practice areas of talent, recent high-profile deals, etc.). "Good culture" or "prestige" is eh. Things about the culture / areas of expertise are much more impressive.

Ideal is something like "I know you guys feature X as part of your system, how did X affect your decision to do Y / how has X affected your development", etc.

[Anonymous User]

What can a student with a 2.9 gpa at Penn/Berkeley/Michigan do to up their chances at OCI? Are there any firms that will even look at that low of a GPA in a big legal market like NYC/Chicago/LA?

[Anonymous User]

Does your firm look frown upon students that have notes prepared during OCI? For instance, when asked to speak on the firm, would pulling out a notepad full of notes about said firm be outrageous?

[itbdvorm]

What can a student with a 2.9 gpa at Penn/Berkeley/Michigan do to up their chances at OCI? Are there any firms that will even look at that low of a GPA in a big legal market like NYC/Chicago/LA?

uh

honestly don't know

you wouldn't have a good shot with us, but others might be willing to consider a transcript that's mostly B/B-s. I'm sure even folks w/Cs get jobs here and there. Ask career services about grade placement, suggestions, etc. You're probably better off in secondary markets, places w/connections. Do mock interviews. Pray.

[itbdvorm]

Does your firm look frown upon students that have notes prepared during OCI? For instance, when asked to speak on the firm, would pulling out a notepad full of notes about said firm be outrageous?

I don't recommend that. Do your prep and study up for a few minutes beforehand. Remember one very distinguishing fact about the firm or the actual individual interviewing.

[616rewind]

I have WE as a litigation paralegal, and am doing lit this summer, but I want to do corp. Took a class that would indicate interest with my elective spring semester, and am planning on taking more in the fall, but how else can I let interviewers know that I'm only interested in corp, other than saying so when asked in the interview?

Basically my reason is that I hate litigation and want to go in-house ultimately, but obviously that's a terrible answer to give in an interview...

[transferquery]

I'm sorry to ask yet another transfer question, but the potential availability of V20 positions is a large part of why I'm considering transferring.

If all else is equal, how would I, currently ~top 3% at a mid tier 1 (30-35), compare with the top 15% at Chicago or Columbia? 25%? 33%? I understand that the process is not entirely formulaic, but it would be helpful to have a general idea of how transfers are categorized. Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous User]

How often does your firm consider applications from schools that were not included in your interview schedule? More specifically, being a URM from a Tier 2, what do I need to have in my applications to get invited to an interview? (Law Review, grades, rank, etc...?)

[Anonymous User]

What is your firm's grade cut-off for MVPDNC? Top third to get your foot in the door?

[Anonymous User]

You've mentioned briefly that the cut offs for DC are often a bit higher than NY. Any idea what GPA level might be required to break into the DC market from Michigan?

ETA: To be clear I'm not talking about at your firm. I'm talking about a place like Venable or Dickstein Shapiro.

[itbdvorm]

I have WE as a litigation paralegal, and am doing lit this summer, but I want to do corp. Took a class that would indicate interest with my elective spring semester, and am planning on taking more in the fall, but how else can I let interviewers know that I'm only interested in corp, other than saying so when asked in the interview?

Basically my reason is that I hate litigation and want to go in-house ultimately, but obviously that's a terrible answer to give in an interview...

Say that you've obviously had litigation experience, and you'd be open to further opportunities, but you think your interests primarily lie on the corporate end for x, y, z reason (collaborative, less adversarial, etc.)

[itbdvorm]

I'm sorry to ask yet another transfer question, but the potential availability of V20 positions is a large part of why I'm considering transferring.

If all else is equal, how would I, currently ~top 3% at a mid tier 1 (30-35), compare with the top 15% at Chicago or Columbia? 25%? 33%? I understand that the process is not entirely formulaic, but it would be helpful to have a general idea of how transfers are categorized. Thanks in advance.

see, this is the wrong question in my mind.

if you transfer to columbia, and i interview you, i'm going to judge you against the criteria we have for your old school, not your new school.

so if you didn't meet our standards originally it won't matter.

top 3% probably is something like top 30% for the schools you mention, maybe even a little better. not totally certain. but top 3% at a mid tier 1 probably meets our standards

[itbdvorm]

How often does your firm consider applications from schools that were not included in your interview schedule? More specifically, being a URM from a Tier 2, what do I need to have in my applications to get invited to an interview? (Law Review, grades, rank, etc...?)

very, very rarely. if we're not interviewing at your school you need to be top 10% minimum, probably higher once we're talking tier 2.

[itbdvorm]

What is your firm's grade cut-off for MVPDNC? Top third to get your foot in the door?

don't know exactly. that sounds right-ish

[itbdvorm]

You've mentioned briefly that the cut offs for DC are often a bit higher than NY. Any idea what GPA level might be required to break into the DC market from Michigan?

ETA: To be clear I'm not talking about at your firm. I'm talking about a place like Venable or Dickstein Shapiro.

really don't know for sure. i'd talk to your career services office, they probably have better specifics.

[Anonymous User]

So I'm a summer. I've been staffed on literally 9 things at once. Got an assignment from one of the members of the hiring committee (33 year old partner). Been working steadily on it, but had to attend meetings pretty much all day. He writes me and says that he needs my assignment finalized in two hours because the client needs it-- he previously mentioned that he needed it next Wednesday.

I work on it throughout a meeting which I needed to be paying attention to. Make two significant errors which he catches (didn't eliminate a provision which didn't apply in the jurisdiction, and referred incorrectly to one of the parties as company instead of corporation). I then turn the rest of the docs in at 5, but he wanted them at 2 or 3. There is literally no way I could have gotten it in to him on time. My other meetings were with the top partners in the firm and clients, and I had a lunch with two other partners at an expensive reservation place which the firm had set up weeks ago and would know if I bailed on.

The partner probably thinks I am a loser who doesn't pay attention to simple provisions/ can't follow deadlines. I ran into him in the hallway and we had a really awkward interchange where we both basically looked at the ground and didn't make eye contact while talking.

I am also not going to go crying to him about my workload/ make excuses. I will just work harder. I have another 10 weeks at the firm.

Am I screwed?

[Anonymous User]

How often does your firm consider applications from schools that were not included in your interview schedule? More specifically, being a URM from a Tier 2, what do I need to have in my applications to get invited to an interview? (Law Review, grades, rank, etc...?)

very, very rarely. if we're not interviewing at your school you need to be top 10% minimum, probably higher once we're talking tier 2.

Going back to this, what else would firms like to see on an application? Would Law Review or moot court help, or should i just focus on my class rank?

[itbdvorm]

So I'm a summer. I've been staffed on literally 9 things at once. Got an assignment from one of the members of the hiring committee (33 year old partner). Been working steadily on it, but had to attend meetings pretty much all day. He writes me and says that he needs my assignment finalized in two hours because the client needs it-- he previously mentioned that he needed it next Wednesday.

I work on it throughout a meeting which I needed to be paying attention to. Make two significant errors which he catches (didn't eliminate a provision which didn't apply in the jurisdiction, and referred incorrectly to one of the parties as company instead of corporation). I then turn the rest of the docs in at 5, but he wanted them at 2 or 3. There is literally no way I could have gotten it in to him on time. My other meetings were with the top partners in the firm and clients, and I had a lunch with two other partners at an expensive reservation place which the firm had set up weeks ago and would know if I bailed on.

The partner probably thinks I am a loser who doesn't pay attention to simple provisions/ can't follow deadlines. I ran into him in the hallway and we had a really awkward interchange where we both basically looked at the ground and didn't make eye contact while talking.

I am also not going to go crying to him about my workload/ make excuses. I will just work harder. I have another 10 weeks at the firm.

Am I screwed?

Wow. That sounds absurd. You're a summer, you shouldn't have any sort of real responsibilities yet (didn't summer just start?) and that sounds like just a shockingly high workload.

Do you have any sort of associate mentor? Are the other summers being worked as hard as you? Many people just don't have a sense of what people are staffed on. I'd have a conversation w/someone (anyone) you think you can trust and try to figure it all out. I'd also (if the person's reasonable) apologize to the guy about your mistakes, explain that you had conflicting meetings (do NOT mention the lunch - you should have cancelled on that, sorry) and see if there's anything you can do to fix things

Good luck...

[itbdvorm]

How often does your firm consider applications from schools that were not included in your interview schedule? More specifically, being a URM from a Tier 2, what do I need to have in my applications to get invited to an interview? (Law Review, grades, rank, etc...?)

very, very rarely. if we're not interviewing at your school you need to be top 10% minimum, probably higher once we're talking tier 2.

Going back to this, what else would firms like to see on an application? Would Law Review or moot court help, or should i just focus on my class rank?

Law Review, moot court and student senate are always better than not. Class rank is probably more important though (with law review as a boost more than the rest)