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I am a 2L at a T14 school with only a 3.0. I want to return to Denver and do transactional work. Which firms should I target/ which firms do I have a chance at?

any luck? were you able to find a position or at least interviews?

I have had one screening interview that will likely lead to a callback. Other than that- nothing

I talked to some Denver people, and they said that the Denver market is awful, and that Denver firms are very suspicious of outsiders because they had a few years of people doing a summer, enjoying Colorado, and then never coming back.

Yeah, that makes sense. I know that isn't my problem though because I am from Denver. I think it really is just a bad legal market right now.

(CO attorney here.)

The Denver legal market is pretty bad at the moment. You've got an awful dynamic where firms SA hiring basically consists of the few HYS students from the Mountain West, the top students at CU and DU, the tip top students at a few regional schools, and then that's pretty much it in terms of SA spots. Firms basically figure that they can fill up their associate ranks with laterals from the coasts and Chicago when those attorneys are third or fourth years and want a better lifestyle. Sad thing is that they're right.

Oh, and the best part is that the work outside of the national firms and the couple of big Denver firms (HH, DGS, HRO, maybe S&H, and that's about it) is pretty mediocre.

I'm currently a federal COA clerk and I'm interested in applying to some Denver firms, any suggestions?

I'm currently a federal COA clerk and I'm interested in applying to some Denver firms, any suggestions?

CO attorney from above.

I'm assuming that you are from a T14 school. If so, you'd probably be attractive to a lot of firms.

I'd probably just apply widely to the big Denver firms and the offices of national firms. With respect to the former, that means HH, HRO and DGS. With respect to the latter, that means Hogan, MoFo, A&P, maybe Faegre, maybe Dorsey, maybe Perkins Coie, and I'm sure there are a couple of others I'm forgetting. I'd probably leave the "second tier" Denver firms (S&H, Brownstein, and maybe Rothgerber) and "lesser" national firms (Snell, Posinelli, maybe Faegre/Dorsey/Perkins Coie) alone for now -- if you decide that you really, really want to be in Denver and you strike out at the first tier, you can apply later. There really is a big jump in the quality of work between the top firms/offices and the secondary ones.

If you are thinking about boutiques, Wheeler Trigg does high profile work, though it's rumored that their hours are higher than market. And then there's Barlit Beck, of course, but their Denver office is even harder to get than their Chicago one.

Anonymous User wrote:

I'm currently a federal COA clerk and I'm interested in applying to some Denver firms, any suggestions?

CO attorney from above.

I'm assuming that you are from a T14 school. If so, you'd probably be attractive to a lot of firms.

I'd probably just apply widely to the big Denver firms and the offices of national firms. With respect to the former, that means HH, HRO and DGS. With respect to the latter, that means Hogan, MoFo, A&P, maybe Faegre, maybe Dorsey, maybe Perkins Coie, and I'm sure there are a couple of others I'm forgetting. I'd probably leave the "second tier" Denver firms (S&H, Brownstein, and maybe Rothgerber) and "lesser" national firms (Snell, Posinelli, maybe Faegre/Dorsey/Perkins Coie) alone for now -- if you decide that you really, really want to be in Denver and you strike out at the first tier, you can apply later. There really is a big jump in the quality of work between the top firms/offices and the secondary ones.

If you are thinking about boutiques, Wheeler Trigg does high profile work, though it's rumored that their hours are higher than market. And then there's Barlit Beck, of course, but their Denver office is even harder to get than their Chicago one.

What about Baker Hostetler, McKenna and Cooley?

Anonymous User wrote:

I'm currently a federal COA clerk and I'm interested in applying to some Denver firms, any suggestions?

CO attorney from above.

I'm assuming that you are from a T14 school. If so, you'd probably be attractive to a lot of firms.

I'd probably just apply widely to the big Denver firms and the offices of national firms. With respect to the former, that means HH, HRO and DGS. With respect to the latter, that means Hogan, MoFo, A&P, maybe Faegre, maybe Dorsey, maybe Perkins Coie, and I'm sure there are a couple of others I'm forgetting. I'd probably leave the "second tier" Denver firms (S&H, Brownstein, and maybe Rothgerber) and "lesser" national firms (Snell, Posinelli, maybe Faegre/Dorsey/Perkins Coie) alone for now -- if you decide that you really, really want to be in Denver and you strike out at the first tier, you can apply later. There really is a big jump in the quality of work between the top firms/offices and the secondary ones.

If you are thinking about boutiques, Wheeler Trigg does high profile work, though it's rumored that their hours are higher than market. And then there's Barlit Beck, of course, but their Denver office is even harder to get than their Chicago one.

No, I did not graduate from a T14 school. Does that change your suggestions?

What about Baker Hostetler, McKenna and Cooley?

I'd put McKenna in the second tier. Plus, just about all they do here is employment stuff, which isn't the greatest to do.

I always forget about Cooley. Their offices are in Broomfield (a suburb between Denver and Boulder), and I don't think I've ever run into an attorney from there. I also forgot about Gibson, by the way, but from what I understand, that office is essentially impossible to get hired into.

I was a bit confused about Baker Hostetler. I thought they were the Baker that just merged with Faegre, but they're not. (That's Baker Daniels). I'd probably rank them with Faegre/Dorsey/Perkins Coie as straddling the line between the first and second tier national firms with Denver branches.

No, I did not graduate from a T14 school. Does that change your suggestions?

Not really, except I'd definitely apply to the borderline firms. The problem you are going to run into is that federal COA clerks are relatively uncommon here (although the Tenth Circuit hears oral argument in Denver, most of the judges have chambers elsewhere), so it's possible that some firm recruiters aren't going to realize how prestigious it is. They'll essentially view you the same as a DU or CU student who clerked for a Colorado state district court or intermediate appellate court. Not all recruiters, of course, and the tip top litigation shops all will know. But without naming names, at some of the more regional firms, it's possible that you'll fail the recruiter's first cut when she opens up USN&WR and sees where your law school is ranked. If she even goes that far.

(I moved out here as top 25% or so from a CCN, with several years of V15 experience. I actually had a conversation with a head hunter who recommended that I put my school's rank on my resume, because otherwise some firm recruiters would think I went to New York Law School or University of Illinois-Chicago, and not realize that it was a top 5-6 school. I thought that was silly, until I talked to a hiring partner, and he agreed. He said that many of the legal recruiters out here just don't know very much about law school or firm rankings, clerkship credentials, etc.)

are any of the firms in Denver particularly well known for their appellate practice?

are any of the firms in Denver particularly well known for their appellate practice?

No. I don't even know if any of the bigger Denver firms have dedicated appellate-only lawyers. I'm sure several list appellate practices, but I'd be a bit shocked if any of the lawyers in them -- at least the associates -- have appellate loads that make up 50% of their practice. I certainly haven't come across any, and I do a good bit of appellate work.

In my experience, if you want to be an appellate-only lawyer in Denver, your best bet is the government.

Tag for five years from now.