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How much is it worth to go to non-recruiting events put on by law firms? Sometimes a firm will host a local "Young Laywers" meeting/happy hour or do a mock trial event or even something like a diversity mixer. There are HR people there, but they are clearly not in recruiting mode like at OCI or career fairs. I assume if you hit it off with a partner, that would really help, but otherwise is it worth the effort?

Firm I had a CB with hosted a pizza and beer reception for people who made it onto journals. I showed up and schmoozed for quite a while. Actually even after the thing ended. By the end was chain smoking with the senior associate on the hiring committee. Went on the CB and some people remembered me. Got the offer. Not sure if it helped, but it did not hurt.

Anonymous User wrote:How much is it worth to go to non-recruiting events put on by law firms? Sometimes a firm will host a local "Young Laywers" meeting/happy hour or do a mock trial event or even something like a diversity mixer. There are HR people there, but they are clearly not in recruiting mode like at OCI or career fairs. I assume if you hit it off with a partner, that would really help, but otherwise is it worth the effort?

don't go in expecting to get a job, but obviously meeting people at a firm is never a bad thing. it certainly makes your "why our firm" response more convincing when/if you get the screener. assuming you have the grades then, little things like that make the difference between callback and rejection.

Always remember too, you might not get the job because of something you did at the event, but you can absolutely lose the job because of something you did at the event.