Top Law Schools

Quick poll to see how NYC-centric this subforum really is.

I don't see how any of my options could be confusing , but in case... SA options are for people who have something locked down for next summer, post-grad is for 3Ls or clerks.

Splitting 2 non-NYC secondary (tertiary?) markets, but definitely threw in for NYC. Bid NYC was NOT the credited response for my UT/Vandy/UCLA school.

Anonymous User wrote:Splitting 2 non-NYC secondary (tertiary?) markets, but definitely threw in for NYC. Bid NYC was NOT the credited response for my UT/Vandy/UCLA school.

I know a lot of people end up splitting non-NYC, I just wanted to make sure I caught all the possible combinations of working in NYC we could have.

IAFG wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Splitting 2 non-NYC secondary (tertiary?) markets, but definitely threw in for NYC. Bid NYC was NOT the credited response for my UT/Vandy/UCLA school.

I know a lot of people end up splitting non-NYC, I just wanted to make sure I caught all the possible combinations of working in NYC we could have.

I meant that more as a commentary on the conventional "BID NYC OR KILLSELF!!1!" TLS "wisdom."

Anonymous User wrote:

IAFG wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Splitting 2 non-NYC secondary (tertiary?) markets, but definitely threw in for NYC. Bid NYC was NOT the credited response for my UT/Vandy/UCLA school.

I know a lot of people end up splitting non-NYC, I just wanted to make sure I caught all the possible combinations of working in NYC we could have.

I meant that more as a commentary on the conventional "BID NYC OR KILLSELF!!1!" TLS "wisdom."

Ah, I see. I think people draw some incorrect conclusions when looking at the data. When I was bidding, a 3L broke it down for me like this:

A big firm in NYC might be hiring 100 SAs, but how many of them are going to be coming from Northwestern? Look at a smaller firm in Chicago that's hiring 10 SAs, and 8 are going to end up being from NU.

It sounds like you had the same experience; a firm in NYC might hire 1 person from UT or UCLA, but a firm in Dallas or LA is going to want that candidate a lot more.

IAFG wrote: A big firm in NYC might be hiring 100 SAs, but how many of them are going to be coming from Northwestern? Look at a smaller firm in Chicago that's hiring 10 SAs, and 8 are going to end up being from NU.

It sounds like you had the same experience; a firm in NYC might hire 1 person from UT or UCLA, but a firm in Dallas or LA is going to want that candidate a lot more.

Exactly this. Bid NYC may be credited when you're at certain T14 schools where firms plan or expect to hire about a certain number from that school (Cornell comes to mind). Does not work as a general "Oh, you're top third in your class? Bid NYC hurr durr" at UT/UCLA/Vandy.

Anonymous User wrote:

IAFG wrote: A big firm in NYC might be hiring 100 SAs, but how many of them are going to be coming from Northwestern? Look at a smaller firm in Chicago that's hiring 10 SAs, and 8 are going to end up being from NU.

It sounds like you had the same experience; a firm in NYC might hire 1 person from UT or UCLA, but a firm in Dallas or LA is going to want that candidate a lot more.

Exactly this. Bid NYC may be credited when you're at certain T14 schools where firms plan or expect to hire about a certain number from that school (Cornell comes to mind). Does not work as a general "Oh, you're top third in your class? Bid NYC hurr durr" at UT/UCLA/Vandy.

I think this illustrates that really any school outside of HYS is regional to some extent.

Transferthrowaway wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

IAFG wrote: A big firm in NYC might be hiring 100 SAs, but how many of them are going to be coming from Northwestern? Look at a smaller firm in Chicago that's hiring 10 SAs, and 8 are going to end up being from NU.

It sounds like you had the same experience; a firm in NYC might hire 1 person from UT or UCLA, but a firm in Dallas or LA is going to want that candidate a lot more.

Exactly this. Bid NYC may be credited when you're at certain T14 schools where firms plan or expect to hire about a certain number from that school (Cornell comes to mind). Does not work as a general "Oh, you're top third in your class? Bid NYC hurr durr" at UT/UCLA/Vandy.

I think this illustrates that really any school outside of HYS is regional to some extent.

How does it illustrate that? Every T14 can place in every city in the country if you have ties. Every T14 does pretty well (or can do well) at getting people into NYC and DC. But at the same time, going to UVA isn't going to give you access to the Richmond market unless you have previous ties and Michigan isn't going to give you access to the Detroit market unless you have previous ties. So how exactly are any of these schools regional?

Transferthrowaway wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

IAFG wrote: A big firm in NYC might be hiring 100 SAs, but how many of them are going to be coming from Northwestern? Look at a smaller firm in Chicago that's hiring 10 SAs, and 8 are going to end up being from NU.

It sounds like you had the same experience; a firm in NYC might hire 1 person from UT or UCLA, but a firm in Dallas or LA is going to want that candidate a lot more.

Exactly this. Bid NYC may be credited when you're at certain T14 schools where firms plan or expect to hire about a certain number from that school (Cornell comes to mind). Does not work as a general "Oh, you're top third in your class? Bid NYC hurr durr" at UT/UCLA/Vandy.

I think this illustrates that really any school outside of HYS is regional to some extent.

What I always tell people is where you can get a job is dependent on some combination of 1) grades, 2) name brand recognition of your school in a market, and 3) your ties to that market.

Unimpressive grades at Harvard aren't gonna get you a job in MS or SC without ties. But you may be able to get NYC. It just depends on a lot of stuff.

RVP11 wrote:

Transferthrowaway wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

IAFG wrote: A big firm in NYC might be hiring 100 SAs, but how many of them are going to be coming from Northwestern? Look at a smaller firm in Chicago that's hiring 10 SAs, and 8 are going to end up being from NU.

It sounds like you had the same experience; a firm in NYC might hire 1 person from UT or UCLA, but a firm in Dallas or LA is going to want that candidate a lot more.

Exactly this. Bid NYC may be credited when you're at certain T14 schools where firms plan or expect to hire about a certain number from that school (Cornell comes to mind). Does not work as a general "Oh, you're top third in your class? Bid NYC hurr durr" at UT/UCLA/Vandy.

I think this illustrates that really any school outside of HYS is regional to some extent.

How does it illustrate that? Every T14 can place in every city in the country if you have ties. Every T14 does pretty well (or can do well) at getting people into NYC and DC. But at the same time, going to UVA isn't going to give you access to the Richmond market unless you have previous ties and Michigan isn't going to give you access to the Detroit market unless you have previous ties. So how exactly are any of these schools regional?

All else being equal, you think that a student at Virginia has the exact same chance of getting a job in california as a student from Boalt?

Transferthrowaway wrote: All else being equal, you think that a student at Virginia has the exact same chance of getting a job in California as a student from Boalt?

Some may disagree, but if you have ties I think so. Based on people I know trying to go back to Cali, it seems that the market is just about as accessible (with ties mind you) as someone at Boalt. Without ties, I can't really comment.

Doritos wrote:

Transferthrowaway wrote: All else being equal, you think that a student at Virginia has the exact same chance of getting a job in California as a student from Boalt?

Some may disagree, but if you have ties I think so. Based on people I know trying to go back to Cali, it seems that the market is just about as accessible (with ties mind you) as someone at Boalt. Without ties, I can't really comment.

I think most T14ers can get most secondary markets with ties.* It will be an uphill battle though, because you're going to have to lean on massmailing. Some firms will be content to just hire from OCIs. Some are accustomed to skimming off the top 5-10% of local schools and won't give the time of day to top 1/4 from a T14.

Maybe a couple firms from a certain secondary are going to head out to a T14 OCI, but most aren't, and you don't want to be in a position where you're relying totally on the 2-3 firms from a secondary that show up. Don't underestimate the handicap of not being able to get front of a recruiter.

*How strong the ties have to be vary from market to market. In Seattle, the fact that I'd worked in Washington state and all my family lives in Oregon wasn't strong enough (which I thought was ridiculous, but whatever). In another secondary, having worked in a nearby city was enough.

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