URM and OCI Forum

[Anonymous User]

I am slightly below median at a lower T14 (2nd semester grades not in yet), but believe I did same as first semester. I am part Hispanic and targeting the NYC market. My skin is white and my surname does not not "sound" Hispanic. However, my resume will state that I am proficient in Spanish. All these firms claim they are looking for diversity, but not sure they will now that I am "diverse." Obviously, they won't ask me about my ethnicity, nor should I tell them. Is there any way to bring my ethnicity across at OCI, or should I just forget about it. Any ideas from other URM's who don't "look" URM?

[rad lulz]

Go to minority jerb fairs.

[monkey85]

Do you speak Spanish (and does your resume reflect that skill)? Are you a member of the hispanic law students' association at your school (and does your resume reflect that)?

If yes, then you have placed sufficient "signals" for your URM status. If no, then you just have not played your cards right.

The suggestion below is also helpful. Your CDO should have sent out announcements awhile back for these:

Go to minority jerb fairs.

[rad lulz]

As far as the advantage of being a minority, aside from going to minority jerb fairs and shit like that, which is a big advantage, the only type of minority that I actually saw employers dig deeper into the class for was AA.

[Anonymous User]

Do you speak Spanish (and does your resume reflect that skill)? Are you a member of the hispanic law students' association at your school (and does your resume reflect that)?

If yes, then you have placed sufficient "signals" for your URM status. If no, then you just have not played your cards right.

The suggestion below is also helpful. Your CDO should have sent out announcements awhile back for these:

Go to minority jerb fairs.

ABsolutely...my resume does reflect my Spanish proficiency based on the stuff I did in undergrad which is on my resume (the extracurriculars). Plus I am a member of the Hispanic Bar Association (for students..(should I include that on the resume}

[de5igual]

Do you speak Spanish (and does your resume reflect that skill)? Are you a member of the hispanic law students' association at your school (and does your resume reflect that)?

If yes, then you have placed sufficient "signals" for your URM status. If no, then you just have not played your cards right.

The suggestion below is also helpful. Your CDO should have sent out announcements awhile back for these:

Go to minority jerb fairs.

ABsolutely...my resume does reflect my Spanish proficiency based on the stuff I did in undergrad which is on my resume (the extracurriculars). Plus I am a member of the DC Hispanic Bar Association..(should I include that on the resume}

Yes. as well as the student organization.

[Anonymous User]

Your Spanish speaking skills will do more for you than your diversity. Law firms dig deeper for minorities for law firms but not in the below median sense of dig deeper. What I mean by that is that below median White vs. diverse isn't really viewed differently. What they do tend to do is only require high grades as opposed to sky high for minorities. For example Covington DC generally takes people in the 3.7+ GPA range at UVA; but for a minority they will often drop to a 3.5. A 3.5 is definitely a very high GPA at UVA, but it isn't as astronomically high as a 3.7.

[Anonymous User]

Your Spanish speaking skills will do more for you than your diversity. Law firms dig deeper for minorities for law firms but not in the below median sense of dig deeper. What I mean by that is that below median White vs. diverse isn't really viewed differently. What they do tend to do is only require high grades as opposed to sky high for minorities. For example Covington DC generally takes people in the 3.7+ GPA range at UVA; but for a minority they will often drop to a 3.5. A 3.5 is definitely a very high GPA at UVA, but it isn't as astronomically high as a 3.7.

This stuff about below median is not true at every firm.

[masterthearts]

How about if the OP tries for a firm like Day Pitney or Cole Schotz in NY or NJ. Maybe that would work together with the diversity?

[Anonymous User]

Your Spanish speaking skills will do more for you than your diversity. Law firms dig deeper for minorities for law firms but not in the below median sense of dig deeper. What I mean by that is that below median White vs. diverse isn't really viewed differently. What they do tend to do is only require high grades as opposed to sky high for minorities. For example Covington DC generally takes people in the 3.7+ GPA range at UVA; but for a minority they will often drop to a 3.5. A 3.5 is definitely a very high GPA at UVA, but it isn't as astronomically high as a 3.7.

This stuff about below median is not true at every firm.

Which stuff were you referring to? That firms wouldn't dig deep below median or firms would?

[shoeshine]

As far as the advantage of being a minority, aside from going to minority jerb fairs and shit like that, which is a big advantage, the only type of minority that I actually saw employers dig deeper into the class for was AA.

I don't think it is the same at every school but hispanic students definitely get a significant bump at my school (T14).

[Anonymous User]

This stuff about below median is not true at every firm.

I'm only referring to the big NYC/DC firms. Secondary market firms are another beast entirely. Plus, below median as in 3.2 at UVA and 3.0 and below,for example, are two very different things. A lot of it depends on how far below median we are talking about.

I don't think it is the same at every school but hispanic students definitely get a significant bump at my school (T14).

I mean to me 3.2 hispanic getting a job at a firm where one normally needs a 3.3 isn't a significant bump. That's the kind of thing you usually see.

[shoeshine]

Your Spanish speaking skills will do more for you than your diversity. Law firms dig deeper for minorities for law firms but not in the below median sense of dig deeper. What I mean by that is that below median White vs. diverse isn't really viewed differently. What they do tend to do is only require high grades as opposed to sky high for minorities. For example Covington DC generally takes people in the 3.7+ GPA range at UVA; but for a minority they will often drop to a 3.5. A 3.5 is definitely a very high GPA at UVA, but it isn't as astronomically high as a 3.7.

This definitely isn't completely true. I have seen below median URMs get offers from V10s at my school.

[Anonymous User]

I'm only referring to the big NYC/DC firms. Secondary market firms are another beast entirely. Plus, below median as in 3.2 at UVA and 3.0 and below,for example, are two very different things. A lot of it depends on how far below median we are talking about.

How far is too far? I always thought as long as you don't get straight C- every semester, once you are below median, you are below median.

[rad lulz]

As far as the advantage of being a minority, aside from going to minority jerb fairs and shit like that, which is a big advantage, the only type of minority that I actually saw employers dig deeper into the class for was AA.

I don't think it is the same at every school but hispanic students definitely get a significant bump at my school (T14).

Did some thinking after I posted, and I could be skewed by low sample size at my school.

[Anonymous User]

I am below median at my lower T14, somewhere in the second 1/4. How can I take advantage of being a URM? Say, if a firm is known for taking students with a 3.4 GPA and I have a 3.3, should I not bid on them at all?

[r6_philly]

I am below median at my lower T14, somewhere in the second 1/4. How can I take advantage of being a URM? Say, if a firm is known for taking students with a 3.4 GPA and I have a 3.3, should I not bid on them at all?

You should really bid on every firm you want to bid on. Some firms may have hard cut offs, but other may be willing to consider you regardless of your grades (which isn't horrible I take it).

[rad lulz]

I am below median at my lower T14, somewhere in the second 1/4. How can I take advantage of being a URM? Say, if a firm is known for taking students with a 3.4 GPA and I have a 3.3, should I not bid on them at all?

You should really bid on every firm you want to bid on. Some firms may have hard cut offs, but other may be willing to consider you regardless of your grades (which isn't horrible I take it).

This is pretty ridiculous, considering lottery bidding (at basically every T14 except UVA). You have to use bids strategically to maximize interviews. Just bidding on firms you want to work at with no strategy as to where in the bid list you can pick up the firms or how selective the firms are grade-wise is ridiculous.

[thegrayman]

You should join the hispanic national bar association (http://www.hnba.com), free to join as a student, and then you can list that under activities on your resume, that will key in interviewers to your URM status without you having to outright tell them

[bk1]

As far as the advantage of being a minority, aside from going to minority jerb fairs and shit like that, which is a big advantage, the only type of minority that I actually saw employers dig deeper into the class for was AA.

I don't think it is the same at every school but hispanic students definitely get a significant bump at my school (T14).

My research for 2L OCI hasn't come up with this, but there's not much data to be had. I don't think I experienced any significant bump for the 1L job hunt.

[r6_philly]

I am below median at my lower T14, somewhere in the second 1/4. How can I take advantage of being a URM? Say, if a firm is known for taking students with a 3.4 GPA and I have a 3.3, should I not bid on them at all?

You should really bid on every firm you want to bid on. Some firms may have hard cut offs, but other may be willing to consider you regardless of your grades (which isn't horrible I take it).

This is pretty ridiculous, considering lottery bidding (at basically every T14 except UVA). You have to use bids strategically to maximize interviews. Just bidding on firms you want to work at with no strategy as to where in the bid list you can pick up the firms or how selective the firms are grade-wise is ridiculous.

Ok maybe I was not so clear. I mean bid without worrying about grade cutoffs. It was a targeted answer to the specific question in the OP. I didn't mean to imply don't worry about bid strategy overall. Sorry.

[Anonymous User]

I am below median at my lower T14, somewhere in the second 1/4. How can I take advantage of being a URM? Say, if a firm is known for taking students with a 3.4 GPA and I have a 3.3, should I not bid on them at all?

You should really bid on every firm you want to bid on. Some firms may have hard cut offs, but other may be willing to consider you regardless of your grades (which isn't horrible I take it).

This is pretty ridiculous, considering lottery bidding (at basically every T14 except UVA). You have to use bids strategically to maximize interviews. Just bidding on firms you want to work at with no strategy as to where in the bid list you can pick up the firms or how selective the firms are grade-wise is ridiculous.

Ok maybe I was not so clear. I mean bid without worrying about grade cutoffs. It was a targeted answer to the specific question in the OP. I didn't mean to imply don't worry about bid strategy overall. Sorry.

This might be in the wrong thread but I'm just looking for advice on OCI. What sort of outlook should I have for OCI? I'm looking to end up in NYC. What range of firms can I target?

Exactly median at MVP.
HYPS undergrad
Work Experience
URM

[rad lulz]

This might be in the wrong thread but I'm just looking for advice on OCI. What sort of outlook should I have for OCI? I'm looking to end up in NYC. What range of firms can I target?

Exactly median at MVP.
HYPS undergrad
Work Experience
URM

Ask your CSO for the CB/grade charts from your school

[Anonymous User]

This might be in the wrong thread but I'm just looking for advice on OCI. What sort of outlook should I have for OCI? I'm looking to end up in NYC. What range of firms can I target?

Exactly median at MVP.
HYPS undergrad
Work Experience
URM

Ask your CSO for the CB/grade charts from your school

[thesealocust]

tl;dr of this topic:

non-URMs suggest that if your skin isn't pearly white you don't need to apply for jobs and can still get multiple V10s

URMs point out that's not true

Back and forth for a dozen pages until thread lock