Top Law Schools

So I'm probably going to be painfully easy to out, but I don't know too many people targeting STL biglaw, and it's been tough to get an accurate picture of where I stand. So help a dude out, TLS.

Duke
~Top third (~3.5)
K-JD, no otherwise outstanding softs
Strong STL ties

Will be applying to all the major firms (Bryan Cave, Thompson Coburn, Armstrong Teasdale, Lewis Rice, Husch, Greensfelder, etc.), and I have no idea what my chances are with any of these (with the possible exception of BC). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Would also love to hear anecdotes about firm culture/workload.

Oh, and I'm shooting for corporate/transactional, if that makes a difference. (Though I realize my options are limited in STL).

Duke 3L here. I know nothing about STL recruiting but the Bryan Cave partner who interviews at Duke is from the STL office.

Anonymous User wrote:Duke 3L here. I know nothing about STL recruiting but the Bryan Cave partner who interviews at Duke is from the STL office.

Yup, saw that. Definitely a plus, as they're at the top of my list.

Relevant to my interests.

Anonymous User wrote:So I'm probably going to be painfully easy to out, but I don't know too many people targeting STL biglaw, and it's been tough to get an accurate picture of where I stand. So help a dude out, TLS.

Duke
~Top third (~3.5)
K-JD, no otherwise outstanding softs
Strong STL ties

Will be applying to all the major firms (Bryan Cave, Thompson Coburn, Armstrong Teasdale, Lewis Rice, Husch, Greensfelder, etc.), and I have no idea what my chances are with any of these (with the possible exception of BC). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Would also love to hear anecdotes about firm culture/workload.

Oh, and I'm shooting for corporate/transactional, if that makes a difference. (Though I realize my options are limited in STL).

Why you even bother posting anonymously ha... well, congrats on the grades you bum.

dabbadon8 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:So I'm probably going to be painfully easy to out, but I don't know too many people targeting STL biglaw, and it's been tough to get an accurate picture of where I stand. So help a dude out, TLS.

Duke
~Top third (~3.5)
K-JD, no otherwise outstanding softs
Strong STL ties

Will be applying to all the major firms (Bryan Cave, Thompson Coburn, Armstrong Teasdale, Lewis Rice, Husch, Greensfelder, etc.), and I have no idea what my chances are with any of these (with the possible exception of BC). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Would also love to hear anecdotes about firm culture/workload.

Oh, and I'm shooting for corporate/transactional, if that makes a difference. (Though I realize my options are limited in STL).

Why you even bother posting anonymously ha... well, congrats on the grades you bum.

Whatever bro, there's at least like... 2 or 3 people in our class who could fit this description. I could be any of them. Or maybe I'm an 0L with a weirdly specific hypo. Hell if I know.

But seriously, I'm having a tough time finding info on the STL market, so I'm hoping TLS can assist. And if a few (?) people figure me out, it'll be worth it for advice/peace of mind/anecdotes concerning STL biglaw.

Send me a PM and I can give you info on the St. Louis market.

You're top third at a decent t14. Write a short cover letter that explains your family ties and enjoy your bath of offers.

Reprisal wrote:You're top third at a decent t14. Write a short cover letter that explains your family ties and enjoy your bath of offers.

Eh, I was roughly top 20-25% at OCI from one of the Chicago T14 schools and got nothing in St. Louis or Kansas City. Missouri native with all my family still there.

Maybe I'm a bad interviewer, but I got numerous offers from large firms in notoriously selective secondary markets to which I had no ties.

Anonymous User wrote:

Reprisal wrote:You're top third at a decent t14. Write a short cover letter that explains your family ties and enjoy your bath of offers.

Eh, I was roughly top 20-25% at OCI from one of the Chicago T14 schools and got nothing in St. Louis or Kansas City. Missouri native with all my family still there.

Maybe I'm a bad interviewer, but I got numerous offers from large firms in notoriously selective secondary markets to which I had no ties.

This is... troubling. Can you elaborate? Do you think it was just your school/grades? Were you getting callbacks? Did firms assume you would bolt for Chicago?

Sm Firm Hiring P wrote:Send me a PM and I can give you info on the St. Louis market.

PM'd.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Reprisal wrote:You're top third at a decent t14. Write a short cover letter that explains your family ties and enjoy your bath of offers.

Eh, I was roughly top 20-25% at OCI from one of the Chicago T14 schools and got nothing in St. Louis or Kansas City. Missouri native with all my family still there.

Maybe I'm a bad interviewer, but I got numerous offers from large firms in notoriously selective secondary markets to which I had no ties.

This is... troubling. Can you elaborate? Do you think it was just your school/grades? Were you getting callbacks? Did firms assume you would bolt for Chicago?

Sm Firm Hiring P wrote:Send me a PM and I can give you info on the St. Louis market.

PM'd.

I had a few callbacks, and some dings from OCI. I think it may have been that I hadn't lived in the area for a while.

Anonymous User wrote:I had a few callbacks, and some dings from OCI. I think it may have been that I hadn't lived in the area for a while.

Yikes, that's still pretty rough. (Law school is my first time living outside of St. Louis, but my grades are also lower than yours). Anyway, I appreciate the help, and congrats on your other offers.

The STL market is small, and by small, I mean the few big firms that are in STL have small classes. One of the big firms cancelled OCI at WUSTL because all their 1L summers accepted. I'm not sure what you are doing this summer, but I would recommend trying to meet a few people relatively soon at some of firms you want to work at - duke alum, practice group you are interested in, etc. If you can't do that, I'd at least try to make contact with some partners at firms or start schmoozing the recruiter.

FWIW, the every person except one who got big law STL from WUSTL were top 10% and either grew up in STL or went to WUSTL undergrad as well and sold that.

Anonymous User wrote:The STL market is small, and by small, I mean the few big firms that are in STL have small classes. One of the big firms cancelled OCI at WUSTL because all their 1L summers accepted. I'm not sure what you are doing this summer, but I would recommend trying to meet a few people relatively soon at some of firms you want to work at - duke alum, practice group you are interested in, etc. If you can't do that, I'd at least try to make contact with some partners at firms or start schmoozing the recruiter.

FWIW, the every person except one who got big law STL from WUSTL were top 10% and either grew up in STL or went to WUSTL undergrad as well and sold that.

My list: STL

Anonymous User wrote:The STL market is small, and by small, I mean the few big firms that are in STL have small classes. One of the big firms cancelled OCI at WUSTL because all their 1L summers accepted. I'm not sure what you are doing this summer, but I would recommend trying to meet a few people relatively soon at some of firms you want to work at - duke alum, practice group you are interested in, etc. If you can't do that, I'd at least try to make contact with some partners at firms or start schmoozing the recruiter.

FWIW, the every person except one who got big law STL from WUSTL were top 10% and either grew up in STL or went to WUSTL undergrad as well and sold that.

There are only a handful or so of big firms in STL. If you study NALP closely, you will see many do not pay market compared to other cities, though in partial defense, the cost of living is better than many places. The top 5-10% from WUSTL, SLU and Mizzou obtain many of the positions. Being from an out of town school with no ties makes your odds long. Even with ties, it is tough especially in these times. The class sizes have remained small and more lateral hiring is going on than before.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:The STL market is small, and by small, I mean the few big firms that are in STL have small classes. One of the big firms cancelled OCI at WUSTL because all their 1L summers accepted. I'm not sure what you are doing this summer, but I would recommend trying to meet a few people relatively soon at some of firms you want to work at - duke alum, practice group you are interested in, etc. If you can't do that, I'd at least try to make contact with some partners at firms or start schmoozing the recruiter.

FWIW, the every person except one who got big law STL from WUSTL were top 10% and either grew up in STL or went to WUSTL undergrad as well and sold that.

There are only a handful or so of big firms in STL. If you study NALP closely, you will see many do not pay market compared to other cities, though in partial defense, the cost of living is better than many places. The top 5-10% from WUSTL, SLU and Mizzou obtain many of the positions. Being from an out of town school with no ties makes your odds long. Even with ties, it is tough especially in these times. The class sizes have remained small and more lateral hiring is going on than before.

Yeah, I'm not too worried about pay. $110/125k in St. Louis is plenty.

Sounds like I'm in for an uphill battle with these firms, though. I'm hoping to get apps out around July 1, so hopefully I can stand a shot before they start OCI at the regional schools.