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So, do boutiques hire 2Ls from below median T-14? If so, which? Might as well mass-mail them as well.

What do you mean by boutique? Generally to me boutique means a small/midsize firm that is as reputable if not moreso than the big firms in a given practice area. I don't know every area of the country but I can't think of a firm that really falls into this category that isn't selective.

bk187 wrote:What do you mean by boutique? Generally to me boutique means a small/midsize firm that is as reputable if not moreso than the big firms in a given practice area. I don't know every area of the country but I can't think of a firm that really falls into this category that isn't selective.

What about Wachtell? I heard they're a boutique. loljk.

OP: What is your definition of boutiques? As bk187 notes, there are boutique firms that are even HARDER to get into than the most selective biglaw firms. For example, Susman Godfrey.

I think what you're asking is mainly how to apply to small/midsized firms (who often try to call themselves boutiques to get over the stigma of being a small/midsized firm).

This TLS guide might help: http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 3&t=178520

Based on my interviews last year, boutique firms cared much more about substantive background knowledge and demonstrable interest in their practice areas than my somewhat-below-median T14 grades. (Talking here about "subject matter" boutiques that deal with one or two things, like healthcare law or land-use law, not the elite general litigation boutiques that get so much TLS love).

If you have a background in a legit practice area, boutique interviewers/hiring committee folks are often thrilled to have a candidate who clearly has an interest in the field and isn't starting from scratch, since they get a ton of mass-mail spamming and OCI bids from people without any real interest or subject-matter expertise. So background can substitute for grades (at least to some degree) in my experience.