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Quinn Emanuel sent out an invite to my school's 1Ls (I attend YHS) for its spring mixer, which is designed to "replace OCI interviews". I am very, very interested in litigation and in Quinn. Does anyone have any experience or advice with Quinn's mixer model? Dress (they say casual)? Any idea what kind of grades would be needed? Thanks in advance.

Anonymous User wrote:Quinn Emanuel sent out an invite to my school's 1Ls (I attend YHS) for its spring mixer, which is designed to "replace OCI interviews". I am very, very interested in litigation and in Quinn. Does anyone have any experience or advice with Quinn's mixer model? Dress (they say casual)? Any idea what kind of grades would be needed? Thanks in advance.

YHS? GPA required : a heart beat.

This is actually untrue. People at Yale don't get interviews if their grades are too low. Anecdotally, only having one H is probably not enough. Casual dress is fine but it should look nice. The mixers are basically a bunch of attorneys from different offices talking to different students. They don't want to hear from you until all 1L grades are in, but I imagine making a good connection at the mixer can't help.

I went to one last year. It was awkward, especially with all the old guys in jeans and blazers talking about how great the dress code is. Basically it's a way for them to let you know about the firm and sell you on it. You can make a couple connections maybe but I doubt anyone would remember you. Basically it's not really an OCI interview so much as a networking event. Until your 1L grades are solidified you won't really get an interview or an offer. I would go, but don't worry too much. And when they say it's casual they mean it. Pretty sure I and everyone else was over dressed last year. Obviously no t shirts but a button down, jeans and maybe a blazer would be fine.

It's what it sounds like. You go to the party, chat up some attorneys, and if you make a good impression, it could help you get a callback when you formally apply in the summer. Dress code is whatever you want-- Quinn is known for their super-casual dress code at work, but I imagine you'll still want to wear at least nice slacks and a button-down (or the female equivalent) for this event (although there were plenty of folks in suits and ties there as well). At NYU/Columbia, their median offer was somewhere around the top 20%, although with a higher variance than most firms (indicating that they care about more than grades and that you shouldn't count yourself out if your grades aren't great).

Culture-wise, Quinn is... Quinn. They're one of the few firms that really does have a pretty distinct firm culture, which I'm sure you'll discover if you go to the mixer.

The mixer is completely meaningless. Nothing that happens at it means anything. They legitimately mean casual. All I think they care about is checking off whether you attend or not. They then decide to offer a CB based completely off school/grades sometime in the middle of the summer.

the mixer is totally useless

it's completely based on grades. i mean, think about it: do you really think attorneys who walk out the door from that "party" and have 40 emails to answer on their blackberry are going to remember you 4 months later when you send in your resume?

don't be fooled by the firm, btw. most miserable looking people/office i saw on any callback

Anonymous User wrote:the mixer is totally useless

it's completely based on grades. i mean, think about it: do you really think attorneys who walk out the door from that "party" and have 40 emails to answer on their blackberry are going to remember you 4 months later when you send in your resume?

don't be fooled by the firm, btw. most miserable looking people/office i saw on any callback

The LA office? Or which office? I have heard good things about the LA office...

AssumptionRequired wrote: The LA office? Or which office? I have heard good things about the LA office...

I wasn't in the LA office but the people there seemed cool to me.

I'm going to Quinn in the Fall and summered there last summer. They invited me to my school's event, so I'm going to attend in a t-shirt. I recommend you guys come if you are interested in the firm. Actually, it's probably a good idea generally to get experience with talking with lawyers at OCI, even if you aren't interested in the firm.

I plan on writing emails to the partners in attendance if I meet anybody I like and think would be a good match. They've been receptive to such recommendations in the past, so I predict the event actually does matter.

Have fun!

Go to it for the food. They pick good restaurants. As for callbacks, they will just make sure that you attended and then that you hit their GPA requirements. Obviously, your networking during the event will not mean much: Quinn attorneys are not into remembering you in June or July after meeting you in April.
Btw: their sandals are very sturdy.

Didn't go, got a callback and a offer later in the summer when I sent in my resume/transcript. I had quite good grades from HYS though so YMMV.

Went to the one this evening they didnt give out sandals or anything (heard they had done this in the past). It was horrible because our career services pushed it way to hard and over 160 1Ls showed up with less than 20 attorneys. I agree that it seemed completely meaningless. they give you business cards to hand to the attorneys and I think this is a "check off you came and werent beyond talking to weird." Also, attorney got up and while speaking literally said they were the best litigation firm in the country.... humble

Anonymous User wrote:Went to the one this evening they didnt give out sandals or anything (heard they had done this in the past). It was horrible because our career services pushed it way to hard and over 160 1Ls showed up with less than 20 attorneys. I agree that it seemed completely meaningless. they give you business cards to hand to the attorneys and I think this is a "check off you came and werent beyond talking to weird." Also, attorney got up and while speaking literally said they were the best litigation firm in the country.... humble

Quinn is well known for being humble....

To OP: If you're at YHS, are you really sure you're interested in this? I'm a 1L at a T20 and everyone has been mercilessly ripping Quinn for spamming us with these douchy emails. It's honestly bad enough that I would form a negative impression of anyone I found out worked there.

Anonymous User wrote:Went to the one this evening they didnt give out sandals or anything (heard they had done this in the past). It was horrible because our career services pushed it way to hard and over 160 1Ls showed up with less than 20 attorneys. I agree that it seemed completely meaningless. they give you business cards to hand to the attorneys and I think this is a "check off you came and werent beyond talking to weird." Also, attorney got up and while speaking literally said they were the best litigation firm in the country.... humble

LOL, well then the best litigation firm in the country lost massive trials against Orrick and MoFo.

Fresh Prince wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Went to the one this evening they didnt give out sandals or anything (heard they had done this in the past). It was horrible because our career services pushed it way to hard and over 160 1Ls showed up with less than 20 attorneys. I agree that it seemed completely meaningless. they give you business cards to hand to the attorneys and I think this is a "check off you came and werent beyond talking to weird." Also, attorney got up and while speaking literally said they were the best litigation firm in the country.... humble

LOL, well then the best litigation firm in the country lost massive trials against Orrick and MoFo.

Quinn is definitely not the best lit firm in the country. I thinksomeone would be crazy to pick Quinn over Williams and Connolly, Susman Godfrey, Barlit Beck, I could go on and on.

If you are at YHS, you can definitely do better than Quinn.

(soon to be Quinn associate here)

Dang, that sounds a little nuts. I was worried the one at my school would be empty, but I guess OCS gets the word out.

As to the other comments: guys, get off of TLS and step into the real world. The firm doesn't take time to send people around the country to just stand around and look pretty, they want to recruit the type of lawyers they think will best complement their work.

To me, the best advice in picking a firm is this: pick a firm with strong practice groups in the areas you like that has lawyers with whom you'd like to work. Don't listen to lists on the internet, or people who love a Texas plaintiffs firm on this forum (despite not even understanding plaintiff-side work), or even people who tell you they're the best litigation firm in the country. Just do your research, meet the lawyers, and go with your gut.

Here's hoping I can snag another pair of sandals.

Anonymous User wrote:(soon to be Quinn associate here)

Dang, that sounds a little nuts. I was worried the one at my school would be empty, but I guess OCS gets the word out.

As to the other comments: guys, get off of TLS and step into the real world. The firm doesn't take time to send people around the country to just stand around and look pretty, they want to recruit the type of lawyers they think will best complement their work.

To me, the best advice in picking a firm is this: pick a firm with strong practice groups in the areas you like that has lawyers with whom you'd like to work. Don't listen to lists on the internet, or people who love a Texas plaintiffs firm on this forum (despite not even understanding plaintiff-side work), or even people who tell you they're the best litigation firm in the country. Just do your research, meet the lawyers, and go with your gut.

Here's hoping I can snag another pair of sandals.

I went with my gut when I turned down an offer from Quinn. It was probably the best decision of my life.

aces wrote:It's what it sounds like. You go to the party, chat up some attorneys, and if you make a good impression, it could help you get a callback when you formally apply in the summer. Dress code is whatever you want-- Quinn is known for their super-casual dress code at work, but I imagine you'll still want to wear at least nice slacks and a button-down (or the female equivalent) for this event (although there were plenty of folks in suits and ties there as well). At NYU/Columbia, their median offer was somewhere around the top 20%, although with a higher variance than most firms (indicating that they care about more than grades and that you shouldn't count yourself out if your grades aren't great).

Culture-wise, Quinn is... Quinn. They're one of the few firms that really does have a pretty distinct firm culture, which I'm sure you'll discover if you go to the mixer.

is this the general consensus? wondering about this

Anonymous User wrote:

aces wrote:It's what it sounds like. You go to the party, chat up some attorneys, and if you make a good impression, it could help you get a callback when you formally apply in the summer. Dress code is whatever you want-- Quinn is known for their super-casual dress code at work, but I imagine you'll still want to wear at least nice slacks and a button-down (or the female equivalent) for this event (although there were plenty of folks in suits and ties there as well). At NYU/Columbia, their median offer was somewhere around the top 20%, although with a higher variance than most firms (indicating that they care about more than grades and that you shouldn't count yourself out if your grades aren't great).

Culture-wise, Quinn is... Quinn. They're one of the few firms that really does have a pretty distinct firm culture, which I'm sure you'll discover if you go to the mixer.

is this the general consensus? wondering about this

I went this evening and I saw 1 or 2 dudes besides attorneys who tried to pull off jeans, it didnt work. Almost everyone wore either khakis or slacks and a button up. Dont wear a tie or jacket though

AssumptionRequired wrote:I went this evening and I saw 1 or 2 dudes besides attorneys who tried to pull off jeans, it didnt work. Almost everyone wore either khakis or slacks and a button up. Dont wear a tie or jacket though

TBH, do you think anyone really took note of it? I'd be surprised if they did anything beyond checking and seeing who RSVP'd.

hibiki wrote:

AssumptionRequired wrote:I went this evening and I saw 1 or 2 dudes besides attorneys who tried to pull off jeans, it didnt work. Almost everyone wore either khakis or slacks and a button up. Dont wear a tie or jacket though

TBH, do you think anyone really took note of it? I'd be surprised if they did anything beyond checking and seeing who RSVP'd.

Nope not at all. The whole thing was pointless. I saw people who left after 5 minutes and I dont think it hurt them. They came got their name tag, spoke with 1 person from the office they wanted and left. I stayed longer because there was free food and drink.

Anonymous User wrote:still want to wear at least nice slacks and a button-down
is this the general consensus? wondering about this

Up to you. I guess the guy is saying you would want to wear that because it would make you feel more comfortable. But there really isn't any dress code, so you can wear whatever you want. For example, when I called back with them I met guys wearing shorts and t-shirts with star wars jokes on them.

I would go casual, as the Quinn invite states. Most of the Quinn folks were in jeans and some had some form of jacket. The problem with UVA kids is that when they read casual they all wear khakis/slacks, blazers, dresses, I think you get my gist.

This event, plus one a little back, reminds me that I hate going to these events. I don't know if it is just the way that UVA kids act at these things, or just the general principal.

Big plus though, free booze.