what actually happens if you leave your biglaw offer open... Forum

[Anonymous User]

...til nov 1? how many bridges do you burn and how badly do you burn them?

i am thinking of doing a 180 and applying to EJW

("but why didn't you..." -- i know, i know...)

assuming i should probably just say i "need time to think about it" given that this is my real reason

figure it can't be worse than accepting and then going back on it, yeah? but we've also gotten speeches already directly from partners in a pretty much "joking-but-haha-we-are-really-serious" tone saying we will get shit for it if we say we don't know

even if i don't do this i don't plan on staying in biglaw for very long, so i don't know if i really care. just curious about thoughts/experiences

[Anonymous User]

Curious myself.... I was considering DOJ Honors but interviews come out very late.

[Anonymous User]

are you talking about a full time offer or a offer for summer intern?

[bk1]

If you are looking at PI then, iirc, NALP guidelines tell firms to hold offers open until the spring.

[Anonymous User]

If you are looking at PI then, iirc, NALP guidelines tell firms to hold offers open until the spring.

wow. didn't know this. thanks.

i am talking about a permanent offer after your 2L summer

although my firm is biglaw, they are very sensitive about yield, so i imagine actually taking advantage of this would put me on not the best of terms, but sometimes you do what you must i guess...

-op

[IAFG]

How big is the office you worked in? Did you work in an intimate group?

[Anonymous User]

let's say 300 - 500 -- i worked with one of the bigger groups. there were tons of people in the group i didn't meet, but i developed good relationships with a few people

i don't have a lot of time before this becomes an issue for me so i would appreciate hearing some stories of people who held out for a while and went on to successful stints in biglaw despite that or alternatively, of people who held out for a while and were blacklisted from ever participating in private practice again. i've searched/read all of the threads about going back on an offer after accepting and it seems like that is much worse.

i think it's ridiculous that NALP has these guidelines and firms still tell people outright that they should decide before. yeah, i get it, it's a business. but i am also making a huge personal/financial decision, and the impact on me, regardless of my decision, will be greater in human terms than the impact on an entity that has hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

-op

[Anonymous User]

let's say 300 - 500 -- i worked with one of the bigger groups. there were tons of people in the group i didn't meet, but i developed good relationships with a few people

i don't have a lot of time before this becomes an issue for me so i would appreciate hearing some stories of people who held out for a while and went on to successful stints in biglaw despite that or alternatively, of people who held out for a while and were blacklisted from ever participating in private practice again. i've searched/read all of the threads about going back on an offer after accepting and it seems like that is much worse.

i think it's ridiculous that NALP has these guidelines and firms still tell people outright that they should decide before. yeah, i get it, it's a business. but i am also making a huge personal/financial decision, and the impact on me, regardless of my decision, will be greater in human terms than the impact on an entity that has hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

-op

A fellow SA (years ago during bad recession years) waited until last minute to accept. I remember a partner I was close with at the firm said that people were annoyed by this and people remember those sorts of things....but he has been here for several years now, appears to be very well respected in his department and never seems short of work. I wouldn't sweat it too much. Partners are so busy, they sometimes don't remember stuff that happened last week.