Job Search Strategy for 2Ls who still do not have SA offer Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm a 2L at a T14. I would like to be in private practice. I am still looking for a job.

I went through OCI and did quite a bit of mass-mailing to large firms and some medium-sized firms.

What should I be doing this coming semester?

In private practice, what do you think of the following possibilities?
- Big firms... I'm guessing there is zero chance there.
- Medium-sized firms
- Small firms
- In-house at a Fortune 500
- Consulting firms
- Banks

Are there other possibilities I'm not considering?

Thanks.

[sparty99]

I'm a 2L at a T14. I would like to be in private practice. I am still looking for a job.

I went through OCI and did quite a bit of mass-mailing to large firms and some medium-sized firms.

What should I be doing this coming semester?

In private practice, what do you think of the following possibilities?
- Big firms... I'm guessing there is zero chance there.
- Medium-sized firms
- Small firms
- In-house at a Fortune 500
- Consulting firms
- Banks

Are there other possibilities I'm not considering?

Attend all the consulting/bank sessions if your school has a business program. Consulting/banking will happen next year. Big firms, are 99% done. Small firms with 1-20 people, slight chance. Medium size firms, small chance. In-house at Fortune 500, yes, this is more of a likely scenario. Howerver, it doesn't matter. If you see a legal job opening, you must apply.
Thanks.

[Nova]

School/Rank?

Target Markets?

[piccolittle]

So my advice might not be the popular wisdom on TLS, but it's worked for me and people I know. I would continue mass-mailing every firm you can think of, but also apply to the in-house positions at Fortune 100/500s you listed. This is the last-resort strategy if you are coming up to the summer without a firm job:

If you don't have a firm job for the summer, work in-house, do GREAT work, and make friends with your boss (or boss's boss, whomever). Make it clear (without being obnoxious, obviously!) that you would like a firm job after graduation, and maybe throw in some stuff about how it's your ultimate dream to end up back in-house. Because these companies generally don't hire for legal after graduation, they will a) understand that you are looking for something different, and b) work with outside counsel because they don't have many lawyers. Even this past semester at my in-house internship, they set me up with a lunch with my dream firm because I expressed a strong interest in their work.

Make your boss your mentor. Ask for advice about almost everything. Make them want to help you. Depending on the company and the department, your boss will likely have access to a heavy-hitting partner at a few firms. Their endorsement of you could get your foot in the door for one of the few random 3L positions that the firm might have. They probably won't advertise the opening, so knowing someone is important. I know it seems like a long-shot, but if you choose your job carefully and play it right, it does work.

Whatever you do, I would avoid working public interest or government unless you have a clear idea of how that will make you desirable to firms (e.g. possibly FTC or financial-related stuff), and which firms would be interested. I don't know what you did for 1L summer, but this applies especially if you did PI in that time. The last thing you want is to be excluded because you don't look committed to private sector work (I know it usually applies the other way around, but at this point firms want to hire people who want to be there, not people who look like they are applying randomly because they are desperate). Edit: working PI or government this summer will also likely mean that you can't talk about your firm aspirations with anyone or, if you can, they won't know how to help you. In-house lawyers CAME from big law firms. They know people, they know the work the firms do, and they know how the hiring stuff for private sector works.

Starting now, you could also look for a part-time "law clerk" job at a small firm in your school's market. That could lead to a summer job and possibly full-time after graduation. In my market, that's how many kids from lower-ranked schools get their permanent legal jobs. I don't know your situation but it might be a good start to try that next semester. The more legal work experience you have, the better. Plus it's just another shot.

Is that helpful? That's about all I have in terms of things I think could work. Hopefully the above, combined with the better advice you'll probably get below, will be useful

[rad lulz]

m

[Anonymous User]

I'm OP. I really appreciate all of your responses. Thank you.

School/Rank?

Target Markets?

I don't want to give myself away because a lot of folks I know are on TLS, so I'm going to be a little vague.

Rank -- MVPB

Not particularly targeting any market; I would be happy to work in any reasonably large city. At OCI, I targeted NYC and I would love to work there. But again, I'm not all that picky and aside from having some extended family members in some cities, I don't particularly have very strong ties to any single city. That might have been a factor that has disadvantaged me thus far in the job search.

[Anonymous User]

Don't know much of anything about finance/banking/in house

But from my own experience with 3L hiring, the firms that hire want to see previous experience in a law firm

Even after I got no offered my previous firm experience was I'd say a net plus

If you want to work for a law firm I'd even shy away from federal regulatory type internships

If you don't want to do personal injury or insurance defense I'd try to stay away from those if possible

That won't look good for firms that do "business law" but it's also a tough market and you can't be picky

Srsly though if you want to work at a law firm you need to work at a law firm

(If you can't do that is try the in house thing)

OP here.

No doubt that working at a law firm puts you in the best (perhaps only) position to work at a law firm.

But at this point, what's the likelihood of that happening? Also, how would you compare working at a small firm vs. in-house for ending up at a big firm?

Finally, what about boutiques? I've heard some of them don't quite follow the fall recruiting season the same way big law firms do.

[Anonymous User]

I have friends who worked in house for free and then they hired 0-1/10. It's a great deal for a business - free legal work from top law school kids. I would not say I struck out so now I'll take whatever. I'd hustle till you at least get good odds at post grad employment. You have value. Keep your chin up.

Depends how small but if it's 50 plus lawyers that's the route. Non-legal work is close to a deathwish. Odds will depend on marlets and grades. It's non-zero but not good.

[midnight419]

Have you been networking? I'd focus on that if you haven't been already. It's much more likely to lead to something than mass mailing.

[rad lulz]

.

[Anonymous User]

Have you been networking? I'd focus on that if you haven't been already. It's much more likely to lead to something than mass mailing.

I haven't. Do you have any advice on how I should go about networking?

Do I just randomly email alums at firms I want to work at? And if so, what should I be saying in these emails?

[Anonymous User]

No advice. I'm in a similar position, though at a lower ranked school. Trying to find anything in this region (pretty wide net). My mass mailing was to BigLaw, mid-sized, and some small firms. I've mass mailed and followed up three times. I assume anywhere that I haven't heard from yet is a no - I feel like following up a fourth time would be a bit ridiculous. However, I even heard back from places on my third follow up (positive - got interviews). I have some places who said to contact them in January or the spring as well.

I've also continued networking. The tough thing with networking is that it is really about putting yourself in a position to be in the right place at the right time, which means it is a lot of dead ends and effort to try to get lucky once.

I'm going to start focusing on in house now.

[Anonymous User]

I'm in the same position...
Lower T-14, slightly below median. Target market is CA, where I'm from.
I've been mass mailing small firms/boutiques, in addition to in house etc. And so far all I've gotten is rejected/we stopped hiring.

A friend of a friend is in the same position as me, and is taking Spring semester off to work in a judges chambers and re do OCI. Any idea if this is something I should do to?

[Anonymous User]

I'm in the same position...
Lower T-14, slightly below median. Target market is CA, where I'm from.
I've been mass mailing small firms/boutiques, in addition to in house etc. And so far all I've gotten is rejected/we stopped hiring.

A friend of a friend is in the same position as me, and is taking Spring semester off to work in a judges chambers and re do OCI. Any idea if this is something I should do to?

I wish there was a way for me to redo OCI! I don't think there is any way at my school to do this (other than adding another degree, which I don't want to do). If there is any way that I'm overlooking, I'd love to know. If there is a way for you to do this, I absolutely would. I personally think that I know a lot of things now that I would have done better/differently if I were to go through OCI again now.

[Anonymous User]

I'm in the same position...
Lower T-14, slightly below median. Target market is CA, where I'm from.
I've been mass mailing small firms/boutiques, in addition to in house etc. And so far all I've gotten is rejected/we stopped hiring.

A friend of a friend is in the same position as me, and is taking Spring semester off to work in a judges chambers and re do OCI. Any idea if this is something I should do to?

I wish there was a way for me to redo OCI! I don't think there is any way at my school to do this (other than adding another degree, which I don't want to do). If there is any way that I'm overlooking, I'd love to know. If there is a way for you to do this, I absolutely would. I personally think that I know a lot of things now that I would have done better/differently if I were to go through OCI again now.

Wouldn't you be concerned about graduating in December, though? Also, I don't know if firms would look down on taking a leave...

[Anonymous User]

I'm in the same position...
Lower T-14, slightly below median. Target market is CA, where I'm from.
I've been mass mailing small firms/boutiques, in addition to in house etc. And so far all I've gotten is rejected/we stopped hiring.

A friend of a friend is in the same position as me, and is taking Spring semester off to work in a judges chambers and re do OCI. Any idea if this is something I should do to?

I wish there was a way for me to redo OCI! I don't think there is any way at my school to do this (other than adding another degree, which I don't want to do). If there is any way that I'm overlooking, I'd love to know. If there is a way for you to do this, I absolutely would. I personally think that I know a lot of things now that I would have done better/differently if I were to go through OCI again now.

Wouldn't you be concerned about graduating in December, though? Also, I don't know if firms would look down on taking a leave...

I think if you had a good reason for it, you would be fine with a lot of employers. It would have to be non-medical (unless it was something totally done with that wouldn't raise questions but I don't know what that could be) and not something like wanting to travel for a few months. I know that people at my school have taken a semester off in order to work (usually something impressive) or similar legal opportunities that simply are too good to pass.

I mean, I could technically take off the spring semester and probably do 2L OCI and all that again, but I have no good reason for doing so. Assuming you could work for a really important/influential judge or some great job opportunities (ones I know of were with the UN and The Hague), I think it makes sense, is well justified, and allows you to re-do 2L OCI (assuming the school allows it).