Top Law Schools

Finishing 1L @ T2, top 10%, school only has 15-18 firms lined up for fall OCI, all from the same secondary market that is big on ties. I have no ties other than the fact that I go to law school here, and my summer job is amazing but in a different part of the country. I want biglaw.

Only 3-5% of our students receive offers from OCI and I am trying to set the dates for the summer job. Would I be crazy to skip OCI and just mass mail my target markets/places I have ties??? I would be fine working at a firm in my school's market, but out-of-state students have fared very poorly w/o ties and then there's the fact that I'm leaving the area for the summer.

Assume I will not be transferring for the purposes of the thread. I realize I should have thought about all of this before attending a T2 w/o ties to the region and I'm not in a great position to get biglaw, but there's nothing I can do about it now other than evaluate my options.

Anonymous User wrote:Finishing 1L @ T2, top 10%, school only has 15-18 firms lined up for fall OCI, all from the same secondary market that is big on ties. I have no ties other than the fact that I go to law school here, and my summer job is amazing but in a different part of the country. I want biglaw.

Only 3-5% of our students receive offers from OCI and I am trying to set the dates for the summer job. Would I be crazy to skip OCI and just mass mail my target markets/places I have ties??? I would be fine working at a firm in my school's market, but out-of-state students have fared very poorly w/o ties and then there's the fact that I'm leaving the area for the summer.

Assume I will not be transferring for the purposes of the thread. I realize I should have thought about all of this before attending a T2 w/o ties to the region and I'm not in a great position to get biglaw, but there's nothing I can do about it now other than evaluate my options.

No. This is moronic. OCI is usually employers who are coming with the purpose of possibly hiring one of your classmates. Mass mailing is a blind crapshoot.

Why in the hell would you skip OCI? That's just stupid. The worst that happens is you don't get anything, but the better outcomes are certainly worth your time.

No. Do not skip OCI. It would be dumb to do so.

Don't skip OCI if you are interested at all in a firm job.

K. I thought this would be the response, but I needed to hear it. I really don't want to go but I guess I will.

.

If anything, just do oci for all the pre-oci firm receptions you'll get to go to and for the free goodies you'll get at every interview.

Is it possible that the low % of OCI success has less to do with ties and more to do with competing with bigger name (higher ranked) schools in your market? (If in fact you are competing with prestigious schools in your city or area).

In any case accept the 180 advice offered you here.

/

Anonymous User wrote:K. I thought this would be the response, but I needed to hear it. I really don't want to go but I guess I will.

I mean this nicely, but you better shape up that attitude. If you aren't actually excited about the chance to GET A JOB, it will come through in your interview. Implicit in your post is a sense of entitlement - you want Big Law, you don't think these local firms are worth your time and they won't want to hire you anyways, etc. This is an odd thread.

OP seems to be under the mistaken assumption that top ten percent at a T2 means he has a better than average chance to get a job.

Dude, OP: some people in the top 20% at T14 schools aren't even getting biglaw. Take every opportunity you have to get a job, and take one that you don't think you'll hate. YWIA.

OP, I had similar numbers to you. Top 3% at a T2 and I went to OCI and mass mailed like crazy.

Yes, the majority of my job offers came from mass mailing.

I had a single offer from OCI.

It's the offer I took, even though mass mailings gave me offers that were "better" in the sense that the firms were larger and more widely known. I had no ties to the market.

Where is your hustle?

Yea why not. You sound like a no dick loser. You won't get shit.

For me my OCI consisted of less than a half dozen screeners and I received just one callback. Result was an SA and now I am a first year associate. Since you never know when lightning wants to strike all you can do is be available. So do it.

You sound like a dumbass and I highly recommend that you skip OCI. Don't let it inconvience you.

"You can really only miss a shot if you take it. Why go through all that if you're feeling lazy?"

-Wayne Gretzky

Thanks for the support. You have all been delightful.

Anonymous User wrote:Thanks for the support. You have all been delightful.

Eat a dick.

Do OCI, but get a better attitude! Seriously, no one wants to hire a downer.

I don't know what you expected people to say. And if you're looking for emotional support on the internet then you have bigger problems than being unemployed.

If you stay top 10% and don't try to transfer, you're shooting yourself in the foot. Get the hell out.

Mal Reynolds wrote:I don't know what you expected people to say. And if you're looking for emotional support on the internet then you have bigger problems than being unemployed.

The employment forum is meant to be a supportive place, actually. It's right there in the forum rules, which I'm sure you've read.

Yes, do both. Not only may you find you like the firms at OCI better, if you get an offer from OCI, you could always use that to try to parlay an offer from a firm in your target market.

dead head wrote:

Mal Reynolds wrote:I don't know what you expected people to say. And if you're looking for emotional support on the internet then you have bigger problems than being unemployed.

The employment forum is meant to be a supportive place, actually. It's right there in the forum rules, which I'm sure you've read.

You're making a really horrible decision. Like one of the dumbest I've heard on this website. But good luck! We all have your back!