Top Law Schools

It's time. Bids are due soon and journal results are out.

Let's talk bid strategy.

Last year's thread
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... i#p6968932

According to the latest LST stats, 40% of class of 2013 got big law (250 attorneys or more) or federal clerkship. This is an improvement over 2012. Hopefully this trend will continue.

I'm c/o 2015 and I know many at (or even below) median who landed big law. Just a word of encouragement, y'all. Hook 'em!

Top 30% or so at UT, secondary journal, strong ties to Houston and Northern CA, targeting those markets pretty much exclusively at OCI. Here's my top 35 bids, hopefully it won't matter after that:

1. VE Houston
2. BB Houston
3. Latham Houston
4. NRF Houston
5. Locke Houston
6. Akin Houston
7. Bracewell Houston
8. Andrews Kurth Houston
9. Jones Day Houston
10. Baker Hostetler Houston
11. Thompson Knight Houston
12. Weil Houston
13. Haynes and Boone Houston
14. Jackson Walker Houston
15. hogan lovells Houston
16. Morgan Lewis Houston
17. winstead pc Houston
18. OMelveny SF
19. Kirkland Ellis SF
20. Orrick LA
21. Morrison Forester SF
22. WSGR Palo Alto
23. Irell Manella Orange County
24. Porter Hedges Houston
25. Gardere Houston

26. Baker McKenzie Houston
27. King Spalding Houston
28. Sidley Austin Houston
29. Cadwalader Houston
30. Pillsbury Houston
31. Husch Austin
32. Dechert Austin
33. Paul Hastings Houston
34. Shook Hardy Houston
35. Thompson Coe Austin

Anything glaringly wrong? Leaning Lit but pretty much ambivalent and mainly just want a job. Assuming that Skadden and most of the lit boutiques are a lost cause. Can't tell if Irell Manella is pretty much strictly an IP shop (I'm not IP). Any feedback/guidance would be appreciated!

Not really sure about Latham's placement in your list bc they have 10 offices for all their spots. Not sure if you need to bid them that high, especially bc I think they don't have nearly as many actual SA spots as NRF.

Anyone else contemplating not using up all 60 bids? I am focusing on 2 cities, so there really aren't that many firms I'm interested in.

Anonymous User wrote:Anyone else contemplating not using up all 60 bids? I am focusing on 2 cities, so there really aren't that many firms I'm interested in.

(anon with the bidlist above)

I went ahead and used all 60 but some were like small firms in Austin and IDK why I wasted time writing those cover letters TBH

When are people going to school outside of TX (but with ties) going to start mass mailing TX firms?

Anonymous User wrote:When are people going to school outside of TX (but with ties) going to start mass mailing TX firms?

Probably the week after next.

What kind of callback/offer data does UT's OCS give y'all? I'm at a T-14 that only gives minimum and maximum GPAs for callbacks. On top of that, only a handful of TX firms come to our OCI. Would y'all be willing to share anything?

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:When are people going to school outside of TX (but with ties) going to start mass mailing TX firms?

Probably the week after next.

What kind of callback/offer data does UT's OCS give y'all? I'm at a T-14 that only gives minimum and maximum GPAs for callbacks. On top of that, only a handful of TX firms come to our OCI. Would y'all be willing to share anything?

UT doesn't give us any info about callbacks afaik.

Yeah we were provided min/max gpa on preselect interviews granted. but no callback info.

Anonymous User wrote:Yeah we were provided min/max gpa on preselect interviews granted. but no callback info.

If you guys want to bitch at CSO about that for the rising 1Ls we would appreciate it

Between 3.7-3.75 at UT (I think ~15%-20%) – want Houston or NYC – but really just want a jerb. Have NYC ties – doing the NYC job fair. Interested in corporate / energy (but really, I’ll do anything as long it means an income).

ETA: will be mass mailing firms in NYC

Advice / suggestions / life tips? TYIA

1. Baker Botts – Houston
2. Skadden Arps - Houston
3. Sidley Austin – Houston
4. Latham Watkins - Houston
5. Simpson Thatcher - Houston
6. Andrews Kurth – Houston
7. Vinson & Elkins – Houston
8. Jones Day – Houston
9. Locke Lord - Houston
10. Bracewell Giuliani – Houston
11. Pillsbury - - Houston
12. HayBoo – Houston
13. Akin Gump – Houston
14. Weil - Houston
15. King & Spalding – Houston
16. Mayer Brown – Houston
17. Norton Rose Fulbright
18. Paul Hastings – Houston
19. Porter Hedges – Houston
20. Shell Oil – Houston
21. Statoil – Houston
22. Thompson Knight – Houston
23. Jackson Walker – Houston
24. Winston & Strawn Weil - Houston
25. Morgan Lewis - Houston

This may be the blind leading the blind (also rising 2L), but unless you think you will for sure get preselected at NRF, I would move them up higher.

To what place? Somewhere in the top 10? Also, is applying to Skadden worth it?

Anonymous User wrote:Yeah we were provided min/max gpa on preselect interviews granted. but no callback info.

Bummer but thanks.

Anonymous User wrote:To what place? Somewhere in the top 10? Also, is applying to Skadden worth it?

Blind anon from above, I would put NRF in the top 10. However, I think with top 15-20% grades, you can afford to bid in order of your own preference, since lottery won't be as important for you. Skadden is a tough one, but you might as well leave it where it is if it is a top choice for you. Since they are grade selective, a good amount of people won't bid them high, but they only have 21 interview slots.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:To what place? Somewhere in the top 10? Also, is applying to Skadden worth it?

Blind anon from above, I would put NRF in the top 10. However, I think with top 15-20% grades, you can afford to bid in order of your own preference, since lottery won't be as important for you. Skadden is a tough one, but you might as well leave it where it is if it is a top choice for you. Since they are grade selective, a good amount of people won't bid them high, but they only have 21 interview slots.

Anon with the list -- thanks for the help. I researched and saw that they have a very small office (and consequently summer class) - so I moved them down. Same thing Cadwalader Houston. I think I might give the # 2 spot to Skadden NYC and play around with STB.

ETA: I'm just afraid of applying to firms with really small class sizes

New York job fair pre-selects are out. Pleasantly surprised with how many I got, but not sure if these are harder to convert to CBs than screeners through OCI. Any 3Ls/alums have anecdata on this?

Anonymous User wrote:New York job fair pre-selects are out. Pleasantly surprised with how many I got, but not sure if these are harder to convert to CBs than screeners through OCI. Any 3Ls/alums have anecdata on this?

Yeah I got 7 screeners. Only top 40% and I'm very surprised. I am wondering if not many people bid and employers just had to fill interview slots.

I've been hearing people around median can have great outcomes...UT sent 33% to biglaw last year and that number rarely, if ever, correlates with straight class placement. Things such as ip, connections, and personality have to be considered. Good luck on those 7 interviews man.

Top 20% + Law Review at a "peer" T20 (Vandy/WashU). Strong ties to the south, but not Texas specifically. Chances/advice? Looking primarily at Houston, but also Dallas.

Washu is not a peer of UT.

timmyd wrote:Washu is not a peer of UT.

I know, I know. Vandy is a T16 and WashU is a T18, while Texas is way up there as a T15.

Texas has medians of 166/3.68
Vandy has medians of 167/3.74
WashU has medians of 166/3.69

Anyway - advice for an out of state student?

Target Houston. I am under the impression ties are way more important for Dallas and Austin. Austin biglaw is super hard to break into, but I mean it can't hurt to apply.

The impression I get is that not having ties to TX won't keep you out if you have good enough grades (Houston/Dallas - not Austin), unless your resume screams ties to another major legal market. I think being from somewhere in the South without a big local legal market is a good enough reason to want to be in TX, whereas someone from NJ might have a harder time convincing TX firms.