Rejecting a Summer Associate Offer Forum

[Anonymous User]

Is it bad taste if you do it by email (even though firms reject you that way), and therefore, you should call them? Or is a polite email enough?

[MyNameIsFlynn!]

Polite email is perfectly fine

[Swimp]

My OCS tells people to call b/c it's more "professional," but A) it's not clear to me that that's true; and B) every ding I got during the interviewing process was an email. So I sent all my rejections--CBs and offers--by email.

[seizmaar]

call the person who extended the offer. it's the professional thing to do. make it short and to the point--a few of the firms i turned down, you could tell the partner took it as a personal insult.

when i did it, i always threw in some bullshit about how they can give me a hard time down the line if i can back to them looking for a job. it made one dude laugh, at least. awk as fuck, though, in general.

[charliekelly33]

call the person who extended the offer. it's the professional thing to do. make it short and to the point--a few of the firms i turned down, you could tell the partner took it as a personal insult.

when i did it, i always threw in some bullshit about how they can give me a hard time down the line if i can back to them looking for a job. it made one dude laugh, at least. awk as fuck, though, in general.

This seems to be why an email would be preferable lol

[Anonymous User]

I second calling the person who extended the offer, it is likely more useful from the standpoint of keeping the relationship open going forward. The people I met during OCI at other firms could still serve as reference points for questions and advice

[deng]

Firms ding people by email because they have a ton of applicants they are considering.

I doubt many students have so many offers they have to decline that they simply can't call them all.

It's professional and polite to contact the person who went to bat for you (the person who extended you the offer or interviewed you in the screener). I think the main reason people don't want to call is because they don't like confrontation, which seems kind of mentally weak.

[oblig.lawl.ref]

This is stupid, just email. I emailed the places I turned down and they were very cool/understanding. You guys are not actually that important to these people that they're gonna care that you didn't call. You never even worked there.

[oblig.lawl.ref]

This is stupid, just email. I emailed the places I turned down and they were very cool/understanding. You guys are not actually that important to these people that they're gonna care that you didn't call. You never even worked there.

[jbagelboy]

#tearingnails

[dixiecupdrinking]

Yeah probably no one really went to bat for you. Don't sweat it. If you have some specific reason to think your screener would be a good contact then call them, but 95% of the time that's not true.

[Anonymous User]

I called because it seemed like the right thing to do. People were calling me from the firms for 1.5 weeks and I strung them along. Calling was appropriate because I had spoken to many if them and they specifically asked me to call them with my decision (whatever it ended up being). That being said, it was very awkward.

[Anonymous User]

the thing to remember is they give offers expecting maybe 30% of people to accept, so they literally won't bat an eye at you rejecting them. if its someone that you have a personal relationship then ya, the decent thing would probably be to call them directly, but if its a typical oci born offer there is no reason to worry about being more personal or professional than an email.

[Neal Patrick Harris]

Just like thank you notes, this depends on your personality and the type of person you are.

Some will like that you called them because they invested their time in you; others will be frustrated that you're bothering them and think you have a delusional sense of self-importance because they don't give a shit about a bunch of prospective 2Ls.

Do what you think is right. I called.

[m079]

The hiring partners would email me every so often asking if they could help with my decisions, so I generally always called them. It's never been that awkward (given that inherently it is not a very comfortable subject). They always wish me luck, often they thank me for telling them in person, and they also often say "I hope we meet again", "I hope our paths cross in the future," or even invite me to still meet with people in my desired practice groups so that I can learn more.

Lawyering is a business. It's not that critical in rejecting SA offers, but it is good practice and you should at least try developing your ability and finesse to come out of an uncomfortable situation with peoples' respect, etc.