No-Offered from my Summer Associate- How Screwed am I? Forum

[Anonymous User]

TLS,

I was recently no-offered by my biglaw summer associate firm. I'm trying to gauge how screwed I am: is this a bump in the road, or should I be considering alternative careers, or am I somewhere in between? The firm is in the V60, and I was in the NYC office. The firm claimed the reason for the no-offer was "poor fit," I'm fairly certain that it was because my personality didn't click well with one of the hiring partners.

I'm top 8% at a T2 school in the NYC market. Full scholarship (zero debt), Law review, published note, several government internships, and some other accolades.

I'd like to have a fulfilling job, preferably in a transactional capacity. I'm leaning towards biglaw because of the money, but I wouldn't mind doing a 9 to 6, as long as the downgrade in pay isn't huge. I'm primarily interested in Corporate, but Bankruptcy is also an option. Litigation is a last resort, I don't hate it, but it's not my favorite thing to do.

What can I do to get back into biglaw, or at least get into a transactional practice with decent pay and better hours?

[sopranorleone]

TLS,

I was recently no-offered by my biglaw summer associate firm. I'm trying to gauge how screwed I am: is this a bump in the road, or should I be considering alternative careers, or am I somewhere in between? The firm is in the V60, and I was in the NYC office. The firm claimed the reason for the no-offer was "poor fit," I'm fairly certain that it was because my personality didn't click well with one of the hiring partners.

I'm top 8% at a T2 school in the NYC market. Full scholarship (zero debt), Law review, published note, several government internships, and some other accolades.

I'd like to have a fulfilling job, preferably in a transactional capacity. I'm leaning towards biglaw because of the money, but I wouldn't mind doing a 9 to 6, as long as the downgrade in pay isn't huge. I'm primarily interested in Corporate, but Bankruptcy is also an option. Litigation is a last resort, I don't hate it, but it's not my favorite thing to do.

What can I do to get back into biglaw, or at least get into a transactional practice with decent pay and better hours?

With your credentials, you have a chance at clerking for the DE Chancery. Since you will have no debt upon graduation, you should stick it out IMO. If you can get a DE Chancery clerkship, you'll have little trouble having your choice among transactional practices that want to hire you. And obviously start hustling--mass mail, network, etc.--for an interview at another biglaw gig in the meantime.

ETA: really sorry about the no-offer!

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

I graduated from a t1 in May. One of the top people in my class was no offered and he's about to start a chancery court clerkship. You are still a great candidate but you will want to go full force the next few months.

[Anonymous User]

I think w/ your credentials, you should be able to get an offer in Big Law if you start applying right now. Just mass mail. As for DE Chancery, you should not bet on it too much. Your credentials are great, but as the great as the credentials of almost everyone who ever clerked at DE Chancery. As far as I know, most of DE chancery clerks come from T-14. Rumor has it that (at least up to 2-3 yrs ago) most of them were either from U Penn or HLS, i.e., schools where then Chancellor Strine was teaching his class. Obviously, take it w/ a grain of salt. But if you seriously consider DE Chancery, you should reach out to all your corporate law professors and see if they can give you great recommendations. Since there are only 10 clerks in DE Chancery, the competition tends to be very tough. So, your great credentials coupled w/ good recommendations from the corp. law professors (preferably the ones that have some understanding/knowledge/insights in the application process for the DE Chancery) will give you a real shot at clerking there.

[Anonymous User]

ETA: really sorry about the no-offer!

Thanks, I feel pretty shitty about it. You guys are providing a semblance of hope for the future, though.

[Nomo]

Chancery Court is a good idea. Also apply to Bankruptcy clerkships since that's an area you're interested in. And start mass mailing now.

With no debt I think you'll be fine.

[Man from Nantucket]

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[Anonymous User]

Contingency planning here. What's the alternative if I can't get back into biglaw immediately and I'm unable to secure a clerkship?
Should I even bother applying for Article III clerkships, even though litigation is not my first choice?

[Anonymous User]

clerkship, clerkship, clerkship.

Happened to a buddy of mind. Got a bankruptcy clerkship and killed it during his 3L year. Flipped that into an federal appellate clerkship. Got an offer from another firm.

[Anonymous User]

TBH it'd be pretty tough to get back into BigLaw after being no offered from BLS regardless of your grades.

[Anonymous User]

First, really sorry -- this is a horrible feeling. I, too, was no offered, so I feel your pain. I was in a slightly different position, only because I started applying for clerkships before the no offer, but it was around now (beginning and middle of July). I managed to secure one with a state appellate court where my school is located.

Honestly, clerking was the best thing that could have happened to me. When I interviewed for jobs post clerkship, I was only asked once whether I received an offer from the firm. No one else cared, and they only wanted to talk about my clerkship. It was a great buffer from having to explain the no offer situation. The firm that did ask didn't seem to care -- they gave me a 2d interview.

The lack of an offer didn't end up affecting things -- I secured a BigLaw job post clerkship. It didn't add stress to my 3L year because I had the clerkship locked up a week or so into the school year. The real change difference, I think, is that it added a hell of a lot of stress to my clerkship year when I started amping up my job search.

[Anonymous User]

I had similar stats and was no offered as a summer (in my case the entire class was no offered, they later gave me an offer).

I clerked for a fed coa judge and it all worked out. I'm in lit, but I had corporate offers out of my clerkship. I've seen others use an aiii clerkship to get into corporate.

Obviously I was lucky as hell to land a fed coa clerkship, and you shouldn't count on it. But you should also know that it's possible and spend the next week applying to clerkships like crazy.

You should also talk to your career services so you're the first person they think of when someone calls for 3ls. I did this and career services called me weekly with mid law spots. Not all were great but I appreciated their effort.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Waiting on letters of recommendation from professors, so the clerkship applications haven't gone out yet. It's late in the game, and many judges have hired for 2016-2017 already. Hypothetically, if I don't receive any clerkship offers, what is the next best course of action?

[Anonymous User]

OP here. Waiting on letters of recommendation from professors, so the clerkship applications haven't gone out yet. It's late in the game, and many judges have hired for 2016-2017 already. Hypothetically, if I don't receive any clerkship offers, what is the next best course of action?

Honestly, the art III clerkship market is tough right now. A lot of folks who are typically qualified for desirable d.ct and some COA judges are now clerking for magistrates in 2016 or waiting till 2017 or 2018. The credentials game is increasingly bipolar -- the very top T6 students are locking up feeder judges and popular d.ct. judges earlier and earlier, while everyone else has to either apply broadly to less 'desirable' locations (not NY/DC/CA) or work for a couple years and reapply. There are always those people (like those who have responded here) who are extremely lucky and land clerkships after graduation, but remember these are also the most vocal ones. People that have successfully landed fed clerkships will tell you to apply to fill in gap years, but that doesn't make it a realistic alternative to biglaw.

There are some judges who will continue to hire for 2016-17 this fall, but there will be lots of hungry HLS, NYU, ect. 3Ls applying. I'm not trying to discourage you, just letting you know what to expect. I'd try NY state COA and appellate division, bankruptcy, and mid-market firms that hire from your school. Now is also the time to blast emails to all the NLJ250 that have corporate openings, which is a lot of places now.

[Anonymous User]

Magistrate / bankruptcy clerkships which you then flip into Art. III clerkship which you then flip into a firm job.

Alternatively, LLM (yes, $50k more out the door) which you flip into magistrate / bankruptcy clerkship which you then flip into a firm job.

Honestly, these are the only approaches I've see that work. They both stink, but they are better than the alternatives.

[Anonymous User]

OP here. How do magistrate judges stack up against District Judges and Bankruptcy Judges. Are the exit options the same/ similar?

[Foghornleghorn]

OP here. How do magistrate judges stack up against District Judges and Bankruptcy Judges. Are the exit options the same/ similar?

Apply to them all. You don't have the liberty of weighing outcomes from options you don't have.