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I am a 2L now at an east coast school and I'll be working at a big firm in LA next summer.

I just received a Save the Date for the firm holiday party this year. First of all, is this typical, and if so, will they pay for my travel to LA from the east coast? Second, my significant other will also be moving to LA with me next summer, so we were planning to make a trip to LA around the holiday season anyway to look at potential housing options. Are significant others usually invited to firm holiday parties, and if so, would they pay for both of our flights, or just mine, and if nothing is mentioned about it, would it be inappropriate to ask?

Since the party is on a saturday, is it reasonable to come out for the weekend, or would it be more appropriate for me to pay for our hotel after the first night if we stay for the weekend?

Desert Fox wrote:Did they offer to pay for your travel? If not, they probably aren't going to.

The email didn't say anything. I haven't even been officially invited yet I guess? It was just an attachment with a flyer saying to save the date.

You're gonna get a bunch of these over the next couple months, They're just:

"Dear students at University that I've heard of: if you're in the area over the holidays, we're having an open house for a bunch of prospective interns. We'd love to have you."

not:

"Dear (insert name here), we want to fly you out here personally to attend an exclusive holiday party because we're so interested in you before you even have a single law school grade."

totesTheGoat wrote:You're gonna get a bunch of these over the next couple months, They're just:

"Dear students at University that I've heard of: if you're in the area over the holidays, we're having an open house for a bunch of prospective interns. We'd love to have you."

not:

"Dear (insert name here), we want to fly you out here personally to attend an exclusive holiday party because we're so interested in you before you even have a single law school grade."

He's a 2L and it's the firm he's going to do his SA with.

totesTheGoat wrote:You're gonna get a bunch of these over the next couple months, They're just:

"Dear students at University that I've heard of: if you're in the area over the holidays, we're having an open house for a bunch of prospective interns. We'd love to have you."

not:

"Dear (insert name here), we want to fly you out here personally to attend an exclusive holiday party because we're so interested in you before you even have a single law school grade."

This is not at all what this is. He's already hired as a summer at the firm, and its not a "reception" for prospective employees, its the firm's actual holiday party. OP - at my acceptance dinner they said the next time I see them would be at the holiday party. No word on whether or not they will foot the bill.

They want you there but not that badly

Companion Cube wrote:

totesTheGoat wrote:You're gonna get a bunch of these over the next couple months, They're just:

"Dear students at University that I've heard of: if you're in the area over the holidays, we're having an open house for a bunch of prospective interns. We'd love to have you."

not:

"Dear (insert name here), we want to fly you out here personally to attend an exclusive holiday party because we're so interested in you before you even have a single law school grade."

He's a 2L and it's the firm he's going to do his SA with.

That's what I get for glossing over the OP. Even so, I got a holiday party invitation from the firm I work at during the school year. It wasn't anything tailored to me, it was a mass mailer to the student emails that they had collected last year. Unless it is personalized to you and says something to the effect of "we'd like to have you out here for this party," I'd assume it's just being sent to you as a courtesy in case you were planning to be in the area.

They're not going to foot the bill for your travel.

Companion Cube wrote:

totesTheGoat wrote:You're gonna get a bunch of these over the next couple months, They're just:

"Dear students at University that I've heard of: if you're in the area over the holidays, we're having an open house for a bunch of prospective interns. We'd love to have you."

not:

"Dear (insert name here), we want to fly you out here personally to attend an exclusive holiday party because we're so interested in you before you even have a single law school grade."

He's a 2L and it's the firm he's going to do his SA with.

That doesn't change the answer though. These invites are "if you're in the neighborhood..." things. They won't pay and you'll look foolish if you ask about it

I get asking if they'd pay for you to attend... But your significant other? That's a risky move.

zot1 wrote:I get asking if they'd pay for you to attend... But your significant other? That's a risky move.

Don't ask for either

Danger Zone wrote:

zot1 wrote:I get asking if they'd pay for you to attend... But your significant other? That's a risky move.

Don't ask for either

Oh I agree. But if you have a cat you want to bring though, I would ask.

Anonymous User wrote:I am a 2L now at an east coast school and I'll be working at a big firm in LA next summer.

I just received a Save the Date for the firm holiday party this year. First of all, is this typical, and if so, will they pay for my travel to LA from the east coast? Second, my significant other will also be moving to LA with me next summer, so we were planning to make a trip to LA around the holiday season anyway to look at potential housing options. Are significant others usually invited to firm holiday parties, and if so, would they pay for both of our flights, or just mine, and if nothing is mentioned about it, would it be inappropriate to ask?

Since the party is on a saturday, is it reasonable to come out for the weekend, or would it be more appropriate for me to pay for our hotel after the first night if we stay for the weekend?

Danger Zone's advice in this thread--CR.

If you are a 2L who hasn't summered yet but still wants to go to one of these things, run any questions by your recruiting coordinator (SO, no SO, black tie, if anyone else from your future summer class has RVSPd). Also, be ready for a lot of questions and not to know anyone in the room. Decide if that's the best way to spend your evening or whether you want to watch Full House reruns instead.

Desert Fox wrote:I don't get why firms would even invite people who haven't summered. You don't know anyone and you don't work there yet. It's awkward.

The first thing I thought after reading the op was that it probably was an accident and that op received an All Attorneys distribution.

I was invited and went to one of these at my then-soon to be summer firm/now-current firm when I was a 2L. It was pretty uncomfortable. I only knew the 7-8 attorneys I had already met, maybe half of whom were there, and while they were very gracious to me, I wouldn't go again.

It was the first realization for me of what has since become blindingly obvious: summer associates are not the center of everyone's attention. People fake it during OCI season and over the summer, but they just don't want to have to talk to random law students all the time. No one wants to turn their holiday party into a recruiting event. They'd rather catch up with their colleagues at a rare relaxed moment.

My holiday party was in the same city I was already in for law school; I can't imagine traveling for one of these things, whether or not the firm would pay.

I would treat it as a courtesy invite and politely decline. You already have an easy excuse, being thousands of miles away.