Top Law Schools

So this might end up being a disaster but I think it's worth a try.

In the interest of assisting current/prospective students learn more about how people got to certain jobs, would current attorneys be willing to answer the following questions:

Current job:
Was this your first job out of law school:
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...):
What year did you graduate:
What law school did you go to:
What was your estimated debt at graduation:
What was your class ranking:
Law journal or moot court:
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job:

Thank you all!

Current job: Trial Attorney, Dep't of Justice, Criminal Division
Was this your first job out of law school: No
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): 3L
What year did you graduate: 2010
What law school did you go to: T14
What was your estimated debt at graduation: 20kish
What was your class ranking: top 20%
Law journal or moot court: Law Review
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: Who knows

Current job: Biglawl junior (Transactional)
Was this your first job out of law school: Yes
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): 2L summer
What year did you graduate: 2014
What law school did you go to: Ranked in the 60-70 range
What was your estimated debt at graduation: ~$170k
What was your class ranking: Top 2%
Law journal or moot court: Flagship law review
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: It was all grades; nothing else mattered at OCI

Current job: Senior Associate at a national mid-law. Trial and appellate work. Mix of commercial, construction and catastrophic injury litigation.
Was this your first job out of law school: No. I started off at a mid-sized insurance defense firm in the NYC area.
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): Offer came about 10 months before graduation.
What year did you graduate: 2008 (as the world was falling apart and thankfully, my offer was not pulled).
What law school did you go to: Bottom of 4th Tier.
What was your estimated debt at graduation: A lot. I lived in a tiny apartment for like $400 a month and had no discretionary income due to loans.
What was your class ranking: Top third - which was pretty good as I focused mostly on my job(s) and very little on school.
Law journal or moot court: Moot Court.
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: I knew going in to law school that I had no shot of getting a real job through the school. I worked at a small firm during my 1L year (completely ignoring the limits set by the ABA) and then landed a summer spot in a very un-prestigious insurance defense firm. I killed it and was hired back for my second summer and then offered a full time position upon graduation. My starting salary was pathetically low, but I made a few really good moves along the way and developed a very good reputation. Its taken a long time, but the shame of my 4th tier degree is almost completely gone at this point. Something that absolutely helped was that I loved the law and being a lawyer before I was a lawyer. I interned at a big firm all through college and knew where I wanted to go in life.

Current job: Associate, Am law 100 firm. First job out of law school.

When did I get first legal job? Applied through OCI, didn't get interview with firm I work for now. Only got 1 other offer I was iffy about. Emailed back the recruiter for firm I didn't get interview with and said I really liked them, unfortunately I didn't get the chance to talk at OCI, but I'd appreciate being consider for anything in future. (probably ~weekish after their scheduled OCI interview day). Got call next day for callback and got offer immediately after callback. They didn't give enough kids callbacks from OCI and ended up with an extra spot after some didn't end up accepting offers, so I got lucky with my timing.

Graduation Year? 2014

Law School? T20

Estimated Debt at Graduation? ~140k.

Class Ranking? Little above median, maybe top 40%.

Law Journal/Moot Court? Two secondary journals.

Note anything you think helped? I totally bullshited my ties to the city I'm in now during interview. Luckily, no one remembered 9 months later when I summered or else I would have been living an elaborate lie for the rest of my time here.

Current job: attorney at federal government agency.

Was this your first job out of law school: yes.

At what point did you get your first legal job: a month or so before graduation.

What year did you graduate: 2015.

What law school did you go to: UCI.

What was your estimated debt at graduation: 200k+.

What was your class ranking: Top 30%.

Law journal or moot court: Law Review.

Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: Prior federal government legal experience. Leadership experience.

Current job: Transactional/Regulatory Associate - Healthcare
Was this your first job out of law school: Yes
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): 3L shortly before graduation
What year did you graduate: 2014
What law school did you go to: Strong regional TT
What was your estimated debt at graduation: $50K law school; $60K past grad loans
What was your class ranking: 10%
Law journal or moot court: Moot
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: Beginning my networking during 1L in the specialty field I wanted (and intended to work); choosing a specialization that related to past (10 years) non-legal experience; Gunning fairly hard after mediocre first semester grades while maintaining solid classmate relationships; Not taking "no" for an answer after striking out during OCI.

Current Job: (large) entertainment boutique in major market
Was this your first job out of law school: Yes
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): Offer came while i was studying for the bar. I should mention I already had a vault job lined up but I rescinded my acceptance after getting this job.
What year did you graduate: 2013
What law school did you go to: T10
What was your estimated debt at graduation: 20K
What was your class ranking: Median
Law journal or moot court: Journal (not law review)
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: Hated my Vault SA. Was dreading the kind of work I was going to be doing, not to mention the hours. Networked like crazy for positions I wanted to do. Networked my way into an entertainment boutique that does not have a traditional hiring pattern or schedule. Couldn't be happier.

Current job: Biglaw junior associate, labor & employment law
Was this your first job out of law school: No, started with another biglaw firm
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): Lined it up during summer before 2L year
What year did you graduate: 2013
What law school did you go to: T6 school
What was your estimated debt at graduation: $80,000
What was your class ranking: A little above median
Law journal or moot court: Held executive board position on secondary journal
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: Networking is huge. My school did full lottery OCI program. So for the firms I didn't get through OCI, I would reach out to alums from my school, and many times that led directly to callback visits. I literally doubled the number of callbacks through networking on the side. And it was through this side networking that I got the offer I ultimately accepted.

Current job: Litigation associate at V5 in NYC.
Was this your first job out of law school: Yes.
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): OCI at the beginning of 2L year.
What year did you graduate: 2013
What law school did you go to: T14
What was your estimated debt at graduation: $200k+
What was your class ranking: Above median.
Law journal or moot court: Secondary journal.
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: Pre-law school work experience and general maturity. A phone call from my 1L summer boss who knew several partners at my firm.

Current job: Biglaw.
Was this your first job out of law school: Yes.
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): OCI at the beginning of 2L year.
What year did you graduate: One of the "lost classes" (2010 to 2012)
What law school did you go to: T10
What was your estimated debt at graduation: Too much - approximately 170k-180k. (Thankfully paid off).
What was your class ranking: Top third.
Law journal or moot court: Secondary journal.
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: Nothing really (maybe getting top 10% in Contracts 1L year) - recruiting, esp for the "lost years" was a crapshoot. I got this job through OCI but also had some offers through mass mailing.

Current job: Gov - Financial Regulator (General Counsel's Office)
Was this your first job out of law school: Yes
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): Weird timeline. I started the process my 3L year, but it wasn't finalized until after graduation (gov hiring is weird)
What year did you graduate: 2015
What law school did you go to: TT
What was your estimated debt at graduation: ~70k
What was your class ranking: Median
Law journal or moot court: Secondary journal, published note but opted for no Board position
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: Hustle hustle hustle. I interned at my office during law school for roughly 18 months. After a certain point my main concern became the work I was doing here rather than school. I focused on constantly producing a good product, getting involved in more projects, and of course making great connections in my office. It was a big risk because at the end of it all I could've wound up with no position and just another internship on my resume, but thankfully my connections came through for me. As I mentioned above, Gov hiring is very strange, mostly because of budget concerns (so the decision to hire isn't directly in the hands of your supervisors).

Current job: First year big law associate
Was this your first job out of law school: Yes
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): March 3L year
What year did you graduate: 2015
What law school did you go to: Baylor/UHLC/SMU
What was your estimated debt at graduation: 70K
What was your class ranking: 40% lol
Law journal or moot court: Law Review
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: Peaked early in law school, had good SA / clerkships, hustled, mass mailed.

Current job: second year associate - litigation and white collar
Was this your first job out of law school: no
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): 2l fall
What year did you graduate: 2014
What law school did you go to: UVA
What was your estimated debt at graduation: 260K (with undergrad loans)
What was your class ranking: top 10%
Law journal or moot court: both
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: hustle

Current job: Public Defender - Large city in California
Was this your first job out of law school: yes
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): 6 months after passing the bar
What year did you graduate: 2013
What law school did you go to: TT in CA
What was your estimated debt at graduation: 150K
What was your class ranking: top 35%
Law journal or moot court: Moot court and trial team
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: Interning at PD offices throughout law school and post-bar.

Current job: Small Fed
Was this your first job out of law school: no
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): first law office job - 3 months, first attorney job -- 6 months after that
What year did you graduate: 2013
What law school did you go to: TT
What was your estimated debt at graduation: 150K
What was your class ranking: top 35%
Law journal or moot court: secondary journal
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: hustling and not ever giving up

Current job: Biglaw mid-level patent litigator
Was this your first job out of law school: Yes
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): 2L OCI
What year did you graduate: 2012
What law school did you go to: T10 in region I was looking for a job
What was your estimated debt at graduation: $80k
What was your class ranking: median
Law journal or moot court: secondary journal
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: the law school I went to, being able to read code/EECS background, diversity maybe? (minority female programmer in IP lit), having good interpersonal skills (at least for an engineer)

Current job: JD advantage
Was this your first job out of law school: no
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): OCI
What year did you graduate: 2010
What law school did you go to: T20
What was your estimated debt at graduation: ~$140k
What was your class ranking: top 1/3ish
Law journal or moot court: secondary journal
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: Personality. It was a bad year and ~50% of my summer associate class got no-offered. I got the job over kids from higher ranked schools and kids from my school with (marginally) better grades/main law review because associates on the hiring team liked working with me more, made friends with all of the secretaries, etc. Over the summer I literally did no work for the partner who became my boss so they definitely weren't wowed by my work product.

Current job: BigLaw V20 Major Market
Was this your first job out of law school: No (unless we're not counting server jobs...)
At what point did you get your first legal job: 1 year after law school graduation
What year did you graduate: 2015
What law school did you go to: T20
What was your estimated debt at graduation: $66k
What was your class ranking: Top 3%
Law journal or moot court: Head of journal
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: international experience

Current job: In-house IP Counsel
Was this your first job out of law school: No
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): Went to law school part-time while working as a Patent Agent at a big firm full time.
What year did you graduate: 2015
What law school did you go to: T20
What was your estimated debt at graduation: Law school around $40k - UG around $50k
What was your class ranking: Top 10% at the time of getting my first job, top 1/3 at graduation
Law journal or moot court: No
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: Pre-law work experience, UG degree, passed the patent bar prior to law school, squeezed the fuck out of any connections I had as well as the career services office at my law school (whom actually gave me the lead that lead to my first job).

Current job: Litigation associate, NYC biglaw
Was this your first job out of law school: Yes
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): 2L summer associate gig to permanent offer
What year did you graduate: 2013
What law school did you go to: NYU
What was your estimated debt at graduation: $175k or so
What was your class ranking: top 25%
Law journal or moot court: Nah
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: The school to biglaw pipeline. Hard to overstate just how lazy you can be and still get a good job out of a top school.

Current job: Top 10 NYC Real Estate Boutique
Was this your first job out of law school: Yes
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): Before graduation
What year did you graduate: 2015
What law school did you go to: T2 school (USNWR ~100-120)
What was your estimated debt at graduation: ~$180k
What was your class ranking: Top 50%
Law journal or moot court: Both
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: Network; friend of mine is a client at my current firm, pulled some strings.

Current job: Corporate Associate, Texas biglaw
Was this your first job out of law school: No
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): OCI
What year did you graduate: 2014
What law school did you go to: BC
What was your estimated debt at graduation: $60k
What was your class ranking: top 1%
Law journal or moot court: Law Review Executive Board
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: Kill it 1L year. The importance of that cannot be overstated. If you're still in law school, don't waste time networking (it only matters if you don't get a job before you graduate IMO).

Current job: NYC v10 corporate midlevel
Was this your first job out of law school: No - did 2.5 years at NYC v15
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): OCI / 2L summer (summered in southern market and started as first year in NYC office of same firm)
What year did you graduate: 2013
What law school did you go to: T50
What was your estimated debt at graduation: approx 35k
What was your class ranking: Top 5% at the time of getting my first job, top 2% at graduation
Law journal or moot court: flagship law review exec board
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: 95% 1L grades, 5% being normal/social/interviewing well

Current job: Am Law 200 Commercial Litigation Associate.
Was this your first job out of law school: No, was a judicial law clerk for a year in the same state.
At what point did you get your first legal job (before graduation, at graduation, three months, etc...): Locked up the clerkship during my Third Year.
What year did you graduate: 2015.
What law school did you go to: TTT (lawl).
What was your estimated debt at graduation: 140k.
What was your class ranking: Top 7%
Law journal or moot court: Both; (E-Board for LR).
Note anything you think helped you get your first legal job: For the clerkship it was grades and internship experience, but with regards to the firm gig, timing was everything I think. Got it later in the hiring cycle when people who graduated above me had already accepted other spots (despite being a TTT the market is fairly insular so the top students from my school still got the top local gigs).