Top 15% at MDVP- Good Lit Firms in SF? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Thanks!

[Serett]

Top 15% at MDVP. Unfortunately didn't get into Berkeley law but didn't realize they had so much of a leg up when it comes to getting firm jobs in San Francisco. What firms should I be networking at? I have a few favorites, but I wanted to hear what firms come to mind for other people.

I'd like a firm known for its litigation practice, and somewhere with reputation for cool, kind people. If I'm going to be working 60 hour weeks, I want to at least enjoy the people I work with, and get a beer with them every now and then.

[youtube]cIcqUokPiTw[/youtube]

[umichman]

If I'm going to be working 60 hour weeks,

LOL 60 hours sounds great.

[Anonymous User]

Do you have ties to SF/the Bay Area generally? If not, prepare to strike out in SF.

I'm exaggerating slightly, but even people at the top of the class at SLS strike out in SF (though if you're willing to be in SV, you'll have a much easier time and ties won't matter as much/at all).

[ticklemesilly]

Top 15% at MDVP. Unfortunately didn't get into Berkeley law but didn't realize they had so much of a leg up when it comes to getting firm jobs in San Francisco. What firms should I be networking at? I have a few favorites, but I wanted to hear what firms come to mind for other people.

I'd like a firm known for its litigation practice, and somewhere with reputation for cool, kind people. If I'm going to be working 60 hour weeks, I want to at least enjoy the people I work with, and get a beer with them every now and then.

[youtube]cIcqUokPiTw[/youtube]

Okay Sherlock, you caught me. So, any advice?

[Serett]

Top 15% at MDVP. Unfortunately didn't get into Berkeley law but didn't realize they had so much of a leg up when it comes to getting firm jobs in San Francisco. What firms should I be networking at? I have a few favorites, but I wanted to hear what firms come to mind for other people.

I'd like a firm known for its litigation practice, and somewhere with reputation for cool, kind people. If I'm going to be working 60 hour weeks, I want to at least enjoy the people I work with, and get a beer with them every now and then.

[youtube]cIcqUokPiTw[/youtube]

Okay Sherlock, you caught me. So, any advice?

Nah, but if you ever want to live somewhere cold and lakey instead of warm and oceany, hmu.

[ticklemesilly]

Do you have ties to SF/the Bay Area generally? If not, prepare to strike out in SF.

I'm exaggerating slightly, but even people at the top of the class at SLS strike out in SF (though if you're willing to be in SV, you'll have a much easier time and ties won't matter as much/at all).

Yes, strong ties. And I'd rather not do SV, although certainly open to it over NY

[potted plant]

Top 15% at MDVP. Unfortunately didn't get into Berkeley law but didn't realize they had so much of a leg up when it comes to getting firm jobs in San Francisco. What firms should I be networking at? I have a few favorites, but I wanted to hear what firms come to mind for other people.

I'd like a firm known for its litigation practice, and somewhere with reputation for cool, kind people. If I'm going to be working 60 hour weeks, I want to at least enjoy the people I work with, and get a beer with them every now and then.

Gibson & Latham are the most obvious for this. Both have very strong lit practices in SF with reputations for good culture, good people. Latham attracts slightly more extroverted types so preference between the two will depend on your personality.

[Anonymous User]

If I'm going to be working 60 hour weeks,

LOL 60 hours sounds great.

[lawlorbust]

If I'm going to be working 60 hour weeks,

LOL 60 hours sounds great.

Whoops -- accidental anon.

Do you have ties to SF/the Bay Area generally? If not, prepare to strike out in SF.

I'm exaggerating slightly, but even people at the top of the class at SLS strike out in SF (though if you're willing to be in SV, you'll have a much easier time and ties won't matter as much/at all).

C'mon, bro.

[Legal_Octopus]

SF is a hard market, and just about everyone should be prepared for the possibility of striking out, but it's not as bad as that. Especially if you're at least open to SV, you have a really good chance of landing something. Here is my perspective.

In my experience the reputed "top" litigation firms in SF are: Latham, Quinn, MoFo, Gibson, Orrick, Kirkland (essentially limited to patent lit though, I believe), and Keker (obviously kind of its own type of firm). Those are the ones that jump out. I'm sure lots of other firms known for other practices have great litigation departments as well though.

As for places with a "reputation for cool, kind people," I'd seriously advise you against putting too much stock in anything you hear on TLS about firm culture. MoFo and Orrick have dope offices. Keker is obviously super prestigious as a brand. Beyond that, in my experience, all those firms have a number of cool, kind people, and I don't think there's a reliable way to judge their culture from without. Apply and make that judgment for yourself during interviews. I would note though that SV offices seem to have a very different vibe from many SF firms I've been to. That makes sense given the semi-suburban setting of most of those officers and the commute.

[ticklemesilly]

Great! Thanks for the advice! Love this website.

[Emma.]

Top 15% won't fly at KVN, and probably not MTO.

[Anonymous User]

Was top 15% and got offers from both KVN and MTO. You need to highlight any past work experience you have, even if it is working at McDonalds or a convenient store. They want people who know what its like to not be in BigLaw. Not people who think 180k a year is normal and that people should be entitled to that just cause they went to law school. And work on your interview skills. If you want a legit lit place, you can't be awkward.

Also, don't be afraid to put yourself out there. I told the firm I ended up at in SF that they were my top choice during the screener interview. It was the second thing I said. I mentioned to other firms that they were at the top of my list and I was excited to interview with them. They want you to be direct and don't want someone afraid to be themselves.

[Anonymous User]

Top 10% at a T25 with strong ties to the bay area have a chance in SF/SV?

[WheninLaw]

Was top 15% and got offers from both KVN and MTO. You need to highlight any past work experience you have, even if it is working at McDonalds or a convenient store. They want people who know what its like to not be in BigLaw. Not people who think 180k a year is normal and that people should be entitled to that just cause they went to law school. And work on your interview skills. If you want a legit lit place, you can't be awkward.

Also, don't be afraid to put yourself out there. I told the firm I ended up at in SF that they were my top choice during the screener interview. It was the second thing I said. I mentioned to other firms that they were at the top of my list and I was excited to interview with them. They want you to be direct and don't want someone afraid to be themselves.

Interesting, considering MTO doesn't allow summers to work at the SF office. Also, KVN doesn't generally hire at the schools OP mentioned.

So in all, I call bullshit.

[Anonymous User]

Was top 15% and got offers from both KVN and MTO. You need to highlight any past work experience you have, even if it is working at McDonalds or a convenient store. They want people who know what its like to not be in BigLaw. Not people who think 180k a year is normal and that people should be entitled to that just cause they went to law school. And work on your interview skills. If you want a legit lit place, you can't be awkward.

Also, don't be afraid to put yourself out there. I told the firm I ended up at in SF that they were my top choice during the screener interview. It was the second thing I said. I mentioned to other firms that they were at the top of my list and I was excited to interview with them. They want you to be direct and don't want someone afraid to be themselves.

Interesting, considering MTO doesn't allow summers to work at the SF office. Also, KVN doesn't generally hire at the schools OP mentioned.

So in all, I call bullshit.

I heard they take 1 SA from HSYB each, which if true is incredibly inflexible. To each his own, I guess.

[SLS_AMG]

Was top 15% and got offers from both KVN and MTO. You need to highlight any past work experience you have, even if it is working at McDonalds or a convenient store. They want people who know what its like to not be in BigLaw. Not people who think 180k a year is normal and that people should be entitled to that just cause they went to law school. And work on your interview skills. If you want a legit lit place, you can't be awkward.

Also, don't be afraid to put yourself out there. I told the firm I ended up at in SF that they were my top choice during the screener interview. It was the second thing I said. I mentioned to other firms that they were at the top of my list and I was excited to interview with them. They want you to be direct and don't want someone afraid to be themselves.

This is a straight-up lie.

[WheninLaw]

Was top 15% and got offers from both KVN and MTO. You need to highlight any past work experience you have, even if it is working at McDonalds or a convenient store. They want people who know what its like to not be in BigLaw. Not people who think 180k a year is normal and that people should be entitled to that just cause they went to law school. And work on your interview skills. If you want a legit lit place, you can't be awkward.

Also, don't be afraid to put yourself out there. I told the firm I ended up at in SF that they were my top choice during the screener interview. It was the second thing I said. I mentioned to other firms that they were at the top of my list and I was excited to interview with them. They want you to be direct and don't want someone afraid to be themselves.

Interesting, considering MTO doesn't allow summers to work at the SF office. Also, KVN doesn't generally hire at the schools OP mentioned.

So in all, I call bullshit.

I heard they take 1 SA from HSYB each, which if true is incredibly inflexible. To each his own, I guess.

They don't necessarily take a SA from anywhere. They attend OCI at HYS and sometimes Berkeley, sometimes Chicago.

[Anonymous User]

I heard they take 1 SA from HSYB each, which if true is incredibly inflexible. To each his own, I guess.

They don't necessarily take a SA from anywhere. They attend OCI at HYS and sometimes Berkeley, sometimes Chicago.

This is wrong. KVN always does OCI at Berkeley, as well as HYS. KVN occasionally does OCI at Chicago, Michigan, and CLS.

[L’Étranger]

Every firm will have a mix of cool and not cool people. Generally, lit is stressful everywhere.

Also, while D is a great school, and top 15% is awesome, you'll probably still have to hustle in SF, so don't expect to be super choosey about where you land.

[L’Étranger]

I heard they take 1 SA from HSYB each, which if true is incredibly inflexible. To each his own, I guess.

They don't necessarily take a SA from anywhere. They attend OCI at HYS and sometimes Berkeley, sometimes Chicago.

This is wrong. KVN always does OCI at Berkeley, as well as HYS. KVN occasionally does OCI at Chicago, Michigan, and CLS.

Unless they changed something up, yeah, they'd do HYS + B annually.

[star fox]

Why do people make up random school sub-categories?

[WheninLaw]

I heard they take 1 SA from HSYB each, which if true is incredibly inflexible. To each his own, I guess.

They don't necessarily take a SA from anywhere. They attend OCI at HYS and sometimes Berkeley, sometimes Chicago.

This is wrong. KVN always does OCI at Berkeley, as well as HYS. KVN occasionally does OCI at Chicago, Michigan, and CLS.

"We annually conduct fall recruiting interviews at Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, University of Chicago, and Yale law schools."

Although it doesn't matter - point stands, dude was full of it.

[Anonymous User]

From the stats I got from a KVN partner, they've hired a summer from Mich twice in the last three years.