Partner Track/LS Prestige Question Forum

[Anonymous User]

Does your law school have an influence/increased chances of making one eligible for partner?

e.g. If you're in the TX market at like V&E or BB, and you have 1 senior associate went who went to CCN and the other senior associate who went to UT--and they're both equivalent in their work product/ethic, and are within the same practice--is the firm more likely to make the one from CCN a partner over the UT guy?

Not sure how partnership track works, but I was juts wondering if LS had any impact on one's path. Thanks!

[AndroidLawyer]

There was this ATL article a while back saying that T14 associates are more likely to make partner than those from lower ranked schools. I think it was mainly looking at statistics.

[Magic Hat]

While a decent question crappy hypo. Texas is one of those markets that actually prefers real local ties. Those firms probably have more UT partners than HYSCCN partners.

[misterjames]

There was this ATL article a while back saying that T14 associates are more likely to make partner than those from lower ranked schools. I think it was mainly looking at statistics.

was that just for big firms? if so, if that that article did not account for the fact that there are more T14 alum in biglaw generally, it's not very useful info.

OP - I think school probably plays some role, maybe more so in certain regions. ultimately though making partner consists of a lot of factors. work product, relationships with partners, relationships with clients, relationships with juniors, firm involvement, community involvement, physical appearance (or so ive heard), overall personality, and of course a bit of luck. something like which school someone attended is probably a minor consideration.

[Lincoln]

At my firm it is irrelevant. We mainly hire from the T14, but just in the last five years or so, we have made partners from UCLA, UNC, Brooklyn, Fordham, Emory....

It's hard to get a job here from those schools -- you need better grades than from the T14 -- but once you're here, all anyone cares about is your work.

[Anonymous User]

It's irrelevant. Whether the right people will back your admission to the partnership depends on what they think of your work product, your ability to manage entire matters, your ability to interact with clients, and your potential to bring in new business. To the extent you have an extraordinarily credential like a SCOTUS clerkship, that will probably help, but no one will care if you were T6 law review vs. T30 median or whatever.

That said, in a litigation or regulatory practice, odds are the associates with stronger credentials will produce superior work product, which will open more opportunities to advance, manage matters, deal directly with clients, etc., but the credentials themselves don't matter.

[habeas2210]

Do fed clerkships have an influence on if someone is made partner?

[Pomeranian]

I think it depends more on the city/market you're in as well. There was an article in the National Jurist recently about how it might be "easier" to make partner in certain markets vs. NYC. Here is the study they citied ranking big law partners by schools they attended:

http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog ... kings.html

[rpupkin]

There was this ATL article a while back saying that T14 associates are more likely to make partner than those from lower ranked schools. I think it was mainly looking at statistics.

I recall that article as showing the opposite—as a percentage, associates from lower-ranked schools were more likely to make partner at big law firms than associates from elite law schools. If I recall correctly, the author of the article speculated that those non-elite grads who managed to land big law were—compared to their T14 counterparts—more driven and motivated. It makes sense if you think about how big law hiring works.

[TheoO]

The most gunnery person in my summer class is a high achiever from a low tier school. This person has become friendly with numerous partners.

[Anonymous User]

I knew a Steptoe partner that said he gets push back from the main office when he recommends a non T14 guy for partnership. He seemed like a crusty shithead boomer and it was during a "retake and reapply" pep talk, so maybe he was exaggerating.

[gaddockteeg]

Work product has the tiniest effect your partnership opps. It's primarily about bringing in business.

[rpupkin]

Work product has the tiniest effect your partnership opps. It's primarily about bringing in business.

This is wrong as a general rule. It may be largely true for smaller firms. At most big law firms, though, the above isn't accurate.

[Anonymous User]

It seems to matter more in litigation. In corporate you will often see a partner from Yale kowtowing to a partner from Santa Clara. My guess is it's not that school rank doesn't matter, but the person from Santa Clara probably had to have certain qualities just to have a chance - hustle, presentation sills, people skills, etc.

On the above - business is much more important than work product, because there's a higher supply of people who can do the work, but how are you expecting to have clients without high quality work?

[gaddockteeg]

Work product has the tiniest effect your partnership opps. It's primarily about bringing in business.

This is wrong as a general rule. It may be largely true for smaller firms. At most big law firms, though, the above isn't accurate.

I stand by this pretty confidently, though anecdotally. I'm at a v30 DC office and this has been echoed more than just once. I summered at another nlj350 firm also and that was the sentiment as well.

[lavarman84]

There was this ATL article a while back saying that T14 associates are more likely to make partner than those from lower ranked schools. I think it was mainly looking at statistics.

I recall that article as showing the opposite—as a percentage, associates from lower-ranked schools were more likely to make partner at big law firms than associates from elite law schools. If I recall correctly, the author of the article speculated that those non-elite grads who managed to land big law were—compared to their T14 counterparts—more driven and motivated. It makes sense if you think about how big law hiring works.

That's what I recall as well. And yea, it makes total sense. Usually have to be an intelligent, gunnery person with a decent personality to get biglaw from lower ranked schools.

[dixiecupdrinking]

Yup, I think it's easier to get in the door as a T14/whatever grad, but the grads of lower-ranked schools who do manage to get into big firms are almost universally better, in my experience. Maybe slightly less raw intellectual horsepower, although who even knows how to measure that (and if you're like summa at a TTT you're almost definitely smarter than a random median grad at a top school). Meanwhile, waaaaaaay better work ethic and dedication and lacking in entitlement, all of which are far more important to longevity.

[Hutz_and_Goodman]

It's irrelevant what law school you went to for the purposes of making partner.

[Anonymous User]

It's irrelevant what law school you went to for the purposes of making partner.

this is the real asnwer. /thread.