Top Law Schools

So I'm transfer at a T10 about to go into OCI. TLS makes it seem like an absolute crap shoot out there at OCI. I always thought T10 was kind of a lock for SAs and biglaw? My goal is biglaw, but should I be mass-mailing like everyone else is doing? This forum is making me feel less confident in getting an offer.

Is my perception incorrect? Or is it really that bad out there? Even from the T10?

What does T10 mean?

You're anon, you can your school

OP here, I will be at Berkeley

if you have good grades (I am assuming you do because you are a transfer) and interview well, you should be fine. It doesn't hurt to massmail though. You don't lose anything by interviewing before OCI so why not?

Massmail your ass off, especially as a transfer.

Anonymous User wrote:So I'm transfer at a T10 about to go into OCI. TLS makes it seem like an absolute crap shoot out there at OCI. I always thought T10 was kind of a lock for SAs and biglaw? My goal is biglaw, but should I be mass-mailing like everyone else is doing? This forum is making me feel less confident in getting an offer.

Is my perception incorrect? Or is it really that bad out there? Even from the T10?

Even at HLS, lst reports that 4.3% (if I remember correctly) are unemployed and searching 9 months after graduation. There is no lock in life.

On the other hand, I am sure your chances of getting big law is far higher than 50%. Don't panic just yet - you are in an enviable position compared to most median students going to ttt on full tuition

While there is indeed no lock, and I don't know what school you came from, I can provide you with one data point. All of the c/o 2016 Hastings transfers to B that wanted an SA (I think 10 or so of the 15 that transferred there) got one.

Hope all works out for you, OP!

SFSpartan wrote:While there is indeed no lock, and I don't know what school you came from, I can provide you with one data point. All of the c/o 2016 Hastings transfers to B that wanted an SA (I think 10 or so of the 15 that transferred there) got one.

Hope all works out for you, OP!

very helpful. thank you

Jfc

T10 isn't really a thing, Berkeley is kinda dicey, and you're a transfer. Plus people strike out at every school.

Mass mail before and after OCI until you have an offer.

sublime wrote:Massmail your ass off, especially as a transfer.

This. While being at Berkeley will certainly give you much better access to firms than you would have had at your previous school, the majority will treat you as if you are still at your old school with your presumably good grades.

I am an incoming transfer at NU; I'm guessing the MM advice will apply to my situation just the same?

The person with the most smileys at Yale their 1L year should be mass blasting those apps and so should you.

If you think that doesn't apply to you, think about it a bit more. It's not rocket surgery, this is no brainer stuff. You want a job, so do your absolute best to get a job.

BigZuck wrote:The person with the most smileys at Yale their 1L year should be mass blasting those apps and so should you.

If you think that doesn't apply to you, think about it a bit more. It's not rocket surgery, this is no brainer stuff. You want a job, so do your absolute best to get a job.

100% this. The massmailing advice applies to everyone, regardless of rank, school, and transfer status.

Not OP. Following this up with a post I didn't get bites on in the MassMail thread.

How/Should one mass mail as a transfer student before knowing exactly where you're transferring?

Currently planning on attending Michigan unless the law school gods shine on me and I get into CCN.

Is it unethical / would it look terrible to apply with Michigan on my resume, then update if I switch schools?

Is it really necessary at all to mass mail if you are legit top of your class at a T10? I think the odds of you striking out if you have a 4.0 at one of these schools are approaching 0, especially if you're a normal person. I think if you are #1 in your class at Yale and you are spending hours and hours mass mailing the V100 then you need a life.

The smartest thing you could do, as I and some of my boys did, is reach out to a firm that is known to do pre-OCI interviews and snag an offer earlier in the summer. But even failing that I wouldn't spend hours mass mailing with fuck you grades.

Anonymous User wrote:Is it really necessary at all to mass mail if you are legit top of your class at a T10? I think the odds of you striking out if you have a 4.0 at one of these schools are approaching 0, especially if you're a normal person. I think if you are #1 in your class at Yale and you are spending hours and hours mass mailing the V100 then you need a life.

The smartest thing you could do, as I and some of my boys did, is reach out to a firm that is known to do pre-OCI interviews and snag an offer earlier in the summer. But even failing that I wouldn't spend hours mass mailing with fuck you grades.

No you're wrong

Everyone should be blasting away until they don't need to blast. But everyone needs to start blasting.

BigZuck wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Is it really necessary at all to mass mail if you are legit top of your class at a T10? I think the odds of you striking out if you have a 4.0 at one of these schools are approaching 0, especially if you're a normal person. I think if you are #1 in your class at Yale and you are spending hours and hours mass mailing the V100 then you need a life.

The smartest thing you could do, as I and some of my boys did, is reach out to a firm that is known to do pre-OCI interviews and snag an offer earlier in the summer. But even failing that I wouldn't spend hours mass mailing with fuck you grades.

No you're wrong

Everyone should be blasting away until they don't need to blast. But everyone needs to start blasting.

That is the being risk averse to the point of insanity. The #1 at Yale has never struck out at OCI, and he/she certainly doesn't need to be spending her summer sitting at her desk mass mailing the DLA Piper's of the world. I appreciate the hustle mentality of TLS, but to suggest that those folks blessed with tippy top grades need to play by the same rules as everyone else. Mass mailing absolutely sucks. No need to do it if you don't have to. If you're reading this and you have a 3.6 you do not have tippy top grades btw.

Anonymous User wrote:Is it really necessary at all to mass mail if you are legit top of your class at a T10?

No.

Anonymous User wrote:Is it really necessary at all to mass mail if you are legit top of your class at a T10? I think the odds of you striking out if you have a 4.0 at one of these schools are approaching 0, especially if you're a normal person. I think if you are #1 in your class at Yale and you are spending hours and hours mass mailing the V100 then you need a life.

The smartest thing you could do, as I and some of my boys did, is reach out to a firm that is known to do pre-OCI interviews and snag an offer earlier in the summer. But even failing that I wouldn't spend hours mass mailing with fuck you grades.

I go to Yale and had good grades/LR going into OCI. The above advice is credited thoroughly. I about had a panic attack over not mass mailing intensively enough, thanks to posters like those in this thread who preach the Gospel of Eternal Irrational Pessimism.

Picked up a couple interviews/CBs, got dinged for what I am almost certain were "yield protect" reasons. Everyone on those interviews knew I wasn't going to end up at a V100 satellite office, which made the whole exercise a fruitless process and just stressed me out going into OCI.

If you go to a good school and have good grades, don't crucify yourself mass mailing.

Yeah I can't imagine how bizarre it would be to be going in for screenings at firms that you really have no interest in working at if you had top 10% grades/LR/a decent personality. Why even waste your time and that of the law firm?

Anonymous User wrote:Yeah I can't imagine how bizarre it would be to be going in for screenings at firms that you really have no interest in working at if you had top 10% grades/LR/a decent personality. Why even waste your time and that of the law firm?

How can you be sure the bolded applies to you? I have seen top 5-10% at T14s get 1-2 offers. Plenty of people at the top of the class (and everywhere else in the class too) are not great interviewers or are just generally uninspiring candidates outside of their states, and I believe it is categorically stupid not to hedge during fall recruiting (at least until you have an offer).

Uh people tend to like me, i'm 6'3 and handsome, and I can hold a conversation about sports/pop culture/pretty much anything. I honestly don't understand how people this risk averse manage to do anything without freaking out about the potential consequences. If you're willing to spend hour after mind numbing hour mass mailing when you know damn well there is a infinitesimal chance you end up without an offer, how do you justify driving, drinking heavily or playing contact sports. I honestly don't get it sometimes.

The reason everyone should mail is because mass mailing isn't that bad, it doesn't take that much time, and you don't have anything better to do with your time. It's most importantly a hedge against striking out, but if you're a strong candidate it also potentially provides good interviewing experience before the beginning of OCI (which is when the best firms interviewed at my admittedly not top school, I don't know how Yale does it. Maybe you can work the interviewing kinks out with the Biddle Drinkers of the world before having a sit down with Mr. Paul Weiss himself but that wasn't my experience).

Snagging something you like pre-OCI also takes the stress off during OCI. It'd be stupid to pass that up to spend 40 hours a week day drinking when you damn well can spend 20 hours a week day drinking and still do some very high quality mass blasting. I mass mailed, did a 40 hour a week 1L summer "job" and still had all the drinking time anyone could possibly need. Mass mailing isn't this hugely arduous thing, and obviously you optimize your strategy/prioritize your blasting to fit your goals.

I feel like you need to mass mail, but selectively. I guess its not mass mailing then, but you want to spend your time targeting the right places.