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I am a candidate in play for big law, but certainly not jumping off the page going into 2L OCI. Think KJD, solid 1L summer experience, and 50% at Duke, UVA, Mich or 1/3 at Gtown, Vandy, Texas, etc. Assuming no ties to any markets, which of the following markets are least "grade snobby"/ offer best chance at big law employment: NYC, DC, Chicago, Houston, Charlotte, Dallas, Boston, ATL?

I plan on targeting the one secondary market that I have ties to, but want to target two of the above markets as well. I know some advice is likely specific to the geography of my law school, but any help is appreciated!

Does your school not have info on firms and their gpa floors/medians?

Anonymous User wrote:I am a candidate in play for big law, but certainly not jumping off the page going into 2L OCI. Think KJD, solid 1L summer experience, and 50% at Duke, UVA, Mich or 1/3 at Gtown, Vandy, Texas, etc. Assuming no ties to any markets, which of the following markets are least "grade snobby"/ offer best chance at big law employment: NYC, DC, Chicago, Houston, Charlotte, Dallas, Boston, ATL?

I plan on targeting the one secondary market that I have ties to, but want to target two of the above markets as well. I know some advice is likely specific to the geography of my law school, but any help is appreciated!

there's essentially nothing meaningful we can do to help you with this info. Everywhere is "grade snobby," you need to care about where is not "ties snobby."

If you tell us the specific school and the general area from which you are from, we can tell you the places from above that will look at you more favorably. However, that should be obvious to you. To attempt to answer your question, New York generally does not care about ties. DC does not, either, but your grades aren't good enough to go hard after it (unless you're at like UVA/Gtwon).

Need more info. And you probably need to put more thought into (1) the OCI process and (2) your OCI strategy.

That said, shoot for NYC - there are simply WAY more jobs there. .. but to be successful still need to bid on right firms.

Generalizing firms solely by their location (regional offices, no less) is not very easy or productive, in my humble experience.

Which one are you - median at Duke or top third at GULC? Top third is obviously better at either location.

If you don't have ties, DO NOT apply to Atlanta or Charlotte. DC and Chicago are tough, too, with those grades and no stated reason for being there. I would say your grade range makes you a better candidate for NYC. I would not split your bids between three markets. More than that, you are way too general in your OP. You're anon so who cares.

You're not DOA at this point at all, but you need to be careful and thoughtful about your bidding and research. I probably wouldn't bid on firms like Cravath, Wachtell, Cleary, DPW, Boies, etc. But you still have a reasonable shot at getting a job.

Also just a general thought about 2L SAs: if the economy is still good as a 3L and if you receive an offer at any biglaw firm in any location, you can always apply to other firms in the more selective cities and you might have a good shot at getting an offer. For example, if you do an SA in NYC, you could apply to DC and Chicago with reasonable odds of getting something.

Assuming you aren't at UT and don't have ties to those other places, which I assume you don't, then NY is almost certainly the least grade snobby.