Top Law Schools

Rising 2L here exploring non-biglaw options. I’m interested in plaintiffs’ firms in the mountain west states and Texas, particularly those that will hire associates without prior clerkship or biglaw experience.

If it’s relevant, my credentials are solidly in the biglaw range (T20 top quarter).

Schlichter Bogard in STL takes summers and hires at least some of them. I don't know what you mean by 'best' but they seem solid.

The top Texas plaintiffs firms don't have established summer associate programs, but will sometimes take summer associates.

Some of the top firms would include Watts & Guerra; Whitehurst Harkness; Baron & Budd; Waters, Kraus & Paul. Would be interested to hear which firms other people think are in the top band.

It seems like landing a summer position at any of these places takes either personal connections or lots of affirmative outreach and a dose of luck. Meeting with career services early on in law school, following up, and making them help you can pay off, too.

You can also become a student member of TTLA and go to their events. That's a good way to meet attorneys at the smaller shops, but the biggest players don't seem to come through as casually.

Wish I had more concrete advice, good luck.

yankees12345! wrote:The top Texas plaintiffs firms don't have established summer associate programs, but will sometimes take summer associates.

Some of the top firms would include Watts & Guerra; Whitehurst Harkness; Baron & Budd; Waters, Kraus & Paul. Would be interested to hear which firms other people think are in the top band.

It seems like landing a summer position at any of these places takes either personal connections or lots of affirmative outreach and a dose of luck. Meeting with career services early on in law school, following up, and making them help you can pay off, too.

You can also become a student member of TTLA and go to their events. That's a good way to meet attorneys at the smaller shops, but the biggest players don't seem to come through as casually.

Wish I had more concrete advice, good luck.

OP here, thanks for the good info. I’m familiar with Baron & Budd but not the others, so I’m definitely going to look into them and see if I can find any other peer firms. Do you have any personal experience working with the plaintiffs bar?

Anonymous User wrote:Schlichter Bogard in STL takes summers and hires at least some of them. I don't know what you mean by 'best' but they seem solid.

By “best” I just mean reputable firms with a proven record of success. Schilchter Bogard looks like it fits that description, thanks.

Do you have any personal experience working with the plaintiffs bar?

A little bit. Feel free to DM me, OP, and would be happy to share my limited experience.