Top Law Schools

I finished in the top third (probably right around top 33%) of a T25. I am willing to work in any major market. Do I need to mass mail every large firm in every major market? Is relying on OCI a death sentence? I interview very well fwiw - probably top 5% of the population lol.

I think the best answer is that you should do everything that you can. You're probably pretty well-situated to land some interviews with some big firms at the least, but sometimes people just get unlucky and its a matter of being seen by the right people at the right time. Therefore, cast a wide net and put as much time/effort as you reasonably can into setting yourself up from the start. Seems like OCI will go well enough for you, but best to put any anxiety to rest you may have over whether you could be doing more. This may also be the difference between simply landing anywhere that will take you versus finding the best opportunity suited to your interest.

Anonymous User wrote:I finished in the top third (probably right around top 33%) of a T25. I am willing to work in any major market. Do I need to mass mail every large firm in every major market? Is relying on OCI a death sentence? I interview very well fwiw - probably top 5% of the population lol.

Just "mass mail[ing] every large firm in every major market" probably won't work too well. You're also going to need to think of some pretty convincing reasons why you want to work for that firm, in that market. A firm in Atlanta or Texas or Seattle is going to want some sort of ties to the city/state. That being said, sure, paper NYC, DC, and wherever your law school is with resumes - can't hurt. Network with alumni. Get out there and talk to people. Regardless, however much of a wunderkind you think you are at interviewing, your stats are a little low depending on the school. Don't put all your eggs in the biglaw basket.

OP here. first, thanks for the responses, i really appreciate it.

i have sufficient ties to most of the major legal markets aside from Atlanta and anything in Texas. but i am kind of confused as to how the whole pre-OCI mailing thing works. should i be mailing the generic recruiting mailboxes or targeting specific people within the firm? do i include resume and cover letter or is it more of an introduction/feeler email to begin with?

my rank puts me right on the bubble for BL - i am very worried about totally striking out at OCI (i.e. not even getting screeners)

What is the OCI firm participation rate at a non-T14 school?

Toni V wrote:What is the OCI firm participation rate at a non-T14 school?

my non-t-14 OCI employer list is pretty damn awesome..... to what extent those firms actually hire from my school is probably a much different story.

Anonymous User wrote:

Toni V wrote:What is the OCI firm participation rate at a non-T14 school?

my non-t-14 OCI employer list is pretty damn awesome..... to what extent those firms actually hire from my school is probably a much different story.

And from your awesome list, roughly what % start at 190, or at market in secondary metro markets?

Toni V wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Toni V wrote:What is the OCI firm participation rate at a non-T14 school?

my non-t-14 OCI employer list is pretty damn awesome..... to what extent those firms actually hire from my school is probably a much different story.

And from your awesome list, roughly what % start at 190, or at market in secondary metro markets?

my school is in NY, BOS, or DC. Lots of participating firms meet that criteria, but again, that does not mean they are actually hiring anyone lol

.

Anonymous User wrote: my school is in NY, BOS, or DC. Lots of participating firms meet that criteria, but again, that does not mean they are actually hiring anyone lol

Perhaps, but when a firm takes the time and goes to the expense of being on campus, why wouldn’t they seriously consider hiring?

Toni V wrote:

Anonymous User wrote: my school is in NY, BOS, or DC. Lots of participating firms meet that criteria, but again, that does not mean they are actually hiring anyone lol

Perhaps, but when a firm takes the time and goes to the expense of being on campus, why wouldn’t they seriously consider hiring?

Umm no, considering many law schools pay firms to show up at their oci.

Anonymous User wrote:

Toni V wrote:

Anonymous User wrote: my school is in NY, BOS, or DC. Lots of participating firms meet that criteria, but again, that does not mean they are actually hiring anyone lol

Perhaps, but when a firm takes the time and goes to the expense of being on campus, why wouldn’t they seriously consider hiring?

Umm no, considering many law schools pay firms to show up at their oci.

^absolutely untrue. No law school would (or could) pay an employer to come; that would be a waste of the employers' time if they're not interested in hiring and it would be a huge disservice to students. Employers spent time and money (registration fees and the cost of associates and partners' time) to be at OCI. They don't go unless they're at least open to the possibility of hiring at least one summer associate from that school.

Anonymous User wrote:

Toni V wrote:

Anonymous User wrote: my school is in NY, BOS, or DC. Lots of participating firms meet that criteria, but again, that does not mean they are actually hiring anyone lol

Perhaps, but when a firm takes the time and goes to the expense of being on campus, why wouldn’t they seriously consider hiring?

Umm no, considering many law schools pay firms to show up at their oci.

I have heard of [smaller] firms not attending because of the attendance fee charged by the school. Never realized that a school would pay a firm to attend — in an odd way that might make some sort of sense for a non-14 school.

Toni V wrote:

Anonymous User wrote: my school is in NY, BOS, or DC. Lots of participating firms meet that criteria, but again, that does not mean they are actually hiring anyone lol

Perhaps, but when a firm takes the time and goes to the expense of being on campus, why wouldn’t they seriously consider hiring?

They want to maintain the good relationship with the school and be able to hire a token 1-2 top people, maybe.

Here's my understanding:

the SUPER elite firms DO want to interview the very top of the class (maybe like top 1-5%).....but in order to participate in the OCI, they are required to interview at least X number of kids...thus, many of the interviews are 100% meaningless

Anonymous User wrote:Here's my understanding:

the SUPER elite firms DO want to interview the very top of the class (maybe like top 1-5%).....but in order to participate in the OCI, they are required to interview at least X number of kids...thus, many of the interviews are 100% meaningless

Even at the 14 many of the OCI interviews turn out to be meaningless/non-starters.

Toni V wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Here's my understanding:

the SUPER elite firms DO want to interview the very top of the class (maybe like top 1-5%).....but in order to participate in the OCI, they are required to interview at least X number of kids...thus, many of the interviews are 100% meaningless

Even at the 14 many of the OCI interviews turn out to be meaningless/non-starters.

True. At my t13, employers don't get to pre-screen for grades, so when you walk into a screener, that's the first time the firm would see your grades.

Every year there's a story of someone biddin on and getting a Wachtell screener that doesn't have the grades for it, and basically being asked "what would you like to talk about for the next 20 minutes, because you don't have the grades for us to consider you."

Anonymous User wrote:

Toni V wrote:

Anonymous User wrote: my school is in NY, BOS, or DC. Lots of participating firms meet that criteria, but again, that does not mean they are actually hiring anyone lol

Perhaps, but when a firm takes the time and goes to the expense of being on campus, why wouldn’t they seriously consider hiring?

Umm no, considering many law schools pay firms to show up at their oci.

You're wrong. The firms pay the school to come to OCI, so that they can see a bunch of applicants at once.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Toni V wrote:

Anonymous User wrote: my school is in NY, BOS, or DC. Lots of participating firms meet that criteria, but again, that does not mean they are actually hiring anyone lol

Perhaps, but when a firm takes the time and goes to the expense of being on campus, why wouldn’t they seriously consider hiring?

Umm no, considering many law schools pay firms to show up at their oci.

You're wrong. The firms pay the school to come to OCI, so that they can see a bunch of applicants at once.

Not always. Schools outside of the t13, with some specific ones doing it much more than others, pay firms to attend their OCI to make it look better for potential students. I have heard of at least 1 top 20ish school doing this and a lot of t3/t4 schools do as well. Take it for a grain of salt, I dont have first-hand knowledge of this myself.

I worked as an office assistant at a top 30 school before going to law school, and one of my jobs was running the logistics for OCI. Can confirm that it's not standard for schools to pay firms and I've never heard of it happening.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Toni V wrote:

Anonymous User wrote: my school is in NY, BOS, or DC. Lots of participating firms meet that criteria, but again, that does not mean they are actually hiring anyone lol

Perhaps, but when a firm takes the time and goes to the expense of being on campus, why wouldn’t they seriously consider hiring?

Umm no, considering many law schools pay firms to show up at their oci.

You're wrong. The firms pay the school to come to OCI, so that they can see a bunch of applicants at once.

Not always. Schools outside of the t13, with some specific ones doing it much more than others, pay firms to attend their OCI to make it look better for potential students. I have heard of at least 1 top 20ish school doing this and a lot of t3/t4 schools do as well. Take it for a grain of salt, I dont have first-hand knowledge of this myself.

See posted above. Yes, always.

OP, If I were you I would mass-mail literally every firm on the Am200. All New York firms, all SF/LA firms, all Chicago firms. State that you have ties to those areas

If you are serious about it, exhaust every possible option. Set aside 5 hours a day and apply to firms via mass-mail or their website portal. You should aim for 30 applications a day

Anonymous User wrote:Here's my understanding:

the SUPER elite firms DO want to interview the very top of the class (maybe like top 1-5%).....but in order to participate in the OCI, they are required to interview at least X number of kids...thus, many of the interviews are 100% meaningless

Can totally confirm. Transferred from a TTT to T10 and had some interviews (lottery system) with V10s, and could tell I didn't stand a chance

Anonymous User wrote:OP, If I were you I would mass-mail literally every firm on the Am200. All New York firms, all SF/LA firms, all Chicago firms. State that you have ties to those areas

If you are serious about it, exhaust every possible option. Set aside 5 hours a day and apply to firms via mass-mail or their website portal. You should aim for 30 applications a day

OP here. What would be a better use of my time - doing as you suggested above, or trying to find and email particular attorneys at the firm that I may have some sort of tenuous connection to (such as the same alma mater or w/e) and try to go from there?

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:OP, If I were you I would mass-mail literally every firm on the Am200. All New York firms, all SF/LA firms, all Chicago firms. State that you have ties to those areas

If you are serious about it, exhaust every possible option. Set aside 5 hours a day and apply to firms via mass-mail or their website portal. You should aim for 30 applications a day

OP here. What would be a better use of my time - doing as you suggested above, or trying to find and email particular attorneys at the firm that I may have some sort of tenuous connection to (such as the same alma mater or w/e) and try to go from there?

Both. Mass mail, then reach out to alumni for informational interviews after you’ve applied. You can use that informational interview as an opportunity to mention that you’ve already applied. If they like you, they may put in a good word with the recruiter.