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Basically title says it all. K-JD. I struck out at OCI have two summers in bigFed. Is there any chance at big law. I’ve been mass mailing and leveraging professors connections. For personal reasons I need to be in D.C., NYC, or Philly. Do you guys have any leads?

Anonymous User wrote:Basically title says it all. K-JD. I struck out at OCI have two summers in bigFed. Is there any chance at big law. I’ve been mass mailing and leveraging professors connections. For personal reasons I need to be in D.C., NYC, or Philly. Do you guys have any leads?

Too late for a clerkship? Maybe do a state clerkship first? I'm sure that you can get a federal clerkship pretty easily after having a state clerkship. Probably get CoA in your desired market with an extra year for applications plus the edge of having a state court clerkship first. You'd probably also get picked up by some big firm with your credentials and having bar passage.

Normally in this scenario, I’d say network network network and you’ll land something legit eventually.

However, before you do that, given the circumstances, you probably want to make sure that your interpersonal skills for these contextual purposes (interviewing, networking, etc.) do not have some sort of major issue.

Have you done any mocks with CSO?

objctnyrhnr wrote:Normally in this scenario, I’d say network network network and you’ll land something legit eventually.

However, before you do that, given the circumstances, you probably want to make sure that your interpersonal skills for these contextual purposes (interviewing, networking, etc.) do not have some sort of major issue.

Have you done any mocks with CSO?

I second this. It seems like there may be something toxic happening in your interviewing.

However, if you end up at a good federal agency and end up with a valuable skillset, I imagine the biglaw door won't close on you. I don't think it's uncommon to lateral from bigFed into biglaw, because the firm can benefit from your federal connections/expertise even after only a few years in bigFed.

I haven't done this personally, so maybe someone else can confirm if I've heard correctly?

JohnnieSockran wrote:

objctnyrhnr wrote:Normally in this scenario, I’d say network network network and you’ll land something legit eventually.

However, before you do that, given the circumstances, you probably want to make sure that your interpersonal skills for these contextual purposes (interviewing, networking, etc.) do not have some sort of major issue.

Have you done any mocks with CSO?

I second this. It seems like there may be something toxic happening in your interviewing.

I'll third it. While being in the top 15% at a T13 school doesn't guarantee anything, and good people do sometimes slip through the cracks, my gut tells me something else happened here. Have you applied to many places?

I'd do what objctnyrhnr suggested and ask your CSO if they can geek your resume, and set you up with a mock interview where you get feedback. And most importantly, actually listen to their feedback and incorporate it into your interviews.

Just wanted other posters to consider the fact that OP may have been lower grade 1L and pulled their grades up to top 15% after 1L, which implies not nearly as much about their interviewing skills.

JohnnieSockran wrote:

objctnyrhnr wrote:Normally in this scenario, I’d say network network network and you’ll land something legit eventually.

However, before you do that, given the circumstances, you probably want to make sure that your interpersonal skills for these contextual purposes (interviewing, networking, etc.) do not have some sort of major issue.

Have you done any mocks with CSO?

I second this. It seems like there may be something toxic happening in your interviewing.

However, if you end up at a good federal agency and end up with a valuable skillset, I imagine the biglaw door won't close on you. I don't think it's uncommon to lateral from bigFed into biglaw, because the firm can benefit from your federal connections/expertise even after only a few years in bigFed.

I haven't done this personally, so maybe someone else can confirm if I've heard correctly?

This is reallllllly going to depend on what part of bigger you’re talking about. Also, there are very few entry-level bigfed jobs and most of that hiring is done through honors programs, for which the deadlines have passed, so I don’t know that bigfed is a solution here. I would pursue clerking.

OP is there anything unique about you? Tattoos, disability, religion, racially? The issue may not only be your interviewing skills, but you may stand out in some way. Big law is one of the poorest sectors of the US labor market at modernizing and being open to others. In my experience, as someone with a disability that started a successful business and never had an issue interviewing outside of big law, I'd say that big law is definitely not tolerant of those who don't fit the norm and that's not necessarily a bad thing. There are plenty of tolerant sectors of the legal market where people can make plenty of money and succeed.

If you may have a similar issue and it's not related to interpersonal skills (maybe something about how you look or dress if, for instance, you have religious garb) and you really want big law, then you should hide these differences until you get a job offer. It's much less likely you'd have an offer revoked if you're hearing impaired, or a religious Sikh or Muslim (virtually 0%), but substantially more likely you won't get the offer. If you can hide any differences from the norm, I'd definitely recommend that approach. If that's not the issue, I'd recommend evaluating your interpersonal skills as others have mentioned.

The job interview process for clerkships, law firms or corporations outside of big law is likely to be very different and place a much greater emphasis on credentials and interpersonal skills. If you still struggle there, then the issue may be your interpersonal skills.

Does your school have school-funded fellowships? These typically pay next to nothing but, if used strategically, could open doors. Can they be used for clerkships? If so talk with CSO about using that as a springboard. Even if the best judges have stopped hiring, a top 15% student from a top school who comes with funding is going to find they can open some otherwise closed doors.

OP don't stress. I graduated above median (but below top third) at a lower t14 and also had couple of big fed internships on my resume and no big law summer. Most of my interviews came at weird times of the year. I had a callback from a V50 in February of 3L, a V5 in April of 3L, a bunch of in-house interviews when I was studying for the bar, and a V100 firm after taking the bar (but before results came out). I accepted that offer. Even after accepting, firms I had applied to weeks earlier were reaching out to see if I was still interested.

The point is, keep hustling, but don't stress too much. Also, find a good contact in your career services office who will pass your name when an employer reaches out to them. For your last semester, I highly recommend you take courses in the area you have been interested in. At this stage, employers are looking for specific positions and candidates who have shows interest in that space. Also, if you're on a journal, write a b.s. article no one will ever read just so you can beef up your resume. Maybe even do an externship in your last semester.

Anonymous User wrote:I highly recommend you take courses in the area you have been interested in. At this stage, employers are looking for specific positions and candidates who have shows interest in that space. Also, if you're on a journal, write a b.s. article no one will ever read just so you can beef up your resume. Maybe even do an externship in your last semester.

I can't emphasize the above enough. Unlike 2L OCI (or the 1L job search, for that matter), in 3L hiring employers are no longer looking to hire undecided candidates. They are hiring to fill a specific need, and looking for candidates with a demonstrated interest in the relevant area. Of course, still apply to jobs in different areas - you can pitch yourself to Firm A as being interested in cap markets, and pitch yourself to Firm B as being interested in real estate (assuming you have classes/externships/prior WE/etc. supporting the spin). But definitely don't present yourself as being undecided or (even worse) "interested in trying everything."