Top Law Schools

I am a rising CLS 2L in the top 15% of the class (i.e., high Stone) who has gotten offers from all these firms. I want to work in a friendly place that’s prestigious and has great exit opportunities. I am aiming for transactional work — especially capital markets.

Do you have any thoughts on which is the best? I am leaning towards Cleary or DPW because they felt more me, but understand CSM and S&C are more selective and have a stronger preference for Columbia students. Not getting WLRK even though I interviewed there.

Would not consider Kirkland, Latham, etc. because not peer and they take too many non-T6 people.

Thanks.

How did you feel when Wachtell said you weren't worthy

“They take too many non-T6 people” sounds like a really bad reason to not work somewhere imo

EDIT: I should’ve realized this was a troll sooner

smokeylarue wrote:How did you feel when Wachtell said you weren't worthy

I thought this was funny based on the thread title and then I read the OP and laughed even harder, thanks for this

CLSV5er wrote:I am a rising CLS 2L in the top 15% of the class (i.e., high Stone)...I am leaning towards Cleary or DPW because they felt more me...Would not consider Kirkland, Latham, etc. because not peer and they take too many non-T6 people.

At the risk of being off-topic, if those firms seem like your style, then I guess that that's a good reason for me to stay away from them.

CLSV5er wrote:I am a rising CLS 2L in the top 15% of the class (i.e., high Stone) who has gotten offers from all these firms. I want to work in a friendly place that’s prestigious and has great exit opportunities. I am aiming for transactional work — especially capital markets.

Do you have any thoughts on which is the best? I am leaning towards Cleary or DPW because they felt more me, but understand CSM and S&C are more selective and have a stronger preference for Columbia students. Not getting WLRK even though I interviewed there.

Would not consider Kirkland, Latham, etc. because not peer and they take too many non-T6 people.

Thanks.

I’d like to get ahead of the curve here and remind future posters who they are giving advice to. This is a poaster who above all else is DESTINED for equity partnership. If we could collectively cut down any comments on fit or culture or work life balance or human mannerisms that would be great—they simply don’t apply in this case. OP is likely to be a trendsetter and moldbreaker wherever he lands.

I don’t have any actual advice because OP seems qualified to make decisions on his own (see credentials listed in poast).

If it wasn’t already clear, if you’re t-6 and below please don’t comment.

Thanks.

The weirdest thing about statements like OP’s is that they implicitly assume (among other assumptions) every student attends the highest ranked law school they got into

Like a random UVA student could easily say “DPW takes too many Columbia students who received less than 60% scholarships” and, as ridiculous as it sounds, the same illogic would be employed

-cheap

Go to S&C, you'll fit right in.

The account name is literally ColumbiaV5er it’s not even well-disguised bait

CLSV5er wrote:I am a rising CLS 2L in the top 15% of the class (i.e., high Stone) who has gotten offers from all these firms. I want to work in a friendly place that’s prestigious and has great exit opportunities. I am aiming for transactional work — especially capital markets.

Do you have any thoughts on which is the best? I am leaning towards Cleary or DPW because they felt more me, but understand CSM and S&C are more selective and have a stronger preference for Columbia students. Not getting WLRK even though I interviewed there.

Would not consider Kirkland, Latham, etc. because not peer and they take too many non-T6 people.

Thanks.

Weird Cleary and DPW troll.

This is almost certainly a troll, but as another rising Columbia 2L, there are more than a few of my classmates that I could see actually saying something like this

Debevoise is TRC.

Anonymous User wrote:This is almost certainly a troll, but as another rising Columbia 2L, there are more than a few of my classmates that I could see actually saying something like this

Yeah, there are 3 or 4 people who I could imagine this being, except they're all lit oriented. If we cared, it wouldn't be hard to figure out who it is: how many people, as 1Ls, have an announced preference for cap markets? I know one person who really wants to do bankruptcy, another person who wants to do private funds, etc -- but nobody comes to mind for cap markets.

OP: what makes you want to do cap markets, of all things? Also, "selective" is weird: DPW & Cleary are school sensitive but pretty indifferent on grades (I know a few people who are below median who are at DPW/Cleary), S&C is ultra grade selective (they offer >90% of their CLS callbacks, and I think you basically only get a callback if you are > 3.6 which is maybe the top 20%) but pretty open to the lower T14.

ghostoftraynor wrote:Debevoise is TRC.

What's "TRC"?

Also, if this guy is real, def go to S&C. You can talk to your fellow associates about how good you are and pretend you aren't miserable. You might be disappointed to hear they hire from T20 schools as well though, as does CSM, DPW, STB, and Cleary.

Well done

Troll aside, Davis Polk would probably be the right choice given the OPs non-troll statements, for any 2Ls who may wander in

Also sadly there literally are some law students at schools like CLS that would have OP’s thought process

ConfusedNYer wrote:Go to S&C, you'll fit right in.

I had this exact thought.

Two of the partners I interviewed with talked about how prestigious it is to work for S&C and they just scoffed at people asking them about “top lawyers.”

They were not partners at S&C.

notinbiglaw wrote:

ConfusedNYer wrote:Go to S&C, you'll fit right in.

I had this exact thought.

Two of the partners I interviewed with talked about how prestigious it is to work for S&C and they just scoffed at people asking them about “top lawyers.”

They were not partners at S&C.

I interviewed at S&C sometime ago. Interviewers were really smug. Like, really, really smug.

It's scary to be honest, considering that they probably put out the "normies" for interviews and all that. Wonder what the truly "special" people at S&C are like.

Anon-non-anon wrote:

ghostoftraynor wrote:Debevoise is TRC.

What's "TRC"?

Also, if this guy is real, def go to S&C. You can talk to your fellow associates about how good you are and pretend you aren't miserable. You might be disappointed to hear they hire from T20 schools as well though, as does CSM, DPW, STB, and Cleary.

Debevoise, as always, is THE RIGHT CHOICE.

OP here.

Sorry if I came off as a troll. I didn’t grow up wealthy and worked my way to a top 3 Ivy and CLS. It may annoy you, but don’t want to spend time working or speaking with people who didn’t have to work nearly as hard as I did or have the same credentials and grades. After interviewing, I believe that this sentiment is widely shared at Columbia and at top law firms by people with unblemished credentials.

Example: A few partners I socialized with at a callback drinks event explicitly said that nobody cares about law schools at U. Virginia, Michigan, Berkeley, Penn in New York City. Associates at Cleary and DPW also seem to be very aware of how the diminished Vault ranking is hurting their recruiting, and they are cringing about having more people from lesser schools like these than ever before.

I think I’m going to go with S&C or CSM. I get the impression you can move from one of those to DPW or Cleary but not the other way around. You guys could have commented on the relative quality of people and practices at these firms but instead you decided to troll and attack me.

Anonymous User wrote:Example: A few partners I socialized with at a callback drinks event explicitly said that nobody cares about law schools at U. Virginia, Michigan, Berkeley, Penn in New York City.

If you intend to join CSM/S&C so you can sneer at MVPB graduates, you're in for a pretty rude awakening.

Anonymous User wrote:Associates at Cleary and DPW also seem to be very aware of how the diminished Vault ranking is hurting their recruiting, and they are cringing about having more people from lesser schools like these than ever before.

Counterpoint: Cleary and DPW couldn't care less about their allegedly "diminished" Vault ranking.

I also suggest you edit your profile to stop holding yourself out as an "Attorney" when, in fact, you are merely a rising 2L.

CLSV5er wrote:OP here.

Sorry if I came off as a troll. I didn’t grow up wealthy and worked my way to a top 3 Ivy and CLS. It may annoy you, but don’t want to spend time working or speaking with people who didn’t have to work nearly as hard as I did or have the same credentials and grades. After interviewing, I believe that this sentiment is widely shared at Columbia and at top law firms by people with unblemished credentials.

Example: A few partners I socialized with at a callback drinks event explicitly said that nobody cares about law schools at U. Virginia, Michigan, Berkeley, Penn in New York City. Associates at Cleary and DPW also seem to be very aware of how the diminished Vault ranking is hurting their recruiting, and they are cringing about having more people from lesser schools like these than ever before.

I think I’m going to go with S&C or CSM. I get the impression you can move from one of those to DPW or Cleary but not the other way around. You guys could have commented on the relative quality of people and practices at these firms but instead you decided to troll and attack me.

You were doing okay before, now you’re overplaying your hand and just starting to sound more like a sad loser than an artful troll

QContinuum wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Example: A few partners I socialized with at a callback drinks event explicitly said that nobody cares about law schools at U. Virginia, Michigan, Berkeley, Penn in New York City.

If you intend to join CSM/S&C so you can sneer at MVPB graduates, you're in for a pretty rude awakening.

Anonymous User wrote:Associates at Cleary and DPW also seem to be very aware of how the diminished Vault ranking is hurting their recruiting, and they are cringing about having more people from lesser schools like these than ever before.

Counterpoint: Cleary and DPW couldn't care less about their allegedly "diminished" Vault ranking.

I also suggest you edit your profile to stop holding yourself out as an "Attorney" when, in fact, you are merely a rising 2L.

OP will be especially disappointed when his CSM office mate is a Fordham student.

OP-pick S&C over CSM. There were *gasp* transfers with apparently blemished credentials at the Cravath CB reception. Would hate for you to waste your career associating with such clearly second-rate attorneys!!

CLSV5er wrote:OP here.

Sorry if I came off as a troll. I didn’t grow up wealthy and worked my way to a top 3 Ivy and CLS. It may annoy you, but don’t want to spend time working or speaking with people who didn’t have to work nearly as hard as I did or have the same credentials and grades. After interviewing, I believe that this sentiment is widely shared at Columbia and at top law firms by people with unblemished credentials.

Example: A few partners I socialized with at a callback drinks event explicitly said that nobody cares about law schools at U. Virginia, Michigan, Berkeley, Penn in New York City. Associates at Cleary and DPW also seem to be very aware of how the diminished Vault ranking is hurting their recruiting, and they are cringing about having more people from lesser schools like these than ever before.

I think I’m going to go with S&C or CSM. I get the impression you can move from one of those to DPW or Cleary but not the other way around. You guys could have commented on the relative quality of people and practices at these firms but instead you decided to troll and attack me.

I'm currently an associate at CSM, and while I obv haven't interacted with all of them, I can't imagine a partner saying this- it's quite possible you misunderstood (as improbable as that may be given your exceptional academic achievements), but they may have been saying that in their view all of those schools are EQUIVALENT, and therefore nobody cares who went where- we have many successful associates from all of these schools. I also attended CLS, and HIGHLY doubt your sentiment is "widely" shared. Then again my grades weren't perfect, so probably no reason to listen to the opinion of someone with "blemished" credentials.

Side point, if you were to use the term (although not sure why you would), I'd imagine someone with Kent would have "unblemished credentials"