Gibson Dunn Lateral Grades Forum

[Anonymous User]

I know that Gibson Dunn is very very grade selective for summers (especially non-T-14). Does the same level of selectivity apply to midlevel lateral associates as well? I’m interested in a position that a recruiter emailed me about, but my grades would not have landed me a job at Gibson Dunn out of school. I know some firms loosen grade requirements for laterals, but I have a feeling Gibson doesn’t. Want to know before I spend time reworking my resume / wasting time.

[s1m4]

I know that Gibson Dunn is very very grade selective for summers (especially non-T-14). Does the same level of selectivity apply to midlevel lateral associates as well? I’m interested in a position that a recruiter emailed me about, but my grades would not have landed me a job at Gibson Dunn out of school. I know some firms loosen grade requirements for laterals, but I have a feeling Gibson doesn’t. Want to know before I spend time reworking my resume / wasting time.

I think it can go both ways, but at this point your experience will trump grades.

[Anonymous User]

I went through the lateral process as a midlevel and at one point was looking at Kirkland and Gibson.

My recruiter said flat out said Gibson wouldn't look at my resume because of grades. I think I once heard a story of a big partner with a portable book looking to move to Gibson, but they dinged him/her because of grades. So, I think they're pretty prickly on that topic, but YMMV because I can't say first hand.

Someone from Kirkland also took the time to reach out and say they were highly impressed by my experience, but unfortunately was just below their grade cutoff. So, while experience matters more as you become more senior, it can be tough to get over the grades at top firms.

It's always good practice though to have an updated resume/deal sheet in case the worst ever happens, so might as well do it now and at least give it a shot! Worst they can do is say no (or not respond).

[Anonymous User]

I went through the lateral process as a midlevel and at one point was looking at Kirkland and Gibson.

My recruiter said flat out said Gibson wouldn't look at my resume because of grades. I think I once heard a story of a big partner with a portable book looking to move to Gibson, but they dinged him/her because of grades. So, I think they're pretty prickly on that topic, but YMMV because I can't say first hand.

Someone from Kirkland also took the time to reach out and say they were highly impressed by my experience, but unfortunately was just below their grade cutoff. So, while experience matters more as you become more senior, it can be tough to get over the grades at top firms.

It's always good practice though to have an updated resume/deal sheet in case the worst ever happens, so might as well do it now and at least give it a shot! Worst they can do is say no (or not respond).

OP here. Do you know what Kirkland’s grade cutoff generally is? A recruiter reached out to me about Kirkland’s NY office and I wasn’t aware of any grade cutoff there.

[Anonymous User]

My recruiter said flat out said Gibson wouldn't look at my resume because of grades. I think I once heard a story of a big partner with a portable book looking to move to Gibson, but they dinged him/her because of grades. So, I think they're pretty prickly on that topic, but YMMV because I can't say first hand.

Someone from Kirkland also took the time to reach out and say they were highly impressed by my experience, but unfortunately was just below their grade cutoff. So, while experience matters more as you become more senior, it can be tough to get over the grades at top firms.

I'm anon because I might consider a move to Gibson at some point.

OP of this post, do you mind revealing your grades/school range? I'm just trying to get a sense of where I stand grade-wise in case this situation ever comes up for me.

[Anonymous User]

I went through the lateral process as a midlevel and at one point was looking at Kirkland and Gibson.

My recruiter said flat out said Gibson wouldn't look at my resume because of grades. I think I once heard a story of a big partner with a portable book looking to move to Gibson, but they dinged him/her because of grades. So, I think they're pretty prickly on that topic, but YMMV because I can't say first hand.

Someone from Kirkland also took the time to reach out and say they were highly impressed by my experience, but unfortunately was just below their grade cutoff. So, while experience matters more as you become more senior, it can be tough to get over the grades at top firms.

It's always good practice though to have an updated resume/deal sheet in case the worst ever happens, so might as well do it now and at least give it a shot! Worst they can do is say no (or not respond).

OP here. Do you know what Kirkland’s grade cutoff generally is? A recruiter reached out to me about Kirkland’s NY office and I wasn’t aware of any grade cutoff there.

Not sure about lateral, but Kirkland's cutoff was 3.4 at OCI for lower T14. Gibson was like 3.5 or higher.

[purplegoldtornado]

I went through the lateral process as a midlevel and at one point was looking at Kirkland and Gibson.

My recruiter said flat out said Gibson wouldn't look at my resume because of grades. I think I once heard a story of a big partner with a portable book looking to move to Gibson, but they dinged him/her because of grades. So, I think they're pretty prickly on that topic, but YMMV because I can't say first hand.

Someone from Kirkland also took the time to reach out and say they were highly impressed by my experience, but unfortunately was just below their grade cutoff. So, while experience matters more as you become more senior, it can be tough to get over the grades at top firms.

It's always good practice though to have an updated resume/deal sheet in case the worst ever happens, so might as well do it now and at least give it a shot! Worst they can do is say no (or not respond).

OP here. Do you know what Kirkland’s grade cutoff generally is? A recruiter reached out to me about Kirkland’s NY office and I wasn’t aware of any grade cutoff there.

Not sure about lateral, but Kirkland's cutoff was 3.4 at OCI for lower T14. Gibson was like 3.5 or higher.

What would this translate to for T2?

[Anonymous User]

I went through the lateral process as a midlevel and at one point was looking at Kirkland and Gibson.

My recruiter said flat out said Gibson wouldn't look at my resume because of grades. I think I once heard a story of a big partner with a portable book looking to move to Gibson, but they dinged him/her because of grades. So, I think they're pretty prickly on that topic, but YMMV because I can't say first hand.

I was told the same thing about grades when I was trying to lateral for a position at Gibson - I met all of their requirements otherwise, and graduated from a T6, but wasn't close to hitting their grade cut off and it was literally not an option - they wouldn't even talk to me. I haven't heard the story about that partner but it doesn't surprise me.

[replevin123]

So what is the grade cutoff in terms of percentile? Top what percent?

[Wild Card]

I went through the lateral process as a midlevel and at one point was looking at Kirkland and Gibson.

My recruiter said flat out said Gibson wouldn't look at my resume because of grades. I think I once heard a story of a big partner with a portable book looking to move to Gibson, but they dinged him/her because of grades. So, I think they're pretty prickly on that topic, but YMMV because I can't say first hand.

Someone from Kirkland also took the time to reach out and say they were highly impressed by my experience, but unfortunately was just below their grade cutoff. So, while experience matters more as you become more senior, it can be tough to get over the grades at top firms.

It's always good practice though to have an updated resume/deal sheet in case the worst ever happens, so might as well do it now and at least give it a shot! Worst they can do is say no (or not respond).

OP here. Do you know what Kirkland’s grade cutoff generally is? A recruiter reached out to me about Kirkland’s NY office and I wasn’t aware of any grade cutoff there.

Not sure about lateral, but Kirkland's cutoff was 3.4 at OCI for lower T14. Gibson was like 3.5 or higher.

What would this translate to for T2?

There's no translation. Post-1L, 3.4 is top 40% at Columbia, and top 33% at NYU. Accordingly, 3.5 would be top 33% to top 25%.

What is a "T2"? Fordham? If so, you'd better be at least top 10%.

[purplegoldtornado]

I went through the lateral process as a midlevel and at one point was looking at Kirkland and Gibson.

My recruiter said flat out said Gibson wouldn't look at my resume because of grades. I think I once heard a story of a big partner with a portable book looking to move to Gibson, but they dinged him/her because of grades. So, I think they're pretty prickly on that topic, but YMMV because I can't say first hand.

Someone from Kirkland also took the time to reach out and say they were highly impressed by my experience, but unfortunately was just below their grade cutoff. So, while experience matters more as you become more senior, it can be tough to get over the grades at top firms.

It's always good practice though to have an updated resume/deal sheet in case the worst ever happens, so might as well do it now and at least give it a shot! Worst they can do is say no (or not respond).

OP here. Do you know what Kirkland’s grade cutoff generally is? A recruiter reached out to me about Kirkland’s NY office and I wasn’t aware of any grade cutoff there.

Not sure about lateral, but Kirkland's cutoff was 3.4 at OCI for lower T14. Gibson was like 3.5 or higher.

What would this translate to for T2?

There's no translation. Post-1L, 3.4 is top 40% at Columbia, and top 33% at NYU. Accordingly, 3.5 would be top 33% to top 25%.

What is a "T2"? Fordham? If so, you'd better be at least top 10%.

T80 in the Midwest.

[Anonymous User]

I went through the lateral process as a midlevel and at one point was looking at Kirkland and Gibson.

My recruiter said flat out said Gibson wouldn't look at my resume because of grades. I think I once heard a story of a big partner with a portable book looking to move to Gibson, but they dinged him/her because of grades. So, I think they're pretty prickly on that topic, but YMMV because I can't say first hand.

Someone from Kirkland also took the time to reach out and say they were highly impressed by my experience, but unfortunately was just below their grade cutoff. So, while experience matters more as you become more senior, it can be tough to get over the grades at top firms.

It's always good practice though to have an updated resume/deal sheet in case the worst ever happens, so might as well do it now and at least give it a shot! Worst they can do is say no (or not respond).

OP here. Do you know what Kirkland’s grade cutoff generally is? A recruiter reached out to me about Kirkland’s NY office and I wasn’t aware of any grade cutoff there.

Not sure about lateral, but Kirkland's cutoff was 3.4 at OCI for lower T14. Gibson was like 3.5 or higher.

What would this translate to for T2?

There's no translation. Post-1L, 3.4 is top 40% at Columbia, and top 33% at NYU. Accordingly, 3.5 would be top 33% to top 25%.

What is a "T2"? Fordham? If so, you'd better be at least top 10%.

FWIW and anecdotal but my year at Fordham, Gibson Dunn made multiple offers to people not in the top 10%, though they were top 25%. This happened in the past two to three years.

[Anonymous User]

Just to add another data point, I got dinged when I tried to lateral to GDC as a fourth year. I had several lawyers there going to bat for me, but I was ultimately told I didn't make the academic cutoff. I went to to a T2, graduated at the top 6% mark, and clerked for a federal district court judge and then a federal court of appeals judge. I think the main problem is that my T2 is in a flyover, and 99.9% of the graduates stay in the small state. Think, e.g., University of Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, etc. GDC (like most biglaw firms) had zero grads from my school. So even though biglaw firms commonly have folks from Fordham, Hastings, Pepperdine, Loyola, American, etc., I had some problems landing offers because recruiters generally don't realize that my school is ranked pretty much on par with those ones.

[purplegoldtornado]

Just to add another data point, I got dinged when I tried to lateral to GDC as a fourth year. I had several lawyers there going to bat for me, but I was ultimately told I didn't make the academic cutoff. I went to to a T2, graduated at the top 6% mark, and clerked for a federal district court judge and then a federal court of appeals judge. I think the main problem is that my T2 is in a flyover, and 99.9% of the graduates stay in the small state. Think, e.g., University of Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, etc. GDC (like most biglaw firms) had zero grads from my school. So even though biglaw firms commonly have folks from Fordham, USD, Pepperdine, Loyola, American, etc., I had some problems landing offers because recruiters generally don't realize that my school is ranked pretty much on par with those ones.

Thanks for the data point. Can you tell me what you did to get a federal DC and COA clerkship from a T2 flyover? Feel free to PM.

[Anonymous User]

Just to add another data point, I got dinged when I tried to lateral to GDC as a fourth year. I had several lawyers there going to bat for me, but I was ultimately told I didn't make the academic cutoff. I went to to a T2, graduated at the top 6% mark, and clerked for a federal district court judge and then a federal court of appeals judge. I think the main problem is that my T2 is in a flyover, and 99.9% of the graduates stay in the small state. Think, e.g., University of Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, etc. GDC (like most biglaw firms) had zero grads from my school. So even though biglaw firms commonly have folks from Fordham, USD, Pepperdine, Loyola, American, etc., I had some problems landing offers because recruiters generally don't realize that my school is ranked pretty much on par with those ones.

Thanks for the data point. Can you tell me what you did to get a federal DC and COA clerkship from a T2 flyover? Feel free to PM.

In all honesty I got lucky. I got an interview because a secretary liked a random thing on my resume, and then I nailed the interview because I off the cuff asked about a local no-name college football team the judge was 100% insane about. I only asked because there was a good game the night before that I happened to see, and I was running out of things to talk about. Basically my whole career changed based on that luck.

Also, to be clear, this wasn't the DC Circuit. It was judges in the same state as my flyover T2, and the judges commonly take grads from my school (though the clerks are usually ranked a little higher than I was).

[Windjammer]

Expect same GPA cut-offs. Even laterals brought over by new partner must meet GPA threshold.