3.17 NYU OCI Forum

[Anonymous User]

Dropping by to get some TLS wisdom on what firms I should be bidding at this slightly below median GPA. I've been digging through the threads from past years and know that the general wisdom is to prioritize firms with bigger classes, but really over my head as to where to start in ranking. I know that OCS advises us to be on the more conservative side and I agree with that, for the most part, but I also know that my interviewing skills are strong and I have good work experience from before law school. I will be using all 50 bids... does anyone have any advice on what firms to definitely rank and how to go about balancing bids? I definitely have around 3 super reach firms (like Gibson and maybe Skadden) that I want to go for... are 3 super reaches too many? Is there general advice for how low you can rank firms with around 100 slots and still get a slot, even though I know it depends a lot on the firm's popularity?

[Anonymous User]

Sidley and Proskauer should be bid 1 and 2 (in whatever order). Top 5 at least. Larger firms like Kirkland and Skadden should be top 10-15. Definitely ask around for old bid lists.

[2013]

Less selective firms with large classes is always the best route to take. Not sure about NYU, but that generally means firms like Fried Frank.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks so much to you both. Been digging through the threads a lot to try to do this on my own, but the threads conflict a lot. Some would say that Debevoise should be on there and others would say that Debevoise is extremely grade selective.

Are there other firms known for their large classes and lower selectivity? I know that Kramer Levin, Cadwalader, Clifford Chance, Proskauer, Milbank, Schulte, Ropes, and Paul Hastings were commonly recommended for people in my position, but those pieces of advice came from the 2010s. Would those still largely stand? Would it be silly to put Gibson higher to get a slot with them? Is Weil worth putting on my list?

It's all very confusing because it seems like the firms with large class sizes are the ones who are most selective, like Paul Weiss... and the other recommended firms only have class sizes of around 20.

[Anonymous User]

From NYU 2018: (firms with an * are the least grade conscious) and may provide you with additional information
in terms of how you rank these firms on your list:
Allen & Overy LLP
Baker Botts L.L.P.

*Bryan Cave LLP
Dentons LLP
*DLA Piper LLP
*Holland & Knight LLP
Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
K&L Gates LLP
*Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
Mayer Brown LLP
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Winston Strawn LLP
In addition, these NY offices were more flexible about grades last year, and you may wish to
consider including them on your list to maximize your options:
*Alston & Bird LLP
Baker & McKenzie LLP
*Bracewell LLP
*Brewer Attorneys & Counselors
*Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels LLP
Hunton Andrews Kurth
Greenberg Traurig LLP
Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP
*Michelman & Robinson
Otterbourg, Steindler, Houston & Rosen, P.C.
Pryor Cashman Sherman & Flynn LLP
*Seward & Kissel LLP
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
Vinson & Elkins LLP
*Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch LLP

Ignore the "amp"

[Anonymous User]

Thank you so much for this list! OCS didn't give us any kind of guidance like this this year... they only gave us firms with 3.6+ and 3.4-3.5 offer averages (and didn't even give breakdowns, which seems so misleading because it gives me hope that maybe people in my position were offered, too, but the 4.0s were offered too and drove up the averages). Are all the firms, even without the asterisks, not too far out of reach for a 3.17?

[2013]

Other firms I’d look into include Goodwin, Weil, Jones Day (unless you’re trying to do JD DC for some trial-related practice), White & Case, Kirkland, Shearman, Milbank, Orrick, and Morgan Lewis. These are firms I know people from T-14s without journal or latin honors are/were at.

The smaller the class, the more selective the firms become, so some of these may not be a good idea if the class is under 20 or something.

[Anonymous User]

Other firms I’d look into include Goodwin, Weil, Jones Day (unless you’re trying to do JD DC for some trial-related practice), White & Case, Kirkland, Shearman, Milbank, Orrick, and Morgan Lewis. These are firms I know people from T-14s without journal or latin honors are/were at.

The smaller the class, the more selective the firms become, so some of these may not be a good idea if the class is under 20 or something.

Thank you so much. Added Goodwin, W&C, and Orrick to the list. Does anyone know if it's smarter to bid the more selective firms (Paul Weiss?) with big classes or if it's smarter to bid places like Kramer Levin that are looking at 8 or 9 in a summer class?

[Anonymous User]

This was my GPA going into EIW.

The least grade-sensitive firms that are still highly respectable are Willkie, Fried Frank, and Jones Day.

I urge you not to waste bids on V20 besides Ropes, Jones Day, and White & Case.

Gibson and Skadden are very, very selective. If you want three super reaches that aren't impossible, try Kirkland, Sidley, Weil, Debevoise. These firms are in the 3.3-3.5 range, which still is well above the 3.0-3.2 range.

[Anonymous User]

This was my GPA going into EIW.

The least grade-sensitive firms that are still highly respectable are Willkie, Fried Frank, and Jones Day.

I urge you not to waste bids on V20 besides Ropes, Jones Day, and White & Case.

Would you mind sharing with me your bid list? I was following the advice from the above post saying to put Sidley and Proskauer at the top, but maybe that's wrong. Aren't Vault rankings a bit too not in tune with the actuality of firms to be generalizing about all of 20 of the "top" 20?

[Anonymous User]

This was my GPA going into EIW.

The least grade-sensitive firms that are still highly respectable are Willkie, Fried Frank, and Jones Day.

I urge you not to waste bids on V20 besides Ropes, Jones Day, and White & Case.

Would you mind sharing with me your bid list? I was following the advice from the above post saying to put Sidley and Proskauer at the top, but maybe that's wrong. Aren't Vault rankings a bit too not in tune with the actuality of firms to be generalizing about all of 20 of the "top" 20?

Anon who gave Sidley and Proskauer advice: there are certain firms you will not get a screener interview with unless they're in the top 3. Sidley and Proskauer were among those in my (very recent) year. Both are within reach with your grades.

[Anonymous User]

This was my GPA going into EIW.

The least grade-sensitive firms that are still highly respectable are Willkie, Fried Frank, and Jones Day.

I urge you not to waste bids on V20 besides Ropes, Jones Day, and White & Case.

Would you mind sharing with me your bid list? I was following the advice from the above post saying to put Sidley and Proskauer at the top, but maybe that's wrong. Aren't Vault rankings a bit too not in tune with the actuality of firms to be generalizing about all of 20 of the "top" 20?

Anon who gave Sidley and Proskauer advice: there are certain firms you will not get a screener interview with unless they're in the top 3. Sidley and Proskauer were among those in my (very recent) year. Both are within reach with your grades.

Thank you so much. Very grateful for your guidance!