Advice and Steps to Take for D.C. Placement? Forum
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umichstudent114321
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Advice and Steps to Take for D.C. Placement?
Hey all, I'm a 0L who will be attending the University of Michigan Law School in August! I'm super excited, and, having done lobbying/government work for what will be over a year by the time I enter law school, would love to work out of D.C even though I'm also comfortable with NYC. My goal is to work for a big law firm and transition to government after, as I'm not entirely comfortable working for the government right now, and would love some advice on how to best position myself to do so. Obviously a huge part of it is grades, but is that all I really should be focusing on? Also, what should one know about the D.C. market? What firms should be paid attention to? Curious if there are any other parts of this that I could be overlooking. Thank you!
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Anonymous User
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Re: Advice and Steps to Take for D.C. Placement?
Grades are very important for DC biglaw, both because firm summer class sizes are smaller there and because gunners are disproportionately attracted to DC offices. I wouldn't worry about anything else until a year from now. The firms you'll target will depend on what kind of government work you'd like to eventually do, what you'd like to do in the meantime, and obviously what doors your grades open.
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Anonymous User
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Re: Advice and Steps to Take for D.C. Placement?
Congrats and go blue! The most helpful thing you could do now while you're still in DC is try to grab coffee with any attorneys you might be connected to and find out what they do all day. DC has a lot of regulatory and enforcement work and there are many different kinds (think straight up white-collar criminal defense vs antitrust vs complying with FDA regs vs defending against SEC enforcement actions, etc.), plus the SCOTUS/appellate bar and hangers-on. I am not that familiar with lobbying but to the extent it is a practice area, the school doesn't teach it and no firm told me they did it.
Speaking in generalities, the best biglaw firms in DC (and with good connections to MLaw) are Covington and Williams&Connolly. Each has their strengths (W&C more criminal defense, Cov more regulatory). Other biglaw shops have DC offices with different strengths. Grades are the most important variable in determining how successful you will be in recruiting at these places.
Speaking in generalities, the best biglaw firms in DC (and with good connections to MLaw) are Covington and Williams&Connolly. Each has their strengths (W&C more criminal defense, Cov more regulatory). Other biglaw shops have DC offices with different strengths. Grades are the most important variable in determining how successful you will be in recruiting at these places.
