Help me BS An Answer to "WHY DC?" Forum

[Mr. T6]

Could use one. Been once in 8th grade. Want to litigate.

[Anonymous User]

Hope your interviewer has a sense of humor and say because you've heard great things about beltway traffic.

[Georgiana]

Hope your interviewer has a sense of humor and say because you've heard great things about beltway traffic.

Haha! This is fantastic

I'm looking at the DC market, but I grew up in Maryland so I don't really need to fudge an answer.

DC is a great city for young professionals. Its slightly expensive but not on the same level as New York. There are also a lot of options for where you want to live. You can be in the city, in Maryland or in Virginia and still take the metro to work. If you're interested in politics its a great place, and it's also faring well in the recession. There are museums, great food and bars. Without knowing your interests I can't give you specific things that might legitimately draw you to the city. You could also mention the abundance of possible pro bono projects you could find in DC because there are so many different public interest organizations.

[Mr. T6]

Hope your interviewer has a sense of humor and say because you've heard great things about beltway traffic.

Haha! This is fantastic

I'm looking at the DC market, but I grew up in Maryland so I don't really need to fudge an answer.

DC is a great city for young professionals. Its slightly expensive but not on the same level as New York. There are also a lot of options for where you want to live. You can be in the city, in Maryland or in Virginia and still take the metro to work. If you're interested in politics its a great place, and it's also faring well in the recession. There are museums, great food and bars. Without knowing your interests I can't give you specific things that might legitimately draw you to the city. You could also mention the abundance of possible pro bono projects you could find in DC because there are so many different public interest organizations.

I want to do Lit. My interests are NOT politics. I can appreciate political discussions, but I am not invested in them. I like poetry, NFL fantasy football, and guitar playing.

[Georgiana]

I want to do Lit. My interests are NOT politics. I can appreciate political discussions, but I am not invested in them. I like poetry, NFL fantasy football, and guitar playing.

Well if you're interested in constitutional lit that may be something to mention... I would say you should really do some research on the city. I mean, you say you are interested in DC, but what made you interested in it? If you have to BS an answer for why you want to be there, why would you want to be there? lol

[Mr. T6]

I want to do Lit. My interests are NOT politics. I can appreciate political discussions, but I am not invested in them. I like poetry, NFL fantasy football, and guitar playing.

Well if you're interested in constitutional lit that may be something to mention... I would say you should really do some research on the city. I mean, you say you are interested in DC, but what made you interested in it? If you have to BS an answer for why you want to be there, why would you want to be there? lol

I want to do litigation, and DC firms like Goodwin Procter do good work. Otherwise, I have no special affinity for the city. In fact, I'm disgusted by its douchebag to normal person ratio.

[Georgiana]

Top litigation firms:
Williams & Connolly - DC
Kirkland - Chicago
Skadden - NY
Cravath - NY
Paul Weiss - NY
WilmerHale - DC
Davis Polk - NY
Quinn - LA
Covington - DC
Arnold and Porter - DC
White & Case - NY
Boies & Schiller - NY
Gibson Dunn - LA

Seems like plenty of options outside of DC... esp if you dislike the city...

[Mr. T6]

Top litigation firms:
Williams & Connolly - DC
Kirkland - Chicago
Skadden - NY
Cravath - NY
Paul Weiss - NY
WilmerHale - DC
Davis Polk - NY
Quinn - LA
Covington - DC
Arnold and Porter - DC
White & Case - NY
Boies & Schiller - NY
Gibson Dunn - LA

Seems like plenty of options outside of DC... esp if you dislike the city...

I neither dislike nor like it. Suspended neutrality.

[transferguy]

Top litigation firms:
Williams & Connolly - DC
Kirkland - Chicago
Skadden - NY
Cravath - NY
Paul Weiss - NY
WilmerHale - DC
Davis Polk - NY
Quinn - LA
Covington - DC
Arnold and Porter - DC
White & Case - NY
Boies & Schiller - NY
Gibson Dunn - LA

Seems like plenty of options outside of DC... esp if you dislike the city...

I neither dislike nor like it. Suspended neutrality.

I didn't know people used the term "disgusted" when expressing neutrality for a city.

[Da Stain]

My gut tells me it's tough to BS an answer since they'll know by your resume whether you have any obvious connection. Truth be told, if you're not top 25% and have no connection, you may be wasting your time, but I'd go with a significant other and the QOL.

[Anonymous User]

How many people in DC are actually from the area or have been there more than a few years tops? I doubt it is even an issue for DC.

[Da Stain]

Even the few years tops makes a huge difference from what I'm told. Employers know how transient the city is, and they're not much for investing in people trying it out is the impression I get.

[Anonymous User]

How many people in DC are actually from the area or have been there more than a few years tops? I doubt it is even an issue for DC.

Relatively few people are actually native to the area. But because of the huge boom the area has experienced, a lot of people of average law student age, say, went to high school there and their parents have remained there. So I think the number of people who have "hometown" connections is growing.

[Anonymous User]

If you've taken admin, you could say you really loved the material and are now focused on opportunities in regulatory law (if, that is, the firm in question has a decent regulatory practice). If you do this, you'd need to be able to speak semi-intelligently about at least one specific area of regulatory law, such as FDA, telecom/FCC, or securities.