Transferring and Employment: One Perspective Forum

[twistedwrister]

If you think that your approach didn't have a lot to do with your lack of success at OCI (and yeah, for an NYU -> Yale transfer, 4 callbacks is a serious lack of success, even though you were lucky enough to get an offer out of it,) you're crazy.

I don't doubt that my approach might have had an impact, especially for NY firms. But # of callbacks isn't really the appropriate metric in my opinion. The DC firms that I received callbacks at are extremely competitive and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten them at NYU.

Hey DBT. Congrats on your offer. However, I think you could have gotten callbacks/offers from the two DC firms in question if you stayed. Both friends of mine and I got callbacks/offers at both firms coming from NYU last year. In any event, good luck!

[Indubitably]

.

[dbt]

If you think that your approach didn't have a lot to do with your lack of success at OCI (and yeah, for an NYU -> Yale transfer, 4 callbacks is a serious lack of success, even though you were lucky enough to get an offer out of it,) you're crazy.

I don't doubt that my approach might have had an impact, especially for NY firms. But # of callbacks isn't really the appropriate metric in my opinion. The DC firms that I received callbacks at are extremely competitive and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten them at NYU.

Hey DBT. Congrats on your offer. However, I think you could have gotten callbacks/offers from the two DC firms in question if you stayed. Both friends of mine and I got callbacks/offers at both firms coming from NYU last year. In any event, good luck!

Maybe on one of them. For the other, I don't think so: I've heard of at least 2 kids this year with considerably higher stats than I had (so I'm talking top 1-2%) that didn't get CBs.

[dbt]

I transferred from Cornell to Harvard, and one thing I noticed is that on callbacks they often pair you with attorneys from the new school instead of from the old school. I think that this actually puts you at a slight disadvantage relative to other students.

I don't know if it was true in your experience, but it is definitely something I've noticed.

Yea I think this is the case. If your interviewer is from your new school you can't talk about the school with them. But of my 4 FIP-based callbacks, 3 of the interviewers were YLS, and only 1 was non-YLS.

[solidsnake]

dbt: I would have said that I was interested in writing white papers that describe matters relevant to the firm's bottom line while still meeting my billables. Of course, I would only say it if it were true. I read some articles by partners while interviewing, and they tended to be more on the descriptive and practical side. Personally, I find such scholarship a welcome change from the constant divagations into imponderables and normative questions that pure academic legal writing so often entails these days.

Probably moot now, but that's one potential way to handle it. Academic interests can be a way to add value for a firm.

I actually did this, especially as I saw how often practicing attorneys published.

GMTA.

fwiw, every time i tried to discuss some interviewer's published article, i got a ding. It might just be one, big coincidence, or it might be that i appeared stalkerish. Either way, i'll never do it again.

[dbt]

dbt: I would have said that I was interested in writing white papers that describe matters relevant to the firm's bottom line while still meeting my billables. Of course, I would only say it if it were true. I read some articles by partners while interviewing, and they tended to be more on the descriptive and practical side. Personally, I find such scholarship a welcome change from the constant divagations into imponderables and normative questions that pure academic legal writing so often entails these days.

Probably moot now, but that's one potential way to handle it. Academic interests can be a way to add value for a firm.

I actually did this, especially as I saw how often practicing attorneys published.

GMTA.

fwiw, every time i tried to discuss some interviewer's published article, i got a ding. It might just be one, big coincidence, or it might be that i appeared stalkerish. Either way, i'll never do it again.

Yeah I never actually discussed the content of their article - more the idea that I am interested in taking part in legal discourse, whether that be through academia or publishing in practitioner's journals - and sometimes I would note that I saw a lot of publishing by attorneys, including the interviewer.

[A0566]

Lesson learned: NYU > Yale. Bad move, DBT.

[dbt]

Lesson learned: NYU > Yale. Bad move, DBT.

Lol. Don't think I won't out you.

[Aqualibrium]

To be fair, I do think OP was right to be honest about his goals. In the end, it may seem like he got very few callbacks, but in reality, the callbacks he did get were from firms who understood and appreciated him for what and who he was. That is much better than having a handful of callbacks based on someone who you really arent.

[A0566]

To be fair, I do think OP was right to be honest about his goals. In the end, it may seem like he got very few callbacks, but in reality, the callbacks he did get were from firms who understood and appreciated him for what and who he was.

This is true. DBT is a tremendous human being. I have had the honor of knowing him IRL. Please don't out me.

[Unemployed]

All it takes is one, right? As long as you get one of the DC firms, you will have made the right decision.... So good luck! (Or is it congrats?)

[dbt]

All it takes is one, right? As long as you get one of the DC firms, you will have made the right decision.... So good luck! (Or is it congrats?)

haha it's congrats

[A0566]

All it takes is one, right? As long as you get one of the DC firms, you will have made the right decision.... So good luck! (Or is it congrats?)

haha it's congrats

Yes, DBT was fortunate this cycle. There have been some transfers at Yale that have been no-offered at FIP, and many of the transfers seem to have done worse at Yale's FIP (in varying degrees). Remarkably, transferring to Yale can be seriously unhealthy for transfer hopes of working in a super-cool V5 equivalent firm job.

[Bankhead]

I think the problem might have been that the firms doubted your interest in biglaw, having transferred from NYU to Yale (if biglaw was your goal, then the transfer would have been unnecessary).

And I don't think you experienced a lack of success. You said you did 13 interviews. You got 4 callbacks. At NYU if you did 26 interviews and got 8 callbacks, I don't think that would be considered a lack of success.

Congratulations on your (lack of? ) success regardless.

[A0566]

I think the problem might have been that the firms doubted your interest in biglaw, having transferred from NYU to Yale (if biglaw was your goal, then the transfer would have been unnecessary).

And I don't think you experienced a lack of success. You said you did 13 interviews. You got 4 callbacks. At NYU if you did 26 interviews and got 8 callbacks, I don't think that would be considered a lack of success.

Congratulations on your (lack of? ) success regardless.

At NYU, for someone in the top 5% of the class, 8/26 callbacks would be considered less successful. Although, that is offset by DBT's spectacular performance with DC firms.

[flightcontrol]

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[dbt]

If you think that your approach didn't have a lot to do with your lack of success at OCI (and yeah, for an NYU -> Yale transfer, 4 callbacks is a serious lack of success, even though you were lucky enough to get an offer out of it,) you're crazy.

I don't doubt that my approach might have had an impact, especially for NY firms. But # of callbacks isn't really the appropriate metric in my opinion. The DC firms that I received callbacks at are extremely competitive and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten them at NYU.

Hey DBT. Congrats on your offer. However, I think you could have gotten callbacks/offers from the two DC firms in question if you stayed. Both friends of mine and I got callbacks/offers at both firms coming from NYU last year. In any event, good luck!

My experience this year mirrored the above. I do not think you would have had any problem getting D.C. firms had you stayed.

Not D.C. firms in general, but specific ones.

[BruceWayne]

If you think that your approach didn't have a lot to do with your lack of success at OCI (and yeah, for an NYU -> Yale transfer, 4 callbacks is a serious lack of success, even though you were lucky enough to get an offer out of it,) you're crazy.

I don't doubt that my approach might have had an impact, especially for NY firms. But # of callbacks isn't really the appropriate metric in my opinion. The DC firms that I received callbacks at are extremely competitive and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten them at NYU.

Hey DBT. Congrats on your offer. However, I think you could have gotten callbacks/offers from the two DC firms in question if you stayed. Both friends of mine and I got callbacks/offers at both firms coming from NYU last year. In any event, good luck!

My experience this year mirrored the above. I do not think you would have had any problem getting D.C. firms had you stayed.

I'm pretty sure that he's talking about Williams and Connolly; if he is then transferring to Yale was his best shot at getting a callback/offer from them---he had virtually no shot of that from NYU.

On an unrelated note, can you give us any info on what helped you do so well your 1L year at NYU dbt?

[flightcontrol]

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[Badger3920]

Meh, no big deal DBT - it still sounds like you ended up with a good offer. Fwiw, hindsight is 20/20 - but I made sure to never talk about academia in an interview although talking about clerkships is not the minefield everyone says it is.

To add to the spirit of your thread:
I transferred from a school in the low 40's to Columbia. I'm only interested in practice in San Francisco, so I selected around 16 screening interviews to begin with, although I could easily have had 30 if I wanted to practice in NYC or DC. From that, I ended up with 6 callbacks, all from firms I wanted (although I did miss other firms that I wanted). I turned down a callback, rejected an offer, and accepted an offer at my top firm.

Best of luck to the rest of you, and good idea for a thread.

[T4Transfer]

This thread should provide some perspective, once everyone has posted.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 7&t=132670