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Would someone be at a disadvantage for OCI if they transfer away from their target market (assuming already having strong ties to that market)? I.e. if someone at Emory wants Atlanta and transfers to Penn, or BC/BU wants Boston and transfers to NYU/Columbia. Would it be difficult to explain to employers why you transferred away from target market? Esp. if not for geography/SO, but for generally better school/job prospects?

Depends upon the law schools involved & the target market. For example, it's okay for one targeting Atlanta to leave Emory for Harvard, Duke or Virginia, in my opinion, but not for UCal-Berkeley or Northwestern. Unfortunately, your examples are quite a bit more difficult to call. Transferring to Penn from Emory might not be a great idea for one targeting Atlanta, but NYU/Columbia should still be able to get Boston interviews.

I've heard this is generally true, especially for the Chicago market (anecdotally U Illinois to Berkeley)

Hmm. Okay, let's say BC/BU to any of the T14 besides HYS. Assuming I can't get into Harvard, am I stuck?

Exam firm profiles within the targeted city to see what law schools the associates attended. Firm profiles can reveal a lot. I remember one major DC firm (Covington) (with a smaller NYC office) listing the languages spoken by all of its members ( associates & partners).

My best guess for Boston is that most of the T-14 will be okay. Obviously Berkeley might not get much, if any, attention due to the settings of east coast versus west coast. Duke might not extend beyond NYC. Northwestern probably isn't a player in the Boston market. My best guess is that Georgetown & Penn should be okay for Boston as well as Columbia. But, again, I would look into each law firm's profiles of their associates & partners to see which law schools they attended.

CanadianWolf wrote:Exam firm profiles within the targeted city to see what law schools the associates attended. Firm profiles can reveal a lot. I remember one major DC firm (Covington) (with a smaller NYC office) listing the languages spoken by all of its members ( associates & partners).

While this normally is solid advice, I don't think it fits with your current situation because it doesn't factor in the transferring-away aspect. Even if you transfer to a T14 the firm would normally recruit from (hypothetically an Atlanta firm and Penn) they may be more wary of you than the average Penn student simply because you were in Atlanta and then left.

I'd hazard a guess that the higher up you transfer, the less it will be an issue.

See if you can double dip for OCI (at both old and new schools). If you can, I think it's worth it.

If you have good enough grades to transfer, then you should have good enough grades to get the same job at OCI from your current school if it's something like BC/BU for example.

scottidsntknow wrote:If you have good enough grades to transfer, then you should have good enough grades to get the same job at OCI from your current school if it's something like BC/BU for example.

That's probably true. But can't that be said about anyone who transfers?

Although the above post is logical & may be true in most situations in one Atlanta firm all of the clerks were from Harvard, Yale, Michigan, Duke & Virginia. Two exceptions: the person from Emory was ranked #1 in her class. And one was, I believe, from Georgia. Best to check firm profiles--- whether a transfer or not.

OP: It might be helpful to research Columbia transfer threads. Columbia has large transfer classes each year. Typically, their experiences re: placement seem to be outstanding, but not sure about returning to the originating location. Nevertheless, just due to the number of tranfers, Columbia students should be able to share a wealth of experiences.

Also, consider what you may lose by leaving in terms of clerkship recommendations, law review & scholarship aid.

Anonymous User wrote:

scottidsntknow wrote:If you have good enough grades to transfer, then you should have good enough grades to get the same job at OCI from your current school if it's something like BC/BU for example.

That's probably true. But can't that be said about anyone who transfers?

No because a big reason for transferring is access to OCI interviews with firms in a target market. Someone with strong grades from BC/BU will have access to every big Boston employer. Someone transferring from most other T1's might only be able to land an interview or two, if any, through OCI and would need to get most of their interviews through mass mailing. Mass mailing is always recommended but it's much harder to get interviews and ultimately offers that way compared to OCI.

I transferred away from a small, tight knit market to CLS. I interviewed in the market i transferred away from and went 2/2 with offers. Feel free to PM me if you want more details. I will say that I was able to explain very good reasons for wanting to return to the market

didn't hurt much for DC market. Went away to Chicago. Got exactly what I wanted in DC

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