UC Hastings Class of 2014 Forum

[lucield]

Phil Marshall, Alumni Mentor Program Director
415.565.4826; email Phil
Phil directs the U.C. Hastings Alumni Mentor Program and counsels students and alumni. His legal experience includes positions with the California Superior Court, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, the Marin County Public Defender's Office, as well as civil rights enforcement at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He also has taught business law at the College of Notre Dame. Phil earned his J.D. here at U.C. Hastings ('92), and his B.A. from the George Washington University.

also, from the bay area thread in legal employment

"MoFo (SF) - the SF behemoth, largest office in the city by far. I think close to 300 lawyers now. if you want to be at a biglaw HQ (which does have a lot of perks), look here (and WSGR in SV). seems like a solid firm, excellent pan-asia practice, expertise in cleantech, respected in the start up/VC world (one of the larger palo alto office), done a lot of high profile M&A work and some major litigation work for apple/oracle. also expanding quite a bit in new york, and trying to capture more of the new york style finance/M&A/and corporate work. not particularly selective about grades. also snazzy brand new offices."

[reasonable troll]

from the legal employment thread people were mentioning this and it made me wonder about if Hastings had this data:

does Hastings collect OCI data from previous years? like what ranked students got offers, etc? that would be insanely helpful, because everything i've read on this forum suggests that required/preferred gpa is mostly just so your firm doesn't look like it has no standards (that being said, if you have a 3.3 don't apply to a v20 obv lol)

my current strategy since i have decent but not good grades is to 1) apply for the bay area diversity career fair - and specifically bid on firms that A) aren't coming to hastings OCI so this is my main shot at them b) bid for reach firms (all firms are reach lawlz) that i could then re-bid at our OCI and not feel too bad about spending a bid on them.

then 2) at hastings OCI target firms that are top regional cali, v100, or firms that supposedly don't care too much about grades(MoFo, etc.) also, if they have interviews for multiple offices, Phil said that i could indicate on my cover letter that i was interested in all offices bc i was really interested in the firm, or something along those lines. (opinions on that being right?). if that isn't true, then i'll interview for the most unattractive office possible, to increase my chances. Phil also said that even though he tells students that, for some reason Hastings students overwhelmingly bid almost exclusively SF, not even Oakland.... also, if a firm is "preferred 25%" according to Phil, that means that they really entertain people down to median (you most likely wouldn't get hired obv) buuuuut you still have a shot at an interview. if it's "required x" you could still get an interview, but it's a lot more risky

wait, who's phil?

and mofo doesn't care about grades? a hastings counselor mentioned in passing they like top 10% (well obviously, who doesn't...but still she seemed to indicate that they were pretty grade selective) so i'm curious as to how low they'll go.

i'll look into whether or not hastings has the grades of people that got offers (and from who).

^ I emailed career services to ask whether they collect/release data (rank, GPA) of students who received offers in previous years and was told that they don't have anything of the sort. :/ Would be mighty helpful.

[Lasers]

from the legal employment thread people were mentioning this and it made me wonder about if Hastings had this data:

does Hastings collect OCI data from previous years? like what ranked students got offers, etc? that would be insanely helpful, because everything i've read on this forum suggests that required/preferred gpa is mostly just so your firm doesn't look like it has no standards (that being said, if you have a 3.3 don't apply to a v20 obv lol)

my current strategy since i have decent but not good grades is to 1) apply for the bay area diversity career fair - and specifically bid on firms that A) aren't coming to hastings OCI so this is my main shot at them b) bid for reach firms (all firms are reach lawlz) that i could then re-bid at our OCI and not feel too bad about spending a bid on them.

then 2) at hastings OCI target firms that are top regional cali, v100, or firms that supposedly don't care too much about grades(MoFo, etc.) also, if they have interviews for multiple offices, Phil said that i could indicate on my cover letter that i was interested in all offices bc i was really interested in the firm, or something along those lines. (opinions on that being right?). if that isn't true, then i'll interview for the most unattractive office possible, to increase my chances. Phil also said that even though he tells students that, for some reason Hastings students overwhelmingly bid almost exclusively SF, not even Oakland.... also, if a firm is "preferred 25%" according to Phil, that means that they really entertain people down to median (you most likely wouldn't get hired obv) buuuuut you still have a shot at an interview. if it's "required x" you could still get an interview, but it's a lot more risky

wait, who's phil?

and mofo doesn't care about grades? a hastings counselor mentioned in passing they like top 10% (well obviously, who doesn't...but still she seemed to indicate that they were pretty grade selective) so i'm curious as to how low they'll go.

i'll look into whether or not hastings has the grades of people that got offers (and from who).

^ I emailed career services to ask whether they collect/release data (rank, GPA) of students who received offers in previous years and was told that they don't have anything of the sort. :/ Would be mighty helpful.

ugh...what do they do at career services, really?

thanks for the heads up.

[kapital98]

ugh...what do they do at career services, really?

thanks for the heads up.

After first semester they told me I had great grades and a good shot at a firm job. I was ~20%.

So I'm guessing they give out a lot of hopeless optimism. JOBS FOR EVERYONE!

[Lasers]

ugh...what do they do at career services, really?

thanks for the heads up.

After first semester they told me I had great grades and a good shot at a firm job. I was ~20%.

So I'm guessing they give out a lot of hopeless optimism. JOBS FOR EVERYONE!

haha.

i have a meeting with them this week but i doubt i'll learn anything of use.

[ilovesf]

ugh...what do they do at career services, really?

thanks for the heads up.

After first semester they told me I had great grades and a good shot at a firm job. I was ~20%.

So I'm guessing they give out a lot of hopeless optimism. JOBS FOR EVERYONE!

Did they mean biglaw or midlaw or small firm? I mean top 20% is good, you can probably get a midsize or small firm with a lot of mass mailing.

[Lasers]

ugh...what do they do at career services, really?

thanks for the heads up.

After first semester they told me I had great grades and a good shot at a firm job. I was ~20%.

So I'm guessing they give out a lot of hopeless optimism. JOBS FOR EVERYONE!

Did they mean biglaw or midlaw or small firm? I mean top 20% is good, you can probably get a midsize or small firm with a lot of mass mailing.

even for big law, while i certainly wouldn't ever say top 20% has a "good shot," i'd certainly say top 20% has a shot, especially if you interview well. i don't see why top 20% would automatically preclude you from any firm besides the most elite.

having said that, anything outside top 10-15% seems kinda iffy. it'll be an uphill climb.

[kapital98]

even for big law, while i certainly wouldn't ever say top 20% has a "good shot," i'd certainly say top 20% has a shot, especially if you interview well. i don't see why top 20% would automatically preclude you from any firm besides the most elite.

having said that, anything outside top 10-15% seems kinda iffy. it'll be an uphill climb.

The counselor was specifically doing a "biglaw mock interview" at the time. It was part of her after-interview comments. (Paraphrased) "You seemed to downplay your grades. Top 20% is still very good. You should emphasize them more during the interview."

It was the way she said it that made me want to roll my eyes.

[lowereastside]

I asked why career services doesn't collect GPA ranges. They said they don't like doing that because it the GPA ranges become self-fulfilling. They'd rather have people take their chances, cause you never know. Annoying, but that was their explanation at least.

However, I bet if enough people complained and asked them to collect that type of information, maybe they'd change their minds.

Who did you speak with? I like going to Louise. She's really tough, like, really tough. I went into a meeting with her feeling really good about my chances for getting a job and came out a little deflated. Which I know doesn't sound like a glowing recommendation, but it really pushed me to work harder on my interviewing skills and cover letters.

So if you are looking for someone who is a little more harsh/straight forward about what your chances are, I'd try her.

[Lasers]

I asked why career services doesn't collect GPA ranges. They said they don't like doing that because it the GPA ranges become self-fulfilling. They'd rather have people take their chances, cause you never know. Annoying, but that was their explanation at least.

that's ridiculous because it might cause people to bid unrealistically, which hurts chances at employment.

[kapital98]

I asked why career services doesn't collect GPA ranges. They said they don't like doing that because it the GPA ranges become self-fulfilling. They'd rather have people take their chances, cause you never know. Annoying, but that was their explanation at least.

that's ridiculous because it might cause people to bid unrealistically, which hurts chances at employment.

STOP BEING SUCH A REALIST!!!

Why is strategy so important anyways?

[ilovesf]

So are you guys going to any of the firm parties over the summer? Did you guys think the webinar was useful?

[lucield]

I'm debating it. My main question is if in going/emailing the recruiter afterwards, etc. it can help you overcome being below a firms % "preferred" or "required" cut off. if yes, then ill go, if no, then its pointless.

[Lasers]

So are you guys going to any of the firm parties over the summer? Did you guys think the webinar was useful?

i didn't get any sound during the webinar so i just ended up turning it off.

i probably won't go to the events thrown by firms, but i might. might be a good experience to talk to some attorneys there. i don't think it'll help for OCI though, which makes it seem like a waste to participate.

[ilovesf]

So are you guys going to any of the firm parties over the summer? Did you guys think the webinar was useful?

i didn't get any sound during the webinar so i just ended up turning it off.

i probably won't go to the events thrown by firms, but i might. might be a good experience to talk to some attorneys there. i don't think it'll help for OCI though, which makes it seem like a waste to participate.

I'm goig for networking practice and getting used to schmoozing. Also I want to apply to skadden, so it could be a good thing to put in my cl/ say during an interview about why them. And lasers- the sound didn't work for me, you had to phone call in to get it too I think(that's what I did at least)

[reasonable troll]

anyone else enroll yet?

i signed up for business transactions with lambert, then read the reviews. might be having a little bit of buyer's remorse...

anyone else thinking about taking the TLS advice to take a lighter load 2L fall to accommodate the potential for callbacks interfering with class? (lol, hubris, please don't kick my ass at OCI)

[ilovesf]

anyone else enroll yet?

i signed up for business transactions with lambert, then read the reviews. might be having a little bit of buyer's remorse...

anyone else thinking about taking the TLS advice to take a lighter load 2L fall to accommodate the potential for callbacks interfering with class? (lol, hubris, please don't kick my ass at OCI)

My group is last

[reasonable troll]

anyone else enroll yet?

i signed up for business transactions with lambert, then read the reviews. might be having a little bit of buyer's remorse...

anyone else thinking about taking the TLS advice to take a lighter load 2L fall to accommodate the potential for callbacks interfering with class? (lol, hubris, please don't kick my ass at OCI)

My group is last

ah bummer, but that means you get tippy top priority next semester, right?

[ilovesf]

anyone else enroll yet?

i signed up for business transactions with lambert, then read the reviews. might be having a little bit of buyer's remorse...

anyone else thinking about taking the TLS advice to take a lighter load 2L fall to accommodate the potential for callbacks interfering with class? (lol, hubris, please don't kick my ass at OCI)

My group is last

ah bummer, but that means you get tippy top priority next semester, right?

I think so, not sure exactly. It's either that or I'm second to last next semester. Some of the classes I want will be full, which sucks. The app ad class I want only has 6 spots left.. Ugh.

[ilovesf]

Also I think I'll be taking a heavier load this semester. I don't want to stress 3l and I have my moot court competition in the spring, so I'll want to keep it lighter next semester.

[kapital98]

Also I think I'll be taking a heavier load this semester. I don't want to stress 3l and I have my moot court competition in the spring, so I'll want to keep it lighter next semester.

My Plan: Take the easiest courses possible.

Reality: I'm taking 4 lecture courses and 1 seminar course for a total of 15 credits.

[Lasers]

Planning on taking 12-14 units. Definitley rather have this quarter be lighter.

Trying to figure out my last class. Signed up for a few classes already.

Btw, anyone going to the Bingham event today?

[lucield]

I'm debating it, but Bingham doesn't have its reqs on its profile.... so i have no clue what they are looking for. annoying.

[ilovesf]

Planning on taking 12-14 units. Definitley rather have this quarter be lighter.

Trying to figure out my last class. Signed up for a few classes already.

Btw, anyone going to the Bingham event today?

Yeah I'm going! 2 of the classes I wanted are already full lol I hate my life

[Lasers]

I'm debating it, but Bingham doesn't have its reqs on its profile.... so i have no clue what they are looking for. annoying.

Yah. That's kinda annoying, but its probably like top 20-25% for most of the big firms? Who knows.

Abyway thnkng about going ...im in the city already...