2019-2020 Post-Clerkship Hiring Forum

[Anonymous User]

Polite ding QE DC. Applied through former co-clerk late January/early February.

[diesel0408]

Polite ding QE DC. Applied through former co-clerk late January/early February.

Did this come before or after any interviews?

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone heard anything from QE Chicago?

[Anonymous User]

On a similar note, nothing from QE LA yet.

[Anonymous User]

Any movement re: Fried Frank DC? Just applied a couple of days ago. Are they hiring?

[Anonymous User]

In NYC:

Offer from Patterson
Rejected by Wilkinson w/o interview (they noted they were not hiring)
Still waiting to hear on many other boutiques and midsize firms, if anyone has updates.

Good luck out there! It's tougher than I expected.

[Anonymous User]

NY: Ding from Boies & Patterson this week. QE/KE Offer.

Chi: Ding from Molo/Bartlit this week.

Agree with the above poster on toughness. I got a lot of "we cannot offer you an interview at this time" sort-of emails almost immediately after applying in December/January from large law firms in NY/DC.

[Anonymous User]

NY Cravath ding without interview.

[Anonymous User]

NY: Ding from Boies & Patterson this week. QE/KE Offer.

Chi: Ding from Molo/Bartlit this week.

Agree with the above poster on toughness. I got a lot of "we cannot offer you an interview at this time" sort-of emails almost immediately after applying in December/January from large law firms in NY/DC.

Same anon as above you're talking about. I was surprised by the number of no responses, especially for firms that seem to only hire clerks / had posted spots for associates (though maybe they couldn't wait for the fall). Ah well. Congrats on the offers though!

[Anonymous User]

Any movement in Los Angeles people? Have sent many out in last month and just absolute radio silence.

[Anonymous User]

Applied to W&C a few weeks back, and haven't heard anything. Are they still extending interviews / offers?

[Anonymous User]

I interviewed at W&C last week. Recruiting indicated that they are still interviewing as well.

[Anonymous User]

NY: Ding from Boies & Patterson this week. QE/KE Offer.

Chi: Ding from Molo/Bartlit this week.

Agree with the above poster on toughness. I got a lot of "we cannot offer you an interview at this time" sort-of emails almost immediately after applying in December/January from large law firms in NY/DC.

Was the Molo ding after interviewing? If so, how many rounds?

Thanks all for sharing!

[Anonymous User]

Any movement in Los Angeles people? Have sent many out in last month and just absolute radio silence.

Haven't heard anything yet from LA either. CRICKETS, I tell ya!

[Anonymous User]

Has anyone gotten a CB or offer from Boies DC?

[Anonymous User]

Re Boies DC, I was dinged last week...

[Anonymous User]

Re Boies DC, I was dinged last week...

Sorry to hear. After an interview or just on the papers? Looking to see if I still have a chance of being called back...

[Anonymous User]

Sorry to beat the dead horse from the previous page (different anon here), but has anyone heard anything from WLRK re: callbacks and offers? I applied some time ago back but still radio silence.

[SG-Lawyer]

Hello clerks,

Susman Godfrey lawyer here. Historically, we haven't done a lot of recruiting. But we are internally discussing doing more outreach to clerks. What would be helpful to current clerks? I remember getting the shiny pamphlets and letters from firms and thinking they were pretty worthless.

Would there be interest in a dinner or happy hour in major cities?

How about if we identified a lawyer to whom you could direct questions? We really try to be an open book.

We know there's not a lot of information out there about our hiring process, so we want to hear from you all about what you're interested in.

[Anonymous User]

I think it's really cool that you did a Q&A on the other thread. I'm not sure you need anything else. Most clerks do their homework. Most will find that thread. I suspect most know to apply to SG regardless. Happy hours and mixers are cool, but not necessary.

I will just say, I think the open business aspect of SG is by far the most interesting thing. None of the other lit boutiques can hold a candle to what SG offers. And, more fundamentally, none are willing to talk about it. Spread that word and you'll likely get even more applicants.

[beepboopbeep]

Yea, when I went through this process, I knew full well about SG. Knew it wasn't for me for various reasons (some of the same reasons I didn't apply to, like, QE, even recognizing SG has significant advantages over QE), but definitely not a firm I was unaware of. Had similar awareness of MTO, W&C, etc.

Where I found it hard to get info was on the even smaller boutiques and the specialty boutiques, like the Greines Martins, Molos, Duries, etc. of the world. But I get the sense that a lot of those are recruiting laterals more than clerks anyway.

[lavarman84]

Hello clerks,

Susman Godfrey lawyer here. Historically, we haven't done a lot of recruiting. But we are internally discussing doing more outreach to clerks. What would be helpful to current clerks? I remember getting the shiny pamphlets and letters from firms and thinking they were pretty worthless.

Would there be interest in a dinner or happy hour in major cities?

How about if we identified a lawyer to whom you could direct questions? We really try to be an open book.

We know there's not a lot of information out there about our hiring process, so we want to hear from you all about what you're interested in.

I actually found the letters for boutiques to be useful. It told me that they were hiring and gave info on a firm that I may not have known about (which would push me to google them). I knew about SG because I know somebody who works there, but I didn't know about every lit boutique.

Had I been looking to go into private practice, I would have applied to SG, as I was looking for a lit boutique where I would get early substantive experience. But I wanted to go the government route. Anyways, I wouldn't immediately write off the letters. It seems like an easy way to spread awareness to those who don't know about SG (which likely isn't a large number of people), tell clerks you're hiring, and give them info on when to apply.

Yes, I also think it could be helpful to have a SG lawyer for to whom people could direct questions. Ultimately, I wouldn't expect y'all to struggle to get interest either ways. As for a dinner or happy hour, that sort of thing won't hurt, but it's not something that would convince me to apply to the firm. I'd have to be already interested in the firm to attend.

[Anonymous User]

Hello clerks,

Susman Godfrey lawyer here. Historically, we haven't done a lot of recruiting. But we are internally discussing doing more outreach to clerks. What would be helpful to current clerks? I remember getting the shiny pamphlets and letters from firms and thinking they were pretty worthless.

Would there be interest in a dinner or happy hour in major cities?

How about if we identified a lawyer to whom you could direct questions? We really try to be an open book.

We know there's not a lot of information out there about our hiring process, so we want to hear from you all about what you're interested in.

I actually found the letters for boutiques to be useful. It told me that they were hiring and gave info on a firm that I may not have known about (which would push me to google them). I knew about SG because I know somebody who works there, but I didn't know about every lit boutique.

Had I been looking to go into private practice, I would have applied to SG, as I was looking for a lit boutique where I would get early substantive experience. But I wanted to go the government route. Anyways, I wouldn't immediately write off the letters. It seems like an easy way to spread awareness to those who don't know about SG (which likely isn't a large number of people), tell clerks you're hiring, and give them info on when to apply.

Yes, I also think it could be helpful to have a SG lawyer for to whom people could direct questions. Ultimately, I wouldn't expect y'all to struggle to get interest either ways. As for a dinner or happy hour, that sort of thing won't hurt, but it's not something that would convince me to apply to the firm. I'd have to be already interested in the firm to attend.

I'd echo the dinner/HH invite. HH seems less formal and is more likely to draw more people. That seems to also have the added benefit of getting clerks to Google your firm upon receipt of the invite (email invite to JAs if you can find their info seems most efficient) without have to print the shiny mailers that few of us actually read. As more clerks are used to gathering info online, anything to get the name out there could enhance interest. And I'd be more likely to reach out if I knew a dinner/HH was coming up as opposed to cold contact a former clerk listed in the mailer as a contact for that circuit. All that said, SG has a great rep, so I'd hope you get plenty of interest.

[Anonymous User]

Any movement in Los Angeles people? Have sent many out in last month and just absolute radio silence.

Haven't heard anything yet from LA either. CRICKETS, I tell ya!

Just started to hear back from LA (applied over the last few months). Most firms told me to wait til March for a response, but there finally seems to be some movement. Waiting to hear back across the board, so not sure what timeline from interview to result is quite yet.

[LBJ's Hair]

Hello clerks,

Susman Godfrey lawyer here. Historically, we haven't done a lot of recruiting. But we are internally discussing doing more outreach to clerks. What would be helpful to current clerks? I remember getting the shiny pamphlets and letters from firms and thinking they were pretty worthless.

Would there be interest in a dinner or happy hour in major cities?

How about if we identified a lawyer to whom you could direct questions? We really try to be an open book.

We know there's not a lot of information out there about our hiring process, so we want to hear from you all about what you're interested in.

The clerks I know who got Susman's letter this year found it useful FWIW