Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

[tomwatts]

So there is an "EIP Prep" session the friday before EIP begins in August. It's only three hours long. Is it necessary to attend?

No. I didn't, and I didn't miss it. There's some discussion of its unnecessariness from last year.

When do grades for 2Ls and 3Ls come out? Same day as 1L grades, or are they released slowly but surely?

Usually the same day, unless a prof is slow.

[EdSaid]

So there is an "EIP Prep" session the friday before EIP begins in August. It's only three hours long. Is it necessary to attend?

It's really not necessary. It's not a complete waste of time because they have lawyers from firms come in and talk about the process, so there may be something useful there. The most valuable thing I got out of it was to use résumé paper (which is obvious but I had just forgotten). After last year's session, there was a long line at the Coop with people buying résumé paper, and the consensus was that was all we learned at the event.

[TripTrip]

So there is an "EIP Prep" session the friday before EIP begins in August. It's only three hours long. Is it necessary to attend?

It's really not necessary. It's not a complete waste of time because they have lawyers from firms come in and talk about the process, so there may be something useful there. The most valuable thing I got out of it was to use résumé paper (which is obvious but I had just forgotten). After last year's session, there was a long line at the Coop with people buying résumé paper, and the consensus was that was all we learned at the event.

Did you ever actually give out a resume? I got a couple sheets from a friend, but i didn't hand out a single resume so it was moot.

[wwwcol]

So there is an "EIP Prep" session the friday before EIP begins in August. It's only three hours long. Is it necessary to attend?

It's really not necessary. It's not a complete waste of time because they have lawyers from firms come in and talk about the process, so there may be something useful there. The most valuable thing I got out of it was to use résumé paper (which is obvious but I had just forgotten). After last year's session, there was a long line at the Coop with people buying résumé paper, and the consensus was that was all we learned at the event.

Did you ever actually give out a resume? I got a couple sheets from a friend, but i didn't hand out a single resume so it was moot.

Idk how you got away w that. Probably half of my interviews wanted resumes and all my friends handed out a similarly large # of resumes. I also had one day where all the interviews wanted one, so would recommend having enough each day to cover the whole day. No need to print 25 or whatever at the beginning tho, just evaluate need day to day


Echo trip's sentiment that attending EIP prep sesh is unnecessary. It's more a hype event ("YOULL GET A JOB! You'll get a job! Everybody will get a job") than a learning one. Maybe useful to attend if u want reassurance that you're employable

[Indigo12]

For those who know about participating in the Spring Interview Program as 1Ls:

1. What kind of employers usually show up? Any firms/in-house counsels?
2. Is there prescreening? I ask not because I think my resume/1L fall transcript will definitely prescreen me out but because SIP, unlike EIP, coincides with the LLM academic year. So if there's no prescreening then an employer might burn a few interview slots with "err you're not quite what we're looking for." But if there is then no one's guaranteed an interview.
3. Is it geared toward 1Ls or are 1Ls also competing with LLMs, 3Ls, etc?

[094320]

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[lawschoolboundfuture]

When do 2L/3L grades come out?

[tomwatts]

Probably the first week of spring semester like 1L grades. Some profs are occasionally delayed, but that's usually what happens.

[bretby]

Will 3 H's first sem (assume 6 on the year) take any opportunities off the table? Feeder clerkships? Wachtell? Cravath?

I got 3 H's 1st sem and 3 2nd sem and when Cravath laughed me out of the room. Clerkships were a total no-go, so I didn't even bother. Sorry bro.

[despina]

Will 3 H's first sem (assume 6 on the year) take any opportunities off the table? Feeder clerkships? Wachtell? Cravath?

I got 3 H's 1st sem and 3 2nd sem and when Cravath laughed me out of the room. Clerkships were a total no-go, so I didn't even bother. Sorry bro.

I'm skeptical that clerkships would be a "total no-go" with 6 Hs for 1L year. Maybe not the most competitive circuit judges, but someone who has a broader search should be able to find something good with those grades.

Don't like to accuse anybody of being a troll, but bretby has never posted in an HLS thread before and posted a "where to apply?" thread in October of this year so... grain of salt?

[094320]

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[bretby]

Bretby is trolling. 6Hs is more than necessary for Cravath.

I wouldn't even consider it trolling, I thought it was so obvious. But it is good to know there are still some (relatively) credulous people in the world.

[Person1111]

6 H's will disqualify you from most feeders and most selective COA judges. It will probably disqualify you from W&C, Munger, and super-elite lit boutiques with summer programs (Susman, Keker, etc.) It might disqualify you from Wachtell or some elite DC firms, depending on what else you bring to the table. It should not disqualify you from much else (certainly not Cravath), although you still need to bring your A-game 2L year if you're hoping to clerk.

[094320]

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[robotrick]

I didn't see any recent posts about this - how important are these 1L firm receptions I keep getting emails about? Like, if I absolutely hate those sorts of things (i.e. I won't make any lasting connections/impressions) will I be ok skipping them?

[tomwatts]

I didn't see any recent posts about this - how important are these 1L firm receptions I keep getting emails about? Like, if I absolutely hate those sorts of things (i.e. I won't make any lasting connections/impressions) will I be ok skipping them?

I went to a grand total of zero. As far as I can tell, it had no effect on my chances at EIP.

I went to a regional market mixer once (which is kind of similar, but kind of not). It was professionally useless, though it was sort of fun to troll a real estate lawyer about what he did. Because he could not for the life of him explain what he did. And, because I knew I wasn't applying to his region, his firm, or his practice area, I could shamelessly keep asking him what the hell he actually did all day. (Not in exactly those words.) It was amusing, I guess.

I'm open to the idea that they might be good for something, but I have very little idea what that might be. (EDIT: "They" meaning receptions/mixers, not real estate lawyers. But now that you mention it....)

[CicerBRo]

Didn't 2L and 3L grades come out earlier than 1L grades in the Spring last year? Is it different for the Fall for some reason?

[tomwatts]

Didn't 2L and 3L grades come out earlier than 1L grades in the Spring last year? Is it different for the Fall for some reason?

Spring is different, because 3L grades have to be out before graduation, so because 2Ls and 3Ls generally are in the same classes, 2L/3L grades in general come out a few days before graduation (May 22 in 2014). But 1Ls have barely finished taking exams when 3Ls graduate, so 1L grades don't come out until the middle of June.

[Fred012]

are the firm receptions actually useless? can't you make good connections that you can email with later when your interviewing with the firm? and don't you get tidbits on the firm that you can't find online that you can spit back out during interviews?

[BlakcMajikc]

are the firm receptions actually useless? can't you make good connections that you can email with later when your interviewing with the firm? and don't you get tidbits on the firm that you can't find online that you can spit back out during interviews?

For most people, firm receptions are only useful to get free drinks and party afterwards with the younger associates. But for a few folks, firm receptions can be useful if you want to connect with a firm for a specific reason. So for example, if you want to get a feel for firms that practice in smaller cities [so outside of the usual NYC, DC, Chicago, San Fran, LA], they can be useful. But completely unnecessary for EIP, it's more for (1) free drinks (2) information gathering (3) possibilities for a 1L summer position [although mostly for diverse candidates]

[Fred012]

how do we schedule interviews during January? how important is PSW attendance?

[Single-Malt-Liquor]

how do we schedule interviews during January? how important is PSW attendance?

Attendance is pretty important. Talk to your prof if you have a conflict but know that every year a couple of people are made to retake the class because they missed a couple of classes. Also, they'll likely make you write a short paper on the topics of the day if you miss a class.

[Fred012]

do ppl usually just schedule for feb then?

[TripTrip]

do ppl usually just schedule for feb then?

PSW is done by noon so you can still do them. Where are your interviews? If they're not on the east coast, they often do 1L summer interviews over the phone.

[Fred012]

if its NYC/DC you can get from PSW down in time?