Northwestern 1L/2L/3L/Grads Taking Questions and Challenges Forum

[Dr. Filth]

They should probably stop scheduling them a couple of days before CLR is due. Did anyone even go to the Sidley thing?

[Kikero]

They should probably stop scheduling them a couple of days before CLR is due. Did anyone even go to the Sidley thing?

I hope no one is letting something unimportant like CLR prevent them from doing somewhat important things like networking events or very important things like bar review, Barrister's, Follies, general drinking-related fun, etc.

ETA: Also, if any 1Ls aren't going to the Quinn event, I'd be happy to take your place and er "network" for you (the food is amazing).

[splitsplat]

They should probably stop scheduling them a couple of days before CLR is due. Did anyone even go to the Sidley thing?

I hope no one is letting something unimportant like CLR prevent them from doing somewhat important things like networking events or very important things like bar review, Barrister's, Follies, general drinking-related fun, etc.

ETA: Also, if any 1Ls aren't going to the Quinn event, I'd be happy to take your place and er "network" for you (the food is amazing).

just register, make an alias email without class year and go

[Kikero]

I was just going to say I am a 2L looking for a 3L job, but I was worried people might actually feel obligated to talk to me then. I like your plan better.

[LRGhost]

Did you guys see the email about 1L attendance at employer events being the lowest ever for the school? Interesting if this actually has any serious implications. I would think over the longer term it might.

Possibly our year is just genuinely not as interested in these firms, likely because of the small interest in this year's class to actually remain in Chicago after school.

Yeah, it seems like a lot of people are not shooting for Chicago. Any idea why? TLS scaring people into other markets?

Also, if OCS wants people to go, they should maybe try to demonstrate that there's a benefit to going instead of just saying 'Go!' It's easy to say that fostering relationships is important for recruiting but absent anyone actually talking about it, it's hard to listen to OCS.

[homestyle28]

How is an opportunity to talk to potential employers, polish your spiel, get comfortable in front of legal recruiters, etc. not enough of incentive for you all to go? This news makes me worry that too many of you 1Ls don't think you'll need to hustle to get a job.

[Kikero]

How is an opportunity to talk to potential employers, polish your spiel, get comfortable in front of legal recruiters, etc. not enough of incentive for you all to go? This news makes me worry that too many of you 1Ls don't think you'll need to hustle to get a job.

Agreed. Why does OCS need to explain the benefits of networking events? They are pretty self-explanatory, and imo worth doing even if you would never work in Chicago.

[Dr. Filth]

How is an opportunity to talk to potential employers, polish your spiel, get comfortable in front of legal recruiters, etc. not enough of incentive for you all to go? This news makes me worry that too many of you 1Ls don't think you'll need to hustle to get a job.

Should we be practicing our spiel about why x firm and why x practice at these things? I've been trying to ask questions to be able to better come up with x firm.

[LRGhost]

How is an opportunity to talk to potential employers, polish your spiel, get comfortable in front of legal recruiters, etc. not enough of incentive for you all to go? This news makes me worry that too many of you 1Ls don't think you'll need to hustle to get a job.

Agreed. Why does OCS need to explain the benefits of networking events? They are pretty self-explanatory, and imo worth doing even if you would never work in Chicago.

I've spoken with people who have explained the benefits. But OCS has given some shitty advice so I could understand that if they implore people to go these events as beneficial, people might question it just because they've said some crappy stuff. Also, it's like, the month before finals and taking three hours out of a night sort of sucks.

[homestyle28]

How is an opportunity to talk to potential employers, polish your spiel, get comfortable in front of legal recruiters, etc. not enough of incentive for you all to go? This news makes me worry that too many of you 1Ls don't think you'll need to hustle to get a job.

Should we be practicing our spiel about why x firm and why x practice at these things? I've been trying to ask questions to be able to better come up with x firm.

More about who you are, why law school, etc. Also a great chance to learn how to ask lawyers insightful questions and just get comfortable with things. At OCI it adds a layer to things if you can talk to Smith & Jones LLP about how you met Lawyer Finch at x event and he really piqued your interest in Smith & Jones.

Meet the employers was probably my favorite employer based event during 1L.

[bjsesq]

I still think that damn near every question has been asked. The key is to ask the same shit in interesting new ways.

Not: What don't you like about this place?
More: You are given carte blanche to change one thing about this firm. What do you change why?

Essentially the same fucking question, but you get them thinking more in depth and it creates a chance for a better dialogue.

[Cobretti]

How is an opportunity to talk to potential employers, polish your spiel, get comfortable in front of legal recruiters, etc. not enough of incentive for you all to go? This news makes me worry that too many of you 1Ls don't think you'll need to hustle to get a job.

Should we be practicing our spiel about why x firm and why x practice at these things? I've been trying to ask questions to be able to better come up with x firm.

More about who you are, why law school, etc. Also a great chance to learn how to ask lawyers insightful questions and just get comfortable with things. At OCI it adds a layer to things if you can talk to Smith & Jones LLP about how you met Lawyer Finch at x event and he really piqued your interest in Smith & Jones.

Meet the employers was probably my favorite employer based event during 1L.

This is exactly what i go into every networking event hoping to get out of it... thinly veiled name dropping at OCS/CBs. I don't think there is an easier way to show interest in a firm than talking about previous interactions with them. Its the whole reason I collect business cards.

As far as 1L attendance I think we are clearly at fault. Unless OCS is doing something different for us than they have in years past, we are the only variable that has changed. I guess it just is what it is, can only lead a horse to water afterall.

[splitsplat]

1L attendance at allllllllll things, across the board has been worse than previous years- not just networking events.

[Dr. Filth]

1L attendance at allllllllll things, across the board has been worse than previous years- not just networking events.

Proud of us, y'all.

On a related laziness note:
Can anyone advise on how to rank the journals based on me wanting to do as little work as possible? tyia

[rinkrat19]

1L attendance at allllllllll things, across the board has been worse than previous years- not just networking events.

Proud of us, y'all.

On a related laziness note:
Can anyone advise on how to rank the journals based on me wanting to do as little work as possible? tyia

I think consensus is that JCLC is the most work. Maybe LR too.

JLSP has a lot of people and (at least this year) was pretty low effort. I think everyone had 2 or 3 source & cite or eyeballing assignments all year (I had 2). It sure seemed like people on the other journals were doing way more work than I was.

[kennethellenparcell]

Did you guys see the email about 1L attendance at employer events being the lowest ever for the school? Interesting if this actually has any serious implications. I would think over the longer term it might.

It definitely has implications. I talked to some of you guys who weren't even thinking about going to Meet the Employers night today. Why wouldn't you?? Even taking 1 HOUR out of your night to go wouldn't cut in that much to your studying. You can collect business cards and start creating relationship or at least learning about firms, which will be good for OCI. GO! Also, it seems that you guys are severely underestimating the power of networking and honestly, taking the opportunity to learn about big law work and what practicing in certain areas is like. Employers don't think you guys are interested, that's is NOT a good thing for your class. We all had CLR deadlines around this time - we get how tough it is around this time.

[Flips88]

1L attendance at allllllllll things, across the board has been worse than previous years- not just networking events.

Proud of us, y'all.

On a related laziness note:
Can anyone advise on how to rank the journals based on me wanting to do as little work as possible? tyia

I hear the Journal of International Human Rights is a pretty cushy gig.

[homestyle28]

1L attendance at allllllllll things, across the board has been worse than previous years- not just networking events.

Proud of us, y'all.

On a related laziness note:
Can anyone advise on how to rank the journals based on me wanting to do as little work as possible? tyia

I hear the Journal of International Human Rights is a pretty cushy gig.

Hippie

[zugzwanger]

Did you guys see the email about 1L attendance at employer events being the lowest ever for the school? Interesting if this actually has any serious implications. I would think over the longer term it might.

It definitely has implications. I talked to some of you guys who weren't even thinking about going to Meet the Employers night today. Why wouldn't you?? Even taking 1 HOUR out of your night to go wouldn't cut in that much to your studying. You can collect business cards and start creating relationship or at least learning about firms, which will be good for OCI. GO! Also, it seems that you guys are severely underestimating the power of networking and honestly, taking the opportunity to learn about big law work and what practicing in certain areas is like. Employers don't think you guys are interested, that's is NOT a good thing for your class. We all had CLR deadlines around this time - we get how tough it is around this time.

Yup, it was a great event..cracks me up how much partners love to talk about themselves

[09042014]

Does JLSP still only publish twice a year? If so that's the right choice.

[kennethellenparcell]

LR is significantly more work than JCLC. My boyfriend is on LR and comparatively did a lot more than I did. I would say JCLC and JTIP are probably pretty on par in terms of the number of source and cites. The journals that have the least amount of work are probably JIHR and JLSP. Not super sure about JILB.

[Micdiddy]

The event was fun, no complaints. Sad I did not get to go swag hunting though, by the time I was done talking to the places I wanted to meet with it was closing time, so no Tide spot remover for me
Also, one thing to keep in mind is that this 1L class is smaller than any previous year. If you remove MBA-JD's from the equation we are a class of 174 (there's no reason to remove them from the equation for 1L events, I just don't know how many there are).

[M458]

The event was fun, no complaints. Sad I did not get to go swag hunting though, by the time I was done talking to the places I wanted to meet with it was closing time, so no Tide spot remover for me
Also, one thing to keep in mind is that this 1L class is smaller than any previous year. If you remove MBA-JD's from the equation we are a class of 174 (there's no reason to remove them from the equation for 1L events, I just don't know how many there are).

27 of them (http://www.law.northwestern.edu/admissi ... ofile.html)

[babblefish]

The event was great, lots of one on one time with employers though a few did mention the basically even employer/student ratio.

Agree that we are a smaller class, so that needs to be taken into account. Also, our reading weeks this year have been cut to two days (in both Fall & Spring) which kind of forces us to start finals mode earlier. Lastly the scheduling from the administration has been atrocious. We have 3 mandatory lunch meetings this week and didn't get the e-mail about the first one for Journals until 10:48 this morning.

I would say it is about 60% our fault, but the worst part is taking the time out to attend these events and then you have to be in the awkward position of answering for the rest of your class.

[zugzwanger]

The event was great, lots of one on one time with employers though a few did mention the basically even employer/student ratio.

Agree that we are a smaller class, so that needs to be taken into account. Also, our reading weeks this year have been cut to two days (in both Fall & Spring) which kind of forces us to start finals mode earlier. Lastly the scheduling from the administration has been atrocious. We have 3 mandatory lunch meetings this week and didn't get the e-mail about the first one for Journals until 10:48 this morning.

I would say it is about 60% our fault, but the worst part is taking the time out to attend these events and then you have to be in the awkward position of answering for the rest of your class.

The mandatory meeting today that didn't even end up being mandatory...