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What does it take to land a 1L/2L SA position in biglaw in Austin? I keep reading about how hard it is, even for Texas grads.

-From Austin (went to high school there, family living there)
-URM (AA Male)
-Most likely attending WUSTL in the fall (rejected at UT-Austin, substantial scholarship at WUSTL higher than other schools)

Do I have a chance at all given these factors? What would be a good strategy to aim for getting biglaw in Austin? I AM open to practicing other places, but was just back at home this past weekend admiring the town and thinking maybe I could come back and live there...

thatdude222 wrote:What does it take to land a 1L/2L SA position in biglaw in Austin? I keep reading about how hard it is, even for Texas grads.

-From Austin (went to high school there, family living there)
-URM (AA Male)
-Most likely attending WUSTL in the fall (rejected at UT-Austin, substantial scholarship at WUSTL higher than other schools)

Do I have a chance at all given these factors? What would be a good strategy to aim for getting biglaw in Austin? I AM open to practicing other places, but was just back at home this past weekend admiring the town and thinking maybe I could come back and live there...

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you do not attend UT or a t6, you have no chance at getting a big law firm job in Austin. It would be hard enough if you came out of UT. You would have to have absolutely incredible grades. Coming from WUSTL, you would have absolutely no shot, not even for an SA position.

And this is how it was when I was there BEFORE the economy collapsed.

The problem is that a significant number of UT Law students want to work biglaw in Austin. So the competition for a spot is intense.

Daaaamn... even for someone with ties to Austin?

Thanks for your response though, even if it is bad news. Well, nice to get a realistic picture of the process now, so I'm not let down a year from now.

thatdude222 wrote:Daaaamn... even for someone with ties to Austin?

Thanks for your response though, even if it is bad news. Well, nice to get a realistic picture of the process now, so I'm not let down a year from now.

Ties to Austin won't help since it is assumed that everyone wants to live in Austin.

you have no shot. i was told by practically every partner that for austin biglaw or even elite boutiques you need T6 + very strong ties to austin + good grades. if you are at UT, you definitely need to be on law review and at the peak of your class.

pastapplicant wrote:you have no shot. i was told by practically every partner that for austin biglaw or even elite boutiques you need T6 + very strong ties to austin + good grades. if you are at UT, you definitely need to be on law review and at the peak of your class.

That's not quite accurate. I know a few people not on TLR that have Austin big law SAs. You definitely have to do well though.

Also, I know a friend of a friend that was a URM WUSTL student that got an SA at an Austin firm via a minority outreach program and came back for 2L (but got no-offered). So it is possible, but it's a very very difficult thing to pull off from WUSTL.

IPSECURE plus good grades at UT can get Austin biglaw. I know a few non-TLR people who went this route.

You're putting the cart way before the horse. WUSTL isn't going to give you a good shot at biglaw in any market let alone one of the smallest and most competitive ones. Assuming you want it, you should really be hoping you can get biglaw anywhere because if that's your goal you really aren't going to the right school.

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bk187 wrote:You're putting the cart way before the horse. WUSTL isn't going to give you a good shot at biglaw in any market let alone one of the smallest and most competitive ones. Assuming you want it, you should really be hoping you can get biglaw anywhere because if that's your goal you really aren't going to the right school.

This.

philosoraptor wrote:IPSECURE plus good grades

This ^ but really, more importantly this:

bk187 wrote:You're putting the cart way before the horse. WUSTL isn't going to give you a good shot at biglaw in any market let alone one of the smallest and most competitive ones. Assuming you want it, you should really be hoping you can get biglaw anywhere because if that's your goal you really aren't going to the right school.

Over the past month I had a crazy turn of events (was pulled back on to the waitlist at UT just a few days after after making this post and then was offered a spot off the waitlist last week).

So now that I actually have a shot (being at a better school), what would qualify for "good grades" for Austin biglaw? Are we talking like top 5%, 10%, 25%?

thatdude222 wrote:Over the past month I had a crazy turn of events (was pulled back on to the waitlist at UT just a few days after after making this post and then was offered a spot off the waitlist last week).

So now that I actually have a shot (being at a better school), what would qualify for "good grades" for Austin biglaw? Are we talking like top 5%, 10%, 25%?

I don't think top 25% would cut it. Top 10% might cut it. But I don't know for sure. I someone who was top 10% working biglaw in Austin. But that is something that you just can't guarantee, especially at UT. Just go to UT and do the best you can and let the chips fall were they may. If you go in thinking that you are going to out do everyone, you're set for a rude awakening.

But congratulations on your acceptance into UT Law! Welcome to the club!

utlaw2007 wrote:

thatdude222 wrote:Over the past month I had a crazy turn of events (was pulled back on to the waitlist at UT just a few days after after making this post and then was offered a spot off the waitlist last week).

So now that I actually have a shot (being at a better school), what would qualify for "good grades" for Austin biglaw? Are we talking like top 5%, 10%, 25%?

I don't think top 25% would cut it. Top 10% might cut it. But I don't know for sure. I someone who was top 10% working biglaw in Austin. But that is something that you just can't guarantee, especially at UT. Just go to UT and do the best you can and let the chips fall were they may. If you go in thinking that you are going to out do everyone, you're set for a rude awakening.

But congratulations on your acceptance into UT Law! Welcome to the club!

Oh ok, cool. I'm definitely not going in thinking it's a guarantee I'll be at the top, just trying to get an idea of what would make me competitive for biglaw in Austin.

Thanks for the advice and the congrats! I'm really excited to be there in the fall.

does anyone know the best offices in austin in terms of biglaw (overall; corp. and lit.) ? Can't find that much aggregate info

hookemhomie wrote:does anyone know the best offices in austin in terms of biglaw (overall; corp. and lit.) ? Can't find that much aggregate info

Check NALP.

Just out of curiosity- where do all the UT grads who get biglaw go if most of them don't go to Austin bc it is so tough to get? Other Texas cities? NY?