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HLS pre-OCI limited to 5 firms. Grades are 2H 8P. Focus is on NY corporate work. Have 4 years of work experience. Non-diverse woman. Recommended top 5 firms to bid for pre-OCI?

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 11, 2023 11:47 am

HLS pre-OCI limited to 5 firms. Grades are 2H 8P. Focus is on NY corporate work. Have 4 years of work experience. Non-diverse woman. Recommended top 5 firms to bid for pre-OCI?

Try to determine which firms load up on pre-OCI students and which firms prefer to wait until OCI. HLS might be able to tell you this. Then, of the firms that lean hard toward pre-OCI, select the firms roughly in your “gpa” range (although, your four years of work experience might make you more valuable than the norm).

Any idea on firms in my "GPA" range?

I am an NYC corporate associate. In your shoes, I would go with the below bolded firms. Kirkland would be my last choice to actually work at, but it's a very good shot at an offer. I would flat-out avoid the following: Cooley, Gunderson, Shearman, Ropes, Goodwin, Paul Hastings, White & Case, Dechert.

Skadden
Kirkland
Simpson Thacher
Paul Weiss
Sidley

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 11, 2023 11:47 am

HLS pre-OCI limited to 5 firms. Grades are 2H 8P. Focus is on NY corporate work. Have 4 years of work experience. Non-diverse woman. Recommended top 5 firms to bid for pre-OCI?

You should be directly on target for Cravath

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 14, 2023 11:26 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 11, 2023 11:47 am

HLS pre-OCI limited to 5 firms. Grades are 2H 8P. Focus is on NY corporate work. Have 4 years of work experience. Non-diverse woman. Recommended top 5 firms to bid for pre-OCI?

You should be directly on target for Cravath

I thought Cravath, S&C and DPW would be reaches at 2H (I’m the poster with the list above). Have the grades CSM targets have shifted downward a bit ?

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 15, 2023 12:32 am

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 14, 2023 11:26 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 11, 2023 11:47 am

HLS pre-OCI limited to 5 firms. Grades are 2H 8P. Focus is on NY corporate work. Have 4 years of work experience. Non-diverse woman. Recommended top 5 firms to bid for pre-OCI?

You should be directly on target for Cravath

I thought Cravath, S&C and DPW would be reaches at 2H (I’m the poster with the list above). Have the grades CSM targets have shifted downward a bit ?

Not OP, but Cravath is certainly out of reach with 2H. S&C and DPW are probably getable with 2H.

nah, unless OP is a minority/POC or connected somehow or has some unusual resume line, 2H isn't gonna cut it at DPW or S&C any more than with Cravath.

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 15, 2023 7:14 pm

nah, unless OP is a minority/POC or connected somehow or has some unusual resume line, 2H isn't gonna cut it at DPW or S&C any more than with Cravath.

Ya actually out of order as S&c is the mos t grade conscious of three by far

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 15, 2023 9:01 pm

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Thu Jun 15, 2023 7:14 pm

nah, unless OP is a minority/POC or connected somehow or has some unusual resume line, 2H isn't gonna cut it at DPW or S&C any more than with Cravath.

Ya actually out of order as S&c is the mos t grade conscious of three by far

Total fake news. Cravath is by far the most grade and school conscious of the three. The previous anon who said OP is on target was larping

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 13, 2023 12:30 pm

I am an NYC corporate associate. In your shoes, I would go with the below bolded firms. Kirkland would be my last choice to actually work at, but it's a very good shot at an offer. I would flat-out avoid the following: Cooley, Gunderson, Shearman, Ropes, Goodwin, Paul Hastings, White & Case, Dechert.

Skadden
Kirkland
Simpson Thacher
Paul Weiss
Sidley

What is wrong with Ropes?

spikesjb wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 21, 2023 10:01 am

Anonymous User wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 13, 2023 12:30 pm

I am an NYC corporate associate. In your shoes, I would go with the below bolded firms. Kirkland would be my last choice to actually work at, but it's a very good shot at an offer. I would flat-out avoid the following: Cooley, Gunderson, Shearman, Ropes, Goodwin, Paul Hastings, White & Case, Dechert.

Skadden
Kirkland
Simpson Thacher
Paul Weiss
Sidley

What is wrong with Ropes?

Business is very slow, and I heard it went downhill in New York especially. Their junior ranks were hit with rampant stealth layoffs, which affected many well regarded associates. So now a bunch of people's careers are probably ruined permanently, since nobody is hiring them in this economy. K&E also did this, but less egregiously (and in general K&E is just a stronger firm).

In contrast, if you start your career at a financially strong firm like Davis Polk, Sullivan, Cravath, Simpson, Sidley, or Paul Weiss, that will provide a strong base for your future legal career. Firms of that caliber, while unlikely to ever make you partner, are much more likely to give you meaningful work, a fair opportunity to learn your practice, and ultimately good quality exit opps.

Thank you--curious if you would expound a little bit on "last i'd take is Kirkland?"

spikesjb wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 24, 2023 3:21 pm

Thank you--curious if you would expound a little bit on "last i'd take is Kirkland?"

Sure. I'd take any of the other 4 firms I mentioned over K&E. But they do the most hiring of any law firm and have many strong practice areas. They are very active pre-OCI, so I think including Kirkland as one of the 5 "pre-OCI" firms is probably worth it for this OP. It's a high probability of locking up an offer at a good firm. The downsides are that culture has been a mixed bag for a long time, partner dynamics seem iffy, and (most relevant for you) it's possible to get pushed out pretty quickly, so you'll enjoy less job security than you would at a "white shoe" firm. Granted, my advice was tailored for OP. Someone with 6 Hs targeting NYC corp could go ahead and skip bidding K&E.

The firms I said to avoid are just so bad in NYC, and present such a poor value proposition for a fresh grad starting their career, that I don't think a median-ish HLS student should waste one of their 5 pre-OCI bids on them.