spicyyoda17 wrote:Kretzy wrote:Congrats to everyone who's admitted, and good luck to everyone waiting
I'm barely ever on TLS anymore, but I'm now a 3L at SLS (jesus that's strange to write) and absolutely love love LOVE it here. If anyone has pressing questions or whatnot, I have a day off of class and work, and I'll check in every once in a while to answer them!
Kretzy - seen some of your SLS insights elsewhere - thank you in advance!
3 questions:
1) How has the class of 2013 fared in terms of securing FT gigs after graduation? We have 2011 stats available, but would love to know your take on the c/of '12 and '13 if possible.
2) As for your class, how did OCI go? Are things pretty steady, getting better, slight decline, what? I'm interested in a federal clerkship after I graduate and then business law/litigation in DC (obviously a tough market, I know). For these reasons, I am slightly leaning SLS as opposed to HLS as it seems like SLS has been very strong in both clerkship and DC placement.
3) What have you seen in regards to students trying to begin their careers in secondary markets?
Thanks again!
Not a problem. This site was super helpful to me when applying!
1. I would say the number of people looking for jobs can be counted on one hand. They include people seeking high-end public interest work and maybe a person or two who was no-offered. My group of friends, about 40 or so, all have jobs. About half are clerking next year and half are starting at firms (with one or two doing PI).
2. OCI was actually kinda fun. Everyone I know that truly did OCI (10+ interviews) got a position through it, regardless of grades. A few people didn't get their top choice market (generally SF, if grades were really bad, like 0-1 Hs bad), and a couple of people got non-market paying. This was a big exception to the norm, though.
Personality really mattered at OCI. Most people had 3-6 Hs. At that point, you've shown you can do the work and distinguish yourself in certain classes, and that's all most firms really needed. There are 15 or so firms that it's only worth applying to if you're top 1/3 (probably more Hs than Ps), but I have friends at V5 firms who were well below median and no law review.
I tend to think things are getting better, if slowly.
I interviewed in D.C., with absolutely no ties, and it's a relatively tough market. That said, with okay (but not great grades), I managed 3 offers, including from some of the "tougher" firms to get. Lots of SLSers want D.C., probably even more than want SF, so it can be tough. But most people who really wanted to be in D.C. got to be, or back-doored a split with their NYC or LA-based firms to spend 4-5 weeks in the D.C. office.
Also, in terms of clerkships, my class absolutely killed it. More than 1/3 are clerking next year or the year after. If people applied widely, they tended to get a clerkship. The sheer breadth of clerkship placement, including for folks at median without SLR, is a very, very compelling reason to choose SLS. I am not clerking straight out, but will be applying after 2-3 years at my firm, and it seems a large number of alums snag clerkships that way, too.
3. We send a lot of folks to Texas. One of my closest friends is starting in Atlanta. I know people headed to the really insular, tough-to-get markets (Seattle, Portland, Denver), other secondaries (Minneapolis, Cleveland, Miami, San Diego, Boston). More secondary market firms interview at OCI than I would've expected. I worked at a V20 in a secondary market my first summer and really enjoyed it; though I absolutely love SF (am writing this from my apartment in the city), I recommend trying out a smaller market for at least part of your summer experience 1L or 2L year.