SMU 2012 Forum

[btw384]

$26k/year, only stip is to stay in good standing.

Decisions, decisions.

[sikemenow]

What kind of numbers have gotten the 76K scholly in years past? Regarding OCI, is it mainly texas biglaw firms that come to interview or is there a mix of out of state offices as well?

It's mainly Texas and national Biglaw.

Here is the list I made from this past fall for the Phase I:

1) Akin-Gump – outstanding academic credentials
2) Alston & Bird – top 25%; journal preferred
3) Andrews-Kurth – top 15% required
4) Baker & McKenzie – proven academic success
5) Baker-Botts – top 10% / some flexibility
6) Bickel & Brewer (Dallas and NY) – top 10% required
7) Bracewell & Giuliani – nothing listed
Brown & Fortunato (Amarillo) – top 25%; LR
9) Cantey & Hanger (Dallas, Ft. Worth, Southlake) – top 25%
10) Carrington, Coleman, Sloman, & Blumenthal – top 15% required; LR / journal preferred
11) Carstens & Cahoon – IP boutique, requires hard scienece or engineering undergrad
12) Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin (Houston) – nothing listed
13) Cox Smith Matthews Inc. (San Antonio) – top 33% required, journal / moot or mock pref.
14) Exxon-Mobil (D.C. & Houston – D.C. requires all summer) – top 40%; journal pref.
15) Figari & Davenport – top 25%; LR
16) Fish & Richardson (11 offices) – top 25%; strong writing; patent prosecution requires tech.
17) Fulbright & Jaworski (Dallas) – journal preferred but not required
18) Fulbright & Jaworski (San Antonio) – journal preferred but not required
19) Gardere Wynne Sewell (Dallas and Houston) – nothing listed
20) Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher (several offices) – outstanding academics; evidence of teamwork
21) Greenburg Traurig – top 15%-20% preferred
22) Harris, Finley, & Bogle (Ft. Worth) – top 25%
23) Hartline Dacus Barger Dreyer (Dallas and Corpus Christi) – top 1/3; LR; moot / mock
24) Haynes & Boone (Dallas, Ft. Worth, Richardson, San Antonio) – top 15% required; LR pref.
25) Hunton & Williams (Dallas, Miami, LA, Atlanta, NY, Richmond) – top 5%, LR pref.
26) Jackson-Walker (Dallas) – top 25%
27) Jackson-Walker (Auston, San Antonio, Ft. Worth) – top 25%
28) K&L Gates – prefer top 15%; LR / journal / m/m preferred
29) Kelly, Hart, & Hallman (Ft. Worth) – nothing listed
30) Locke, Lorde, Bissell, & Liddell – top 15%; extracurriculars highly recommended
31) Looper Reed McGraw – top 30%
32) McKool Smith – (Dallas and Austin) – top 25%; LR preferred; engineering undergrad pref.
33) Morgan Lewis & Bockius (several offices) – not interviewing for Dallas / Houston, no reqs.
34) Munsch, Hart, Kopf, & Harr – prefer top 33%
35) Orgain, Bell, & Tucker (Beaumont) – nothing listed
36) Patton Boggs – op 15%; LR preferred
37) Slater & Matsil – nothing listed
38) Thompson & Knight (Dallas) – prefer top 10%-15%, LR
39) Thompson & Knight (Houston) – prefer top 10%-15%. LR
40) Thompson, Coe, Cousins, & Irons – nothing listed
41) US Federal Trade Commission (Dallas) – excellent research and writing skills
42) Vinson & Elkins (Dallas, Houston, Austin) – nothing listed
43) Weil, Gotshal, & Manges – nothing listed
44) Winstead – top 25% required, LR preferred
45) Zelle, Hoffman, Voelbel, & Mason – nothing listed





And here are screenshots from Phase II:

Awesome info here....any stats on Strasburger & Price? I know they cancelled their summer internship program in the recent past but I heard they were looking at bringing it back starting in 2012..

[Billy Batts]

Strasburger was at Phase I. That list above isn't the finalized version.

[mooseman2216]

also got 26k/year... as much as i want to leave dallas and live somewhere else for a little bit (ive lived in DFW all my life), this scholarship is hard to turn down for where i would eventually like to end back up in the very end...

[eaper]

Also got 26k/year. Mentioned something on my resume (leadership position) on the letter.

[HankBeech]

Scholarship info came today. 37K per year! I live in Dallas now, so this offer is going to be hard to beat for me.

[Gail]

Scholarship info came today. 37K per year! I live in Dallas now, so this offer is going be hard to beat for me.

Congratulations! That's pretty impressive.

[kalvano]

Strasburger was at Phase I. That list above isn't the finalized version.

My bad, I thought that was the complete list. I took some screenshots of Phase I, so this is everyone that came (I think Cantey Hanger and Gardere ended up backing out):

[wedge35]

26k a year...

[beezy08]

26k a year...

+1

[citykitty]

I was offered 22k/yr.

[Flappy Scribbleneck]

Lot's of dumb questions:
1L's, 2L's, 3L's - did anyone hold a job through the school during the school year? How did it pay? Is it the best option when trying to balance work and school first year? Advice from experienced people for best school jobs or otherwise? Can I try to work at a law firm during the school year?
Summer employment after 1st year: did anyone get paid? If so was the pay okay? How long did the paid legal work last, all summer? a month?
For those who did unpaid legal work in the summer, was it full time and did the unpaid last all summer or did you have time to work a paid job around the unpaid legal work?
I know trying to work is not ideal, but I have a family and it is going to be really hard to make $0 for an extended period of time.
SMU's health insurance - good or bad? Any advice here?
Anyone on food stamps? or any other programs that might be suggested?

[kalvano]

Assuming FT program for the following:

Lot's of dumb questions:
1L's, 2L's, 3L's - did anyone hold a job through the school during the school year?

Not 1L, that would be an awful idea...plus prohibited by the ABA. 2L and 3L, lots of people do. It's a good idea if you want to, you get experience and contacts.

How did it pay?

Expect retail-type pay, around $10-$15 an hour.

Is it the best option when trying to balance work and school first year?

Don't work your first year. You aren't allowed to work more than 20 hours a week anyway, and whatever time you spend working is time you can't spend getting good grades. Also, your memo and brief, thanks to SMU's graded legal writing classes, will utterly consume your entire existence, which is then followed fairly closely by exams.

Advice from experienced people for best school jobs or otherwise?

Once you're done with 1L, lots of law firms will post looking for clerks for 15-30 hours a week.

Can I try to work at a law firm during the school year?

Yep.

Summer employment after 1st year: did anyone get paid? If so was the pay okay? How long did the paid legal work last, all summer? a month?

Do not expect paid 1L summer work. It exists, but it's rare. Plan to be unpaid.

For those who did unpaid legal work in the summer, was it full time and did the unpaid last all summer or did you have time to work a paid job around the unpaid legal work?

Yes, it's usually full time, or close to it.

I know trying to work is not ideal, but I have a family and it is going to be really hard to make $0 for an extended period of time.

I understand where you are coming from (boy, do I...I hate not making money after being used to, well, making money), but you need to accept this reality before coming to law school: odds are, you will not be paid at all (or very minimally) until your 2L summer at best. If you need a job during the school year to pay for groceries and essentials, look at loans, because you aren't going to be making more than $500-$600 a month. If you want a job because you just want something to do, then do stuff at school, it will pay off in the long run.

SMU's health insurance - good or bad? Any advice here?

I use it. I compared it to BC/BS and SMU's was about the same coverage for about the same money. Easier to go with SMU. It's through Aetna, and you can get dental for about $200 a year extra. The dental is really good, actually.

[Gail]

$78k

About what I could expect. Balancing that with other offers it's the second largest scholarship I've received.

[emkay625]

$26k a year. 173/3.23.

[sarahmargie]

I'm on hold. I sent a very brief LOCI by email. Do you think they will like that, or be annoyed?

[btw384]

I'm on hold. I sent a very brief LOCI by email. Do you think they will like that, or be annoyed?

I think LOCI is always a good idea.

[chrisk]

I just applied 2/7. Probably should have earlier but either way it only puts me out $16. Am I severely disadvantaged for potential scholarships in being so late?

[ClutchCity24]

Unfortunately yes. A lot of the money goes out in that first batch of acceptances.

[snehpets]

Unfortunately yes. A lot of the money goes out in that first batch of acceptances.

but surely a lot of people will withdraw, leaving money for later applicants?

[mxmatt137]

Unfortunately yes. A lot of the money goes out in that first batch of acceptances.

but surely a lot of people will withdraw, leaving money for later applicants?

Unfortunately the universities (generally) account for people who will withdraw when offering scholarships and therefore offer more than they can actually afford to provide.

[snehpets]

Unfortunately yes. A lot of the money goes out in that first batch of acceptances.

but surely a lot of people will withdraw, leaving money for later applicants?

Unfortunately the universities (generally) account for people who will withdraw when offering scholarships and therefore offer more than they can actually afford to provide.

Good point. however, according to LSN there were only two Feb. submits last year who were admitted and both received substantial scholarships, so that's some hope for the OP at least.

[ClutchCity24]

There will still be some money given out to others admitted but it will most likely be in lower amounts and tougher to get. I am pretty sure that is how it worked last year but some of the other current students may remember more clearly.

[chrisk]

Hmmm. Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm mad at myself for not submitting earlier, but nothing I can do now but hope and pray!

[swilson215]

I have a friend who was applied in february and was admitted really late in the game, and she got a pretty large scholarship offer...I think $31k a year, but I might be wrong. She's not on LSN, so she's not one of the people you saw, but it does happen. However, I think it is more likely you'll get a better offer the earlier you apply.