District Attorney Offices 2016 Forum

(On Campus Interviews, Summer Associate positions, Firm Reviews, Tips, ...)
Forum rules
Anonymous Posting

Anonymous posting is only appropriate when you are revealing sensitive employment related information about a firm, job, etc. You may anonymously respond on topic to these threads. Unacceptable uses include: harassing another user, joking around, testing the feature, or other things that are more appropriate in the lounge.

Failure to follow these rules will get you outed, warned, or banned.
Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jun 25, 2015 5:46 pm

Almost about that time, y'all. Hearing Queens is SEVERELY cutting down their number (8-12) and that Brooklyn is bringing in a big class but the Brooklyn rumor is fairly unsubstantiated.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Jul 27, 2015 1:04 pm

bump

Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Aug 26, 2015 10:29 pm

Accepted for Kings County OCI in September.

User avatar
encore1101

Silver
Posts: 826
Joined: Tue Oct 22, 2013 10:13 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by encore1101 » Wed Aug 26, 2015 10:40 pm

Good luck to all applicants. I'm tagging this thread to help answer any questions about the interview process.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Aug 27, 2015 8:11 pm

Hey Encore,

I have a 1st round interview with Manhattan DA office next month. Any advice? Straightforward get to know you interview?

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Aug 27, 2015 10:16 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Accepted for Kings County OCI in September.
what school

Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 28, 2015 2:12 pm

Is this a slam dunk for T14 students? What are the odds of a T14 student not getting a job in an office outside of the ultra competitive NY ones?

Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 28, 2015 2:36 pm

Do you have experience interning for a DA's office or doing a criminal clinic?

Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 28, 2015 3:55 pm

I will be in the midst of a criminal clinic whilst applying and will be able to speak of my application to intern with my local USAO.

I'll have a biglaw summer under my belt, a win in a regional practical competition (like moot court/trial team), grad degree, federal judicial internship and a GPA between median and honors.

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:05 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Is this a slam dunk for T14 students? What are the odds of a T14 student not getting a job in an office outside of the ultra competitive NY ones?
T14 -> incoming ADA here. Can only speak to the NY area offices. I and a couple classmates got it NY area offers, but there were also some who struck out completely in NY area. Takeaway is that it's not a slam dunk merely by virtue of being T14 - interviews matter TONS as well as a bunch of other factors.

Happy to answer any other questions on the ADA job hunt

Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:11 pm

Hi! I sent application materials to the Miami-Dade SAO's office in June, received a letter from them asking me to contact them in September if I was still interested. I'll be calling them next week, but has anyone else gotten the same response? And if you did, were you scheduled for an interview when you called them? Any information you can offer would be most appreciated!

Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:13 pm

Thanks.

I'm assuming that it's a little less competitive where I am. I've heard VERY few go the DA route from my school, so I'd be a bit of a novelty candidate.

Would you recommend trying to intern there in the Spring, instead of the USAO? What should I be doing to increase my chances? I think I'll be good in the interview room and give a fairly compelling story as to why I want to be there.

I guess I just want to go in with some confidence that I'll get an offer.

User avatar
A. Nony Mouse

Diamond
Posts: 29293
Joined: Tue Sep 25, 2012 11:51 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by A. Nony Mouse » Fri Aug 28, 2015 6:37 pm

I mean this in the nicest possible way, but I don't think anyone can go into any one interview with some confidence that they'll get an offer. You could well get an offer. You may not. Unless you have an in and have already had an assurance from someone that the job is yours, everything is a crap shoot dependent on a lot of factors, some of which are in your control and some of which aren't. Just because few people from your school go for DA jobs doesn't therefore make you a more attractive candidate for the position, and going to a T14 is likely less relevant than your experience.

I'm saying this because you sound kind of like you want a guarantee before going in, and also like you think a DA's office should be glad to hire you, and I'm not sure that's giving off the impression you want it to.

Register now!

Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.

It's still FREE!


Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 28, 2015 7:07 pm

Does anyone know anything about how many people the LA DA is looking to hire this year?

Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 28, 2015 7:26 pm

Thanks, A Nony. Your words are well-taken.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Aug 28, 2015 8:55 pm

lower t14 here... tons of friends got shut out of NYC DA offices last year.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Sep 02, 2015 10:17 pm

'15 grad from T2 school who was hired by an NYC office (starting this fall).

It is absolutely credited that simply being T14 is *not* going to get you hired. Even though I was competing against many people from better law schools, I was hired relatively quickly in the cycle due to prior work experience, interning experience, and, of course, good interviews. You definitely need to take each interview seriously and be prepared for the obvious questions they're going to ask you:

Why DA instead of PD?
Why this office in particular?
(for NYC offices if you're not local) Why New York?

This process is super competitive, so you cannot afford to fumble one of these guaranteed questions. Moreover, you should talk to people who went through the process before to get a good feel for the various hypos you will be asked if you advance through the multiple rounds. Last year's thread had a lot of discussion of hypos people were getting.

The best advice I can give anyone going through this grueling process (I went through pretty much the entire process for each of the four offices, and I was exhausted near the end of it) is this: in the "getting to know you" questions, be your professional self. These people are trained and experienced in detecting bullshit. In the hypos, "show your work," meaning do your reasoning out loud so that they know you are thinking about things and spotting potential issues. If you do this in your head, they have no way of knowing that you're actually thinking critically about something. Finally, and again this goes for hypos, answer them. This is apparently the #1 complaint interviewers have.

Get unlimited access to all forums and topics

Register now!

I'm pretty sure I told you it's FREE...


Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Sep 04, 2015 3:00 pm

How do the various offices inform you that you've been advanced or rejected? (phone, e-mail, etc?) Primarily interested in NYC, but I imagine others would be interested in other areas if people know.

Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Fri Sep 04, 2015 3:24 pm

Are these positions paid?

PipPip171

New
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 4:08 pm

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by PipPip171 » Thu Sep 10, 2015 11:19 am

Hi! I have an interview with the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office next month. They don't interview at my OCI, so I'll be flying down to Miami. Any advice or info anyone can offer?

User avatar
A. Nony Mouse

Diamond
Posts: 29293
Joined: Tue Sep 25, 2012 11:51 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by A. Nony Mouse » Thu Sep 10, 2015 11:30 am

Anonymous User wrote:Are these positions paid?
Pretty sure this thread is talking about hiring for post-grad positions.

Communicate now with those who not only know what a legal education is, but can offer you worthy advice and commentary as you complete the three most educational, yet challenging years of your law related post graduate life.

Register now, it's still FREE!


Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Sep 10, 2015 1:44 pm

Just been told by a former supervisor to sit tight for a panel interview for Kings County. Finished my OCI last week and was told that it's going to be 3 more rounds of interviews: 3 person panel -> executive 1 on 1 interview -> interview with the DA.

They are still going through panel interviewing some of their former 2L summers so I likely won't get scheduled in for a while.

Anyone have any insight as to how day to day is at the other NYC offices? I can try to answer any questions about Kings (trial zones, ECAB, etc.).

Anonymous User
Posts: 428123
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2009 9:32 am

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Sep 10, 2015 2:55 pm

PipPip171 wrote:Hi! I have an interview with the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office next month. They don't interview at my OCI, so I'll be flying down to Miami. Any advice or info anyone can offer?
Prepare for hypotheticals in your initial interview. Try to practice on a friend or counselor beforehand. Some could even involve role-playing as a police officer or other LEO character.

User avatar
sd5289

Gold
Posts: 1611
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 2:02 pm

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by sd5289 » Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:04 pm

Anonymous User wrote:How do the various offices inform you that you've been advanced or rejected? (phone, e-mail, etc?) Primarily interested in NYC, but I imagine others would be interested in other areas if people know.
It actually depends on the specific office. Some work via email and others work via phone call. Pretty much all will be able to tell you where you are if you're in between rounds (a/k/a "waiting") and wondering where you are.

Best advice I have is be nice to the hiring staff. I understand how frustrating this process can be, but they are working extremely hard processing thousands of applications and even more write up's from the ADA's who are interviewing you. I guess I'll add "be patient" to that.

User avatar
UnicornHunter

Diamond
Posts: 13507
Joined: Wed May 01, 2013 9:16 pm

Re: District Attorney Offices 2016

Post by UnicornHunter » Thu Sep 10, 2015 9:58 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Thanks.

I'm assuming that it's a little less competitive where I am. I've heard VERY few go the DA route from my school, so I'd be a bit of a novelty candidate.

Would you recommend trying to intern there in the Spring, instead of the USAO? What should I be doing to increase my chances? I think I'll be good in the interview room and give a fairly compelling story as to why I want to be there.

I guess I just want to go in with some confidence that I'll get an offer.
Not going to be as nice as Nony. Nobody gives a shit where you went to school. As you point out, most of the ADAs did not go to a school like yours, so if anything you're going to have to overcome the strong presumption that you're a turd. Your application to the USAO won't help you- it's going to feed the presumption that you're not really interested in state level work.

Best thing you can do is network your ass off. If your goal is to work at the DA's office and not the USAO ABSOLUTELY intern there in the spring. The more you can show them that not only are you smart, but you're also someone whose easy to work with and actually wants to be an ADA, the better the interview process will go for you.

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

Now there's a charge.
Just kidding ... it's still FREE!


Post Reply Post Anonymous Reply  

Return to “Legal Employment”