Should I say I'm flexible on class year? Forum
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Anonymous User
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Should I say I'm flexible on class year?
I am a couple years out of law school and currently work for a government agency. I'd like to work for a law firm (preferably big or midlaw) and wouldn't care if I didn't get full (or honestly even partial) class-year credit for years spent at my current job. I was thinking of noting in my cover letters that I'm flexible on what class year I enter at. Is that a thing people do? Or is it weird/unlikely to help?
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Pokemon
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Re: Should I say I'm flexible on class year?
Anonymous User wrote:I am a couple years out of law school and currently work for a government agency. I'd like to work for a law firm (preferably big or midlaw) and wouldn't care if I didn't get full (or honestly even partial) class-year credit for years spent at my current job. I was thinking of noting in my cover letters that I'm flexible on what class year I enter at. Is that a thing people do? Or is it weird/unlikely to help?
Unlikely to help. You are basically negotiating against yourself. However, I would apply to positions that are looking for people that would be below your class year.
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Mickfromgm
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Re: Should I say I'm flexible on class year?
I have seen that type of language in cover letters, and it is indeed sometimes helpful where the powers-to-be on the recruiting committee feel that a candidate's experience and knowledge base gained from the prior employer were insufficient (or just different) as compared to those of their own attorneys in the same class year. But if the candidate is willing to step back a class year or two . . . . . the firm could save a pretty significant amount of money, and the candidate's billing rate would be lower for the clients (which would allow for write-offs to account for the learning curve).Anonymous User wrote:I am a couple years out of law school and currently work for a government agency. I'd like to work for a law firm (preferably big or midlaw) and wouldn't care if I didn't get full (or honestly even partial) class-year credit for years spent at my current job. I was thinking of noting in my cover letters that I'm flexible on what class year I enter at. Is that a thing people do? Or is it weird/unlikely to help?
And if they are, for example, looking for an associate with 2-3 years of experience, a candidate with 4-5 years of experience *might* be able to shoehorn him/herself in by stepping back.
As to whether you should volunteer it in the cover, I guess It really depends on how desirable you are as a candidate. If your cred looks like those of Antonin Scalia or Barak Obama, hells no; but if your paper credentials are weak and you have had a huge trouble scoring even an interview and you are getting a little desperate, you could try it. That's just my opinion.
