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Anonymous User wrote:3.50

Interested in restructuring and real estate, but I'm not picky. Ideally in Chicago, but also not picky. I'm from a regional midwest city, so I was going to apply there and NYC. Not sure where else I should be thinking about placing bids, or if I should only bid Chicago and New York.

Anonymous User wrote:Could someone give me a hand with my bid list? Of course, I'm still waiting to find out how many slots each firm has (how do I go about figuring this out? I see it on past lists), but these are generally the firms/locations I'm targeting.

Transactional.

I'd like to maximize my bids as much as possible, but I would love to get Vedder Price, Dentons, or Neal Gerber (lower GPA Chicago firms) within reach, because I feel like I wouldn't get them at their current position. At the same time, I'm really trying not to lose my 1-19 firms.

Any advice on who to bump up/down/switch out? Also, are my 30+ bids fine? I tried to throw in firms in markets that I thought might not go and that I have ties too, because it looks like most everyone loses 30+ if they do NYC or Chi bids.

OCI Bid List
1. Baker McKenzie (Chi)
2. Katten (Chi)
3. Mayer Brown (Chi)
4. Morgan Lewis (Chi)
5. White & Case (NY)
6. Cahill (NY)
7. Allen & Overy (NY)
8. Proskauer (Chi)
9. Chapman (Chi)
10. McDermott (Chi)
11. Fried (NY)
12. Shearman (NY)
13. Arnold & Porter (NY)
14. Sidley (NY)
15. Milbank (NY)
16. Dechert (NY)
17. Willkie (NY)
18. Weil (NY)
19. Cadwalder (NY)
20. Kirkland (NY)
21. Seward & Kissel (NY)
22. Ropes & Gray (NY)
23. Neal Gerber (Chi)
24. Dentons (Chi)
25. DLA Piper (SF)
26. Vedder price (Chi)
27. Winston (NY)
28. WilmerHale (NY)
29. Dinsmore Shohl (Chi)
30. Baker Botts (Palo Alto)
31. Goodwin (SF)
32. Jones Day (Palo Alto))
33. Foley & Lardner (LA)
34. DLA Piper (SF)
35. Wilson Sonsini (Palo Alto)
36. Taft Stettinius (Chi)
37. Duane Morris (Chi)
38. Stinson Leonard (MN)
39. Dorsey & Whitney (MN)
40. Faegre Baker (MN)

Anonymous User wrote:Joining the fray. Hope some alums can pitch in and provide insight

3.49. From the midwest, two years of unimpressive work experience in marketing, want to do Chicago transaction work (ideally a firm headquartered in Chicago like K&E, Sidley, Winston, etc.). Was thinking about mass-mailing NYC before OCI, ideally getting an offer from that, and then focusing bids on Chicago firms. Thoughts? Also, what are NYC firms would my GPA be competitive for?

Anonymous User wrote:What information lead that one anon to conclude people lose their 30+ bids if those bids are chi/ny?

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:3.50

Interested in restructuring and real estate, but I'm not picky. Ideally in Chicago, but also not picky. I'm from a regional midwest city, so I was going to apply there and NYC. Not sure where else I should be thinking about placing bids, or if I should only bid Chicago and New York.

You could also add Cali and/or DC firms low on your bid list and pick up some extra screeners that way

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:3.50

Interested in restructuring and real estate, but I'm not picky. Ideally in Chicago, but also not picky. I'm from a regional midwest city, so I was going to apply there and NYC. Not sure where else I should be thinking about placing bids, or if I should only bid Chicago and New York.

You could also add Cali and/or DC firms low on your bid list and pick up some extra screeners that way

Cali is ties sensitive and DC is grades sensitive. So I wouldn't do that if you're not interested. Rank Chi then NY firms, you should be okay especially for transactional. I would only bid Chi and NY.

yyyuppp wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:What information lead that one anon to conclude people lose their 30+ bids if those bids are chi/ny?

what? none of this makes sense

Anonymous User wrote:

yyyuppp wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:What information lead that one anon to conclude people lose their 30+ bids if those bids are chi/ny?

what? none of this makes sense

It was stated that if someone bids a Chicago/NYC firm at slot 30 or above, it is a waste of a bid because they will not get an interview.

yyyuppp wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:3.50

Interested in restructuring and real estate, but I'm not picky. Ideally in Chicago, but also not picky. I'm from a regional midwest city, so I was going to apply there and NYC. Not sure where else I should be thinking about placing bids, or if I should only bid Chicago and New York.

You could also add Cali and/or DC firms low on your bid list and pick up some extra screeners that way

Cali is ties sensitive and DC is grades sensitive. So I wouldn't do that if you're not interested. Rank Chi then NY firms, you should be okay especially for transactional. I would only bid Chi and NY.

That’s why you add them to the bottom of the bid list and you can pick up extra screeners. OP, Feel free to do so. You’re not gonna get a ton of chi/ny firms below 25. DC transactional is doable with a 3.5 anyways

I don’t think anyone in OCI is “okay” enough unless they have an offer or like a 4.0+. People with good grades do strike out. That said, I would expect op to have an offer, but it’s not guaranteed, and def not with a 3.5. Werid things happen. Maximize you chances.

If it’s the case that you are more likely to pick up nyc firms past 25 (it will very likely not be chi firms), then go with that. I kinda doubt it. But most bids past that point are wasted anyways, might as well have screeners in rougher markets than none at all.

Anonymous User wrote:
Alright, cool. Think it's okay to place my top 10 bids on Chicago, then next 10 on NYC, then diversify my 21-30 slots with NYC/Chicago, then see what's lefts over?

Also, I noticed my GPA is below the 25th mark for all the Chicago big-boys (Kirkland, Sidley, Mayer, Winston, etc.). Will being transactional still make me competitive, or are these firms a stretch?

yyyuppp wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:
Alright, cool. Think it's okay to place my top 10 bids on Chicago, then next 10 on NYC, then diversify my 21-30 slots with NYC/Chicago, then see what's lefts over?

Also, I noticed my GPA is below the 25th mark for all the Chicago big-boys (Kirkland, Sidley, Mayer, Winston, etc.). Will being transactional still make me competitive, or are these firms a stretch?

assuming that Chicago is your preferred market, yes, go chicago heavy in your top 10. your top 4 bids or so should be chicago firms youre interested in but have less interview slots (like katten, or baker, or mayer, or whatever you decide you want). then like 5-8 should be where kirkland and sidley are (yes, definitely still bid them) then closer to 10 like winston, mcdermott and jones day. then start mixing in your NYC firms like Weil, fried frank etc.

as a caveat, ive heard of DPW going super early some years. you can also go back to old NU OCI threads and see where some firms went, as people will post their bid lists with which firms they got and didnt get. Also, i know someone who didnt get Baker chicago at #1 last year. so if you want them maybe bid them 1 or something. katten normally goes high too. basically all the less selective, but still real biglaw firms in chicago with smaller interview slots will likely go very high.

i dont have great experience with transactional bidding in nyc, so work with your advisor and see where s/he thinks your bids are best used. i'd say youre on the right track, but CSC is actually pretty useful for this, since they know generally where these firms end up going in the bidding process.

also, you should be emailing nyc firms to get pre-OCI callbacks. coming into OCI with an offer makes it a way way less stressful experience.

Anonymous User wrote: I'm still waiting to find out how many slots each firm has (how do I go about figuring this out?

ckb614 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote: I'm still waiting to find out how many slots each firm has (how do I go about figuring this out?

Go to the NALP website, search the firm, click Recruitment and Hiring, click Hiring Grid

Anonymous User wrote:

ckb614 wrote:

Anonymous User wrote: I'm still waiting to find out how many slots each firm has (how do I go about figuring this out?

Go to the NALP website, search the firm, click Recruitment and Hiring, click Hiring Grid

I think they meant interview slots, but I could be wrong!

Anonymous User wrote:The cutoffs at some Chicago firms vary by practice area. Generally, the highest for litigation and lowest for certain transactional specialty groups (given genuine interest/past experience). For example, the de facto cutoff for K&E is lower for real estate/ERISA/restructuring than general corporate and general corporate is lower than litigation.

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:The cutoffs at some Chicago firms vary by practice area. Generally, the highest for litigation and lowest for certain transactional specialty groups (given genuine interest/past experience). For example, the de facto cutoff for K&E is lower for real estate/ERISA/restructuring than general corporate and general corporate is lower than litigation.

So does K&E assign SAs to different practice groups, rather than let SAs see what they are interested in?

K&E Chicago NALP Profile wrote:We hire our summer associates directly into practice groups, so students can begin developing their skills in their specific practice area from the very beginning of their careers.