Houston OCI, Callbacks, Offers Forum

[Anonymous User]

.

[Anonymous User]

VE vs KE? I've read about everything on this site about them. But would love to learn a little more. What is the best place to begin a career? Thanks!

[Anonymous User]

VE vs KE? I've read about everything on this site about them. But would love to learn a little more. What is the best place to begin a career? Thanks!

I honestly think the last 6 pages have adequately covered the basic VE v. KE question. if you want advice for very specific circumstances try PMing one of the many posters who have identified themselves as Houston associates

[Anonymous User]

Latham v. Kirkland?

[Anonymous User]

Man, people in this thread really have a thing for KE/LW/VE. I guess y’all like working more than me. Also, is partnership prospect (equity of course. Non-equity partner is oxymoronic) not something that y’all are considering in your firm calculus?

[Anonymous User]

Man, people in this thread really have a thing for KE/LW/VE. I guess y’all like working more than me. Also, is partnership prospect (equity of course. Non-equity partner is oxymoronic) not something that y’all are considering in your firm calculus?

That’s a false argument. Going to a shithole law firm to do shithole work at shithole rates just makes you a shitholer...not some rich partner who somehow figured out the system...c’mon, man. Look at some of those non-equity/counsel salaries and they beat equity partner take home money at most firms.

[Anonymous User]

Man, people in this thread really have a thing for KE/LW/VE. I guess y’all like working more than me. Also, is partnership prospect (equity of course. Non-equity partner is oxymoronic) not something that y’all are considering in your firm calculus?

That’s a false argument. Going to a shithole law firm to do shithole work at shithole rates just makes you a shitholer...not some rich partner who somehow figured out the system...c’mon, man. Look at some of those non-equity/counsel salaries and they beat equity partner take home money at most firms.

It’s not all about money big man. It’s about job satisfaction. Non equity partners will always be worker bees for partners. Fair enough if that’s what you want. Also pretty hilarious that every firm other than the three mentioned is a shithole.

[Anonymous User]

Man, people in this thread really have a thing for KE/LW/VE. I guess y’all like working more than me. Also, is partnership prospect (equity of course. Non-equity partner is oxymoronic) not something that y’all are considering in your firm calculus?

That’s a false argument. Going to a shithole law firm to do shithole work at shithole rates just makes you a shitholer...not some rich partner who somehow figured out the system...c’mon, man. Look at some of those non-equity/counsel salaries and they beat equity partner take home money at most firms.

Basically this (and much of the last few pages of this thread) is an example of how TLS offers skewed advice. Most of this thread turned out to be just a few hardcore people circle-jerking about how great their eleet firms are. I'm a 3rd year corporate associate at a non-KE/LW/VE "shithole" firm, making the same 260K+ as everyone else, albeit we are like band 4 in my corporate practice, doing smaller deals, and I love it. I love the people I work with, and to me the idea of working at one of "those" firms working with asshats like the above while making basically the same money is just idiotic.

Law students, you'll see what I'm talking about pretty soon. Good luck.

[Anonymous User]

Man, people in this thread really have a thing for KE/LW/VE. I guess y’all like working more than me. Also, is partnership prospect (equity of course. Non-equity partner is oxymoronic) not something that y’all are considering in your firm calculus?

That’s a false argument. Going to a shithole law firm to do shithole work at shithole rates just makes you a shitholer...not some rich partner who somehow figured out the system...c’mon, man. Look at some of those non-equity/counsel salaries and they beat equity partner take home money at most firms.

Basically this (and much of the last few pages of this thread) is an example of how TLS offers skewed advice. Most of this thread turned out to be just a few hardcore people circle-jerking about how great their eleet firms are. I'm a 3rd year corporate associate at a non-KE/LW/VE "shithole" firm, making the same 260K+ as everyone else, albeit we are like band 4 in my corporate practice, doing smaller deals, and I love it. I love the people I work with, and to me the idea of working at one of "those" firms working with asshats like the above while making basically the same money is just idiotic.

Law students, you'll see what I'm talking about pretty soon. Good luck.

Preach.

[Anonymous User]

Question. UT student with grades on the lower end for a realistically successful OCI (probably bottom quarter in fall and top 20% in Spring). Decent "soft" factors with honors from a top undergrad, 3 fluent languages, very strong ties, and 2 years WE. Obviously I cannot say for sure how the interviews went, but I received very positive feedback on my mocks plus I feel good about them. I had 4 CBs (2 Wednesday, 1 Thursday, 1 Friday) last week and I have only heard back "no" from one of them (my "reach" firm). Anyone with knowledge of the Houston market know when I should start getting worried or assuming the worst? If this question is too firm specific and just the ramblings of a nervous 20something, then please ignore lol.

[Anonymous User]

Man, people in this thread really have a thing for KE/LW/VE. I guess y’all like working more than me. Also, is partnership prospect (equity of course. Non-equity partner is oxymoronic) not something that y’all are considering in your firm calculus?

That’s a false argument. Going to a shithole law firm to do shithole work at shithole rates just makes you a shitholer...not some rich partner who somehow figured out the system...c’mon, man. Look at some of those non-equity/counsel salaries and they beat equity partner take home money at most firms.

Basically this (and much of the last few pages of this thread) is an example of how TLS offers skewed advice. Most of this thread turned out to be just a few hardcore people circle-jerking about how great their eleet firms are. I'm a 3rd year corporate associate at a non-KE/LW/VE "shithole" firm, making the same 260K+ as everyone else, albeit we are like band 4 in my corporate practice, doing smaller deals, and I love it. I love the people I work with, and to me the idea of working at one of "those" firms working with asshats like the above while making basically the same money is just idiotic.

Law students, you'll see what I'm talking about pretty soon. Good luck.

It's just rinse repeat of the T14 or bust mentality. If you're willing to make a little less (re: bonuses) for better quality of life, or a better office mentality, that's perfectly fine. It's your life, and once the whole fraternity/sorority rush facade fades after you've actually started working at these firms, I promise making $190k starting at the Tier 3 where you fit culturally will be far more important to you than making $190k starting at a Tier 1 or 2 where you don't. Obviously at this stage "culture" and the individuals you'll be working with are relative unknowns, but if you ask people who summered at the firms - particularly from your school - you'll likely get some pretty candid answers about life in the various practice groups and some commentary on the characters that you'd be working with.

I will say, however, that partnership is a long shot, and that you should likely be more interested in where these firms have or are placing people in-house. Considering that is the goal for most people around year 3-4, I'm always shocked this isn't discussed more.

Happy hunting!

[Anonymous User]

All sides seem unnecessarily salty.

[Anonymous User]

Have any of y'all heard from Winston or Simpson?

[Anonymous User]

Anyone heard back from AZA law?

[Anonymous User]

Can all of the K&E apologists on here answer me this: is K&E the new Latham (i.e., if there is a downturn will K&E ruthlessly layoff its new hires, of which there have been many)?

[Anonymous User]

Can all of the K&E apologists on here answer me this: is K&E the new Latham (i.e., if there is a downturn will K&E ruthlessly layoff its new hires, of which there have been many)?

bruh, that office is way too nice to lay empty feel me

[Anonymous User]

Can all of the K&E apologists on here answer me this: is K&E the new Latham (i.e., if there is a downturn will K&E ruthlessly layoff its new hires, of which there have been many)?

bruh, that office is way too nice to lay empty feel me

[Ultramar vistas]

Can all of the K&E apologists on here answer me this: is K&E the new Latham (i.e., if there is a downturn will K&E ruthlessly layoff its new hires, of which there have been many)?

“Apologists” hah. What is there to apologize for? You only get K&E defenders on here because of the weird mudslinging that happens every time the firm gets mentioned. It’s just a law firm office. No outrageous, sneaky or backhanded tactics, unless you consider paying people a lot of money to lateral anathema in otherwise socialist Houston They don’t work any harder than peer firms or, despite what some are trying to slide into the narrative, much harder than the alleged lifestyle firms that apparently are all over Texas paying lockstep and offering amazing partnership prospects and exit options

In fact, most of the K&E bashers seem most upset by the fact that their associates don’t hate their jobs or the firm and even *gasp* quite like it sometimes. Scary stuff, I know. Time for a secret - even that aspect is overstated. It’s pretty normal working here, and at no point have I been concerned that I joined a cult. People are just generally enthusiastic about their work, and that’s all I care about. They still have the normal biglaw stresses and complaints, like everywhere else.

Anyway, to your question: who knows? It’s so hypothetical - which part of the market crashes in this scenario? The 2008 recession was remarkable for the breadth and length of a crash caused by housing. Would an auto debt crash be nearly as significant? I doubt it. What about a foreign debt crisis? I don’t know.

That said, Kirkland, despite the continued hiring, is still a smaller office than V&E by headcount, yet equal on deal volume. The very fact that 3 years of summer classes and laterals has not yet filled the gap says a lot. The office in Dallas was opened with an enormous amount of thought and future planning. No firm wants to suffer the embarrassment of retreat from a market. The firm considers itself extremely well hedged against downturns due to counter cyclical practice groups, and a PE practice that remained amazingly active throughout the oil price crash. Nobody wants a recession, but nobody is anxious about it, either. This firm is no more susceptible than any other, and in my biased opinion is safer than most.

[Anonymous User]

VE offer today

[Anonymous User]

Any word on firms that aren't VE or KE like Locke Lord, Porter Hedges, and Foley??

[Anonymous User]

GDC offer. Also offers from VE and KE. Interested in corporate.
Which firm will have best options to lateral (to other national firm and/or in-house to non-TX company) later, if things don't work out?

[Anonymous User]

Man, people in this thread really have a thing for KE/LW/VE. I guess y’all like working more than me. Also, is partnership prospect (equity of course. Non-equity partner is oxymoronic) not something that y’all are considering in your firm calculus?

That’s a false argument. Going to a shithole law firm to do shithole work at shithole rates just makes you a shitholer...not some rich partner who somehow figured out the system...c’mon, man. Look at some of those non-equity/counsel salaries and they beat equity partner take home money at most firms.

Basically this (and much of the last few pages of this thread) is an example of how TLS offers skewed advice. Most of this thread turned out to be just a few hardcore people circle-jerking about how great their eleet firms are. I'm a 3rd year corporate associate at a non-KE/LW/VE "shithole" firm, making the same 260K+ as everyone else, albeit we are like band 4 in my corporate practice, doing smaller deals, and I love it. I love the people I work with, and to me the idea of working at one of "those" firms working with asshats like the above while making basically the same money is just idiotic.

Law students, you'll see what I'm talking about pretty soon. Good luck.

+1

[Anonymous User]

Can all of the K&E apologists on here answer me this: is K&E the new Latham (i.e., if there is a downturn will K&E ruthlessly layoff its new hires, of which there have been many)?

K&E grew in the downturn since it had PE and bankruptcy to help. Latham and other firms with big bank and underwriter groups got hit in particular because those tend to hurt the most in downturns.

[Anonymous User]

Have any of y'all heard from Winston or Simpson?

Classmate got an offer from Winston Monday.

[Anonymous User]

Have any of y'all heard from Winston or Simpson?

Classmate got an offer from Winston Monday.

STB is doing rolling offers (a good number currently outstanding) given the amount of people we’ve interviewed so far and the total number of spots (10-12ish). I’d guess we’re going to start hearing back more on those outstanding offers later this week and next week as the interview cycle starts to wrap up, and more offers will be made as others shore up their decisions. We’re also still interviewing a lot of people this week so further offers generally may not go out until we see everyone this week.