Northwestern 2019 OCI Forum

[Anonymous User]

Are we going to get going talking about this?

[Anonymous User]

recent grad who bid a combination of northern california and chicago (sprinkled in some NYC or safety); happy to answer questions where possible. Ended up in chicago so most familiar with this market.

[Anonymous User]

What's a reasonable highpoint for NY corporate building for 3.2x?

Is Kirkland/Weil worth a short or something closer to Shearman/Fried Frank for top slots?

[Anonymous User]

What's a reasonable highpoint for NY corporate building for 3.2x?

Is Kirkland/Weil worth a short or something closer to Shearman/Fried Frank for top slots?

I I was in the 3.2X position. I think Weil NY and Kirkland NY are fine bids. They probably need to be top 10 (I remember Weil being fringe at 10 last year). As for Shearman, I feel like I bid them at like 20-23 last year, landed a screener, got a CB, and then got an offer. I have no clue about FF. I was somewhat ignorant at the time and did not bid them.

[yyyuppp]

check out the NU OCI threats from 2018, 2017, and 2016 to get a feel on where in your bid list you should put firms. people would post their bid lists and what firms they got at what numbers once the interview schedules came out. i also remember career services having something helpful regarding this too.

[Anonymous User]

What's a reasonable highpoint for NY corporate building for 3.2x?

Is Kirkland/Weil worth a short or something closer to Shearman/Fried Frank for top slots?

I I was in the 3.2X position. I think Weil NY and Kirkland NY are fine bids. They probably need to be top 10 (I remember Weil being fringe at 10 last year). As for Shearman, I feel like I bid them at like 20-23 last year, landed a screener, got a CB, and then got an offer. I have no clue about FF. I was somewhat ignorant at the time and did not bid them.

This is like the greatest thing I've ever heard - apparently I can aim higher than I thought. Need to polish up the interview skills and make this count.

How much summer networking did you do? I've been going to the events throughout spring (honestly studying would've been a way better use of my time) and have a sense for which firms I like but I haven't gotten the mythical solicitation to apply. I'm half inclined to abandon these events and focus on mass mailing firms not coming to OCI/I won't bid on.

check out the NU OCI threats from 2018, 2017, and 2016 to get a feel on where in your bid list you should put firms. people would post their bid lists and what firms they got at what numbers once the interview schedules came out. i also remember career services having something helpful regarding this too.

Been reading those for a few months and the GPA by callback sheet is great but not enough data points for marginal cases like me and I found my career advisor a bit disappointing - basically told to work on polishing my docs with no guidance beyond being pointed to the school website. Shame, as I started with another one who seemed great.

Also seems like the hiring climate is even better this year so while 2018 is still relevant, the older the threads are the less they appear to apply.

[Anonymous User]

I went through OCI in fall 2016 and the market was pretty hot. Anecdotally, our class also seemed pretty Chi focused, so it was easy to get NYC interviews and callbacks. I remember picking up a Paul Weiss NY interview the morning of just because it was open (somehow). I knew kids with 3.4-3.5 GPAs that ended up at V10-V20s in NYC.

Just hustle until you get a couple offers. I was sending in resumes outside of OCI, picking up day-of interviews, everything. I know kids who had success doing those conferences or "pre-OCI" events at other cities that had a ton of success getting callbacks before formal OCI even started. The callback GPA sheet was somewhat accurate but not totally predictive. For bigger NYC classes I bet it is, but for smaller classes, I think they tend to go more by fit, so you could have a >75 GPA and not get a callback just because they're not feeling you.

[Anonymous User]

I I was in the 3.2X position. I think Weil NY and Kirkland NY are fine bids. They probably need to be top 10 (I remember Weil being fringe at 10 last year). As for Shearman, I feel like I bid them at like 20-23 last year, landed a screener, got a CB, and then got an offer. I have no clue about FF. I was somewhat ignorant at the time and did not bid them.

This is like the greatest thing I've ever heard - apparently I can aim higher than I thought. Need to polish up the interview skills and make this count.

How much summer networking did you do? I've been going to the events throughout spring (honestly studying would've been a way better use of my time) and have a sense for which firms I like but I haven't gotten the mythical solicitation to apply. I'm half inclined to abandon these events and focus on mass mailing firms not coming to OCI/I won't bid on.

I have a friend with a 3.3X who landed at Weil, so there are definitely doors open. I'd focus exclusively on NYC. My top 5 were Chicago firms, and I pretty much regret that. I got a CB out of it but not an offer, and while it's a market paying lockstep firm with a higher Vault ranking it's considered worse in most aspects that I care about compared to my firm.

I used the Google Sheet that is likely floating around now to contact current students at firms, but I didn't do any actual in-person networking with current associates/partners. My situation was a bit odd, though, because I spent my 1L summer in an international location. Mass mailing firms and making one-on-one connections sounds a lot more useful than attending random receptions.

[Anonymous User]

3.6x, targeting Chicago Lit. Is there a general strategy I should have for the more grade sensitive firms (e.g. Latham, Kirkland, Sidley)?

Also, how am I looking for the rest of the firms? Will bid/apply early to NYC firms for backup (and have some ties) but would prefer to stay here.

[yyyuppp]

3.6x, targeting Chicago Lit. Is there a general strategy I should have for the more grade sensitive firms (e.g. Latham, Kirkland, Sidley)?

Also, how am I looking for the rest of the firms? Will bid/apply early to NYC firms for backup (and have some ties) but would prefer to stay here.

reach out to alums at any firm you are going to bid, contact them, and set up a time for coffee/lunch/phone call etc. i'm not a networking expert, nor particularly good at it, but you should start laying the groundwork now to have stories about "why X" firm and who you talked to there. these people might also help you get some pre-oci stuff going too.

you're in the running for the sidley/kirkland/latham/skadden, but it could be tough. also, Jenner and mayer can also be a tough get for lit folks, as they are usually pretty picky on grades too. I think you have a decent shot of getting callbacks from that group though if you are a decent interviewer. Generally, Chicago is competitive, and generally chicago lit is pretty competitive. In terms of bid strategy, you could probably bid them somewhere from 5-10, depending on what data you come across indicates and how many interviews they are doing this year. mayer should probably be #1 or 2 on your bid list if they are only having 20 interviews for lit like they have had in the past.

you're going to have a pretty good chance at cbs from winston/jones day/katten. definitely be bidding new york firms and sending out pre-oci stuff there. I am not sure what 3.6x gets you in terms if lit in nyc, but i bet you're in the running for everything besides maybe sull crom, dpw, and cravath.

also, do not underestimate the power of being a good interviewer and having reasons why you want a particular firm. lots of folks will have grades as good as or better than yours. you will need to distinguish yourself somehow. your grades are good enough that they likely wont prevent you from getting callbacks, but for the competitive firms they are not going to be enough to secure you one either. good luck!

[Anonymous User]

3.6x, targeting Chicago Lit. Is there a general strategy I should have for the more grade sensitive firms (e.g. Latham, Kirkland, Sidley)?

Also, how am I looking for the rest of the firms? Will bid/apply early to NYC firms for backup (and have some ties) but would prefer to stay here.

reach out to alums at any firm you are going to bid, contact them, and set up a time for coffee/lunch/phone call etc. i'm not a networking expert, nor particularly good at it, but you should start laying the groundwork now to have stories about "why X" firm and who you talked to there. these people might also help you get some pre-oci stuff going too.

you're in the running for the sidley/kirkland/latham/skadden, but it could be tough. also, Jenner and mayer can also be a tough get for lit folks, as they are usually pretty picky on grades too. I think you have a decent shot of getting callbacks from that group though if you are a decent interviewer. Generally, Chicago is competitive, and generally chicago lit is pretty competitive. In terms of bid strategy, you could probably bid them somewhere from 5-10, depending on what data you come across indicates and how many interviews they are doing this year. mayer should probably be #1 or 2 on your bid list if they are only having 20 interviews for lit like they have had in the past.

you're going to have a pretty good chance at cbs from winston/jones day/katten. definitely be bidding new york firms and sending out pre-oci stuff there. I am not sure what 3.6x gets you in terms if lit in nyc, but i bet you're in the running for everything besides maybe sull crom, dpw, and cravath.

also, do not underestimate the power of being a good interviewer and having reasons why you want a particular firm. lots of folks will have grades as good as or better than yours. you will need to distinguish yourself somehow. your grades are good enough that they likely wont prevent you from getting callbacks, but for the competitive firms they are not going to be enough to secure you one either. good luck!

Thanks for the quick response, this is helpful.

[yyyuppp]

Thanks for the quick response, this is helpful.

no prob. also def target DLA and mcdermott. I think you should be able to land at least one offer from the firms listed above and these two. I'm hesitant to say you should be bidding other chicago big law firms (i.e. baker or seyfarth or something) with smaller classes/interview slots because you gotta bid those so high. That said, look at the bid lists from previous years and try to get an idea where you should be placing firms. keep in mind if you don't get a pre-oci offer somewhere, then you should be sprinkling in some nyc firms in your top ten, then bid a good amount from 10-20. most chicago firms will be gone if you bid them below 10, save for maybe winston and mcdermott (at least in my year).

[Anonymous User]

How exact are hiring requirements posted?

3.2x NY corp guy here - was going to bid Fried Frank because I saw them dip way below that in past years but they state B+ average as a hard requirement. Worth a bid?

[Anonymous User]

How exact are hiring requirements posted?

3.2x NY corp guy here - was going to bid Fried Frank because I saw them dip way below that in past years but they state B+ average as a hard requirement. Worth a bid?

Fellow rising 2L here so I don't know a ton, but I've heard those requirements can be aspirational a lot of the time. I think you can see on the GPA sheet when firms actually do stick to them (like Latham).

[Anonymous User]

3.5x Chicago transactional hopeful.

Any general OCI/pre-oci tips? Been networking a lot, but still a little unsure on bidding strategy. Was going to mass mail lots of NY firms, but would much rather stay in Chi.

[Anonymous User]

How exact are hiring requirements posted?

3.2x NY corp guy here - was going to bid Fried Frank because I saw them dip way below that in past years but they state B+ average as a hard requirement. Worth a bid?

Fellow rising 2L here so I don't know a ton, but I've heard those requirements can be aspirational a lot of the time. I think you can see on the GPA sheet when firms actually do stick to them (like Latham).

One firm really pushes the boundaries of the word "aspirational" - they want top 20% only when even the 75th percentile for callbacks was way below that.

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know when we'll see how many interview spots each firm has? (Or, if that's already out there, where can I find it?)

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know when we'll see how many interview spots each firm has? (Or, if that's already out there, where can I find it?)

Career services told me Monday that we will not see interview spots until bidding opens. However, I was also told that Career Services is aware of them now and if I had questions about specific firms he would be happy to tell me how many spots they would have.

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know when we'll see how many interview spots each firm has? (Or, if that's already out there, where can I find it?)

Career services told me Monday that we will not see interview spots until bidding opens. However, I was also told that Career Services is aware of them now and if I had questions about specific firms he would be happy to tell me how many spots they would have.

Nothing to add but that is an infuriating policy.

[Anonymous User]

3.07, URM as WOC, NY Transactional

Prospects? Potential strategy?

Please help with some info!

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know when we'll see how many interview spots each firm has? (Or, if that's already out there, where can I find it?)

Career services told me Monday that we will not see interview spots until bidding opens. However, I was also told that Career Services is aware of them now and if I had questions about specific firms he would be happy to tell me how many spots they would have.

It looks like the slots info is up on symplicity

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know when we will hear back from Law Review/Journals?

[Anonymous User]

Does anyone know when we will hear back from Law Review/Journals?

It looks like it was July 11 last year, I haven't looked any farther back.

[carsondalywashere]

3.5x Chicago transactional hopeful.

Any general OCI/pre-oci tips? Been networking a lot, but still a little unsure on bidding strategy. Was going to mass mail lots of NY firms, but would much rather stay in Chi.

You are in a competitive position with that GPA but Chicago is still not a guarantee; the class sizes are much smaller than New York. Networking is critical and is often the difference maker, so keep focusing your attention on Chicago networking and look through the past OCI threads to figure out how to bid New York.

[GMC]

3.67 Regional Transfer into NU (Which complicates things)

Aiming to work in venture capital/emerging tech transactional. I definitely want interviews at the big Silicon Valley firms, but I have no idea where to put them in my bid list to ensure that I a) get the interviews and b) still get interviews at the Chicago firms. Anyone have any insights?

currently playing with this list, but not at all set in stone.

1. Gunderson (Silicon Valley)
2. Fenwick and West (Silicon Valley)
3. Cooley (Silicon Valley)
4. DLA Piper (Chi)
5. Mayer Brown Transactional (Chi)
6. Wilson Sonsini (Silicon Valley)
7. Winston and Strawn (Chi)
8. Morrison and Foerster (Silicon Valley)
9. Perkins Coie- (Chi/SF)
10. Kirkland and Ellis (Chi)
11. Skadden – (Chi)
12. Jones Day (Chi)
13. Goodwin (Silicon Valley)
14. O’Melveny and Myers (Silicon Valley)