I sincerely believe ALL of my callbacks and offers are a direct result of my ability to hustle. Thus, here is my guide on hustling (for jobs). If you treat this seriously, give it 100%, and work methodically, I sincerely believe you will be able to score a job in BigLaw (or wherever you desire). Keep in mind you still have to be in the ballpark to begin with. If you are bottom of your class at a TTT, you may be screwed even if you get a partner to bat for you (some firms have very strict policies regarding grades). In my opinion, my qualifications are probably the lowest acceptable by most of the V100.
I've always loved this quote: "I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed; and the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I can fail and keep on trying" (Tom Hopkins). When you start networking you're going to face many, many awkward experiences, but it's the only way to get over it. It's like picking up girls (or guys) at a bar - there is no such thing as "getting lucky", the game is methodically learned, I've struck out hundreds of times before mastering the art.
So if you struck out at OCI or want to supplement OCI with hustling - below is a step-by-step process on what you will need to do. I am not a fan of mass mailings because mass mailing is a game of chance (unless you have spectacular grades/credentials). My system does not rely on dumb luck, it systemically identifies your greatest opportunities and allocates effort appropriately to focus on the ones with the highest probability of success. Oh yeah, a general, but very important piece of advice for everything below: MAKE SPREADSHEETS.
(1) Reach out to family friends, college professors, anybody who knows lawyers. Ask them to introduce you to any of their lawyer friends or any of their friends that have lawyer friends. Do not be shy. DO NOT ASK THEM TO HELP YOU FIND A JOB. No, you need advice. You want to know if BigLaw is a good fit for yourself. You are wondering what a litigation associate does on a day-to-day basis. You are wondering how lawyers go from firms to in-house counsel.
If there is a connection (i.e. dad -> dad's friend who is lawyer), ask the connection to send a generic introduction via email (i.e. "My son is graduating from XXX Law next year and was wondering if he can ask you some questions regarding what's it like being a lawyer"). Then follow up with a brief email. Here is a real follow-up email that I sent last year:
If you are 100% sure your connection will not make an intro for you, do it yourself. But make sure to name drop your mutual connection. Here is an email I sent to a person I met through work:Hi BigLaw Partner,
This is LawStudent, LawStudentDad's son. I was wondering if I can call you sometime and ask some quick questions about patent law. I just finished 1L at XXX Law and I want to make sure I am choosing the right career path.
I'm sure you have a busy schedule - is there a particularly good time for me to call? Thank you in advance for your help; I really appreciate your time.
Regards,
LawStudent
(2) Reach out to alumni. Find the firms you want to work for. Be realistic. Buy a Vault.com Gold membership and read reviews, learn as much as you can about the firms. Make a list of ~10 firms you wouldn't mind working for AND are qualified grades-wise to work at. Go to the websites of these 10 firms and search their lawyers by school. Find 2-5 lawyers who are alumni of your law school that look like they would be able to help you out. Race and gender are great predictors of whether a person will help you out or not. So for example, if you are a black gal at Harvard law and there just so happens to be a black woman partner alumni of Harvard Law at the BigLaw firm you are researching, she is your #1 contact for the law firm. Next is age. In my experience, recent graduates are not helpful because a) they are not in a position of power to get you an interview and b) they usually do not have the time to help you out. Read about the attorneys on their firm webpage and also google every attorney's name. If the firm webpage shows a guy that is smiling from ear to ear, and a google search finds he volunteers at Big Brothers Big Sisters, this guy also goes on your list. You get the idea. Spend at least a total of 40 hours doing your research. Like they say, "the case was won way before trial - in the preparation and research."Hi BigLaw Associate,
This is LawStudent, a friend of WorkFriend. WorkFriend told me you recently graduated from YYY Law. In August I will be a 2L at XXX Law. I'm debating what type of law I should focus on and I was wondering if I could call you sometime for a little advice? I'm interested in patent law but I'm not quite sure about the differences in patent litigation vs. patent prosecution.
Please let me know if this would be ok. I'm sure you have a busy schedule; your time is really appreciated.
Regards,
LawStudent
Send these lawyers this email:
(3) In general, people actually like helping other people. Lawyers especially love giving advice. Stroke their egos. Sound innocent, eager, and really contemplating the rest of your life. Do not underestimate people's willingness to help a young eager version of themselves. Add all of the lawyers you found in (1) and (2) to your spreadsheet of contacts, even if they didn't respond to your initial email. You should have about 30-40 contacts minimum.Hi BigLaw Partner,
This is LawStudent, a graduated from XXX Law, your alma mater. In August I will be starting 2L and I'm debating what type of law I should focus on. I'm interested in patent law but I'm not quite sure about the career paths of patent litigation vs. patent prosecution. I was wondering if I could call you sometime for a little advice?
Please let me know if this would be ok. I'm sure you have a busy schedule; your time is really appreciated.
Regards,
LawStudent
(4) The Prep Work: make a list of questions that you plan on asking your contacts. Think of at least 20-30 questions in case you really hit if off and end up talking for two hours (this has happened). The questions should all be aimed towards developing your relationship. As a rule of thumb, do not ask stupid questions which can be answered by a quick google search.
These are examples of horrible questions:
- "Does your firm do patent litigation?"
- "How many hours do associates typically bill in their first years?"
- "How many years does it take to make partner?"
This is what you should be asking:
- "I saw from your firm's website that you do a fair amount of patent prosecution and litigation - I was wondering if associates can do both and how hard is it to jump from one to the other? I want to get a lot of experience before settling on one specific area, what would you recommend? What are the career paths you typically see in patent law?"
- "I'm a really competitive person so the idea of billable hours seems great to me, but I want to make sure that BigLaw is not competitive to the point of being cutthroat. Can I find a good team atmosphere in BigLaw?"
- "If you don't mind me asking, was it really hard for you to reach partner? What do I have to do in order to get to where you are today? If you were in my shoes what would you do, as far as career?"
(5) Time to call your contacts. Start with the ones that have responded to your emails. Then cold call the ones who have not. A simple, "Hi is LawStudent, I wrote you an email last week [tell them the content of your email], is this a good time?" Do not be shy. If it's not a good time, ask them when you can call back just to chat. If you get a secretary or an answer machine (very, very common) - leave a message and call every couple of days until you get through. You have nothing to lose. Persistence is key.
This call is in essence your first interview. Make sure you are comfortable. Drink some coffee. The surest way to make a good impression is to be humble and let the lawyer to most of the talking. Ask open ended questions that allow for a discussion, not yes or no questions. Be sure to squeeze in a couple "oh, I see now!" and "wow, that's different than I imagined!" when the lawyer is telling you his stories. Do not brag about your accomplishments. Let them slip in casually, ONLY if on a related subject. For example, I was talking to a lawyer about work-life balance so I let it slip, "Yeah, when I was a Deloitte I worked 70-80 hours a week sometimes, and I could deal with hours fine...but the one thing about consulting I couldn't stand was the travel. Living out of hotels and flying to a new city every week was really getting to me." Do not mention anything about needing a job, wanting a job, wanting to work for BigLaw. You are only seeking advice. That is all.
(6) Analyze the results. Out of 40 contacts, there will probably be ~10 you haven't heard back from at all (even after leaving 5 messages at their office). There will be ~15 that just didn't click perfectly for one reason or another. The rest are your "keepers". Send a thank email to every lawyer your talked to, but wait 3-4 days. If you can find the lawyers on LinkedIn, add them as friends, but wait about 1-2 weeks before doing this. Rank your keepers in order of which ones you think can help you the most on your job search.
(7) 2 weeks later, call your "keepers" in reverse order (least likely to be able to help you). Call these people back first. These people are your warm-ups so you don't screw up when you call your #1 go-to guy. This is analogous to hitting on a not-so-attractive girl at the bar before you move on to your real targets. "Hi Mr. BigLaw Partner, this is LawStudent, I really appreciate all your help 2 weeks ago. Patent litigation really interests me a lot. I did some more research on my own and I think that is what I want to focus on. I hate to ask, but can you put me in contact with your hiring partner or HR manager? I want to apply for a 2L summer position but your BigLaw firm doesn't recruit on my campus. Based on our conversation 2 weeks ago, I think my personality would be a great match for your firm's culture. I'm in the top 1/3 of my class too; can I send you my resume?" The response is usually, "yes, but you still have to apply directly on our website in order for HR to see you info."
(8) Do as they say - apply on the firm's website, email the HR person, whatever the standard procedure is. The key is to name drop the partner who you've been talking to. On your cover letter the very first thing you put down is "Hi, I've been talking to Mr. BigLaw partner at your firm and he told me to send my resume to you......" If you've played your cards right and have done everything above, the HR person or hiring partner will read your cover letter, quickly scan your resume (checking your grades only), and call or email Mr. BigLaw Partner. You don't even have to ask Mr. BigLaw Partner for a recommendation because if you have already developed a relationship, he will tell the HR manager the truth, "LawStudent is a family friend, we've talked on a couple occasions, he seems to be bright and motivated, I would interview him."
(9) Interview - I'm too lazy to finish this post. But your standard interviewing advice holds true. Real quickly I'll try to summarize the most important rules of interviewing - don't be an idiot, a bigot, an asshole, cocky, arrogant, timid, or immature. Shake hands firmly, when in doubt it is better to shake with a firmer grip; it is also a good idea to practice shaking hands. Make eye contact. Be confident (but again, not to the point of arrogance). Wear a nice suit with a blue shirt (scientifically proven to be the best interview shirt color). Read the Wall Street Journal before your interview because nobody likes to talk about law for 2-3 hours straight. Especially if they take you to lunch, you can talk about the news of the day, sports, whatever. Avoid politics, don't order the lobster, don't order anything that is messy to eat, don't try to pay when it is obviously customary for the interviewer to buy lunch.
(10) Profit
Good Luck All!!