| Topic Name: |
Cookie-Cutter Lawyers At Cookie-Cutter Firms |
| Message Name: |
Packaging & Presentation |
| Date Posted: |
11/22/1999 |
| In Reply To: |
Mw,
I am a 3L currently in the top 10% of my class and a Law Review board member. Surprisingly, I agree with you to a point.
I think you poo poo the law review experiences a bit too much. Citing and sourcing for law review is an excellent way to expand on Legal Research and writing. It also keeps your skills from wasting away. Many of my non-law review friends have limited their reseach to looking to see if WESTLAW has red flagged a case.
That said, I think legal employers place way too much emphasis on pedigree. Many of my friends who didnt make law review have vastly improved and are in the upper tiers of the class. Also, many have special skills (CPAs, law enforcement, governemnt civil service, etc). Sadly, the big firms wont look at them. They may as well be at the bottom of the class. |
| Message: |
Doesn't it then turn into an issue of packaging and presentation? I would think your friends and others who didn't make Law Review, or another focal point in their studies, would be well advised to make themselves visible. Highlight what they offer, like the friend with the CPA for instance. Work up a focused cover letter, or letter of introduction. Or find some atypical channel of communication to garner the attention of the firm they are interested in.
(I know what I'm trying to say, hopefully the concept got out.)
Reading some of the messages on this VR site make it seem like recruiting sessions are more like cattle calls for some Broadway production. The firm sends out a casting call, thousands of people respond, a rough cut is made to get the numbers down to fit in the alloted time frame, subjects are then culled from each university. The remainder are then gathered for further comparison and culling until finally the firm has a select few to sort through, maybe three for each open slot they have to fill. Final pass, send out offers, wait for applicants to accept or reject offer, then send out offers to second choice candidates if slots are still needing filling.
When I finally am ready to present myself, I think I'll try for a non-typical approach. I may try the law review process, but whether I make it or not I'll probably still choose my own approach. I don't know if this is a good idea or not, but I still have time to work on it.
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