OCI advice for 2Ls.

[jacy85]

5.  Litigation vs. Transactional work - one observation a professor once made was this: transactional attorneys put things together, litigators take them apart.  It's the difference between building something vs. dealing with something that's broken or falling apart.

Heh. So which one did you do?

I'm a litigator through and through. 

[pikey]

I think the advice was just really at odds with itself.  If you have researched the firm, you most likely won't be asking about the summer program or the pro bono program, as 90% of firms with summer programs have those prominently displayed on the recruiting page of their website.

But you can still ask more in depth questions about the information that's already on the website (as Cady already said).  It shows that you've done your homework and have a deeper interest in the firm than just the basic facts. 

[jacy85]

I think the advice was just really at odds with itself.  If you have researched the firm, you most likely won't be asking about the summer program or the pro bono program, as 90% of firms with summer programs have those prominently displayed on the recruiting page of their website.

The info on a firm's website often doesn't have the info you WANT, and often, I found the NALP pages of firms weren't always accurate.  For example, I think it's important to know what the firm's stance is about whether pro bono hours count as billable hours, etc.

And it can also be helpful to ask the person you're interviewing with whether they've worked on any interesting pro bono cases, what, if any, kind of freedom they have in selected pro bono cases (i.e. whether they can go to the pro bono committee with a matter they've come across and would like to work on, etc.).  All of this stuff is relevant if you 1) want to do pro bono, and 2) I think you can infer quite a bit about a firm by how they structure programs and the freedom they give associates over their cases.

[Rule of Reason]

Noday cares WHO you are -- its a numbers game, just do a quality job.

[wustl3l]

I think the advice was just really at odds with itself.  If you have researched the firm, you most likely won't be asking about the summer program or the pro bono program, as 90% of firms with summer programs have those prominently displayed on the recruiting page of their website.

A lot of that stuff is just marketing/fluff so it definitely would not hurt to ask about it.

[intel]

how does one manage to "be herself" and at the same time "sell herself"?

[pikey]

how does one manage to "be herself" and at the same time "sell herself"?

In many ways it's like a first date.  You want to highlight the positive and not share the negative (or at least downplay it).  Also you're trying to learn about the firm while they learn about you, to see if you're compatible.  You wouldn't tell a first date about your crazy ex-bf, would you?  Same thing.  Don't try and be someone that you're not, or lie about stuff.  You want to be yourself, but the very best version of yourself.

[ouffha]

Ha ha ha ha! So then he said: "My name is John Camry, and I like Camrys." Ha ha ha ha! It was hilarious:)

[TH14]

tag

[Kittyl30]

I'm glad people liked this thread.  People should add in things.  Also, its pretty obvious to know you should look your best but I did see some students doing in OCI in things that I might have thought a little too risky.  heres what i learned from observation:

girls: stay away from open toed sandle like shoes, make sure your hair is neat, manicures arent' necessary but half chipped off pink paint looks pretty bad, stay away from heavily scented perfumes, bright colored suits are probably not the best idea, stay away from dangling earrings and other gaudy jewlery, and try to stay away from anything that shows too much legs or cleavage.

guys: i really have no clue what is good for them, beyond a nice suit.  If guys have any options, please put them here!