Zero Ties to Texas. Should I apply to firms for 1L summer?

[O.]

I thought that I could give them some little speech about how much I like low COL and good weather, but I'm wondering whether my apps will end up in the trash.

<-- currently compiling list of firms, soon to write cover letters.

[JeNeSaisLaw]

I've started with a list of major markets I'd like to work in (or have ties to), medium markets I have ties to, and international cities I'd like to live for the summer. I have no idea how to compile firms, though. Are you just grabbing all firms from the area off of NALP?

I think it was yellowbrickroad who recommended peppering all marginal markets that pay you the minimum you'd like to be paid. I might do this and figure that career services has a list of bull reasons we can give with no ties.

[O.]

I've started with a list of major markets I'd like to work in (or have ties to), medium markets I have ties to, and international cities I'd like to live for the summer. I have no idea how to compile firms, though. Are you just grabbing all firms from the area off of NALP?

I think it was yellowbrickroad who recommended peppering all marginal markets that pay you the minimum you'd like to be paid. I might do this and figure that career services has a list of bull reasons we can give with no ties.

Yep.  I've been going through NALP and compiling a long list, with the firm name, the date at which they'd like you to apply (sometimes it's 12/5, 1/1, or they don't hire 1Ls), and the recruiter's e-mail.  By September, I should have my cover letters ready as well, though I've written only two as of today.

I'm debating whether to add Austin firms to the list and say that, although I've never been to Texas, it's been my dream to work in that great college town.

[nealric]

Probably a good idea: you are very unlikely to get any offers, but at least you demonstrate a strong interest for the next year (they will keep your 1L correspondence on file in all likelihood)

[deedeeleigh]

I'm debating whether to add Austin firms to the list and say that, although I've never been to Texas, it's been my dream to work in that great college town.

I would imagine the bolded would be a problem in any secondary market. If you're that interested in Texas, plan a weekend trip and visit. You can even do it during winter break and mention that you'll be in town.  You have to convince them you're going to take a job there after you graduate--if you've never even been to the state, it's going to be difficult to do that.

[O.]

You might have a shot at Houston or possibly Dallas because there are so many more spots in those cities. I can guarantee with 99% certainty that you won't get a 1L or even a 2L summer job in Austin without some ties to Texas (preferrably Austin) unless you're at a T14, and even then your chances are extremely low unless you're at HYS. Austin is the most competitive market for SA spots in Texas, and they're really only interested in getting people that they are pretty sure are going  to try and work here full time.

I'll be at CCN.  I wouldn't have even bothered to create this thread if I wasn't at a "top" school.

Unfortunately, Austin was the market in which I was interested.  I have friends from my UG down at UT and they love it.  One of them is studying Arabic in their prestigious Middle Eastern Studies program.  Are there other culturally literate towns in Texas -- at least as cultural and thriving as Austin?

Should I book a Winter Break trip to Texas?  I hadn't thought of that option.  I'm mostly thinking out loud in these threads as I look at NALP data and think about 1L summer.

[leostrauss]

So it sounds like culturally literate = liberal. That's no shock. Allow me to defend Houston:

Houston has the most theatre seats of any city in the US save NYC and Chicago. Houston has many art museums private collections etc. Houston is a fantastic legal market, and an international point of trade. Great sports teams. Awesome and interesting history. World class colleges, cheap property, GREAT food (way better than Austin), etc.

Just because a city has a conservative reputation doesn't mean it's not a great place to live. If all you're looking for in a city is that it be liberal, then just say it. I live in Austin (go to UT law), and I am planning on choosing to live in Houston, because I PREFER it. I am libertarian, and thus my political views don't map on to either of the two parties we have now. I am for gay rights . . . but Houston has a strong glbt contingent and a strong counterculture. It has the whole montrose neighborhood, it has the bayou city women's chorus (and men's). Don't write it off before you know anything about it. It's a great place . . . maybe it's not liberal enough for you and you're really afraid of a place you don't really know . .. you reject it out of ignorance in the same way a dread conservative rejects another culture he/she doesn't understand (or so your stereotype of conservatives goes). I think if I were to say country x in europe, latin america, africa is less "culturally literate" than the US, I would rightly be blasted on this board. So don't do it to a world class city about which you know little - it's just as bad.

Austin, by the way, is awesome. the main dif between it and H-town is the laid back style. sorry for the rant.

[leostrauss]

And that much is true. Austin is super competitive, and as I say, it is an incredible city. I don't know much about Dallas, but I hear things, and those things are good.

[O.]

Thanks, Prodigy.  Although I'm not a Mavericks fan, I can respect your love affair with Dirk.  I'm going to rely on my school's home market and my own, then, and send some cover letters to Austin without much hope.

Two more questions:

Should I send cover letters to NYC?  NALP brings up literally hundreds of firms.  I don't know how to sort through them without Vault rankings.

Also, does anyone know anything about the Atlanta market?  I have no connections there, either.

[leostrauss]

Also, I was really trying to warn OP, who might form opinions based on things like Austin being perceived as accepting. I felt the need to defend a great city. I do not mean to imply that austin is not also great, but I hope OP will get to know the cities rather than their respective reputations, because those reputations, IMO, are often inaccurate.

There is certainly a reason why Austin is more competitive than H-town. I think (THINK . .. I do not know) that it's because it's laid back. You can wear a t-shirt anywhere and can take your dog into most of even the nicest restaraunts. It's also beautiful, and I find the weather more tolerable.