Look, here's what I think:
I'm super competitive on paper (T14/resume/grades/writing sample), personality-wise, and in life in general.
Now, naively, I thought this meant I could interview at any firm in the v100 and be competitive and get offers, because merit should get you results, right? Wrong. In fact, annoyingly, I have had top firms give me offers, while firms in more desirable areas for my tastes, though lower in the v100, have expressed no interest.
I boil this down to three main factors:
1) Cronyism - other applicants in the running have inside connections/recommendations that you do NOT
2) Conspiratorial Recruiting - firm recruiters make deals/trades like professional sports teams (i.e. - "I'll give Johnny an offer and reject Jimmy if you reject Johnny and give an offer to Jimmy" - thereby taking your ability to "choose" your career right out of your hands)
3) Pedigree - background checks result in certain types of pedigrees that some firms find desirable, while other firms find your background undesirable - therefore, only firms with desirable opinions of your pedigree (i.e. - family socio-economic status, how many other lawyers in your family, how much debt are you in for school, where you went to school, etc.) - further, this plays a role in how well hiring partners think you'll "fit in" with the other associates at the firm - also, if you have lawyers in your family, odds are you'll be able to converse more fluidly about what lawyers do from day to day -while if you're a pioneer lawyer in your family, you probably have no clue what lawyers do in big firms from day to day, even though you are smarter than everyone in your class.
I am almost 100% sure these factors are what decide who gets offers and who does not that I would bet half my student loans on it - Annoying as it is to be discriminated against b/c you don't know anyone in the profession, have firms decide your future for you, and be judged based on your background - YOU CAN'T STOP IT
I just hope that the posters realize that they are smart people who will undoubtedly make fantastic lawyers - it's just that hiring attorneys employ some ridiculous tactics in choosing future associates.