New York Lawyer
May 22, 2001

Q:
I�m a recent graduate of a second-tier law school and not a US citizen. I want to work for a major firm in New York City, although I did not have summer associate experience. Since I came to law school right after college, I don�t have any work experience either. What would be the best way for me to start?

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A:
This sounds a bit like one of those law school exam questions in which the professor throws a variety of curves and obstacles at you. As a generalization, the various factors you inventory all, except possibly citizenship, gravitate against your surviving the initial screening in what may be the world�s most competitive legal employment market.

The top firms take the pick of the law school litter. While it is true that neither LSAT scores nor law school grades have ever shown a direct correlation with large firm legal success, the large firms act is if they do; after all, conceptual thinking ability and evidence of the ability to study hard and achieve top results can�t hurt, can they?

Absent top performance in a top school, one factor that may get you a look as a �walk-on� with a major firm is evidence of extraordinary determination and hustle, coupled with a personal style that bespeaks self-confidence, incredible determination and the willingness to sacrifice and suffer to achieve your goals. Undergraduate activities � like athletics or campus governance � that reflect competitiveness and/or leadership potential should be trotted out, as should (it goes without saying) law school achievements like being on law review.

Of course, to trot them out, you have to be seen by a decision-maker � and that may be difficult. Large firms get a lot of unsolicited resumes, and they prefer to draw their entry-level attorneys from the ranks of their summer associates. That absence of summer associate experience does hurt you, as does the lack of prior work experience (preferably pre-law school) that demonstrates some street smarts, worldly wisdom and mature judgment.

If you have friends in major firms � preferably at the third- to fifth-year associate levels � they may serve as useful networking leads. They�ll have been with their firms long enough to know: a) what the life is like, and b) what the firm needs in terms of entry-level grunt work talent. So often their recommendations to a department head or hiring partner may provide some inside leverage � and a chance to show off your unique style and attributes. I do recommend avoiding stunts to try to get visibility. Videotapes, purple resumes, or sky-diving into the partners� lunch are techniques likely to backfire.

However, a couple of other tunnels into the major firms may exist. One may be your cultural or geographic background. If you are a foreign national, it makes sense to investigate firms or practice areas that focus on your homeland or culture in some way � opening franchises in Eastern Europe, intellectual property issues in Ireland, co-marketing alliances in Chile, bilingual translation in Canada or Hong Kong, import-export activity in Bali. One thing many firms lack is lawyers whose talents include moving fluidly in particular foreign cultures. It also may make sense to investigate the operations of global firms like Baker & McKenzie � and offering yourself up for a sojourn in one of its far-flung branches in the hope of eventual rotation stateside (beware, however, if such distance keeps you out of the partnership pipeline).

One other approach is to bust your chops to acquire some area of expertise for which the firm is experiencing a strong or unexpected demand. An LL.M. program is one way to do this � but be sure to network around first to make sure that the credential you�re working so hard to acquire really does confer added market value. There are other ways to supplement your credentials � technical training in information systems, researching and co-authoring articles on new federal compliance mandates, even acquiring broader language proficiency. If you can�t learn a lot more about a certain legal skill, try to learn about the dynamics of certain industries or settings to which legal skills are applied.

All of these approaches have one common assumption: you are neither a conventional employment candidate for major firms nor, as things currently stand, a particularly attractive one. Therefore, you must acquire some feature or benefit for which the firm of your choice (be sure to research them and their respective practice profiles) has a clear need.

Sincerely,
Douglas B. Richardson
President, The Richardson Group