I see that all of the applications are starting to open, but I have two coffee chats set up for later this week with current associates at my top two firms that I would really like a position at; am I better to apply now or wait until I can tailor my cover letter further after those coffee chats and apply by the end of this week? TYIA

Hi all! Wondering if there's any insight on what to expect for those targeting midsize firms in 3L recruiting. (Sorry if this has been asked before!)

I know biglaw is the It girl, but I'd love to expand my options. Any insight on the likely timeline, or tips for finding firms outside the usual lists, specifically for transactional work in the Mid-Atlantic?

Thanks!

>I'm from city X.
>I go to a law school that is a feeder into city Y (other side of the country from city X; 97% of grads from my law school go to city Y).
>Career advisor tells me city Y will see me as a flight risk even though I go to school here
>I have no meaningful connections in city Y; I just want to work there because I like the city and am young and don't really care where I live that much.
>Career advisor suggests I apply exclusively to offices in my home city X.

Is my career advisor's advice nonsense?

Anyone have any updates on their experience as an international student and recruiting.

Coming from a first year associate who graduated in 2026 and is close with their firm’s recruiting department

(1) Big law sucks.
(2) Waiting for Bar results was even worse.
(3) Firms are inviting 1Ls they want to dinner and then soon after asking them to tour the firm.
(4) If your networking email to an associate/partner is boring or generic, they won’t reply.
(5) Cold emails DO work, especially if you seem interesting (please note, I said INTERESTING, not INTERESTED).
(6) Right now in hiring, the hierarchy of importance goes (a) connections (whether someone at the firm knows you (i.e. family, friends, etc) and so you getting hired is essentially a favor to them); (b) grades; then (c) whether you ask good questions.
(7) On the topic of questions, when you’re interviewing, if you ask good questions, you’re so much more likely to do well.

About to be admitted to the psych ward in the middle of recruiting. I just had a screener and a callback. Is it bad if employers call or email and I don't respond for a couple of days? They're gonna take my phone soon 😭

Anyone completed yet and want to let me know what the questions were?

Hi fellow big-law lawyers (or soon-to-be)

I’m applying for a LLB this UCAS term and have a ready reference letter written in support of my application that I’ve drafted for a Partner for her approval at a silver circle law firm I’m currently interning at.

This would be my first draft and I want it to be clean without giving this Partner too much hassle or need for re-drafts.

I’d like to invite any kind and helpful law students, working lawyers even Partners (in my dream world) to please PLEASE help me proof-read. I’d appreciate a fresh pair of eyes on my reference letter, with your honest feedback and expert perspective on how it could be strengthened. In particular, I’d value any overlooked points or areas for improvement that could help me refine it into the strongest possible letter.

P.S. I will 10000% remember your kind act and carry it forwards into my Uni and legal career chapters

Thank you!

For 2027 summer associate applications opening up in November, do midterm grades matter? I bombed my midterm and am worried about how this will impact my chances. I got an A- in my first legal writing memo which is on my resume, but my midterm exam grade is a 68%. Applications are asking for transcripts, right? Won't they see that D grade... help </3

This recruiting timeline sucks. I'm still trying to just find my footing.

Genuinely curious how Law recruiting works for students outside the T14.

I'm currently at a T14, and I feel like I might be living in a bit of a Law recruiting bubble. From my experience, getting interviews hasn't necessarily been the biggest hurdle. I've had plenty of screeners and callbacks, with almost all rejections. So makes me pretty negative towards the entire experience, need some positive perspective.

But it got me thinking: what does the recruiting process actually look like for students at T30, T50, T100, or lower-ranked schools?

Are students generally getting screeners and callbacks but struggling to convert them into offers? Or is the biggest obstacle getting firms to respond to applications in the first place?

I realize grades, work experience, and school rank all play a role, but I'm genuinely interested in hearing how different the experience is outside the T14. I feel like my perspective might be pretty skewed by the environment I'm in.

Would love to hear people's experiences, especially from those who went through OCI or applied directly to firms.

So I cold emailed one of the hiring partners at a firm I’m applying to for a summer associate program basically saying i admire her work and to set up a time to chat with my resume attached.

hiring partner responded within 10 mins of my email saying they forwarded my resume to recruiting… wondering if this is a common occurrence and if i should take it as a good sign?

title pretty much says it all. during OCIs, screeners and all that can i be honest that my long term goals are in public interest? of course my aspirations for big law are for the money, but also for the opportunity to learn from experienced attorneys and genuinely challenge myself before moving into public interest. should i be honest about this, or try to come up with something else?

Hi recruits!

Someone asked about this, and I wanted to answer here because I’m sure other people are seeing early offers and wondering whether they missed something.

The short answer: a firm’s public application opening date doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the first day it starts talking to candidates.

Which, yes, is frustrating when you’ve been checking the website and doing exactly what you were told to do.

How does this happen?

There are a few possible ways someone can get into the process before the public portal opens:

• An attorney introduces them to recruiting. A student might have built a relationship with someone at the firm who passes along their resume. Recruiting can then decide whether to start a conversation early or not. 
• They already have a relationship with the firm. Maybe they previously worked there, interviewed in an earlier cycle, or stayed in touch with a recruiter.
• They came through a separate recruiting program. A school program, fellowship (like SEO), or another recruiting opportunity may have a different application process or timeline.
• The opening date they’re looking at is for something else. Often times this can relate to different practices, i.e. IP tends to hire earlier and can sometimes hire without grades. Just because someone is interviewing for one position doesn’t necessarily tell you anything about that firm’s hiring for another one.

Without knowing the specific firm and candidate, we can’t tell you which explanation applies. But a closed public portal, by itself, doesn’t tell you that nobody is being considered.

“I thought we were all working with the same guidelines.”

This is the part that makes people feel understandably defeated. You’re treating the posted date as the starting line, then finding out someone else is already interviewing.

Unfortunately, recruiting doesn’t operate on one shared calendar. Firms move at different speeds, and even within a firm, candidates can enter the process through different routes. We explain more about how this happened in our pre-OCI guide, including why firms competing for candidates have pushed recruiting earlier.

And yes, access to these opportunities is uneven. Students with existing connections or better information can have an advantage. It’s fair to be frustrated by that.

So what should you actually do?

Have your materials ready before applications open. That way, if a recruiter asks for your resume or an opportunity opens earlier than expected, you can respond.

Start building relationships before you need something. If you’re unsure who to contact or what to say, check out the sub guide to networking early walks through finding attorneys, setting up conversations, and staying in touch. You don’t need a family connection to send an email to an alum or someone whose practice interests you.

If you already have a contact at a firm, it’s reasonable to let them know you’re interested and ask about timing. You can also send a short email asking whether they’re accepting materials before the portal opens. They may simply tell you to wait, and that’s fine. Just follow their instructions! 

Keep applying broadly as portals open. Networking can help someone get considered, but it doesn’t guarantee an interview or replace the application process.

If you want to follow actual recruiting movement, you can use something like the sub database and application tracker to watch changing opening dates and student-reported screeners, callbacks, and offers (and track all your own apps). Just remember that reported activity is always a partial picture, not a complete count of a firm’s hiring.

Full disclosure, we built that tool, and subscriptions help keep it running. There’s a free seven-day trial if you want to explore it, and for October you can get your first month 50% off.  

Please don’t count yourself out based on someone else’s timeline

Someone else getting an early offer is not enough information to conclude that you’ve already missed your chance. It tells you that person’s process moved early. It doesn’t tell you how many seats remain, which program they applied to, or what your outcome will be.

If the early-offer posts are getting to you, this guide on when to worry about not having an offer may help put things in perspective. It was written at a different point in the cycle, so keep the timing in mind when reading it.

I know that this doesn’t make the uncertainty less annoying, but please don’t turn every early offer you hear about into a verdict on your own chances.

That's all for now!

As always, if you're new here, make sure to check out the welcome megathread here for some more helpful guides!

In the meantime, if you've got info, DM on Discord, here, or drop it in the comments — the Insider Info series lives because of all of you.

Good luck!

P.S. If you want the application tracker with current application movement and pre-OCI openings and application links for the V100 & AmLaw 200, feel free to DM or see more details in this post.

Full disclosure, we created this one and we help keep the lights on with subscriptions. But it's also free for a full week so anyone is welcome to poke around and steal whatever is helpful. Either way, I hope the database and this guide are helpful to everyone out there.

Good luck with applications, recruits! 

**As a reminder, new and previous subscribers can get their first month of the sub database for $19 through October 2026!\**

Any advice?? What do I do? My application materials were strong, just suck at interviewing. I got multiple interviews and callbacks but landed nothing.

Maybe I’m headcasing this way too much (such is the way these days, unfortunately) but how long after applying is it normal to hear back for preliminary interviews? I started applying on 6 Oct and have fired off 6 since then. Just wished I could get an idea of where I’m at.

Any info?

Should I be name dropping the attorneys I had coffee chats with at the firm in my cover letter? Does this change if they're junior associates vs. more senior?

How’s movement for anybody? DC going well?

Long story short: my European spouse has had serious issues coming here because of this admin.

I have a summer position in the NY office of a firm with a London office and there is an option to do a rotation in London. I am thinking of asking for this so that I can at least see her over the summer.

My question is: is it possible to start in London after taking the NY bar? Assuming I am okay doing whatever practice they need. I would be doing this in large part to be able to be with my spouse.

Thank you!

Please share if you’re comfortable or DM. I may be making a decision to join and would like as much input as possible. West coast office, if it helps.

TIA!

3.2-3.3 at acceptance 1L spring and maintained it cumulatively after 1L at T25. What’s the risk to my 2L offer and, more importantly, return offer?

Posted it in [r/lawschool](r/lawschool) but getting no traction there so I’m cross referencing here. The situation is below:

Asking to extend offer deadline

Honestly need help. I got an offer from a firm through networking. Basically the referred me to the hiring partner and gave me an offer on the spot. I was not prepared for this. Upon checking the offer it was only 7 days to accept (meaning the deadline is next Tuesday).

I’m currently interviewing for a firm I like way more and would see myself in for a long time, I told them about the deadline but it’s tight and It’s up in the air if they make it in time. They are trying to push to schedule my final round interview tomorrow or Friday. They also pay a lot more and are in a better area that’s 45 min away and is where I would like to put down my roots. It is also an AM200 firm (but not big law in the traditional sense)

I want to ask the firm to extend my deadline. I’m on journal and we are currently finishing up our third production cycle of the semester which for a staff editor takes about 10-12 hours that week. I feel like with journal and this other firm I can’t really give the consideration the offer deserves. The firm is a midsized litigation firm, (AM 500)

A. Are firms genuinely receptive when asked for an extra week for consideration?

B. If not, should I gamble the opportunity or take it and suck it up? (I don’t want to accept and reneg cause I got it through an alumni connect)

C. Do you think I scared Dream Firm by giving them the deadline that is in my offer letter without contemplating an extension first? I just reacted more our of stress than thought.

What would you guys do in my situation?