Hope everyone is staying safe during these crazy times. We’ve heard lots of law schools are going online and canceling events. It may be harder to stay focused without the regularity provided by the logistics around attending class, but this can be a great opportunity. Make sure to get out and breathe in some fresh air at least once a day. If you can exercise even briefly, do it! It will pay off without a doubt.
A good number of you have asked about more granular information on Debevoise, so we’re delivering. Now, we realize not everyone is interested in Debevoise. We do think there are takeaways for everyone here, which we’ll cover below. But we also want to announce that we’re planning to roll out some very interesting data on a large number of law firms. So stay tuned!
In the meantime, as many of you have already done, reach out to jack@top1l.com and tell us about the law firms you’re interested in and why. We’ll prioritize those!
The first chart below shows the number of Debevoise associates by law school. For the sake of simplicity, we didn’t include schools with less than three associates. There are great schools that are underrepresented or completely missing. Chances are those are mostly schools that aren’t based in New York. Debevoise New York clearly likes to hire locally.
Takeaway: Be sensitive to the regional nature of law firm hiring. Even law firms that call themselves national and global show a strong bias toward law schools that are located nearby.
The second one shows Debevoise associates by law school graduation year. While Debevoise might be more pronounced than others, the bottom-heavy nature of the beast just reflects how most law firms generally are structured. What does this mean for you? Here are some takeaways. Note we’re not necessarily saying the statements below apply to Debevoise in particular, but list them here because we believe they are by and large true for most Biglaw firms, with a few rare exceptions (Wachtell would be one).
You will rarely work directly with partners when you join a large law firm. Your supervisors will likely be mid-level associates. It’s less intimidating to work with mid-level associates but that may also mean if you get stuck on a deal with someone that has no clue what they’re doing, both of you will be utterly lost. One way of figuring out how it might be like at a particular practice group at a law firm is by asking several junior or mid-level associates (classes of 2018, 2017, 2016) if they can explain to you what they do on a regular basis (class of 2019 will likely have no clue). If they cannot explain it in a way that is understandable to you, take it as a red flag, as these very same people will likely be your supervisors.
Many current first years (class of 2019) will have already left the law firm by the time you join - just look at the classes of 2016 and 2017. In fact, the higher you go in class year, the fewer people there are and this trend is very pronounced. This means the law firm won’t be the end game for the vast majority of you. Think beyond that. Think about what the law firm has to offer you that will get you to the best place when you need to leave the law firm.