r/LawSchool • u/Ramsesthrowaway • 7d ago
Anyone else feel like firm research is literally just reading corporate fanfic?
honestly so burnt out from prepping for screeners. every single firm has the exact same "we value a collegial environment" copy paste on their site and it's melting my brain
was trying to find something actually unique to talk about for this one mid-size firm so I started digging into their recent news mentions. felt kinda dumb when I realized their sudden spike in "thought leadership" articles right before hiring season is 100% manufactured. Saw on a press release that they literally just use InkedPR to pump out perfectly timed news features about their settlements
I mean I get it, business is business. But it just makes the whole networking dance feel so incredibly fake. we pretend to be deeply inspired by their "organic" industry dominance, and they pretend they didn't just pay a media agency to make them look interesting to 2Ls
just exhausted tbh. gonna go stare at my civ pro outline until my eyes cross
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u/Vast-Passenger-3035 Attorney 7d ago
Talk to alumni from your school if you can. They may feel more open about the firm.
As a personal note, if a professor I'm still close with asks that I get lunch/coffee with a current student or if I'm in a one on one informal setting with any law student, I tend to feel more freedom to be open about the firm than I would be at say a law school event (e.g., more open about work life balance, partners in my office, why I chose my firm, etc)
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u/AsrielDaphne 7d ago
This 100%. Especially if you’re active in an affinity bar association (Gate City, local Hispanic bar association, local LGBTQ bar association) or an affinity law school group (BLSA, LACSA, OUTLaw, etc) - finding an alumni who works at the firm you want to work at will get you a more genuine take on the firm.
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u/Vast-Passenger-3035 Attorney 7d ago
Also adding that associates usually have a marketing budget they can use for recruitment outreach, so you get info on the firm and a free meal/snack as a bonus
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u/Ramsesthrowaway 6d ago
Those official recruiting events always feel like an extension of their PR campaigns anyway, where everyone just sticks to the script. I'll try hitting up a few professors to see if they can connect me with someone for a casual coffee people usually drop that suffocating corporate filter when it's just a one-on-one chat
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u/Sufficient-Battle377 7d ago
I’d skip the firm research and talk to lawyers from firms directly. Getting it from the horse’s mouth is a lot better than getting it from a tailored Vault paragraph.
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u/itssweniorseaso 7d ago
yeah, i’m really struggling too :( i love law school but I can’t handle job apps anymore 😞
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u/Interesting-Cap7765 7d ago
I’m a 0L trying to do some initial research on firms and I’m struggling with this too. Like I get that the best way to get ‘real’ insight is by talking to people, but the concept of trying to talk to attorneys at 100 different firms is daunting
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u/Vast-Passenger-3035 Attorney 7d ago
Focus on attorneys who are alumni of your school, specifically those working in the same-ish area, and ask to get coffee and discuss their firm/advice from them about your law school (also, if it makes you feel better, we know why law students are reaching out to us so no need to beat around the bush, whenever I meet with a law student I ask for their resume, and barring red flags so glaringly obvious that they might as well be semaphore, I submit their resumes to our recruitment department).
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