2L Recruit Receptions and Dinners

[anonanonlaw]

What times are receptions and dinners usually held at? Is it common for students to attend a reception at firm A and then go to firm B's dinner? Is there enough time to do this and is this recommended? 

[Turtles]

I know for us, the real expectation (not necessarily what you may be told when asking for a politically correct answer, but the straight up answer*) is that we keep you for the entirety of dinner, and I would be hesitant to accept two dinner invites for the same evening where your leaving from the first one or your late arrival to the second one would be noticeable. 

We haven't had the timing of dinner confirmed, so can't speak to that, and that uncertainty may make it harder to try to commit to two at this stage. 

(I'll proactively add: yes, everyone involved also recognizes how crappy the pressure on candidates can be with this big game of optics with unwritten rules and performative nonsense, we all empathize with you despite finding ourselves inadvertently or involuntarily perpetuating it).

* some firms may be telling the truth when they say "it doesn't matter, don't worry, we don't expect ..., etc", the challenge is you may never know for sure unless you are genuinely friends with an insider at that firm, so caveat emptor

[notterrible]

17 hours ago, anonanonlaw said:

Is it common for students to attend a reception at firm A and then go to firm B's dinner? Is there enough time to do this and is this recommended? 

I can't give you the "right answer" since I'm going through it too right now, but this is exactly my plan. Show up firm A's reception for 30-45 minutes, then run off to firm B's dinner. The advice that I've gotten is when it comes to night 1 receptions, you just have to make the rounds and make sure the firm sees you and that you actively engaged with them. Then you can slip out for a dinner, assuming they don't overlap too egregiously time-wise.

[anonanonlaw]

45 minutes ago, notterrible said:

I can't give you the "right answer" since I'm going through it too right now, but this is exactly my plan. Show up firm A's reception for 30-45 minutes, then run off to firm B's dinner. The advice that I've gotten is when it comes to night 1 receptions, you just have to make the rounds and make sure the firm sees you and that you actively engaged with them. Then you can slip out for a dinner, assuming they don't overlap too egregiously time-wise.

Thanks for your input! Yeah, I'm just unsure about whether the two will overlap at this point. I guess I will have to ask during the call, but depending on the order of the calls coming in it might be hard to give them an answer right on the spot. 

[sleepylawstudent]

The advice I received from my law school's CDO is that it's generally fine to schedule a reception and dinner on the same night. My experience with this worked as well -- I went to A firm's reception, chatted for about 30 minutes, and then went to B firm's dinner.

[chaboywb]

In my year, I attended a reception at a certain firm before a dinner at another. I stayed at the reception about long enough to grab my name tag, have one chat with a lawyer and say hi to the hiring director before slipping out. It was hard to get a word in with the hiring director as every student in the room was swarming them. I didn't get an offer from that firm but I don't see how that reception could have had a meaningful effect in any event; however, I'm sure they would have taken notice of anyone whose name tag was not claimed.

Two dinners does not sound feasible to me. 

[AwayAccount4124]

On a similar point – is there an unwritten hierarchy in comparing dinners to lunches? I'm wondering how proposing to have lunch while *gently rejecting* a dinner would be perceived by a firm? Perhaps if one of the experienced folks like @Turtles (or anyone really!) could answer.

Edited October 21, 2024 by AwayAccount4124

[CB2021]

1 hour ago, AwayAccount4124 said:

On a similar point – is there an unwritten hierarchy in comparing dinners to lunches? I'm wondering how proposing to have lunch while *gently rejecting* a dinner would be perceived by a firm? Perhaps if one of the experienced folks like @Turtles (or anyone really!) could answer.

Lunch? Do firms even do lunches?

[ditiae]

1 hour ago, CB2021 said:

Lunch? Do firms even do lunches?

They do yes

[GoatDuck]

2 hours ago, AwayAccount4124 said:

On a similar point – is there an unwritten hierarchy in comparing dinners to lunches? I'm wondering how proposing to have lunch while *gently rejecting* a dinner would be perceived by a firm? Perhaps if one of the experienced folks like @Turtles (or anyone really!) could answer.

Rejecting a dinner but proposing a lunch instead is obviously better than just rejecting a dinner. It’s still a rejection but you can pull through depending on how good of a candidate you are.
 

This being said, it’s a much better look if you do it in response to a dinner invite extended to you during the recruit week, not to a dinner invite you receive now with your in-firm invites. Doing it now means that you already know you’d rather keep an evening open for some other firm; doing it during the recruit week is more ambiguous as you may have a pre-existing commitment. 

[legallynerdie]

If a firm says "its okay if you cant make monday dinner, we'll make arrangements for tuesday" - is it ok to actually go on tuesday? i have a firm that offered only day 1 dinner and then another firm who said the above.  

[GoatDuck]

30 minutes ago, legallynerdie said:

If a firm says "its okay if you cant make monday dinner, we'll make arrangements for tuesday" - is it ok to actually go on tuesday? i have a firm that offered only day 1 dinner and then another firm who said the above.  

It likely means that they already like you. If you like them, I would recommend going on Tuesday. 

[CB2021]

1 hour ago, ditiae said:

They do yes

[legalnerd]

How much emphasis does a firm like Davies or Osler place on its dinners? Am I bust if I don't go? 

[LMP]

I can't say if it'll sink you for sure or not, but it will be noted. And not positively.

[Turtles]

12 hours ago, legallynerdie said:

If a firm says "its okay if you cant make monday dinner, we'll make arrangements for tuesday" - is it ok to actually go on tuesday? i have a firm that offered only day 1 dinner and then another firm who said the above.  

For us, dinner time doesn't create an adverse inference, but the caveat is that if you're lower ranked on Day 1, the lack of opportunity to make a positive impression on the Day 1 evening (e.g., to supplement a below-average interview performance or less attractive grades relative to other interviewees) or to signal your interest in the firm may lead to being cut by firms that cull their lists during the daylight hours of Day 2 (which I believe is the majority for big law). Conversely, if you're the type who would fly under the radar at a firm event and are a stand-out candidate anyways, it may not be a concern.

Part of the recruit game is trying to accurately measure your attractiveness to each firm, balance it against your own interest, and then identify where to use the weapons in your arsenal (i.e., your first choice language, where you prioritize your time, how much effort you put in to otherwise communicate interest, etc). The speed of in-firm week makes you and the firms narrow your preferences and start making decisions fast, lest you hold your cards too close too long and end up striking out because of committment issues. 

(Again, yes it's stupid, don't blame the messenger, sorry in advance, etc.)

[chaboywb]

10 hours ago, legalnerd said:

How much emphasis does a firm like Davies or Osler place on its dinners? Am I bust if I don't go? 

Not certainly but it will very much hurt your chances.

[Siteslow]

should I read anything into being invited to a firm’s breakfast on Wednesday morning? I thought you had to work your way to the last day of in-firms?

[markethopper]

8 minutes ago, Siteslow said:

should I read anything into being invited to a firm’s breakfast on Wednesday morning? I thought you had to work your way to the last day of in-firms?

I don’t think so, I was invited to the Wednesday events right in the ITC in a few cases. I think if they are no longer interested in proceeding after the first few days, they’ll let you know so you can prioritize a different firm. Probably helps them to have that scheduled in advance to lock in first choice decisions from their candidates based on where you go Wednesday morning.

[Oxbow123]

Does everyone get invited to dinner? Or do they have a selection process? I got invited to dinner with BJ and want to know if that means they have a stronger interest or if it is just run-of-the-mill.

[rathwell1256]

On 10/25/2024 at 7:17 PM, Oxbow123 said:

Does everyone get invited to dinner? Or do they have a selection process? I got invited to dinner with BJ and want to know if that means they have a stronger interest or if it is just run-of-the-mill.

It depends on the firm. For BJ, I am almost 100% they invite everyone to a dinner. 

[hazycrazybutnotlazy]

Anybody get a dinner/reception invite with Cassels (toronto)? 

[lawstudent321321]

2 hours ago, hazycrazybutnotlazy said:

Anybody get a dinner/reception invite with Cassels (toronto)? 

Do you know if they invite everyone to a dinner/reception?

[hazycrazybutnotlazy]

6 hours ago, lawstudent321321 said:

Do you know if they invite everyone to a dinner/reception?

I do not! Thats what I was wondering as well. I got an interview, but no dinner/reception/lunch/coffee invite. Im just curious if anybody received anything.

[AwayAccount4124]

On 10/29/2024 at 3:00 PM, rathwell1256 said:

It depends on the firm. For BJ, I am almost 100% they invite everyone to a dinner. 

What about Torys?