Callbacks and Course Selection

Today’s post is in response to questions we’ve received from students regarding class schedules and callbacks. We will post much more information on the callback process and strategy as the interview season approaches. For now, we’ve limited this discussion to scheduling issues as they relate to callbacks.  For the September OGIs (September 18-24), we will not schedule any interviews during classes; no exceptions.

Should I plan my class schedule to have one day each week free? 

First and foremost, you should plan to take the classes that are most interesting to you. What usually ends up happening is that most law students don't schedule classes on Friday, so students will try to schedule callbacks for Fridays. Firms are bringing back many students from many different schools, and Fridays tend to book up quickly. Your better bet would be to try to schedule callbacks for another day, although again you need to be flexible. Some students wait until fall break (which is October 6-8 this year) to schedule callbacks, but we recommend going on a callback as soon as possible.

Will I need to have weekends free to interview?

Generally, no, although it somewhat depends on the market(s) you are considering. If you are planning to interview on the west coast, it would make sense to plan to visit a few firms and stay for a longer period of time. In that case it might make sense to include a weekend. If you're looking on the east coast (DC, Richmond, NY, Atlanta, etc.) you can make more frequent trips and shouldn't have to plan on spending a weekend. Because callbacks are scheduled on weekdays, the only times you would spend a weekend would be if you were visiting more than one firm or if you had personal reasons for staying over the weekend (but then you wouldn't stay at the hotel for more than one night).

I am considering signing up for a short course. When should I expect to be finished with callbacks? What is the timeline for callbacks?

Attendance at all short courses is mandatory, so you would probably be wise not to schedule a short course this fall unless it begins later in the fall. You should consider seriously whether you can make such a commitment, and consider taking the short course another semester.

Callbacks usually begin after Labor Day and go through October or November, although some students are finished by October. It really varies by student. A few students will get many early callbacks, while others will not get or schedule callbacks right away. There are many prestigious firms coming to interview in late September, so those callbacks will obviously not happen until late September/early October.  Again, September OGIs will be scheduled around your classes and interviews will under no circumstances be scheduled during class time.