[T]here are some real gems who don’t go to what are considered to be the very best law schools. And, as I liked to say when my kids were growing up, one of the stories that I liked to read them was ‘Leo the Late Bloomer,’ which was about a lion cub who becomes king of the jungle: People mature intellectually at different levels, at different times. People who go to college and don’t do well can go to law schools and do splendidly.
— H. Rodgin Cohen, senior chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell, explaining in an interview that while his white-shoe firm typically recruits new associate talent from elite law schools, sometimes those whom he refers to as “non-traditional law school graduates” wind up being perfect fits in Biglaw.
Cohen later recounted a tale from when he was the firm’s chairman: “I am not sure if it’s still true, but for a number of years as chairman, I would ask the incoming class, ‘What law school do you think has the highest percentage of associates who became partners (at Sullivan & Cromwell), and the answer was Ohio State.’”