1L Summer: A Legal, International, and/or Prestigious Job? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Keeping in mind that you want to get a position your 2L summer working in commercial law (prefereably with an international focus), which would you choose for your summer employment? Also keep in mind that "you" have very little interest in criminal law. The basic push of this question could be phrased: Should you ever choose a non-legal position because it is in a secondary field and relatively prestigious? Choices, with characteristics, are:

1) Externing at a Local bankruptcy court:
- Legal: Yes
- Commercial: Yes
- International: No
- Prestigious: No

2) Interning at a Trade Agency of the United Nations in Geneva
- Legal: No
- Commercial: Yes
- International: Yes
- Prestigious: Yes

3) Interning at the Hague in the Netherlands for a Criminal Court
- Legal: Yes
- Commercial: No
- International: Yes
- Prestigious: Yes

Your votes and opinions would be greatly appreciated.

[270910]

Re: #2 - I share the sage advice of Empror (then Senator) Palpatine, who when asked "My Lord, is that legal" responded "I will make it legal."

Even if #2 isn't strictly speaking legal, it's a fabulous experience that would appear "close enough" and could almost certainly be talked up in a legal context.

[volfan6415]

Question....and i might be the idiot here....how does externing at a local bankruptcy court have any realation to international?

[Anonymous User]

This is the OP:

Thank you for the input, that's pretty funny lol.

In full disclosure, I have already made the decision, but sometimes worry if it was the right one... I'll reveal my decision after 10 posts (arbitrary number), as this isn't the kind of thread which "ends" when I make my decision.

That being said, for the sake of my sanity, I very much appreciate the input.

[Total Litigator]

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[sundevil77]

I'm waiting for post #10

[Total Litigator]

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[volfan6415]

Question....and i might be the idiot here....how does externing at a local bankruptcy court have any realation to international?

lol not much, but it is legal and commercial in nature... these were just the jobs I had to choose from when I made my decision....

Well you were extremely lucky to have this kind of decision....

[Warhawk]

Is anyone else jealous?

Cause I'm kinda jealous.

[volfan6415]

I'm waiting for post #10

That doesn't count!! lol

I'm sorry....You are not allowed to arbitrarily change your arbitrary decision to reveal your choice after ten posts. You must reveal your decision after the tenth post....And as this is the tenth post you must tell us now!!!

[sundevil77]

Dude, the suspense is killing me. Personally, I think I'd go with the Hague. You'd probably have some great stories to tell.

[worldtraveler]

Do you actually have these job opportunities in hand or is this all just guessing? #2 and #3 are not all that easy to get.

Why aren't you thinking about stuff like the international trade commission? Also, a lot of this stuff may look cool, but it doesn't mean you're actually going to get to do a lot/learn a lot when you're there. I know a lot of people at the Hague right now. A lot of them spent their summers doing the equivalent of doc review and filling stuff in a database.

There are a ton of other things you can do that are both international and commercial.

[Anonymous User]

Hey everyone, thanks for all your input.

The actual answer: I chose #2, interning at a Trade Agency of the United Nations in Geneva. In actuality I originally chose between 1 & 2, as 3 was not an option at the time. Going by the votes and my own intuition, I think I definitely made the right choice at that time.

However, the opportunity to intern at the Hague arose a month after I had committed to the UN position. The UN position is not legal in nature, but I've had a lot of exposure to international trade. The votes say that the Criminal Court at the Hague was the correct decision.

However, I'm going to use Worldtraveler's comment to tell myself that I made the right choice, as I have been given a pretty good deal of responsibility at the UN agency, and for me that beats doc review and filing, even if my position isn't legal in nature.

I guess we'll get a definitive answer on whether I made the right choice when I start hearing back from legal employers this year.

And I do feel lucky to have had these opportunities. Regarding the UN position, I happened to have substantial experience in an area which directly related to a project they needed to have done, but did not have sufficient staff to undertake themselves. Goes to show you should apply to as many places as possible that interest you, because you might be a great fit for a position and you don't even know it.

Again, thanks for all of your feedback. I guess ideally I would have wanted everyone to choose #2 and pat me on the back, but the truth is good too.