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I did a search for these questions but couldn't find anything useful, so I'm hoping some 2L/3Ls can help me out here.

If I understand things right, we start applying for summer jobs around November/December, which is obviously before first semester grades come out. So employers really just have our undergrad and past WE to go off of, right? I just want to make sure I'm understanding the timeline.

Second, if an employer says they take applicants "who have completed one year of law school," does that include 1Ls, or is it people who completed one year prior to applying? It seems like a lot of places I've looked at use this language.

Thanks for the help.

ArtVandelay wrote:I did a search for these questions but couldn't find anything useful, so I'm hoping some 2L/3Ls can help me out here.

If I understand things right, we start applying for summer jobs around November/December, which is obviously before first semester grades come out. So employers really just have our undergrad and past WE to go off of, right? I just want to make sure I'm understanding the timeline.

Second, if an employer says they take applicants "who have completed one year of law school," does that include 1Ls, or is it people who completed one year prior to applying? It seems like a lot of places I've looked at use this language.

Thanks for the help.

One year of law school=can apply for that upcoming summer (1L summer)

Some employers won't get your grades, but a lot of employers don't stat interviewing until after New Years. You may or may not have your grades. It depends on the timing. A lot of 1Ls are still interviewing in Feb., and most will have their grades by then. At my school, they release by the class, so I would go into some interviews with 1/2 my grades known and 1/2 not known. Employers know this timing issue, so don't worry.

So when applying, is it generally advisable to include something in your cover letter stating that first semester grades will be available, and forwarded to the potential employer, after January (or whatever month you get them)?

js87 wrote:So when applying, is it generally advisable to include something in your cover letter stating that first semester grades will be available, and forwarded to the potential employer, after January (or whatever month you get them)?

I would say that if they don't ask about grades, don't use up the cover letter space talking about them.

revolution724 wrote:

js87 wrote:So when applying, is it generally advisable to include something in your cover letter stating that first semester grades will be available, and forwarded to the potential employer, after January (or whatever month you get them)?

I would say that if they don't ask about grades, don't use up the cover letter space talking about them.

Thanks for the reply. Most postings I've seen ask for "official transcripts", so I wasn't sure how to deal with that situation.

They already know you don't have grades. It's not their first go-round.

revolution724 wrote:

js87 wrote:So when applying, is it generally advisable to include something in your cover letter stating that first semester grades will be available, and forwarded to the potential employer, after January (or whatever month you get them)?

I would say that if they don't ask about grades, don't use up the cover letter space talking about them.

Agreed. You also don't want to give a potential employer reason to focus on grades if they weren't originally going to ask for them.

js87 wrote:

revolution724 wrote:

js87 wrote:So when applying, is it generally advisable to include something in your cover letter stating that first semester grades will be available, and forwarded to the potential employer, after January (or whatever month you get them)?

I would say that if they don't ask about grades, don't use up the cover letter space talking about them.

Thanks for the reply. Most postings I've seen ask for "official transcripts", so I wasn't sure how to deal with that situation.

If they ask, you can just mention it in the e-mail with the attachment of the cover letter and resume. Otherwise, I wouldn't waste space on your cover letter.

Seriously, though, you don't need to worry about this until after Dec 1 (and, even that is early)