Anonymous User wrote:All my substantive experience has been in government or public interest (undergrad faculty research, legal aid, city prosecutor), and my extracurriculars here mostly point to Internet and technology. Obviously I try to emphasize the latter angle, but the problem is that I don't have a science background. Most of my applications have been to general-service litigation outfits, where my angle is that I'm used to research, writing and fact-finding.
But no, I can't claim I've always wanted to do ERISA or anything.
Talking about being used to research, writing, etc, is way non-specific. You're at Harvard Law, everyone can do those things. And barking up the internet/technology tree with no background in the area is futile. There isn't really much internet/technology law that isn't patent law, and for that clients demand technical backgrounds.
You're an economics major, and have experience with legal aid and the prosecutor's office. SEC and other government investigations, anti-trust, white collar defense, regulatory litigation, etc, is the perfect pitch for you. You're interested in the financial industry as a result of your economics background, and in government and litigation as a result of your research and prosecution experience. You really want to practice in an area where you can leverage your background and based on your research you were really drawn to government investigations, anti-trust, etc.
I don't know if this is still useful to you, since I think the big firm ship has probably sailed. You should look and see if you can find smaller firms that do work in these areas and try to get interviews with them. Also apply for internships on the government side in these areas.