Judicial Internship & Biglaw

[Anonymous User]

My long-term employment plan has always been to clerk following graduation, then ::fingers crossed:: to go biglaw, so I can get out from under my staggering debt load and live in New York or DC. Of course, I had no idea whether I was going to get the grades I'd need to go biglaw during my 1L summer, so I began applying early for many different jobs.

Before grades were released, I secured an internship with the Chief Judge of the federal district court in my hometown. I come from a small place, but it's only a few hours away from one of those large cities. Grades have now been released, and by some unbelievable combination of blood/sweat/tears/luck, I earned a 3.87. I attend a T15 school.

My question is - what should my plan look like now? I am extremely excited about the internship, because it seems from talking to the judge and his clerks that I'm going to get a lot of great experience. But - how do I align myself for a 2L summer in biglaw? Am I at an advantage or a disadvantage? I've searched the forums for past threads on the topic, and opinion on the importance of the actual work you do during your 1L summer seems varied.

Thanks.

[nealric]

As long as you keep your grades in that range, you should have no problem getting biglaw. A judicial internship is considered a pretty standard 1L summer experience and will neither hurt nor help you.