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I just finished 1L, top 25% at a T2 school with a good local reputation. Did not grade on to any journals; however, I will be participating in the write-on competition. Not too many firms come to OCI, and it's looking like I won't get any interviews.

What should I do as far as getting interviews at big firms?

What should I do as far as small- and mid-size firms for summer employment? Note: I am also interested in a summer job at home as well as in the market where my school is located. However, my home market is both major and competitive.

Any help would be appreciated.

EDIT: Sorry, I was in a rush yesterday when I wrote this post. I DID grade on to a journal, but I'm going to do the writing competition as well to see if I can get onto a better journal. Also, I applied to some big firms outside of my market, does anybody have advice on contacting alums?

bleach42 wrote:I just finished 1L, top 25% at a T2 school with a good local reputation. Did not grade on to any journals; however, I will be participating in the write-on competition. Not too many firms come to OCI, and it's looking like I won't get any interviews.

What should I do as far as getting interviews at big firms?

What should I do as far as small- and mid-size firms for summer employment? Note: I am also interested in a summer job at home as well as in the market where my school is located. However, my home market is both major and competitive.

Any help would be appreciated.

I apologize if you already know any of this- not trying to be condescending. I am also at a T2 in a smallish/local market and I mailed local firms using these resources/techniques:

Step 1: Check out http://www.nalpdirectory.com/ and search for firms in your state. The listings should include contact information for the hiring/recruiting person at that firm.

Step 2: Check out http://www.martindale.com/Find-Lawyers- ... Firms.aspx . Try searching for firms in your state again. You'll get a lot more results here, so you should start by narrowing your results to firms with the most attorneys (using the "firm size" link on the right of the search result list) and work your way down. There will be some overlap with your NALP directory results, but the important thing is that all of the medium and small firms in your area will be listed here. Unfortunately, unlike NALP, Martindale doesn't do your homework for you so you'll have to visit firm websites to figure out whether they have summer associate programs, etc. If your area is like mine, even firms with only 20+ attorneys will still sometimes take on SAs, so it's worth your time mass mailing as many firms as you can.

Step 3: Start delving into the websites of the firms you like the most, and compile lists of alumni from your school. You should contact alumni directly to talk to them about whether their firm might be hiring. I recommend trying to contact alumni who have graduated as recently as possible- the fresher their memory about the frantic job search, the more likely they'll be to want to help you out.

Step 4: Mass mail. Draft a buttload of cover letters and put together PDF packages of your resume, cover letter, and unofficial transcript. You can put together snail mail packages too.

Step 5: Be persistant- sometimes when you don't hear back, it doesn't mean that people aren't interested- it means they're busy and your email/snail mail is buried in their inbox. Shoot them a polite follow-up.

Obvious extra tactics:
-Mine your personal contacts. Ask your family, friends, and acquaintances if they know attorneys in the area. Let everyone know that you're looking for work. If they don't know, they won't help you.

-Try talking to your professors- they will know the local legal market better than you do, and might have some leads.