The Official 1L Summer Employment Thread - 2012 Edition Forum

[bk1]

Thanks, but it looks like the deadline is March 1 for the Juvenile Delinquency court externship, but February 15 for Civil, Criminal, Family Law, or Probate. Unless you're sure the Civil, Criminal, Family Law or Probate externship deadline got extended and they didn't update the site (which would be nice, because I'm not interested in Juvenile Delinquency).

Civil, Crim, Family, and Juvenile are all March 1.

[Anonymous User]

For those of us fortunate enough to be choosing between a couple of different 1L SAs: how much consideration are you giving to flexibility for 2L summer and beyond? One of the firms I'm looking at seems not to be cool with the idea of me trying another firm second summer (or splitting), and the other is a little more chill about it.

I just don't want to be in a situation where I have to either work both summers with my 1L firm or lose out on them as a post-graduation opportunity.

[bdubs]

For those of us fortunate enough to be choosing between a couple of different 1L SAs: how much consideration are you giving to flexibility for 2L summer and beyond? One of the firms I'm looking at seems not to be cool with the idea of me trying another firm second summer (or splitting), and the other is a little more chill about it.

I just don't want to be in a situation where I have to either work both summers with my 1L firm or lose out on them as a post-graduation opportunity.

Choose the more flexible firm, unless the inflexible firm is clearly your first choice right now. What reasons do you have for even considering the inflexible firm?

[094320]

..

[Anonymous User]

For those of us fortunate enough to be choosing between a couple of different 1L SAs: how much consideration are you giving to flexibility for 2L summer and beyond? One of the firms I'm looking at seems not to be cool with the idea of me trying another firm second summer (or splitting), and the other is a little more chill about it.

I just don't want to be in a situation where I have to either work both summers with my 1L firm or lose out on them as a post-graduation opportunity.

Choose the more flexible firm, unless the inflexible firm is clearly your first choice right now. What reasons do you have for even considering the inflexible firm?

I liked the vibe of the place. It seemed like I'd be more comfortable there. Not that I put much stock in such gut-level feelings.

[bdubs]

I liked the vibe of the place. It seemed like I'd be more comfortable there. Not that I put much stock in such gut-level feelings.

Chances are good that if you got a 1L summer offer, they would probably give you a 2L offer (assuming similar grades 2nd semester). If you still like them you can try to go there for 2L summer, but I wouldn't waste the opportunity with a firm that is flexible.

Also, I personally wouldn't want to work at a firm that was concerned you would jump ship if you had the opportunity to work elsewhere. It seems like they don't think they can compete very well with other firms in terms of work environment.

[Anonymous User]

Thanks, but it looks like the deadline is March 1 for the Juvenile Delinquency court externship, but February 15 for Civil, Criminal, Family Law, or Probate. Unless you're sure the Civil, Criminal, Family Law or Probate externship deadline got extended and they didn't update the site (which would be nice, because I'm not interested in Juvenile Delinquency).

Civil, Crim, Family, and Juvenile are all March 1.

Ok, thanks for the confirmation.

[Anonymous User]

I liked the vibe of the place. It seemed like I'd be more comfortable there. Not that I put much stock in such gut-level feelings.

Chances are good that if you got a 1L summer offer, they would probably give you a 2L offer (assuming similar grades 2nd semester). If you still like them you can try to go there for 2L summer, but I wouldn't waste the opportunity with a firm that is flexible.

Also, I personally wouldn't want to work at a firm that was concerned you would jump ship if you had the opportunity to work elsewhere. It seems like they don't think they can compete very well with other firms in terms of work environment.

Thanks for the input!

[stewie27]

Finally. After convincing myself that no one will ever hire me for anything and that I have no future and should give up on law, I got two offers today within the span of an hour. Totally different locations/types of job. Now to make the decision of which to take....
Good luck to everyone still looking/waiting. Remember, it's always darkest before the dawn.

[thegrayman]

Finally. After convincing myself that no one will ever hire me for anything and that I have no future and should give up on law, I got two offers today within the span of an hour. Totally different locations/types of job. Now to make the decision of which to take....
Good luck to everyone still looking/waiting. Remember, it's always darkest before the dawn.

Congrats on the offers

[>insert witty name<]

I know I'm so incredibly late to the party on this, but.... does anyone know what the deadline is for jones day 1l summer associate program in DC? On the website it says that you can still submit an online application and there's no mention of a specific deadline. Is it a rolling process?

[jd-mba]

I know I'm so incredibly late to the party on this, but.... does anyone know what the deadline is for Jones Day 1L Summer Associate program in DC? On the website it says that you can still submit an online application and there's no mention of a specific deadline. Is it a rolling process?

You're way too late for this train, they've already sent out dings. So from the looks of it, if they haven't selected, chances are they're really close to selecting and you'll only have a slim chance if you have connections and is #1 at HYS.

[>insert witty name<]

haha, okay, fair enough.

[071816]

Well, I went to a PILF meeting today and apparently the system for giving out PILF summer grants at my school is pretty TTT. Right now there's only enough funding for 25 grants total. What a damn shame. Hopefully I can snag one.

[Anonymous User]

Offer from state judges A, B, and C

I have a choice to work with Judge A first half of summer and Judge B second half of summer or Judge C the full summer

Would either of those options be more advantageous come OCI?

All judges said to let them know in a few weeks and are all in the same court.

[Entchen]

Just got back from a bunch of interviews. Will be splitting between my first choice job in a city I was less excited about and my second choice job in the city I really wanted. So overall, definitely a win. Very excited.

[Anonymous User]

Offer from state judges A, B, and C

I have a choice to work with Judge A first half of summer and Judge B second half of summer or Judge C the full summer

Would either of those options be more advantageous come OCI?

All judges said to let them know in a few weeks and are all in the same court.

On its face, I doubt it? You might get a better rec for general references purposes if spending an entire summer with one, but you also might improve odds by having 2 instead of 1. But these are minor things.

[Anonymous User]

I liked the vibe of the place. It seemed like I'd be more comfortable there. Not that I put much stock in such gut-level feelings.

Chances are good that if you got a 1L summer offer, they would probably give you a 2L offer (assuming similar grades 2nd semester). If you still like them you can try to go there for 2L summer, but I wouldn't waste the opportunity with a firm that is flexible.

Also, I personally wouldn't want to work at a firm that was concerned you would jump ship if you had the opportunity to work elsewhere. It seems like they don't think they can compete very well with other firms in terms of work environment.

Do grades 2nd semester of 1L really have substantial bearing on whether you get re-offered for 2L summer? I assumed from posts on the same topic (albeit for 2L SAs) that the importance of grades dropped significantly upon getting an SA -- assuming you play nice and do competent work while you're there for the summer.

[bdubs]

I liked the vibe of the place. It seemed like I'd be more comfortable there. Not that I put much stock in such gut-level feelings.

Chances are good that if you got a 1L summer offer, they would probably give you a 2L offer (assuming similar grades 2nd semester). If you still like them you can try to go there for 2L summer, but I wouldn't waste the opportunity with a firm that is flexible.

Also, I personally wouldn't want to work at a firm that was concerned you would jump ship if you had the opportunity to work elsewhere. It seems like they don't think they can compete very well with other firms in terms of work environment.

Do grades 2nd semester of 1L really have substantial bearing on whether you get re-offered for 2L summer? I assumed from posts on the same topic (albeit for 2L SAs) that the importance of grades dropped significantly upon getting an SA -- assuming you play nice and do competent work while you're there for the summer.

I'm not sure how many data points you will be able to find on this topic. There aren't that many 1L SAs to begin with and they tend to go to people with good enough first semester grades that they will probably remain competitive. I'm guessing that few people go from top 10% to bottom 50% between first and second semester.

[Anonymous User]

Do grades 2nd semester of 1L really have substantial bearing on whether you get re-offered for 2L summer? I assumed from posts on the same topic (albeit for 2L SAs) that the importance of grades dropped significantly upon getting an SA -- assuming you play nice and do competent work while you're there for the summer.

I'm not sure how many data points you will be able to find on this topic. There aren't that many 1L SAs to begin with and they tend to go to people with good enough first semester grades that they will probably remain competitive. I'm guessing that few people go from top 10% to bottom 50% between first and second semester.

It takes more than grades. Not everyone who gets a 1L SA have great grades. As long as the qualities that the firm thought that you have materialize during the summer, and you don't fail spectacularly during the spring, I think you have a great chance to return. Firms have so many qualified 1Ls to choose from, so the fact that some were able to land SA positions without grades, and some were able to land them with ok grades, tends to suggest that grades are not determinative when it comes to firm recruiting.

[Anonymous User]

Do grades 2nd semester of 1L really have substantial bearing on whether you get re-offered for 2L summer? I assumed from posts on the same topic (albeit for 2L SAs) that the importance of grades dropped significantly upon getting an SA -- assuming you play nice and do competent work while you're there for the summer.

I'm not sure how many data points you will be able to find on this topic. There aren't that many 1L SAs to begin with and they tend to go to people with good enough first semester grades that they will probably remain competitive. I'm guessing that few people go from top 10% to bottom 50% between first and second semester.

It takes more than grades. Not everyone who gets a 1L SA have great grades. As long as the qualities that the firm thought that you have materialize during the summer, and you don't fail spectacularly during the spring, I think you have a great chance to return. Firms have so many qualified 1Ls to choose from, so the fact that some were able to land SA positions without grades, and some were able to land them with ok grades, tends to suggest that grades are not determinative when it comes to firm recruiting.

Does it matter what type of law firm i'm entering if i want big law?

I have a law clerk offer from A Family Law Firm but i have no interest in family law down the road. Does it matter, or should I just take the position?

[Dany]

Firms don't care what you do 1L summer unless it's non-legal, but if you work for a firm I've heard from several biglaw attorneys that they want to see you have an offer after your 1L summer and that it looks bad if your 1L summer firm doesn't ask you to come back.

[Anonymous User]

I've heard from several biglaw attorneys that they want to see you have an offer after your 1L summer and that it looks bad if your 1L summer firm doesn't ask you to come back.

What if they specifically stated it was only for a summer clerk position?

I also wouldn't want this position to lead to anything further than a 1L summer job/future reference.

[Dany]

I'm not sure. You'd have to ask attorneys you know, I guess. But the ones I've talked to have said that if they see a firm, they want to know if you got an offer.

[InnocuousDiatribe]

Firms don't care what you do 1L summer unless it's non-legal, but if you work for a firm I've heard from several biglaw attorneys that they want to see you have an offer after your 1L summer and that it looks bad if your 1L summer firm doesn't ask you to come back.

I was wondering about this actually. Would it be proper[] to denote that you received an offer to return Summer 2L on your resume? Or is this something that you'd bring up during interviews?

Spelling edit.