The Official 1L Summer Employment Thread - 2012 Edition

[Anonymous User]

Recently received a response from a V100 firm requesting grades as they become available and inviting me to attend a New Year's reception--are we supposed to RSVP to these things? No instructions are given in the e-mail, just kind of a "You're invited, and here's our snazzy .jpg invitation to make it look even cooler!" It's not publicly advertised from what I can tell...assuming we are supposed to RSVP, do these receptions even matter? I'll be in town, but for only 3-4 days...not sure I want to spend it trying to schmooze biglaw attorneys since I have zero schmoozing skills.

is yours from a Texas firm? I got the exact same thing from a Texas firm. My invitation said to RSVP by emailing the recruiting coordinator.

Haha, indeed it is, thank you for that catch...I guess the image did have functional purpose after all.

[AreJay711]

Went on my first judicial interview. I didn't get an offer but he made it seem like he just wanted to check my references. He has a whole program for his interns which is really cool. Also, I know one of the other interns that knows the judge personally and she is a bitty. On Tuesday I have the one I was more excited about at first with the state supreme court but now I don't know.


Thankfully, I don't have any firm interviews set up that make me wonder about missing out on $$$$.

[Anonymous User]

Hi all,

I got a position with the CDCA AUSO recently, and have a firm interview in a week. I also sent out a bunch of application to judges, and I havent heard back from them. Admittedly, I started applying later, but should I hold out for the firm? and/or tell the firm that I have to get back to the AUSO, and should I hold out for a judge.


The CDCA does not split summers. (and I got an offer with the civil division)

any experience with this?

Is the USAO with the LA office? Just wondering cause I sent an app to the civil division as well and never got a response. When did you get your response, and do you happen to know if they're done making offers? And to answer your question, best strategy right now should be to extend your acceptance deadline to the furthest possible date, and then go from there. If you have no firms/judges offers by then, I would accept the CDCA. You are really lucky to get that (presumably without grades) considering the stiff competition for the district.

[Anonymous User]

Hi all,

I got a position with the CDCA AUSO recently, and have a firm interview in a week. I also sent out a bunch of application to judges, and I havent heard back from them. Admittedly, I started applying later, but should I hold out for the firm? and/or tell the firm that I have to get back to the AUSO, and should I hold out for a judge.


The CDCA does not split summers. (and I got an offer with the civil division)

any experience with this?

Is the USAO with the LA office? Just wondering cause I sent an app to the civil division as well and never got a response. When did you get your response, and do you happen to know if they're done making offers? And to answer your question, best strategy right now should be to extend your acceptance deadline to the furthest possible date, and then go from there. If you have no firms/judges offers by then, I would accept the CDCA. You are really lucky to get that (presumably without grades) considering the stiff competition for the district.

yep it was with the LA office, she didnt mention anything regarding how many offers, but I agree with the extension. And yes, I do feel very lucky in that respect. I think it may just be that they dont have many people from my school who have applied. I might wait out the two weeks if nothing I will just accept. Good luck to you !!!!!!!!! I hope things work out for you with the district as well

[Anonymous User]

Also weighing an offer from LA USAO civil section -- and now I have a competing offer from a UN agency operating in Asia.

I realize that int'l jobs after graduation are rare (to say the least) so the practical route would be to take the USAO position, but this also seems like possibly the last summer in which I can do some work that isn't specifically geared toward a permanent job, making the UN option compelling. I'd also like to keep the international agency door open in the future, and having that line on the resume probably would help with that. For context, at Y/H/S, several years of work experience, and have summer funding.

Any insights from others?

[Anonymous User]

I'll be taking a paid position at a European office of an international legal NGO. I also considered the USAO route, but since that wouldn't lead to a job, would be more expensive, and wouldn't put me in Europe for the summer, I decided against it. I'm interested in the NGO's mission, but I don't have aspirations of working in Europe after graduation.

[piccolittle]

I'll be taking a paid position at a European office of an international legal NGO. I also considered the USAO route, but since that wouldn't lead to a job, would be more expensive, and wouldn't put me in Europe for the summer, I decided against it. I'm interested in the NGO's mission, but I don't have aspirations of working in Europe after graduation.

Is that WIPO by any chance? Feel free to PM me if you don't want to say here.

[Bildungsroman]

Still no word from the CO USAO.

[AreJay711]

Still no word from the CO USAO.

Nothing from the AK or MD ones here.

[094320]

..

[piccolittle]

How many applications have you guys sent out so far? I sent a few on December 1, but then I was recovering from exams so most of them have gone out in late December. I've sent 55/60 so far. What about you guys? What would you say is your success rate in terms of interviews/grade requests? I know that everyone has different circumstances, but I'm just curious.

[adonai]

How many applications have you guys sent out so far? I sent a few on December 1, but then I was recovering from exams so most of them have gone out in late December. I've sent 55/60 so far. What about you guys? What would you say is your success rate in terms of interviews/grade requests? I know that everyone has different circumstances, but I'm just curious.

About 40 apps with 2 interview requests, 10 "we're not hiring 1Ls" and a couple dings. The rest I have not heard anything from. Assuming I'm so bad that they're just ignoring me, or conduct their official hiring process in January (hopefully). I only applied to places I genuinely want to work at. If nothing shows up by late January, I will proceed to mass mail bomb.

[slotwide]

I was under the impression that you are not obligated to accept a 1L summer internship with a judge as you would be with a clerkship. I also thought that the only way you would be bound to an offer is if you accepted and then later got a firm offer or something. Is this the correct prevailing view?

[adonai]

I was under the impression that you are not obligated to accept a 1L summer internship with a judge as you would be with a clerkship. I also thought that the only way you would be bound to an offer is if you accepted and then later got a firm offer or something. Is this the correct prevailing view?

If you are offered you must/should accept, unless you got another offer from another judge (around the same time).

[YourCaptain]

I was under the impression that you are not obligated to accept a 1L summer internship with a judge as you would be with a clerkship. I also thought that the only way you would be bound to an offer is if you accepted and then later got a firm offer or something. Is this the correct prevailing view?

If you are offered you must/should accept, unless you got another offer from another judge (around the same time).

says who?

you think the judge doesnt know youve applied to 100 other judges?

thats ridiculous. auto-accept really only pertains to clerkships. if youve accepted the judge youre locked in but otherwise you should be honest with them but you dont have to accept.

[ilovesf]

this is a stupid question because i haven't e-mailed any apps yet, but do you put your cover letter in the e-mail body, or write a short message saying your cover letter and all that jazz is attached? thanks!

[071816]

this is a stupid question because i haven't e-mailed any apps yet, but do you put your cover letter in the e-mail body, or write a short message saying your cover letter and all that jazz is attached? thanks!

I did the latter.

[ran12]

this is a stupid question because i haven't e-mailed any apps yet, but do you put your cover letter in the e-mail body, or write a short message saying your cover letter and all that jazz is attached? thanks!

I did the latter.

Some people tell you to put it in the email so that it's not a hassle to the employer to open multiple docs but that's horrible advice. No one wants to see your cover letter in the email body. Attach it.

[AlexanderSupertramp]

Job offer yesterday from a judge...no interview, grades, or writing sample needed. yeah!!!

[Antrim]

this is a stupid question because i haven't e-mailed any apps yet, but do you put your cover letter in the e-mail body, or write a short message saying your cover letter and all that jazz is attached? thanks!

I did the latter.

Some people tell you to put it in the email so that it's not a hassle to the employer to open multiple docs but that's horrible advice. No one wants to see your cover letter in the email body. Attach it.

Nobody wants to see a cover letter, period. There's nothing wrong with having it as the message for them to ignore and attaching the resume that they'll actually read.

[theavrock]

Job offer yesterday from a judge...no interview, grades, or writing sample needed. yeah!!!

Congrats!

[englawyer]

Hey all,

T10 student. Of course do not know grades. OK WE. Math undergraduate degree with 3.9+ GPA.

What are the chances of landing an SA position as a non-URM student?

Second, how much does 1L summer position affect 2L summer employment? I already have a RA offer to work with a very prominent professor at the law school, researching the area of law that interests me the most. I really want to do this job but also want to put myself in the best position possible to land BigLaw for 2L summer.

Thanks.

Chances are very small, but not zero. Worth the applications. A 1L summer internship at a firm is a strong plus for recruiting and will likely lead to a "few weeks" the following 2L summer and a subsequent offer. If you manage to get a firm job, I would suggest taking it for both the recruiting advantage and the $$$.

[r6_philly]

this is a stupid question because i haven't e-mailed any apps yet, but do you put your cover letter in the e-mail body, or write a short message saying your cover letter and all that jazz is attached? thanks!

I did the latter.

Some people tell you to put it in the email so that it's not a hassle to the employer to open multiple docs but that's horrible advice. No one wants to see your cover letter in the email body. Attach it.

I put all my cover letter in the email body. Although in some instances it doesn't seem like the recruiters actually read them, I don't think it has been held against me for putting it there.

[Puttanesca]

this is a stupid question because i haven't e-mailed any apps yet, but do you put your cover letter in the e-mail body, or write a short message saying your cover letter and all that jazz is attached? thanks!

From my experience, it hasn't really mattered. I applied to some jobs with the cover letter in the body of the email and some with the cover letter attached; I have gotten interviews both ways. I have begun to prefer the attachment method just because I am paranoid that the formatting of my cover letter might get messed up when I copy and paste into the body of the email from a Word Doc.

[2014utLaw]

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