How to land a 1L SA Forum

[Doritos]

I hope the OP found this thread helpful. His/her first day of law school is only three and a half months away and the advice to "crush" his/her exams must be a real eye opener. Additionally, the advice to have ties to a less popular market is surely going to be useful as three months is more than ample time to establish such ties. Unfortunately, becoming a URM and/or obtaining a technical decree which enables him/her to do IP for the summer may not be feasible. Lastly, the advice to mass mail in six months is also a great addition.

[TheFactor]

I hope the OP found this thread helpful. His/her first day of law school is only three and a half months away and the advice to "crush" his/her exams must be a real eye opener. Additionally, the advice to have ties to a less popular market is surely going to be useful as three months is more than ample time to establish such ties. Unfortunately, becoming a URM and/or obtaining a technical decree which enables him/her to do IP for the summer may not be feasible. Lastly, the advice to mass mail in six months is also a great addition.

OP wanted to know "how to land a 1L SA." All of things you mentioned--that's how you do it.

[Doritos]

I hope the OP found this thread helpful. His/her first day of law school is only three and a half months away and the advice to "crush" his/her exams must be a real eye opener. Additionally, the advice to have ties to a less popular market is surely going to be useful as three months is more than ample time to establish such ties. Unfortunately, becoming a URM and/or obtaining a technical decree which enables him/her to do IP for the summer may not be feasible. Lastly, the advice to mass mail in six months is also a great addition.

OP wanted to know "how to land a 1L SA." All of things you mentioned--that's how you do it.

I just don't see the point of 0Ls posting in the employment forum. I thought this was strongly discouraged and the "ask a law student" forums were for speculation about job prospects and the like. This isn't about something like SEO or an internship that is immediately relevant to 0Ls this is talk about stuff that applies to law students and has nothing to do with anything pre-law school. Maybe I'm just cranky because of finals.

[Anonymous User]

T10, very strong pre-LS work experience, good connections. That, together with top 1% fall semester grades, got me a handful of 1L SA offers -- one in a secondary market I had ties to, a few more in DC & NY. Since grades come out so late, they seem less important than the other factors described above, like BSEE, minority status, etc.

[Anonymous User]

What does BSEE mean?

Has anybody found/have friends who have found a named scholarship from a T10 or T6 school to be an asset in the 1L SA hunt?

I'm K-JD and am wondering if the above+diversity (not of the URM variety unfortunately) might be enough to make somebody with zero full-time WE competitive in the 1L SA race.

[cinephile]

What does BSEE mean?

Probably bachelor of science in electrical engineering.

[bdubs]

Has anybody found/have friends who have found a named scholarship from a T10 or T6 school to be an asset in the 1L SA hunt?

I'm K-JD and am wondering if the above+diversity (not of the URM variety unfortunately) might be enough to make somebody with zero full-time WE competitive in the 1L SA race.

Seriously? If you're going to a T6 for free you don't really need to worry about getting a 1L SA. I doubt that employers will care very much about your scholarship if you don't get good grades first semester.

[Curious1]

I hope the OP found this thread helpful. His/her first day of law school is only three and a half months away and the advice to "crush" his/her exams must be a real eye opener. Additionally, the advice to have ties to a less popular market is surely going to be useful as three months is more than ample time to establish such ties. Unfortunately, becoming a URM and/or obtaining a technical decree which enables him/her to do IP for the summer may not be feasible. Lastly, the advice to mass mail in six months is also a great addition.

Well actually this HAS been useful for me (I'm OP) for a number of reasons.

1) I discovered that URM at firms =/= URM at law schools, so I think I AM eligible.

2) It gives me time to plan when I should be sending out resumes and plan how to balance that with studying for finals early.

3) I DO have ties to secondary markets (can you call LA secondary?), and this thread has dispelled my initial belief that 1L SA gigs were most likely found in NYC. Now I'll know to apply more widely and target LA firms

4) Targeted cover letters are apparently important.

[Anonymous User]

T10, black dude, work experience, great grades first semester, from middle of nowhere, got nothing though applied to over 30 diversity positions. It's hard out there for a pimp.

Similarly: T14, hispanic, great grades first semester, shitty work experience, mass mailed every NYC/CA/DC/Chicago NALP firm that said they hired 1L's or hired 1L's last summer and applied to every diversity SA in those places I could find between Dec 1 and January 15.

Didn't get a single callback from that.

To add an alternative datapoint:

T14, Hispanic K-JD, Top 5%, snagged 1L SA in major market /w no ties, non-diversity position.

Specifically was told that if I sent an untargeted cover letter my chances would've been greatly diminished.

Same here except for being Hispanic. In DC.

[bk1]

3) I DO have ties to secondary markets (can you call LA secondary?), and this thread has dispelled my initial belief that 1L SA gigs were most likely found in NYC. Now I'll know to apply more widely and target LA firms

LA isn't really secondary. It also doesn't have a ton of 1L SA's like other markets (TX/the South). I'm not sure you'd gain appreciably by targeting LA over NYC (do both). And it's not like LA doesn't already have great schools (whereas if you have a T14 degree and ties to Ohio you have an appreciable edge over the local schools whereas the same is not true in LA since LA's schools are already pretty decent).

[TheFactor]

(can you call LA secondary?)

no. no, you can't

[Anonymous User]

No method but hustle and hope

[planeride]

Why is Texas always talked about as the lucrative secondary market? What are the runners-up?

[angrybird]

Why is Texas always talked about as the lucrative secondary market? What are the runners-up?

Texas has a reputation for hiring a lot of 1Ls

[Birdnals]

Why is Texas always talked about as the lucrative secondary market? What are the runners-up?

1L SA programs are bigger in Texas

[chrispronger]

Has anybody found/have friends who have found a named scholarship from a T10 or T6 school to be an asset in the 1L SA hunt?

I'm K-JD and am wondering if the above+diversity (not of the URM variety unfortunately) might be enough to make somebody with zero full-time WE competitive in the 1L SA race.

Seriously? If you're going to a T6 for free you don't really need to worry about getting a 1L SA. I doubt that employers will care very much about your scholarship if you don't get good grades first semester.

Lots of folks have named scholarships for substantially less than the full amount, myself included.

Why is Texas always talked about as the lucrative secondary market? What are the runners-up?

Mostly southern states, with a few exceptions. AL, SC, NC, and OH come to mind off the top of my head.

[thelawyler]

Why is Texas always talked about as the lucrative secondary market? What are the runners-up?

1L SA programs are bigger in Texas

Everything is bigger in Texas.

[Anonymous User]

Has anybody found/have friends who have found a named scholarship from a T10 or T6 school to be an asset in the 1L SA hunt?

I'm K-JD and am wondering if the above+diversity (not of the URM variety unfortunately) might be enough to make somebody with zero full-time WE competitive in the 1L SA race.

Seriously? If you're going to a T6 for free you don't really need to worry about getting a 1L SA. I doubt that employers will care very much about your scholarship if you don't get good grades first semester.

Need=/=want. I know I'm not screwed if I don't get one but that doesn't mean that doesn't mean I shouldn't try for one anyway. Also I have some personal reasons for wanting financial independence as soon as possible that I'm pretty sure are not specific to most students. So in the event that anybody knows of it making any difference that would be useful. If not that's ok.

[Anonymous User]

I got mine by demolishing 1L and then interviewing well at 1L OCI. And I am not from the state here, have no connections to the state here, etc. I had to get mine the hard way: grades and swagger.

The BEST way to get a 1L SA is by being at a regional school, being from that region, and having remote connections to the firm. I have to think that a 1L SA is actually harder if at a NY school since you are just one in a faceless crowd and need either great grades or great connections.

[angrybird]

I got mine by demolishing 1L and then interviewing well at 1L OCI. And I am not from the state here, have no connections to the state here, etc. I had to get mine the hard way: grades and swagger.

The BEST way to get a 1L SA is by being at a regional school, being from that region, and having remote connections to the firm. I have to think that a 1L SA is actually harder if at a NY school since you are just one in a faceless crowd and need either great grades or great connections.

why bother posting anonymously? it's obvious everyone at your school will recognize you based on your pure swagger.

[Anonymous User]

I got mine by demolishing 1L and then interviewing well at 1L OCI. And I am not from the state here, have no connections to the state here, etc. I had to get mine the hard way: grades and swagger.

The BEST way to get a 1L SA is by being at a regional school, being from that region, and having remote connections to the firm. I have to think that a 1L SA is actually harder if at a NY school since you are just one in a faceless crowd and need either great grades or great connections.

why bother posting anonymously? it's obvious everyone at your school will recognize you based on your pure swagger.

True.

[Anonymous User]

Why is Texas always talked about as the lucrative secondary market? What are the runners-up?

Texas has a reputation for hiring a lot of 1Ls

I wouldn't call Texas "secondary" anyway...

But to answer the OP:

Have decent grades, interview well and it definitely helps if you know someone. Some firms can be a lot more forgiving about grades than others if you have some of the other qualities going for you. I know someone from a T14 (Ok..no longer T14....*hint*) who recently got an offer from a BigLaw in a major city with only median grades.

[NinerFan]

Why is Texas always talked about as the lucrative secondary market? What are the runners-up?

Texas has biglaw firms that pay market. Other southern markets generally don't.

[Anonymous User]

harvard 1L with advanced engineering degree and strong ties to texas. will my grades really matter as long as I don't get LPs? say i get all Ps, will i still have a shot at a 1L SA in texas?

[Anonymous User]

I highly recommend directly contacting general counsels at fortune-500 companies. I did this, and ended up with (what I consider to be) the best 1L SA gig of anyone at my school (MVP). During 2L OCI, nobody asked about my grades (which are mediocre), they only wanted to hear about my SA under the general counsel. I ended up a 2L position at a v-30 firm where I'm "below their cutoff."

Working in house is much better than working at a firm for 3 reasons: 1) you will have a strong connection with the company, which may allow you to bring in your own business early on, 2) you will have seen what it's like on the "other side," you will be the guy calling up a V-10 partner and asking the why-didn't-I-have-that-memo-in-my-hand-by-COB-Friday questions and 3) over the summer you will have made connections with partners and associates at many different law firms.

At OCI I knew a partner at half the firms with which I interviewed.

You should first contact companies with offices near a market you're connect to and companies where the general counsel is an alumni.

Also, if you're a 0L, now is the time to contact associates and partners that are UG or law school alumni to ask about "advice" for law school. Keep in thouch with them throughout the first year. Your connection will these lawyers will be much more genuine than if you cold call them 1 week before 2L OCI.