1L Summer Job Search Forum

(On Campus Interviews, Summer Associate positions, Firm Reviews, Tips, ...)
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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Dec 31, 2012 9:33 am

Are mock interviews with the career office recommended?

TooOld4This

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by TooOld4This » Mon Dec 31, 2012 9:49 am

Anonymous User wrote:Are mock interviews with the career office recommended?
I would do mock interviews with alumni instead. They are most beneficial if you know you have issues (grade problems, transferred, know you aren't comfortable interviewing). CSOs are most concerned with the reputation of the school. Most alumni I know that volunteer to do mock interviews are actually invested in helping out the students.

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by Wakelaw15 » Mon Dec 31, 2012 10:43 am

1L here. No grades received yet, and from what I understand probably will not have them until spring semester begins or a day or two before. I've applied to DA offices, and public defender offices explaining that I will follow up with grades when I have them. Does it make any sense to reach out to firms without grades? My guess is no. As you can see from my username, I'm attending a strong regional school but for the firms I would want to go to I will need top 1/3 or better grades and so it seems pointless to send out now for two reasons: 1. the list of firms i will target will be different depending on what my grades are 2. all of the firms, even small ones, will probably not even look at my resume until I have grades. thoughts?

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by eerie_erie » Mon Dec 31, 2012 11:07 am

TooOld4This wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:Are mock interviews with the career office recommended?
I would do mock interviews with alumni instead. They are most beneficial if you know you have issues (grade problems, transferred, know you aren't comfortable interviewing). CSOs are most concerned with the reputation of the school. Most alumni I know that volunteer to do mock interviews are actually invested in helping out the students.
Why not give both options a try? Our school does get alumni to come and do mock interviews, but also gives us the option to do one at the career center. I did two with the Career Center and got my top choice firm.

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by eerie_erie » Mon Dec 31, 2012 11:11 am

Wakelaw15 wrote:1L here. No grades received yet, and from what I understand probably will not have them until spring semester begins or a day or two before. I've applied to DA offices, and public defender offices explaining that I will follow up with grades when I have them. Does it make any sense to reach out to firms without grades? My guess is no. As you can see from my username, I'm attending a strong regional school but for the firms I would want to go to I will need top 1/3 or better grades and so it seems pointless to send out now for two reasons: 1. the list of firms i will target will be different depending on what my grades are 2. all of the firms, even small ones, will probably not even look at my resume until I have grades. thoughts?
I think you could begin networking to those firms that you like now, even without grades. Networking is very low stakes, and if done properly can help you demonstrate very targeted interest in the firm. An official cover letter or mailing might be more appropriate once you get grades, or you might discover the firm will be interested early even without grades. You might also benefit from learning more about the firm in general, and maybe that will cause you to move it higher or lower on your ranked list (OCI or not, it is always a good idea in my opinion to have some sort of preferences in the job search).

Also, for small firms, who you network with might actually be your official interviewer in the callback. It's happened to people before.

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jan 01, 2013 10:25 pm

If you have no legal work experience, should you only use professors as references, or is a mixture of professors and non-legal work supervisors appropriate?

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by 094320 » Tue Jan 01, 2013 11:08 pm

..

bk1

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by bk1 » Wed Jan 02, 2013 12:12 am

acrossthelake wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:If you have no legal work experience, should you only use professors as references, or is a mixture of professors and non-legal work supervisors appropriate?
Non-legal work supervisors would be good. Use one law prof, your non-legal work supervisor. For the third, if you have an undergrad thesis advisor or some other very strong prof, you might try that.
+1

Employers of law students don't care whether your reference worked with you in a legal capacity or not.

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jan 02, 2013 12:18 pm

Anonymous User wrote:If you have no legal work experience, should you only use professors as references, or is a mixture of professors and non-legal work supervisors appropriate?
Use the best references you have and if you've got a great one, don't discard it because it's not legal. Here's the pecking order:

1. Great Legal References (including Professors that you worked with in an internship)
2. Great Non-Legal References
3. References from Professors that had you in class
.
.
.
.
.
1,078 References from your congressman.

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fltanglab

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by fltanglab » Wed Jan 02, 2013 2:45 pm

nvm

005618502

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by 005618502 » Wed Jan 02, 2013 3:13 pm

For those of you who applied to judges, what did you include?

I was thinking about including my resume, cover letter and writing sample. Is that all? Is there anything else? How do I go about finding the addresses for each judge? Is there anything else I should know?

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fltanglab

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by fltanglab » Wed Jan 02, 2013 3:30 pm

AssumptionRequired wrote:For those of you who applied to judges, what did you include?

I was thinking about including my resume, cover letter and writing sample. Is that all? Is there anything else? How do I go about finding the addresses for each judge? Is there anything else I should know?
That's what I did and it's worked fine (interviews and stuff). My CSO has a list. Otherwise you can find the websites for each court.

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jan 02, 2013 3:34 pm

Wakelaw15 wrote:1L here. No grades received yet, and from what I understand probably will not have them until spring semester begins or a day or two before. I've applied to DA offices, and public defender offices explaining that I will follow up with grades when I have them. Does it make any sense to reach out to firms without grades? My guess is no. As you can see from my username, I'm attending a strong regional school but for the firms I would want to go to I will need top 1/3 or better grades and so it seems pointless to send out now for two reasons: 1. the list of firms i will target will be different depending on what my grades are 2. all of the firms, even small ones, will probably not even look at my resume until I have grades. thoughts?
You should absolutely apply now. Last year, our CDO told everyone to wait until they had grades. I go to a T30, so it's nothing special in terms of hiring and very few people get 1L SAs. The couple people who did get 1L SAs were those who disregarded the advice from the CDO and applied before grades come out. The top students who applied later were too late.

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jan 02, 2013 4:14 pm

HYS student here. Contacted a firm in the area that I'm from regarding 1L summer opportunities, but the firm said they are done hiring for their summer class this year. They invited me to a lunch with a second year associate that graduated from the law school I attend to "learn more about the firm." Since this isn't an "interview" should I bring my resume to the lunch or not?

Thanks in advance.

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Lwoods

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by Lwoods » Wed Jan 02, 2013 4:34 pm

AssumptionRequired wrote:For those of you who applied to judges, what did you include?

I was thinking about including my resume, cover letter and writing sample. Is that all? Is there anything else? How do I go about finding the addresses for each judge? Is there anything else I should know?
I just sent cover letter and resume to save money on postage, but writing sample is good, too. If you have your grades, you can send your transcript, too, but it's not necessary.

I found all the addresses online.
Anonymous User wrote:HYS student here. Contacted a firm in the area that I'm from regarding 1L summer opportunities, but the firm said they are done hiring for their summer class this year. They invited me to a lunch with a second year associate that graduated from the law school I attend to "learn more about the firm." Since this isn't an "interview" should I bring my resume to the lunch or not?

Thanks in advance.
Yes, have it on you just in case (a few copies). It also wouldn't hurt to have a couple copies of your writing sample and a list of references. They probably won't ask for them, but if they do, you'll be prepared. I'd suggest carrying them in a portfolio. If you're female, carry a larger (but still conservative) bag and keep it in there. If you're male...it's a little more difficult to be discrete but it's still worth it to bring it.

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Jan 02, 2013 11:02 pm

Anonymous User wrote:HYS student here. Contacted a firm in the area that I'm from regarding 1L summer opportunities, but the firm said they are done hiring for their summer class this year. They invited me to a lunch with a second year associate that graduated from the law school I attend to "learn more about the firm." Since this isn't an "interview" should I bring my resume to the lunch or not?

Thanks in advance.
Yes, have it on you just in case (a few copies). It also wouldn't hurt to have a couple copies of your writing sample and a list of references. They probably won't ask for them, but if they do, you'll be prepared. I'd suggest carrying them in a portfolio. If you're female, carry a larger (but still conservative) bag and keep it in there. If you're male...it's a little more difficult to be discrete but it's still worth it to bring it.[/quote]

Original poster of this question. Would wearing a full suit be too much for the occasion? I was thinking about wearing a v-neck sweater with a dress shirt and tie to go along with my slacks/dress shoes. Opinions? Sorry if this seems like a dumb question.

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by 2014 » Wed Jan 02, 2013 11:09 pm

Suit would be too much, you will be fine with a vneck/nice shirt underneath

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Scotusnerd

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by Scotusnerd » Wed Jan 02, 2013 11:42 pm

Anonymous User wrote: Original poster of this question. Would wearing a full suit be too much for the occasion? I was thinking about wearing a v-neck sweater with a dress shirt and tie to go along with my slacks/dress shoes. Opinions? Sorry if this seems like a dumb question.

Ehh I'd ask career services about that rather than trusting an online message board. Out here, that'd be a full suit event.

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by 005618502 » Thu Jan 03, 2013 1:42 am

2014 wrote:Suit would be too much, you will be fine with a vneck/nice shirt underneath
Totally disagree. Wear a suit. Always better to be overdressed than under and it is super easy to take the jacket off when you get to lunch. No one ever got dinged for being overdressed. Always better to show you care.

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by 2014 » Thu Jan 03, 2013 2:11 am

I guess it might be market dependent, but I've done two of these in the last week and I would have been out of place in a suit. I do agree that you tend to err on the side of overdressed though, but some weight should be given to the fact that this is basically a networking/informational lunch.

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by 094320 » Thu Jan 03, 2013 2:21 am

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AreJay711

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by AreJay711 » Thu Jan 03, 2013 2:58 am

So the only place I've done a "get-to-know-the-firm-lunch not on an interview was in Houston during the summer which is definitely not the most formal but I don't think a suit is required ever in a non-interview setting. (1) Basically no one wears suits just for the hell of it -- if they do they are weird -- and (2) to people that wear a suit every day, it's not like you are going to impress them with your professional image. More likely you have a shit suit that will stick out in a bad way or they will think you are trying to hard (like that prospective law student wearing a tie to admitted students weekend). Business / smart casual is definitely the way to go.

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dingbat

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by dingbat » Thu Jan 03, 2013 10:02 am

When a firm says that they don't have any more spots for Summer 2013 but ask if I'd be interested in interviewing for summer 2014, does this just mean "try at OCI?"

Note:
A) I have a very strong resume in a particular niche
B) I contacted the head of the department, not general recruiting
C) that head of the department wrote back asking the question
D) I don't think that firm/office comes to OCI at my school

edit: please don't quote

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2014

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by 2014 » Thu Jan 03, 2013 10:36 am

I think it is basically a solicitation to re mass mail them over the summer.

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Re: 1L Summer Job Search

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Jan 03, 2013 9:03 pm

After a call-back, do you send a thank-you note to each partner, or is a general letter addressed to all partners/sent to the HR person ok?

Seriously? What are you waiting for?

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