1L Summer Commonwealth Attorney --> BigLaw? Forum

[Anonymous User]

So I really put all of my eggs in the BigLaw basket for 1L summer, in hindsight not the greatest idea but it was a risk I willingly accepted. I am still waiting on 1 callback I had last week. If I don't get an offer from them, however, I will likely be splitting my summer between the Commonwealth Attorney's Office (not interested in crim law, just the "litigating" experience) close to where I live and a paid RA position. My question is will working for a county prosecutor hurt my chances of getting big law in 2L OCI in anyway? I am top 25% after 1st semester at MVP, ~2 years management consulting experience before law school.

[Anonymous User]

I had similar strategy/stats/background at MVP as a 1L. I ended up working for a rural state county judge 1L summer (worked on same issues as the commonwealth attys etc so I think it's similar enough) and I got a V10 this 2L summer, but it didn't come easy. I don't know if it was because of my internship that it was so difficult (took a while after OGIs to get it) or just bad interviewing, but Biglaw is possible and I think 1L summer isn't that big of a deal as long as you can speak about it in an interesting way in interviews.

[Anonymous User]

Should I just do the RA position all summer then? I thought it didn't matter what you did as long as it was legal related

[hichvichwoh]

Should I just do the RA position all summer then? I thought it didn't matter what you did as long as it was legal related

I did an RA, several of my friends were RAs. We all got SAs from OCI.

[Royalduck]

Should I just do the RA position all summer then? I thought it didn't matter what you did as long as it was legal related

I think 1L summer isn't that big of a deal as long as you can speak about it in an interesting way in interviews.

...

(7:57) RA sounds really boring compared to doing something practical. I think you might be more excited if what you are doing actually has an effect on the world. Unless you're particularly excited about your RA gig...

[Anonymous User]

Should I just do the RA position all summer then? I thought it didn't matter what you did as long as it was legal related

I think 1L summer isn't that big of a deal as long as you can speak about it in an interesting way in interviews.

...

(7:57) RA sounds really boring compared to doing something practical. I think you might be more excited if what you are doing actually has an effect on the world. Unless you're particularly excited about your RA gig...

Regardless of what I do, I'm just wondering if I'm going toget "oh, he did x legal job 1L summer, were not going to call him back"

[hichvichwoh]

Should I just do the RA position all summer then? I thought it didn't matter what you did as long as it was legal related

I think 1L summer isn't that big of a deal as long as you can speak about it in an interesting way in interviews.

...

(7:57) RA sounds really boring compared to doing something practical. I think you might be more excited if what you are doing actually has an effect on the world. Unless you're particularly excited about your RA gig...

Regardless of what I do, I'm just wondering if I'm going toget "oh, he did x legal job 1L summer, were not going to call him back"

there is zero chance you will make it through the screener without being given an opportunity to talk about your RA. If you can't make it sound like a worthwhile experience, they might not call you back, but they will not ding you based on some notion of RA << other jobs.

That being said, you'd probably have more to talk about if you split your summer between the two positions, or if you're worried your particular RA position isn't very marketable

[beepboopbeep]

Should I just do the RA position all summer then? I thought it didn't matter what you did as long as it was legal related

I think 1L summer isn't that big of a deal as long as you can speak about it in an interesting way in interviews.

...

(7:57) RA sounds really boring compared to doing something practical. I think you might be more excited if what you are doing actually has an effect on the world. Unless you're particularly excited about your RA gig...

"Here are my preferences, which are probably your preferences too."

[Anonymous User]

So I really put all of my eggs in the BigLaw basket for 1L summer, in hindsight not the greatest idea but it was a risk I willingly accepted. I am still waiting on 1 callback I had last week. If I don't get an offer from them, however, I will likely be splitting my summer between the Commonwealth Attorney's Office (not interested in crim law, just the "litigating" experience) close to where I live and a paid RA position. My question is will working for a county prosecutor hurt my chances of getting big law in 2L OCI in anyway? I am top 25% after 1st semester at MVP, ~2 years management consulting experience before law school.

Honestly, this is a rather silly question, and it has been answered, in essence, many times before. As long as you do something legal 1L summer, your 1L summer experience will not hurt you once OCI comes around.

I was both an RA and intern at a local DA's office my 1L summer. Honestly, I found the experience at the DA's office to be much more interesting and useful; there, I was drafting actual motions, pleadings, etc. and watching a lot of court. I performed as well as expected for my class rank, and I have certainly done fine after law school.

In the end, do whichever you prefer, but realize that if you want to be a litigator, a summer with a DA's office is far more valuable than writing pointless academic memos for a professor.