1L Summer Dilemma Forum

[Anonymous User]

Okay so heres the breakdown of my situation:

I currently have interviews with a judge in family court, as well as a judge in criminal court for summer internships. Both of these are at the state/trial court level and the interviews are next week. The positions are unpaid, however I may be able to receive PI funding from my school ($4,000 for 10 weeks).

I also, to my surprise, landed an interview at a medium size firm (75 attorneys) as a clerk this summer in the area I wish to practice in. I am right outside of a major metro area in the northeast. The pay is better than the funding I would receive for the judicial internships. The interview isn't until the end of January. They have a broad range of practice areas. I have no idea if this would potentially lead to a summer associate gig the following year and/or full time employment at graduation.

I don't want to pass on the judicial internships and end up striking out with the firm. What do you guys think? I have a connection at the local trial level and have basically been assured I will be given an offer at both judicial internships if I want them.

Side notes:The firm gig is definitely better aligned with my goals and I would much rather end up in private practice than PI. Also, i'm at a TTTT and Big Law will not be a realistic option for me after graduation.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[BigZuck]

Probably depends on the likelihood of getting an offer at the firm

[Yardbird]

At least at the federal level, you can't be paid as an intern--even with law school funds. State court may be different, but generally judicial internships don't qualify for public interest funding from most law schools (judicial internships aren't public interest in the same vein as prosecution, public defense, govt, etc).

[nick417]

I was in a similar boat last year, except I was interviewing with Federal Judges. From my experience, it is in poor taste to interview with a Judge if you do not have the intention of accepting the job if offered. Telling a Judge "no" after they make an offer is highly discouraged. However, banking on a job from a firm (especially since you attend a Tier 4) is probably not a good move. I would thus interview with the Judges and see what happens. But if a Judge offers you a position, I would accept it.

I know it stinks not being paid over the summer but interning with a Judge is a great experience and solid addition to a resume.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah at this point the pay is what it is. It would be nice to make decent money this summer, however I want to choose the best option that will make me more employable later on. I have two years of work experience in marketing, compliance and education (random I know) but no actual legal experience.

[Kratos]

What's the dilemma here? Is it the whole if I get a judicial internship I can't decline it, and I might want the firm gig? Cause I was under the impression that is just a myth, but probably check with your career services to see if it fucks you in some way with them first.

You're kind of getting ahead of yourself though. Just interview with them all and see what happens and then stress over this stuff.

[Anonymous User]

Career services made it a point to stress to students that accepting an offer from a judge and then later turning it down is extremely frowned upon. My dilemma is that I don't want to say no to these two judicial internships, and then potentially not be offered the firm job, leaving me with zero.

Basically what i'm asking is if I accept one of these two judicial internships and decline the firm interview would I be making huge mistake? In terms of my goals.

[fltanglab]

You can wait to make a decision about the judicial internships, usually. Unless they give you a time limit. Then you need to determine whether that internship is worth giving up all other opportunities. But typically you can ask for time to consider the offer and tell them you have outstanding interviews that you want to respect.

[didntretake]

Advice from a fellow TTTTer: It is your 1L summer, so don't stress about it too much. Right now you just have interviews, so you should take all of them, and accept whatever you get first. You have no bad options here with regard to your overall resume and future marketability, and I think that's all the matters for the first summer.

My only caveat is that if the firm will re-hire you for 2L summer and then offer you a post-grad job, that might be worth holding out for. You should do some research and see if that has happened for anyone else, especially from your school. Ask career services. Definitely a risk that you won't get it though.

Also, with regard to timing, it is still early in my opinion. I didn't get my 1L summer lined up until maybe March or so, and it was a great job. So don't worry about getting stuck with nothing even if none of these options pan out.

[Anonymous User]

Advice from a fellow TTTTer: It is your 1L summer, so don't stress about it too much. Right now you just have interviews, so you should take all of them, and accept whatever you get first. You have no bad options here with regard to your overall resume and future marketability, and I think that's all the matters for the first summer.

My only caveat is that if the firm will re-hire you for 2L summer and then offer you a post-grad job, that might be worth holding out for. You should do some research and see if that has happened for anyone else, especially from your school. Ask career services. Definitely a risk that you won't get it though.

Also, with regard to timing, it is still early in my opinion. I didn't get my 1L summer lined up until maybe March or so, and it was a great job. So don't worry about getting stuck with nothing even if none of these options pan out.

Thanks for the advice. There are a handful of grads from my school in the firm, albeit they had some nice academic credentials. Got my grades back and I'm median (fml) so heres to hoping that none of these people request my transcript down the line.