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1L Summer: Does the type of work matter?

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 10:09 pm
by Anonymous User
As a 1L at a T14, looking for public sector work, my biggest concern is whether or not the type of work I choose will effect my chances of getting private/firm work for the 2L summer.

To clarify, I received an offer from a national legal policy/ think tank organization. The organization writes amicus briefs, articles, press releases, etc., and from the sound of it lets its interns dive right into the work. It's almost entirely research and writing-based. I love the place, but my concern is that, without taking a public sector (or otherwise) position that will let me work directly with clients, or at least deal with real cases etc, that the work might hurt my chances when fall EIP begins for the 2L summer. I need paid firm work for my 2L summer, and I'm afraid working solely in a research/writing position will work to my detriment when I go to firms and ask to, say, work in litigation, or IP, etc.

What do you guys think - and in general, do you think the nature of the work you do your 1L summer has a tremendous impact on what opportunities are open to you for the next summer, and beyond?

[anonymous because I have a lot of personal information on my acct]

Re: 1L Summer: Does the type of work matter?

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 12:11 pm
by 2014
Not at all. As long as it's even barely law-related it comes down to how you spin it in an OCI interview. Firms know that 1Ls have to do public interest or research or externships or whatever.

Re: 1L Summer: Does the type of work matter?

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 12:30 pm
by Patent2014
2014 wrote:Not at all. As long as it's even barely law-related it comes down to how you spin it in an OCI interview. Firms know that 1Ls have to do public interest or research or externships or whatever.
Agreed. The most important thing is to do something law-related that gives you good experience to discuss at OCI. If you can get a summer job in the market you want to work 2L summer in, even better. Spend the summer networking with attorneys at various law firms there and make the most of it.

Re: 1L Summer: Does the type of work matter?

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 12:37 pm
by Avian
It doesn't really matter, that said, you'll probably learn more if you're helping to draft amicus briefs rather than articles and press releases. Do you know what the breakdown would look like in terms of which assignments you would get?

Re: 1L Summer: Does the type of work matter?

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 6:25 pm
by Anonymous User
Avian wrote:It doesn't really matter, that said, you'll probably learn more if you're helping to draft amicus briefs rather than articles and press releases. Do you know what the breakdown would look like in terms of which assignments you would get?
I don't know for sure. To be specific, the place in question is the Brennan Center.

Re: 1L Summer: Does the type of work matter?

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 11:21 pm
by Avian
Anonymous User wrote:
Avian wrote:It doesn't really matter, that said, you'll probably learn more if you're helping to draft amicus briefs rather than articles and press releases. Do you know what the breakdown would look like in terms of which assignments you would get?
I don't know for sure. To be specific, the place in question is the Brennan Center.
Oh ok, well that's fine. I was concerned it might be a think tank that wasn't as focused on the law. Meaning that you might not get to do much law-related work and it could be mostly policy depending on what you got assigned to. I think that's a perfectly fine position to accept. It's up to you if you think that working on cases would be more interesting, but I wouldn't worry about the effect on OCI.

Re: 1L Summer: Does the type of work matter?

Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 1:00 pm
by Anonymous User
Anonymous User wrote:
Avian wrote:It doesn't really matter, that said, you'll probably learn more if you're helping to draft amicus briefs rather than articles and press releases. Do you know what the breakdown would look like in terms of which assignments you would get?
I don't know for sure. To be specific, the place in question is the Brennan Center.
Know people who went from Brennan to v5.