Top Law Schools

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It's not the right place - as the rules at the top of this forum explain. Moving it to correct forum.

From what I understand, Biglaw paralegals are usually hired for at least 1-2 years.

arklaw13 wrote:From what I understand, Biglaw paralegals are usually hired for at least 1-2 years.

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Finding anything like a biglaw paralegal gig for less than a year (and often less than 2 years) isn't realistic.

I am a paralegal at a top firm in NYC and have been a paralegal in NYC, DC, and LA (they make me move around a lot). Based on my experience here:

Would being able to say "I am attending X (of CCN) in the fall" bolster one's chances of landing such a position?
Absolutely not. It will hurt you. Once the firm knows that you intend to go to law school, your chances are nil. It takes a lot of time and effort to get an entry level (and I assume that you would be entry-level) paralegal up and running. For the first few/several months, you are pretty much an expense because you do not know enough about the firm, the practice area, etc., to make meaningful contributions. You would essentially be asking the firm to take a loss because you have nothing else to do. To be honest, as soon as an applicant demonstrates a desire to maybe go to law school at some point in their life, it's ding pile. At the last firm I worked at, if we thought you would leave for law school in less than two years, same result. It sucks, I know.

would having such position before attending law school provide any benefit for future SA, etc. employment?
It might help with networking and references in the future (if you were able to develop the right kind of relationship in the relatively short period you were here), but you would almost certainly be cutting your ability to return to this firm.

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nvm

TakeABow94 wrote:wait I got from my other thread that mentioning something like CCN will actually hurt my chances of getting the para position, but I didn't know being a para will hurt my chances of returning to the firm as an SA? why would that be the case?

so if someone has any real intentions of working for e.g., WLRK, it's better not to para there?

also, interviews in winter? I thought most people start applying in Jan? Unless you refer to Jan/Feb as winter?

You're an idiot and/or illiterate.

If you work for the full time commitment (usually 2 years) as a paralegal it will be a great resume line item, a real boost to hiring across the board, and a massive boost to your odds of returning the firm you were a paralegal at (assuming you do a good job and get to know people).

If you take the job and then quit early it's going to burn bridges at the firm you started at and will be questionably useful as you apply/look elsewhere.

Here's the big firm paralegal model: Hire bright, ambitious college graduates right after they leave college. Keep them for two years, assuming they will study for the LSAT and go to law school at the end of that two year tenure. Lots of paralegals return to the firm they were a paralegal at but plenty don't, and many also wind up with other ambitions or even stay career paralegals.

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optimal and realistic are mutually exclusive here

Realistically, you could check out retail gigs or waiting tables or something like that. Few if any decent gigs are gonna hire you for a few months

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You could look for a research position or try for a funded fellowship in an area you're interested in. A Google policy fellowship would be a legitimate outcome here, for example. As the year progresses, your UG career services center should be posting more and more summer internships (paid and not) that you may be eligible for, even upon graduating. Any of these night be law related, if that is important to you. A summer-length paralegal position is not realistic here.

when should one apply for legal assistant positions? should one mass mail or look specifically for openings?

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DR3 wrote:Hello all,

I'm not sure if this is the proper place to discuss pre- Law School employment opportunities, but here we are.

I am in UG and graduating in March, meaning I will be free to work from then until next fall. I have not committed to any school yet, but I have an admittance at CCN under my belt.

I would like to spend a few months as a paralegal/legal assistant. How difficult is it to acquire this kind of job in a BigLaw firm? Would being able to say "I am attending X (of CCN) in the fall" bolster one's chances of landing such a position? Finally, would having such position before attending law school provide any benefit for future SA, etc. employment?

Thank you kindly,
D

I am a legal secretary right now at a large firm and I graduated in May 2013 and am attending law school Fall 2014 and I will tell you this:

say goodbye to a big law or even small law job like that. They don't want short term temporary work. By the time they trained you to what they need....you'd be off to college- that's not worth it to them and you don't have enough experience to be a paralegal, they do and know more than you think. I only got my job contingent on the fact that I would still be working there while I was in law school (Which is a fib I said to get the job). Putting that you're going to be attending law school doesn't help. So become a legal secretary and say what I did and say good bye to paralegal opportunites

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