Zuck's right. If I were to count just the people I know, I can say between 10-15% of the class had 1LSAs, so accounting for the people I don't know, I'd "guestimate" closer to 20%, give or take. Then maybe 5% do midlaw SAs or in-house internships, which can still pay well. The rest do judicial internships (fed, state, local), DOJ/USAO internships, DA/PD offices, AG's office, public interest, small firms, and RA positions.Hikkomorist wrote:Thanks! 1L SAs still pretty much determined by first-semester grades, right?BigZuck wrote:A decent-sized minority of the class works at big firms. Fair amount do judicial internships, some RA, some work in government like the Texas Attorney General's office, some work for public interest organizations.Hikkomorist wrote:To all the current students viewing the thread: would you mind sharing what you did/are doing your 1L summer?
It's pretty much the same as most other law schools, although there might be a higher percentage at firms than at most places just because a 1L SA is somewhat of a thing in TX.
Although paid 1L work isn't the norm, I think I was a bit surprised by how many people actually got nice gigs. That being said, a lot more people would be able to get paid work if most of the people who got the less common second half 1LSAs weren't almost exclusively people who had first half clerkships.
And while good grades are necessary for 1LSA position, it's not determinative. Some people who just got law review were working for free this summer. Others who aren't grade-on material (cough *me* cough) have 1L gigs. Interview skills go a long way once you're past their GPA threshold. Important thing to remember is, 1st year work doesn't matter. Just get the grades, because those law review people will be much better off that me at OCI.