when you work for them in between 1L, 2L, and 3L? And if so, do they really pay you?

I think most of the top firms do pay you. What I usually see the top ones paying is like $3,000 a week.

3K a week....

Holy ****, I how so people still come out with 100K in debt from the top LS?

Well because the $3k a week is used for rent, food, books, and other expenses for the next year when they may not be able to work.

It's rare to work for $$$ during your 1L summer. Firm jobs are few and far between, and most people will do some sort of unpaid or low paid internship. Even with $60k earnings 2L and 3L, you still have to pay taxes, so figure that you might keep $40 - 50k of that. Total cost of attendance at many schools is pushing $60k per year = $180k total. And you figure that a lot of people are going to blow a good chunk of that summer money on models and bottles, since it's the first time they've have had major disposable income in their young adult lives. I'm surprised that people wind up with only $100k in debt.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and then you have to cover summer living expenses, since the $60k per year student budget only provides for nine months.

Last I heard it was about $3000 max in a major market Biglaw firm. If you aren't in NYC or looking at a Biglaw firm, chances are the pay will be about $400-$1500 lower than that. I have a job at a firm this summer in a market with a population of about 1.5 million. Summer associate salaries in the city range from $1200 - $1800 (low cost of living).

Here's the low down of a few cities that I've been looking at:

Birmingham firms pay ~$1100/wk for 1Ls
Saint Louis firms pay ~$1800/wk for 1Ls
Atlanta firms pay ~$2400/wk for 1Ls
Chicago firms pay ~$3000/wk for 1Ls

I'm a 1L working in TX @ $3100/wk this summer.

I hate you.

And congratulations.

Nice! School?

I'll guess SMU, Houston, or UT. That or like HYS and he likes Texas.

I'm pretty sure he goes to S.

Yep, stanford

My city of about 600,000 pays summer associates about $2000 - $2800 per week at the bigger firms.

That explains things.

Stanford, with Texas ties. Born, raised and went to undergrad in TX.

I think the only ones with a shot at a summer associate gig are T14. Even in TX, UT won't even get you an interview. My friend goes to UT Law, she's in the top 25%, on law review, and she couldn't even get an interview at any firm in TX.

That's not necessarily true, especially in the smaller markets. Granted, it's probably true for the jobs that pay upwards of $3000/wk, but you can get a good paying summer associate position in other cities.

You sure that's not $3,077?

Me too

Yeah, it probably is

$3100 just sounded better. An extra $23 a week!

Can I interpret that to mean that you bagged a similar gig for 1L summer out of CLS, Katkins? If so, what does it take? I want to be able to attack some of that debt as early as I can.

I find this VERY VERY hard to believe. Someone is lying somewhere.

I don't see what's so hard to believe. As a 1L, firm jobs are extremely rare. They're the exception and not the norm. The V50 firm of over 200 attorneys that I got a job at only takes 5 1Ls each year. Most of the other firms I applied to only took 1. Firms just don't hire many 1Ls, and therefore can be uber selective about who they interview and who they offer.

Of course she wasn't on law review at the time she applied for her 1L jobs, but her grades and school weren't enough to even get her foot in the door for an interview. Needless to say she got a great job at a firm through OCI for 2L summer. Regardless, it shows the difficulty in obtaining a 1L summer gig for extremely talented individuals at great schools.

Believe what you want, but I have first hand experience with this and it's just the way it is.

Sorry, but that just sounds really pompous.

You don't have to go to a T-14 to get a paid (very well paid) 1L summer associate position. There are some regional schools that place VERY well for 1Ls.

Yes, you do have to do well to get these positions, but they ARE available. There's not a universal stamp for resume reviewing that says, "Oops, not a T-14 school, REJECTED."

Yeah, standard policy is just to not hire 1Ls.
I think within IP there's an exception. I do have a friend at Houston who got a gig on corporate council after his 1L, but it payed much less than 3K a week. However, he's already done OCI for his 2L and will be making that money this coming summer. However, he was top 5% of his class and also has related work experience prior to law school.

You can, and I'm not sure what it takes. I have friends at my school with very similar resumes who don't have jobs yet, though I'm sure they will soon.