How to land a 1L SA Forum

[UVAIce]

Some markets are definitely more receptive to 1Ls. It seem like southern small markets in particular are willing to hire 1Ls from top schools

Purely anecdotal, but it seems like a lot of people at UVA got 1L firm jobs this year relative to how rare it is. I and a handful of others got offers from firms in home/ small markets in the south, and I know a decent amount of people landed Texas and Atlanta as well. Have heard about 2 in DC and 1 in NY too

No idea what the total figures are, but just from talking to people it sounds like there is a solid amount, with a huge advantage to those who are from smaller cities in the south

I will second this. I'm willing to be that our numbers for 1L firm jobs will be up this year. It seems as if you are from the South, have around median grades, and are not a complete mouth breather then you scooped up some kind of 1L SA. That being said, not all 1L firm jobs are equal. I know people who are getting paid on an hourly basis and will not be bringing in $2K+ a week during the summer. But some money is definitely better than no money.

[Anonymous User]

If I can't find a big law 1l summer job, do you guys think it would be better to work in the legal department of a large company ($500 million revenue/year) or work in a small firm (10-100 lawyers)? I want a 2l SA job in a large firm.

Are these actual options or are you a 0L?
But I would take the firm if it lead to potential post-graduation employment. If not, whichever you prefer.

The firm job is somewhat hypothetical. The company hires an outside firm that maybe I could work for... Getting a job in the legal department of a large company is less of a hypothetical... a family member works there in a high executive position. The legal department job would involve working with the CFO, COO etc. wich I think must be appreciated by big law firms, right?

[Anonymous User]

Should 1 bid for a 1L SA where they have major ties (say TX) if they would prefer NYC biglaw at graduation for the experience/money?

[Anonymous User]

The bottom line is this

To get a 1L SA in major market (NY/DC/SF/LA), top 5% at t14 (pref. w/ IP) is nec, but not sufficient; also, ties are req.

I disagree. I think connections and fit are far more important, given how rare these positions are and given the fact that they are less specifically tied to hiring (i.e. there isn't as much of an "expectation" that the SA gig will turn into a full-time offer, far more discretionary for 1L SAs).

I'm below median at T10 and got a V100 1L SA position in a major market. Connections got me the callback. Once I was in the callback, it was all fit. No talk about grades, don't even remember if they asked for them.

but I agree a lot of luck is involved.

[Anonymous User]

The bottom line is this

To get a 1L SA in major market (NY/DC/SF/LA), top 5% at t14 (pref. w/ IP) is nec, but not sufficient; also, ties are req.

I disagree. I think connections and fit are far more important, given how rare these positions are and given the fact that they are less specifically tied to hiring (i.e. there isn't as much of an "expectation" that the SA gig will turn into a full-time offer, far more discretionary for 1L SAs).

I'm below median at T10 and got a V100 1L SA position in a major market. Connections got me the callback. Once I was in the callback, it was all fit. No talk about grades, don't even remember if they asked for them.

but I agree a lot of luck is involved.

Definitely agree with the above. Local ties and fit play a much bigger role in this process. I accepted an offer for a V100 1L SA, albeit in a secondary market, before even receiving 2/3 of my fall semester grades (ended up top 1/3ish at CNN, but by no means top 5%).

[Anonymous User]

The bottom line is this

To get a 1L SA in major market (NY/DC/SF/LA), top 5% at t14 (pref. w/ IP) is nec, but not sufficient; also, ties are req.

I disagree. I think connections and fit are far more important, given how rare these positions are and given the fact that they are less specifically tied to hiring (i.e. there isn't as much of an "expectation" that the SA gig will turn into a full-time offer, far more discretionary for 1L SAs).

I'm below median at T10 and got a V100 1L SA position in a major market. Connections got me the callback. Once I was in the callback, it was all fit. No talk about grades, don't even remember if they asked for them.

but I agree a lot of luck is involved.

Definitely agree with the above. Local ties and fit play a much bigger role in this process. I accepted an offer for a V100 1L SA, albeit in a secondary market, before even receiving 2/3 of my fall semester grades (ended up top 1/3ish at CNN, but by no means top 5%).

I never discounted ties as being important; also, my posts were explicitly about how major markets are difficult and how secondary markets are much easier (the anon that quoted me left out the second line regarding secondary markets)

I should have qualified it by saying that connections can also get you in, but I assumed people knew this and it wasn't worth writing, since connections are not the type of thing that you can work on during first semester law school

[Anonymous User]

mass mailing for these positions seems like a total and utter waste of time to me. I got a 1L SA position just by getting excellent (top 5%) grades my first semester. There are two ways to get these positions. You must either:

1) Get amazing grades + get really lucky + be a good interviewer OR
2) Get some connection through networking + get really lucky + be a good interviewer

If I fall into category 1, I would apply to all of my school's OCI positions. If I know I'm not getting top 10% or better grades, I would go to all of my school's networking events where I think hiring people will be.

The only thing you can control in either process besides obviously getting elite grades is improving your interviewing skills. Rather than wasting time mass mailing, I would schedule mock interviews, get your friends to interview you, research interview tips, and do anything else you can to be a great interview. Note that developing this skill will serve you later on in life anyway and it is something that definitely can be improved with practice. Further, this will make you stand out among your peers, many of whom are terrible at interviews and will not put in the time to improve until they realize how important this is 2L year. This board is a great place for interviewing tips, if you're looking for ways to get started. I was an older, non-traditional student with a lot of interviewing experience and this is a huge part of why I got my position.

[kolokena]

I agree that mass mailings are a waste of time - focus on grades so you can land that 2L OCI gig. I struck out at spring-OCI and diversity apps for the 1L summer gig (though, even at my T10 very few firms participated in this).

Ended up with an offer from a big tech company in their in-house legal department and an offer from a boutique litigation firm in a primary market. Took the firm job since it was less of a commute and I want to end up in litigation. It doesn't pay $3K a week but it's not chump change either.

Got the firm job through networking and not once did grades come up (mines were mediocre at best). I felt like everything was based on previous work experience and the interview itself/fitting in with the firm culture. Just keep your eyes open for opportunities when you meet random people and approach it as a friendship or mentorship instead then see where it goes.