The Official 1L Summer Employment Thread - 2012 Edition Forum

[jess]

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[Anonymous User]

Got a really unexpected grade request from Cravath. Does anybody know about their grade requesting practices? I don't want to give it much thought if they're requesting grades from everyone who sends them a resume.

[lawyerwannabe]

Got a really unexpected grade request from Cravath. Does anybody know about their grade requesting practices? I don't want to give it much thought if they're requesting grades from everyone who sends them a resume.

Did they ask for your UG grades as well? Heard they do sometimes at 2L OCI.

[Anonymous User]

Got a really unexpected grade request from Cravath. Does anybody know about their grade requesting practices? I don't want to give it much thought if they're requesting grades from everyone who sends them a resume.

Did they ask for your UG grades as well? Heard they do sometimes at 2L OCI.

yeah, they did.

[Anonymous User]

Got a really unexpected grade request from Cravath. Does anybody know about their grade requesting practices? I don't want to give it much thought if they're requesting grades from everyone who sends them a resume.

I got a we hire very few 1L's and won't be able to offer you a position email from them.

[Anonymous User]

Same here

[sundance95]

Got an offer at a district court last week. The judge told me that I wouldn't get much hands on experience, but that I would learn a ton from observation and discussing my observations with her every week. Is this typical for internships with judges; that is, do most 1L judicial interns simply watch court all summer, and do no hands on legal work? Also, will it hurt me in OCI next year if I take this offer and don't have any hands on legal work to talk about with firms?

i know every judge is different, but my judge told me that i would be writing orders and doing research, along with observation.

+1. I think this is very judge/docket dependent.

[beachbum]

Sent out another 20 or so apps to state judges in my target market, and have a clerk who is going to pass my resume around/put in a few good words with federal judges. Hopefully this translates into an interview or two, as I really want to end up in this area, and I would really enjoy not worrying about job hunting anymore.

[jess]

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[Anonymous User]

Got an offer at a district court last week. The judge told me that I wouldn't get much hands on experience, but that I would learn a ton from observation and discussing my observations with her every week. Is this typical for internships with judges; that is, do most 1L judicial interns simply watch court all summer, and do no hands on legal work? Also, will it hurt me in OCI next year if I take this offer and don't have any hands on legal work to talk about with firms?

Not sure if this is typical, but the judge I will be working for this summer expects significant written work each week. I'm sure you will learn a lot from the observation, but if you are concerned about getting some research and writing experience, maybe you could look into an extra part time RA position for a professor.

[ilovesf]

I am soooooo tired of writing job apps. I don't know how some of you sent out 100+. I'm at around 45 now and I want to die.

[AreJay711]

I am soooooo tired of writing job apps. I don't know how some of you sent out 100+. I'm at around 45 now and I want to die.

For judges all it took was changing the address and salutation, and occasionally the state or city I wanted to practice in. I included the firm name in the body of the cover letter so that was an extra step.

[071816]

Three interviews lined up. Hopefully I get something.

[theavrock]

I am soooooo tired of writing job apps. I don't know how some of you sent out 100+. I'm at around 45 now and I want to die.

For judges all it took was changing the address and salutation, and occasionally the state or city I wanted to practice in. I included the firm name in the body of the cover letter so that was an extra step.

Mail merge = win

[AreJay711]

I am soooooo tired of writing job apps. I don't know how some of you sent out 100+. I'm at around 45 now and I want to die.

For judges all it took was changing the address and salutation, and occasionally the state or city I wanted to practice in. I included the firm name in the body of the cover letter so that was an extra step.

Mail merge = win

I'm going to need to figure that out for 2L mass mailing. Does anyone know any good how to guides for mail merge? I use gmail but I have outlook too.

[ilovesf]

I am soooooo tired of writing job apps. I don't know how some of you sent out 100+. I'm at around 45 now and I want to die.

For judges all it took was changing the address and salutation, and occasionally the state or city I wanted to practice in. I included the firm name in the body of the cover letter so that was an extra step.

Mail merge = win

I'm working on PI apps right now, and each organization kind of has a different focus so my cover letters are all a bit different.

[Anonymous User]

Sorry to budge in but I have a somewhat stupid question. For people sending 100+ apps, are you sending the same cover letter for all firm jobs and another for all judges etc., with minor alterations of course, or are you coming up with personalized cover letters for all?

[LeDique]

i'm kind of starting to freak out now that i realize i won't have a source of aid or income this summer unless i find a way to work evenings. however, i think serving is out because i won't get out of the courthouse in time. not sure what to do. i know my school offers summer stipends to people in PI/govt work, but i seriously doubt a judicial internship will be awarded one of those stipends. wondering if i could somehow get financial aid for the summer through student loans if absolutely necessary?

If you take it for credit, you can get loans, yes.

[r6_philly]

Got a really unexpected grade request from Cravath. Does anybody know about their grade requesting practices? I don't want to give it much thought if they're requesting grades from everyone who sends them a resume.

I got one in December. I assume they review resume before requesting grades, but I could be wrong.

[Anonymous User]

Got an offer at a district court last week. The judge told me that I wouldn't get much hands on experience, but that I would learn a ton from observation and discussing my observations with her every week. Is this typical for internships with judges; that is, do most 1L judicial interns simply watch court all summer, and do no hands on legal work? Also, will it hurt me in OCI next year if I take this offer and don't have any hands on legal work to talk about with firms?

I interned at the state level my 0L summer and got to do hands-on work. Ideally you should have SOMETHING to say about what you did over the summer. I'd pass on this.

[Anonymous User]

Got an offer at a district court last week. The judge told me that I wouldn't get much hands on experience, but that I would learn a ton from observation and discussing my observations with her every week. Is this typical for internships with judges; that is, do most 1L judicial interns simply watch court all summer, and do no hands on legal work? Also, will it hurt me in OCI next year if I take this offer and don't have any hands on legal work to talk about with firms?

I learned much, much more observing at the district court I worked at over 1L than I did doing substantive work. I had a couple projects over the summer, but I would say that 90+ percent of my time was spent sitting in on trials and hearings going on in the court. I know that some judges wanted their interns to do more substantive work (that the clerks would end up redoing anyway), but not mine. The projects I did have were enough for me to talk about during OCI if I was asked about them, and sitting in on this one set of hearings (that my judge was not even a part of) may have sealed the deal for getting an offer from my dream firm. That firm has a reputation for having lawyers that conduct themselves in a certain way that's unique among biglaw firms.

Since I wasn't tied down with a lot of writing and research, I was able to go to different hearings and trials involving lawyers from that firm. So during my OCI screener and callback, I was of course asked about my summer experience at the courthouse. Invariably, I was able to spin this into how great it was to be able to watch truly grade A attorneys at work. I would describe how the attorneys carried themselves in the courtroom and how those are the professional characteristics I want to be able to hone. Naturally, I mentioned the names of the attorneys I was most impressed with and usually the person interviewing me knew at least one of them and had very good things to say about them. It completely changed the tone of the interview from that second going forward.

It's one thing to say, "I have heard such good things about the attorneys at your firm from Mr. X," and a whole other thing to say, "I was so completely and totally impressed with Ms. Y from this firm. This is what she did in the courtroom that so few other attorneys did. I hope to be able eventually to develop that same level of professional confidence, poise, enthusiasm, etc. And judging from everybody I've talked to and everything I've seen, I know that this firm will absolutely get me on the right track."

Oh, and also, don't even worry about getting a writing sample from your 1L summer job. I think there was one firm at our entire OCI that even asked for them.

[ilovesf]

Now that you guys have grades are you going to be sending your unofficial transcript in with your apps? I am sending in my last batch of judicial apps in tomorrow, can't decide if I should send my grades or not because they don't even have what they want listed on the website.

[Anonymous User]

Got an offer at a district court last week. The judge told me that I wouldn't get much hands on experience, but that I would learn a ton from observation and discussing my observations with her every week. Is this typical for internships with judges; that is, do most 1L judicial interns simply watch court all summer, and do no hands on legal work? Also, will it hurt me in OCI next year if I take this offer and don't have any hands on legal work to talk about with firms?

I learned much, much more observing at the district court I worked at over 1L than I did doing substantive work. I had a couple projects over the summer, but I would say that 90+ percent of my time was spent sitting in on trials and hearings going on in the court. I know that some judges wanted their interns to do more substantive work (that the clerks would end up redoing anyway), but not mine. The projects I did have were enough for me to talk about during OCI if I was asked about them, and sitting in on this one set of hearings (that my judge was not even a part of) may have sealed the deal for getting an offer from my dream firm. That firm has a reputation for having lawyers that conduct themselves in a certain way that's unique among biglaw firms.

Since I wasn't tied down with a lot of writing and research, I was able to go to different hearings and trials involving lawyers from that firm. So during my OCI screener and callback, I was of course asked about my summer experience at the courthouse. Invariably, I was able to spin this into how great it was to be able to watch truly grade A attorneys at work. I would describe how the attorneys carried themselves in the courtroom and how those are the professional characteristics I want to be able to hone. Naturally, I mentioned the names of the attorneys I was most impressed with and usually the person interviewing me knew at least one of them and had very good things to say about them. It completely changed the tone of the interview from that second going forward.

It's one thing to say, "I have heard such good things about the attorneys at your firm from Mr. X," and a whole other thing to say, "I was so completely and totally impressed with Ms. Y from this firm. This is what she did in the courtroom that so few other attorneys did. I hope to be able eventually to develop that same level of professional confidence, poise, enthusiasm, etc. And judging from everybody I've talked to and everything I've seen, I know that this firm will absolutely get me on the right track."

Oh, and also, don't even worry about getting a writing sample from your 1L summer job. I think there was one firm at our entire OCI that even asked for them.

Thanks for the informative response. After reading, I think I could spin court observation into something somewhat impressive. I was told I would learn a ton watching court everyday.

I'm going to keep it in the back pocket for now, and, if something else much better comes up, I'll take it.

[kapital98]

What's the general grade cut-off for judicial externships?

I've put a considerable amount of effort in preparing my application for the first round of district court judges. If that doesn't work then I'll send a second batch to the remaining federal district/appellate judges in the region. Officially, applications are not accepted until February 1st in San Francisco.

[theavrock]

I don't know if there is anything set in stone. I have a district court extern lined up without grades and had other interviews set up without grade requests as well.