1L Summer Job Search C/O 2018 Forum

[Anonymous User]

At a USAO you may get thrown hypotheticals. You're not expected to know a right answer, they just want to see your thought process. (You also may not - that may just have been the one in my market, or just how they treated students from my school - but I wanted to mention it just so people don't freak out if it actually does happen.) Beyond that, it will be fairly standard - tell us about yourself, why law school, why the USAO, what do you want to do after law school, etc. Crim people might conceivably ask you about how you feel about prosecuting people/being on the side of the big bad government.

The big difference with government positions is that you don't want to look like you care about the money (I have blown an interview by doing this) and they like to see some interest in/dedication to public service. (Less of a big thing for a 1L position where they know you just want to get experience, but if they're picking between two people otherwise equal they'll probably pick the person with the more public-service-y bent.) You don't have to get up and pledge allegiance or anything, but the "why USAO" question may also be a "why the federal government" question, and it can be useful to have thought about how you'd answer that. (Although "public service for life!" may be less of a thing at offices like SDNY where going back and forth to biglaw is really common. My experience was in a decent sized office/market, but not a big biglaw feeder.)

Also, if anyone's looking at the DC USAO, it's quite different from the rest of the country because it prosecutes what would normally be state crimes as well as federal crimes (since there isn't a state prosecutor to handle them). Mostly it's just good to be aware of, but you'd want to avoid talking about, say, why you want federal experience over state experience or similar.

[buckiguy_sucks]

The big difference with government positions is that you don't want to look like you care about the money (I have blown an interview by doing this) and they like to see some interest in/dedication to public service.

If I get asked why big law can I just make it seem like I just care about the money

[pancakes3]

The big difference with government positions is that you don't want to look like you care about the money (I have blown an interview by doing this) and they like to see some interest in/dedication to public service.

If I get asked why big law can I just make it seem like I just care about the money

Funny enough, no. It's like the traders' mentality in Liar's Poker.

[Tr3]

Has anyone heard anything from MoFo?

[Gray]

.

[PeanutsNJam]

Anybody have info on the reliability of getting a summer gig (not necessarily SA) through OCI?

[LoganCouture]

Anybody have info on the reliability of getting a summer gig (not necessarily SA) through OCI?

I'm guessing it depends heavily on your school but ours has < 20 employers coming so it seems slim to none lol

[Glasseyes]

At a USAO you may get thrown hypotheticals. You're not expected to know a right answer, they just want to see your thought process. (You also may not - that may just have been the one in my market, or just how they treated students from my school - but I wanted to mention it just so people don't freak out if it actually does happen.) Beyond that, it will be fairly standard - tell us about yourself, why law school, why the USAO, what do you want to do after law school, etc. Crim people might conceivably ask you about how you feel about prosecuting people/being on the side of the big bad government.

The big difference with government positions is that you don't want to look like you care about the money (I have blown an interview by doing this) and they like to see some interest in/dedication to public service. (Less of a big thing for a 1L position where they know you just want to get experience, but if they're picking between two people otherwise equal they'll probably pick the person with the more public-service-y bent.) You don't have to get up and pledge allegiance or anything, but the "why USAO" question may also be a "why the federal government" question, and it can be useful to have thought about how you'd answer that. (Although "public service for life!" may be less of a thing at offices like SDNY where going back and forth to biglaw is really common. My experience was in a decent sized office/market, but not a big biglaw feeder.)

Also, if anyone's looking at the DC USAO, it's quite different from the rest of the country because it prosecutes what would normally be state crimes as well as federal crimes (since there isn't a state prosecutor to handle them). Mostly it's just good to be aware of, but you'd want to avoid talking about, say, why you want federal experience over state experience or similar.

Only thing I'll add is that I'm surprised USAO is even doing interviews. I knew several classmates that got USAO here in DC last year and none actually interviewed; they snail mailed apps in and got email offers about a month later without any communication in the interim. Seemed super informal and not particularly hard to get so long as you jumped through the snail mail hoop.

[PeanutsNJam]

Anybody have info on the reliability of getting a summer gig (not necessarily SA) through OCI?

I'm guessing it depends heavily on your school but ours has < 20 employers coming so it seems slim to none lol

Don't you go to SLS? <20 seems really weird.

[Anonymous User]

question here. how are you guys handling requests for interviews from judges? i heard we should turn down interview requests from judges if we aren't prepared to accept at first instance. i got a few interview requests but i haven't heard back from any of the firms so i was wondering what i should do for those interview requests.

[Anonymous User]

Only thing I'll add is that I'm surprised USAO is even doing interviews. I knew several classmates that got USAO here in DC last year and none actually interviewed; they snail mailed apps in and got email offers about a month later without any communication in the interim. Seemed super informal and not particularly hard to get so long as you jumped through the snail mail hoop.

I have heard this and it made me laugh because at my lowly school the USAO did formal interviews through OCI and was pretty grade-competitive. But also not DC, so I don't know if the difference was based on the office or wanting to weed more closely at a lower-ranked school.

[LoganCouture]

@PnJ yeah :/ there are only like 4 places I'm remotely interested in/would be remotely interested in me also...

[OhBoyOhBortles]

Has anyone been getting snail mailed rejection letters from firms? This is the worst. They are hand-signing my rejection.

"Your qualifications and experience don't meet our needs at this time."
sincerely, director of legal recruiting ________.

[LoganCouture]

Has anyone been getting snail mailed rejection letters from firms? This is the worst. They are hand-signing my rejection.

"Your qualifications and experience don't meet our needs at this time."
sincerely, director of legal recruiting ________.

that's rough. i much preferred my timely email dings. but i applied so late that maybe mine are in the mail as we speak.

[rnoodles]

Has anyone been getting snail mailed rejection letters from firms? This is the worst. They are hand-signing my rejection.

"Your qualifications and experience don't meet our needs at this time."
sincerely, director of legal recruiting ________.

I used my school address. Really hoping I don't go back to a pile of rejection letters.

[cannibal ox]

2L here, but I get rejection letters from mass mailing that I did in July. Just got one today, in fact. Learn to embrace the rejection, it means you tried.. or something... Either way, you'll get a lot of those letters in the next 9-12 months.

[Anonymous User]

Interviewed at a USAO in my hometown last year (and got an offer). Be prepared mostly to talk about why you're interested in working in the USAO, in prosecution generally, and what you've learned from law school thus far. I also got a lot of questions about random things on my résumé. In short, don't stress out too much about it - it's a pretty reasonable interview process.

[WeeBey]

That feel when youre sending fall grades but you lost track of the places you applied to

[Anonymous User]

Only thing I'll add is that I'm surprised USAO is even doing interviews. I knew several classmates that got USAO here in DC last year and none actually interviewed; they snail mailed apps in and got email offers about a month later without any communication in the interim. Seemed super informal and not particularly hard to get so long as you jumped through the snail mail hoop.

I have heard this and it made me laugh because at my lowly school the USAO did formal interviews through OCI and was pretty grade-competitive. But also not DC, so I don't know if the difference was based on the office or wanting to weed more closely at a lower-ranked school.

I go to CCN and I still had to interview. My buddy told me people at HYS also had to interview. I think its mostly a DC vs not DC distinction

[Anonymous User]

How closely do firms examine writing samples?

[Anonymous User]

If an IP position doesn't ask for grades before a screener, and grades come out after the screener, doesn it make sense sending out those grades? Median/Slightly above at a T14.

[buckiguy_sucks]

That feel when youre sending fall grades but you lost track of the places you applied to

lol at not having a spreadsheet

[Glasseyes]

That feel when youre sending fall grades but you lost track of the places you applied to

Yeah, definitely don't double send if you can in any way avoid it. Make a spreadsheet and go back through your sent emails to fill it out.

[pancakes3]

question here. how are you guys handling requests for interviews from judges? i heard we should turn down interview requests from judges if we aren't prepared to accept at first instance. i got a few interview requests but i haven't heard back from any of the firms so i was wondering what i should do for those interview requests.

Your school's career services will tell you not to turn down offers because it makes the school look bad. You also shouldn't just sit on interview requests for too long (>1 week) just because it doesn't take a genius to figure out that you're holding out for something better. Personally I wouldn't hold out hope for a 1L SA and just do the judicial internship, especially if it's a fed court.

USAO is even doing interviews. I knew several classmates that got USAO here in DC last year and none actually interviewed; they snail mailed apps in and got email offers about a month later without any communication in the interim. Seemed super informal and not particularly hard to get so long as you jumped through the snail mail hoop.

+1 on DC USAO seeming trivially easy to snag.

2L here, but I get rejection letters from mass mailing that I did in July. Just got one today, in fact. Learn to embrace the rejection, it means you tried.. or something... Either way, you'll get a lot of those letters in the next 9-12 months.

On top of snail mail biglaw rejections, there are also electronic bigfed rejections coming from USAjobs. I was recently informed that I was removed from consideration for a 1L summer position. (for those unfamiliar, I'm a 2L).

That feel when youre sending fall grades but you lost track of the places you applied to

Gotta step your spreadsheet game up before you massmail in ~7 months bro. But hey...

If an IP position doesn't ask for grades before a screener, and grades come out after the screener, doesn it make sense sending out those grades? Median/Slightly above at a T14.

Don't send grades (or really do anything) unless they prompt. However, given it's IP and for a 1L SA, be prepared to also send your UG transcript if/when they ask for it.

[buckiguy_sucks]

What is the difference between honors and pathways at the SEC can I only apply for honors?