The Official 1L Summer Employment Thread - 2012 Edition Forum

[piccolittle]

Guys, give shoeshine a break! I'm happy for his/her results, even if I wish it were me. Care to share some of what you think made you successful?

[Bildungsroman]

I feel you, shoeshine. From the moment I have to climb over the pile of women in bed with me every morning to the time I have to choose whether to watch my midnight movie on my iPad in my solarium or on the big screen in my personal theater, I am faced with having too many good options and not enough free time to handle all the success. I had to build a second garage because I couldn't drive both of my BMWs at once, I had to turn down two of HYS because I got into all three, I only had enough time during my Vegas birthday bash to let Toby Keith play and I couldn't fit in Carrie Underwood and Garth Brooks, and I'm constantly double-booking my date nights accidentally and ending up with two supermodels at my house on the same night (who frequently aren't down to just make it a threesome). Sometimes I regret having so much opportunity,because there are only so many hours in the day, you know?

[071816]

My house is so god damn big that the wifi didn't reach every room so I had to buy another router. FML

[NYC Law]

Guys, give shoeshine a break! I'm happy for his/her results, even if I wish it were me. Care to share some of what you think made you successful?

URM + Strong Secondary Hometown + T14 = $$$

[ran12]

I feel you, shoeshine. From the moment I have to climb over the pile of women in bed with me every morning to the time I have to choose whether to watch my midnight movie on my iPad in my solarium or on the big screen in my personal theater, I am faced with having too many good options and not enough free time to handle all the success. I had to build a second garage because I couldn't drive both of my BMWs at once, I had to turn down two of HYS because I got into all three, I only had enough time during my Vegas birthday bash to let Toby Keith play and I couldn't fit in Carrie Underwood and Garth Brooks, and I'm constantly double-booking my date nights accidentally and ending up with two supermodels at my house on the same night (who frequently aren't down to just make it a threesome). Sometimes I regret having so much opportunity,because there are only so many hours in the day, you know?

BMW's aren't that nice

[Haymarket]

I feel you, shoeshine. From the moment I have to climb over the pile of women in bed with me every morning to the time I have to choose whether to watch my midnight movie on my iPad in my solarium or on the big screen in my personal theater, I am faced with having too many good options and not enough free time to handle all the success. I had to build a second garage because I couldn't drive both of my BMWs at once, I had to turn down two of HYS because I got into all three, I only had enough time during my Vegas birthday bash to let Toby Keith play and I couldn't fit in Carrie Underwood and Garth Brooks, and I'm constantly double-booking my date nights accidentally and ending up with two supermodels at my house on the same night (who frequently aren't down to just make it a threesome). Sometimes I regret having so much opportunity,because there are only so many hours in the day, you know?

BMW's aren't that nice

What a relevant comment.

[piccolittle]

Guys, give shoeshine a break! I'm happy for his/her results, even if I wish it were me. Care to share some of what you think made you successful?

URM + Strong Secondary Hometown + T14 = $$$

Damn. NYC is my hometown. Anyone hear from NY firms? All I have is two rejections.

<-- screwed

[Anonymous User]

I feel you, shoeshine. From the moment I have to climb over the pile of women in bed with me every morning to the time I have to choose whether to watch my midnight movie on my iPad in my solarium or on the big screen in my personal theater, I am faced with having too many good options and not enough free time to handle all the success. I had to build a second garage because I couldn't drive both of my BMWs at once, I had to turn down two of HYS because I got into all three, I only had enough time during my Vegas birthday bash to let Toby Keith play and I couldn't fit in Carrie Underwood and Garth Brooks, and I'm constantly double-booking my date nights accidentally and ending up with two supermodels at my house on the same night (who frequently aren't down to just make it a threesome). Sometimes I regret having so much opportunity,because there are only so many hours in the day, you know?

BMW's aren't that nice

I don't go to a T14, but I haz LR and BigLaw and drive a 6-series and have no debt. Everything's ok.

[Lasers]

I feel you, shoeshine. From the moment I have to climb over the pile of women in bed with me every morning to the time I have to choose whether to watch my midnight movie on my iPad in my solarium or on the big screen in my personal theater, I am faced with having too many good options and not enough free time to handle all the success. I had to build a second garage because I couldn't drive both of my BMWs at once, I had to turn down two of HYS because I got into all three, I only had enough time during my Vegas birthday bash to let Toby Keith play and I couldn't fit in Carrie Underwood and Garth Brooks, and I'm constantly double-booking my date nights accidentally and ending up with two supermodels at my house on the same night (who frequently aren't down to just make it a threesome). Sometimes I regret having so much opportunity,because there are only so many hours in the day, you know?

i enjoyed your post.

[Lasers]

Blahhh the offers here are stressing me out because I need to send more applications, but all I want to do is shop and watch christmas movies!

same here. i am willing to do anything but look for jobs, write new cover letters, and send out apps.

before i do anything more, i might just wait until grades are released. the northern district requires transcripts, anyway.

[ilovesf]

Blahhh the offers here are stressing me out because I need to send more applications, but all I want to do is shop and watch christmas movies!

same here. i am willing to do anything but look for jobs, write new cover letters, and send out apps.

before i do anything more, i might just wait until grades are released. the northern district requires transcripts, anyway.

Yeah I want the northern district the most but the competition is so stiff that I don't want to think about those apps until grades are back. I have around 10 apps I want to send for PIPS day, but they only start accepting them on the 3rd.

[094320]

..

[Lasers]

Blahhh the offers here are stressing me out because I need to send more applications, but all I want to do is shop and watch christmas movies!

same here. i am willing to do anything but look for jobs, write new cover letters, and send out apps.

before i do anything more, i might just wait until grades are released. the northern district requires transcripts, anyway.

Yeah I want the northern district the most but the competition is so stiff that I don't want to think about those apps until grades are back. I have around 10 apps I want to send for PIPS day, but they only start accepting them on the 3rd.

yeah, i have no illusions that i have a chance at the northern district, but i might as well try depending on my grades.

i just started looking at the stuff for pi/ps day now, so i'm glad i have a few days to get things in order on that front.

[Anonymous User]

Happy holidays! And yayy for us 1Ls finishing our first semester of law school. We did it!

I have an interview lined up over winter break in a pretty strong (hometown) secondary market. Supposed to be about 2-3 hours (with lunch). Go to a T14, not URM but considered a diverse student.

I was wondering if firms send out interview invites to a lot of candidates? I guess I just don't want to get my hopes up in case like over half the people who send in their resumes get interviewed.

[Magnolia]

Checking in. I am failing miserably at writing cover letters, which is all that stands between me and applying. WTF do I write in a cover letter that shows a firm or judge that I researched them and am genuinely interested in working with them? Everything I've come up with sounds like contrived drivel. Ughhhh.

[Haymarket]

Checking in. I am failing miserably at writing cover letters, which is all that stands between me and applying. WTF do I write in a cover letter that shows a firm or judge that I researched them and am genuinely interested in working with them? Everything I've come up with sounds like contrived drivel. Ughhhh.

Honestly, my cover letters are barely customized. I wouldn't worry too much about making each one seem deeply researched.

ETA: It's obviously impossible to tell what would have happened, but I don't think it has hurt my application responses.

[Anonymous User]

So far only 1 rejection and 1 response saying that the firm hasn't started it's hiring process but will hold on to my materials until they do. I have a few informational interviews lined up over the break with some alumni, so at least I can get my network on during the break. Having my home market be a major market kinda blows.

Here's hoping the new year bring some responses for those of us who have yet to hear back from most of the places we applied to.

[Judge Philip Banks]

Checking in. I am failing miserably at writing cover letters, which is all that stands between me and applying. WTF do I write in a cover letter that shows a firm or judge that I researched them and am genuinely interested in working with them? Everything I've come up with sounds like contrived drivel. Ughhhh.

Yeah, don't force any customization. I think that could be off-putting and possibly hurt your chances. If your school's OCS has reviews by students who were former clerks or externs, you can look through those and see what people said about that judge (or firm if there are such reviews), and mention in your cover letter that the judge is well-respected, well-liked, etc. by former clerks/externs from your school. Sounds kind of cliche or contrived, but it might sound better than forcing some awkward line about how you loved their recent opinion in In re I looked you up on Lexis but don't know anything about you or this case.

[Anonymous User]

Checking in. I am failing miserably at writing cover letters, which is all that stands between me and applying. WTF do I write in a cover letter that shows a firm or judge that I researched them and am genuinely interested in working with them? Everything I've come up with sounds like contrived drivel. Ughhhh.

Yeah, don't force any customization. I think that could be off-putting and possibly hurt your chances. If your school's OCS has reviews by students who were former clerks or externs, you can look through those and see what people said about that judge (or firm if there are such reviews), and mention in your cover letter that the judge is well-respected, well-liked, etc. by former clerks/externs from your school. Sounds kind of cliche or contrived, but it might sound better than forcing some awkward line about how you loved their recent opinion in In re I looked you up on Lexis but don't know anything about you or this case.

Customization by mentioning you're from the area or you have some ties to the region is the only useful customization for both firms and judges. For the most prestigious judges, it can't hurt to throw in a sentence about why you're interested in them (e.g. law and economics, something about their writing style, etc.). At least, that's what I did and I've gotten three interview requests so far with CoA judges.

[Flips88]

Got first interview request

[piccolittle]

Got first interview request

Congrats!! Mind sharing what kind of organization/market?

[Flips88]

Got first interview request

Congrats!! Mind sharing what kind of organization/market?

Chicago office of federal government agency.

Edit for clarification

[piccolittle]

Got first interview request

Congrats!! Mind sharing what kind of organization/market?

Chicago office of federal government agency.

Edit for clarification

Well done and good luck!

[target]

I wonder if anyone applied for USAO in northern cal and heard from them?

[Antrim]

Have an interview with a judge in about a week and just now realized I have no idea what the hell to expect when I walk through the door... sooo any insight?