1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA? Forum

Post by **vanwinkle** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 1:20 am

thegrandinquisitor wrote:I'm considering taking a summer job with an international organization focusing mainly on international criminal prosecution and other topics. I have the grades and school to get big law next summer, presumably. Will a public interest type experience this summer raise a red flag on my resume or is it fine?

Nobody does BigLaw for 1L anymore. There are no such jobs. That sounds awesome, go do that and have fun.

Dick Whitman · Post by **Dick Whitman** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 1:29 am

vanwinkle wrote:
thegrandinquisitor wrote:I'm considering taking a summer job with an international organization focusing mainly on international criminal prosecution and other topics. I have the grades and school to get big law next summer, presumably. Will a public interest type experience this summer raise a red flag on my resume or is it fine?
Nobody does BigLaw for 1L anymore. There are no such jobs. That sounds awesome, go do that and have fun.

Not exactly true -- a couple of firms I interviewed with were hiring 1Ls, but even in the best of times a significant bulk of 2L SAs were coming off unpaid summer jobs.

If your international organization is prestigious (as int'l criminal prosecution orgs tend to be) then it will be a positive.

JPeavy44 · Post by **JPeavy44** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 3:05 am

thegrandinquisitor wrote:I'm considering taking a summer job with an international organization focusing mainly on international criminal prosecution and other topics. I have the grades and school to get big law next summer, presumably. Will a public interest type experience this summer raise a red flag on my resume or is it fine?

From everything i'm told it will be fine to set you up for your 2L summer. If you'd enjoy it, do it.

legends159 · Post by **legends159** » Fri Feb 12, 2010 3:18 am

translate what you did 1L summer into skill sets and relay how you can apply them to the private sector.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Tue Feb 16, 2010 9:36 pm

thegrandinquisitor wrote:I'm considering taking a summer job with an international organization focusing mainly on international criminal prosecution and other topics. I have the grades and school to get big law next summer, presumably. Will a public interest type experience this summer raise a red flag on my resume or is it fine?

Even when the economy was booming it was incredibly common for HYS 1Ls to do something like this their 1L summer. I don't understand why people are so nervous about this. Of course they'll still want you. You'll be more interesting than someone who spent 1L at some midlaw firm in Pittsburgh.

keg411 · Post by **keg411** » Tue Feb 16, 2010 11:14 pm

My sister did PI for 1L Summer and BigLaw SA for 2L summer. I don't think it make a difference.

Attucks · Post by **Attucks** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 8:42 pm

Judicial internships work here too?

270910 · Post by **270910** » Sat Feb 20, 2010 10:39 pm

Attucks wrote:Judicial internships work here too?

Absolutely. The only 'bad' thing you can do in terms of chances for a 2L SA is something that doesn't involve legal research/writing.

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 4:09 pm

On a related note, would doing work for a religious organization be a red flag, even though the work didn't have anything to do with religion at all? Something along the lines of a Catholic organization that does tenant advocacy stuff.

underdawg · Post by **underdawg** » Sun Feb 21, 2010 10:05 pm

probz not

what your 1L job actually is is very overstated on this board. imo, the most important thing is how you talk about it...unless you RA for arthur miller, were a summer intern for SCOTUS (just an example, gunners, they don't hire 1Ls), etc, i don't think firms care all that much

Anonymous User · Post by **Anonymous User** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 12:35 pm

Made a new topic. Disregard this.

monkey85 · Post by **monkey85** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 12:44 pm

As everyone has said before, it is not the job, per se, that determines how employers will view it during 2L OCI:
- can you translate what you did into skillsets (notice: the substantive area - whether whistleblowing or whistle manufacturing - can be minimized)
- the benefit of doing something directly legal (judicial internship, gov't agency) is that it is more easily relatable with most attorneys - it's like a recipe (most of them have done it in the past so they know what those internships demand, and what you have learned before you even try to explain it)
- "legal" is not a prerequisite for getting a 2L SA

Go for it, then just work on your answers to win at interviews.

(I would highly recommend judicial internships in Federal Court - they are the best)

Post by **vanwinkle** » Mon Dec 05, 2011 4:32 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Made a new topic. Disregard this.

1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA? Forum

1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA?

Re: 1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA?

Re: 1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA?

Re: 1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA?

Re: 1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Re: 1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA?

Re: 1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA?

Re: 1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA?

Re: 1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA?

Register for access!

Re: 1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA?

Re: 1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA?

Re: 1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA?

Re: 1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA?

Re: 1L summer job in public interest--> 2L SA?

Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.