Top Law Schools

I have an interview with a professor for a research assistant position for the summer. I haven't had this professor before, so I don't really know too much about what he is like. I also have two firm callbacks - one next week, one two weeks from now. The firm jobs aren't $3,000/week jobs, but they'd definitely pay more than the r.a. position.

Are professors generally pretty aggressive or pretty student-friendly about r.a. positions? "I want the best students I can get helping with my research, offer is only available for a week or so, after that I'll consider another student" vs. "Sure, take your interviews, I understand there might be a better job for you, I'm sure there will be another student if you decide to take the firm job"

Also, if the professor gives me a fairly quick turnaround time, how risk averse would you be? "It's a tough market, take any job that pays a little something, especially if you could get a good letter of recommendation out of it" vs. "r.a. position isn't worth committing to at this point if there's even a chance of a 1L firm job out there"

tia

eta - I know this probably varies from professor to professor, but since I don't know the guy yet, I'm just curious how professors generally approach hiring their research assistants

I've encountered both kinds of professors. They've been in your position before and know that you would probably prefer the firm job to the RA position. But they also don't want to be left with no RA in May because you decided to take a firm job. Can you find someone who has been an RA for that professor before? They will be able to give you a better idea about this particular prof. When you interview with the professor, I think you can ask how they feel about you possibly having a firm job. Better to clear it up before accepting the job and then rejecting them for the firm.