Top Law Schools

I'm still in the process of looking for jobs for this summer before I head to law school next fall. I would love to do something legal, preferably in the Bay Area or PNW but that's not a deal breaker. I understand that it's not a "resume booster", I just know I want to work and would love for it to be law-related if possible.

Everything I've found so far has been for 2 year commitments. For those of you that did shorter-term jobs, as a paralegal or something similar, how did you go about getting them? Does anyone know of a good place to look for these other than the resume carpet bombing approach?

Shorter term jobs really don't exist. You can try for an internship... but the moment you put 'JD Candidate, 20__' on your resume you're just not going to attract any kind of full time employment.

Even internships though, are likely not to bite. You're about to enter a world where your grades / law school are the only credential that matters, and you have no legal training - so without connections or something put together well before March, I don't really know what help you can find here.

Temp agency.

Some firms definitely have summer paralegal programs (SullCrom and Kirkland, for example), but these spots usually go to kids who are connected.

expat wrote:I'm still in the process of looking for jobs for this summer before I head to law school next fall. I would love to do something legal, preferably in the Bay Area or PNW but that's not a deal breaker. I understand that it's not a "resume booster", I just know I want to work and would love for it to be law-related if possible.

Everything I've found so far has been for 2 year commitments. For those of you that did shorter-term jobs, as a paralegal or something similar, how did you go about getting them? Does anyone know of a good place to look for these other than the resume carpet bombing approach?

A friend of my dad's at a solo practice let me work as his paralegal the summer after my sophomore year of college - an actual paralegal, not a runner/file boy. I got this job because the guy respects my dad a lot, and because I would do the same work as real paralegals for $10/hr. Everyone I know who's done something similar has had some sort of connection to someone.

rad law wrote:

expat wrote:I'm still in the process of looking for jobs for this summer before I head to law school next fall. I would love to do something legal, preferably in the Bay Area or PNW but that's not a deal breaker. I understand that it's not a "resume booster", I just know I want to work and would love for it to be law-related if possible.

Everything I've found so far has been for 2 year commitments. For those of you that did shorter-term jobs, as a paralegal or something similar, how did you go about getting them? Does anyone know of a good place to look for these other than the resume carpet bombing approach?

A friend of my dad's at a solo practice let me work as his paralegal the summer after my sophomore year of college - an actual paralegal, not a runner/file boy. I got this job because the guy respects my dad a lot, and because I would do the same work as real paralegals for $10/hr. Everyone I know who's done something similar has had some sort of connection to someone.

+1
I might have a job like this lined up for this summer but its through a connection. (S/O's mom knows an attorney who needs summer work)

Unemployed wrote:Some firms definitely have summer paralegal programs (SullCrom and Kirkland, for example), but these spots usually go to kids who are connected.

Don't need connections to be a paralegal at Sullcrom but you will need at least a one year commitment (2 preferable) and really good grades--and being attractive helps much more than they would admit.

legends159 wrote:

Unemployed wrote:Some firms definitely have summer paralegal programs (SullCrom and Kirkland, for example), but these spots usually go to kids who are connected.

Don't need connections to be a paralegal at Sullcrom but you will need at least a one year commitment (2 preferable) and really good grades--and being attractive helps much more than they would admit.

SullCrom also has a summer only paralegal program - basically a well paid summer internship. These spots are reserved for clients' and partners' children.

if a top law firm asks for two years as a paralegal, and asked if you might be willing to stay there for 2 years, lie. It's risky, but you can say that you're not sure if you want to go to law school yet and want to get experience before hand in order to make your decision. realistically, they don't make you sign anything (in most cases, or in my case either) that says you have to stay for 2 years and it does often happen that people leave earlier than they say they will (at my firm - v25- it happen often). Also, some large law firms only require 1 year for litigation paralegals (usually corporate paralegals work two).

Anonymous User wrote:if a top law firm asks for two years as a paralegal, and asked if you might be willing to stay there for 2 years, lie. It's risky, but you can say that you're not sure if you want to go to law school yet and want to get experience before hand in order to make your decision. realistically, they don't make you sign anything (in most cases, or in my case either) that says you have to stay for 2 years and it does often happen that people leave earlier than they say they will (at my firm - v25- it happen often). Also, some large law firms only require 1 year for litigation paralegals (usually corporate paralegals work two).

How does the whole "law is a small community" thing play out in this idea? It seems like there might be other negative repercussions, particularly if you wanted to return to that market after law school. Maybe I'm reading too far into how much large firms care about their paralegal staffing though...

I think it depends on how you leave. I gave my firm about 3-4 months notice since I knew it would take a while for them to hire/train someone. I also stayed for a little more than a year. The partners I worked with were a little disappointed, but they understood. That said, I still made sure to keep in contact with them once I left, and I hopefully will able to use those connections for OCI. But honestly, I think anything over a year is fine. I knew plenty of people who only stayed for a year and left on good terms. Also, being a paralegal is mostly something anyone with a college degree can do. You're pretty replaceable in this market.

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