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I'm considering attending Maine, as I really like Portland and don't have amazing numbers. I have a few questions about OCI as a 0L, so I'd appreciate any help.

Here's Maine's OCI link: http://mainelaw.maine.edu/student-servi ... s/oci.html

I was a bit confused when I read that. They only allow 3Ls to do OCIs for hiring, and 2Ls can only do OCIs for summer associate positions? What about 1LS -- I've read that they often get summer positions if they have the grades, but that reads like the school makes them ineligible.

Is Maine just weird in this, or am I misinformed?

TIA.

Fall OCI at all schools is for 2Ls and 3Ls (mainly 2Ls for SA gigs). Usually OCI is before classes start so it would make NO sense for 1Ls to participate. They say Spring is open to all which also makes perfect sense. There's nothing weird about their set up imo.

Georgiana wrote:Fall OCI at all schools is for 2Ls and 3Ls (mainly 2Ls for SA gigs). Usually OCI is before classes start so it would make NO sense for 1Ls to participate. They say Spring is open to all which also makes perfect sense. There's nothing weird about their set up imo.

Thanks for the response. This is what confused me: "The program enables students to apply for summer internships (2Ls) and full-time positions following graduation (3Ls)."

Does that mean 1Ls can't apply for internships in the spring? I thought that was common...

And I'm not sure if you can answer this, but I looked on the NALP directory and only 4 firms seem to have OCIs at Maine, all from Portland. Is that normal? I'm not sure how accurate the directory is.

Maine does OCI the way all schools do.

Keep in mind that only a tiny percentage of the class can secure employment from OCI at a law school like Maine. The odds are high you'll need to get your job elsewhere.

portlandfan wrote:

Georgiana wrote:Fall OCI at all schools is for 2Ls and 3Ls (mainly 2Ls for SA gigs). Usually OCI is before classes start so it would make NO sense for 1Ls to participate. They say Spring is open to all which also makes perfect sense. There's nothing weird about their set up imo.

Thanks for the response. This is what confused me: "The program enables students to apply for summer internships (2Ls) and full-time positions following graduation (3Ls)."

Does that mean 1Ls can't apply for internships in the Spring? I thought that was common...

And I'm not sure if you can answer this, but I looked on the NALP directory and only 4 firms seem to have OCIs at Maine, all from Portland. Is that normal? I'm not sure how accurate the directory is.

Spring OCI is open to all and it doesn't seem to make a distinction between who applies for what. That sentence seems to just generally say what people apply for. Of course 3Ls are applying for permanent offers and 2Ls are applying for SA's.

Keep in mind that Spring OCI is generally much smaller and 1L SA's are usually obtained by connections and persistent networking/contacting, not through school OCIs.

As far as I know NALP is pretty accurate regarding firms that are members. There may be smaller practices that hire but not all OCI's are big. Look into how many employers come to the school, it should be listed on the school's nalp page.

Yeah......I don't know who told you that 1L's w/ good grades get summer associatships....I am at the tippy-top of a school just like Maine and I got rejected everywhere. Like the poster above said, it's all about connections, at least for 1L.

A'nold wrote:Yeah......I don't know who told you that 1L's w/ good grades get summer associatships....I am at the tippy-top of a school just like Maine and I got rejected everywhere. Like the poster above said, it's all about connections, at least for 1L.

Some markets are more protective than others, so I wouldn't necessarily extrapolate your personal experience to every TTT in the country. And I wouldn't say it is as much "connections" as "roots" to the area--if you are not from the state or even region, it will probably cause you problems. Though connections matter, too.

Wooster33 wrote:

A'nold wrote:Yeah......I don't know who told you that 1L's w/ good grades get summer associatships....I am at the tippy-top of a school just like Maine and I got rejected everywhere. Like the poster above said, it's all about connections, at least for 1L.

Some markets are more protective than others, so I wouldn't necessarily extrapolate your personal experience to every TTT in the country. And I wouldn't say it is as much "connections" as "roots" to the area--if you are not from the state or even region, it will probably cause you problems. Though connections matter, too.

It's connections.

Wooster33 wrote:

A'nold wrote:Yeah......I don't know who told you that 1L's w/ good grades get summer associatships....I am at the tippy-top of a school just like Maine and I got rejected everywhere. Like the poster above said, it's all about connections, at least for 1L.

Some markets are more protective than others, so I wouldn't necessarily extrapolate your personal experience to every TTT in the country. And I wouldn't say it is as much "connections" as "roots" to the area--if you are not from the state or even region, it will probably cause you problems. Though connections matter, too.

Sorry but you are so wrong here it isn't even funny. My career services person flopped the gigantic NALP guide in my hands and told me to "give it a shot" but not expect much and constantly talked about using my non-existent "connections" to get work. Top of the class, not one freaking bite. Other students outside of like the top 1/3 got paying firm jobs through their daddy's bff and so on.

Georgiana wrote:There may be smaller practices that hire but not all OCI's are big. Look into how many employers come to the school, it should be listed on the school's nalp page.

Is the schools nalp page separate from what I get when I search for OCIs at the school? Sorry for the noob question, just didn't know if there was a literal nalp page for Maine that I was missing.

A'nold wrote:

Wooster33 wrote:

A'nold wrote:Yeah......I don't know who told you that 1L's w/ good grades get summer associatships....I am at the tippy-top of a school just like Maine and I got rejected everywhere. Like the poster above said, it's all about connections, at least for 1L.

Some markets are more protective than others, so I wouldn't necessarily extrapolate your personal experience to every TTT in the country. And I wouldn't say it is as much "connections" as "roots" to the area--if you are not from the state or even region, it will probably cause you problems. Though connections matter, too.

Sorry but you are so wrong here it isn't even funny. My career services person flopped the gigantic NALP guide in my hands and told me to "give it a shot" but not expect much and constantly talked about using my non-existent "connections" to get work. Top of the class, not one freaking bite. Other students outside of like the top 1/3 got paying firm jobs through their daddy's bff and so on.

OP here. Are you transferring up, or trying to? Mind saying where you currently go?

portlandfan wrote:

A'nold wrote:

Wooster33 wrote:

A'nold wrote:Yeah......I don't know who told you that 1L's w/ good grades get summer associatships....I am at the tippy-top of a school just like Maine and I got rejected everywhere. Like the poster above said, it's all about connections, at least for 1L.

Some markets are more protective than others, so I wouldn't necessarily extrapolate your personal experience to every TTT in the country. And I wouldn't say it is as much "connections" as "roots" to the area--if you are not from the state or even region, it will probably cause you problems. Though connections matter, too.

Sorry but you are so wrong here it isn't even funny. My career services person flopped the gigantic NALP guide in my hands and told me to "give it a shot" but not expect much and constantly talked about using my non-existent "connections" to get work. Top of the class, not one freaking bite. Other students outside of like the top 1/3 got paying firm jobs through their daddy's bff and so on.

OP here. Are you transferring up, or trying to? Mind saying where you currently go?

I go to a t3 state school in much the same position as U. Maine. Yeah, I'm applying to pretty much the schools ranked 7-17 and a few "safeties."

A'nold wrote:
I go to a t3 state school in much the same position as U. Maine. Yeah, I'm applying to pretty much the schools ranked 7-17 and a few "safeties."

Do you have a full ride at your current T3?

Extend the "no 1L SAs" to "top of the class at Wisconsin, the best school in the state where I grew up"--it isn't limited to T3s. Even T14 students didn't typically get good paying summer positions when the economy was good, and most of them certainly don't now.