Extern for two separate fed judges... Forum

[Danteshek]

Assuming I can't get a good SA gig... (missed the boat on OCI as a transfer)

Would it be overkill to work for a fed district court judge my 2L summer when I am already externing for a fed magistrate this Fall?

I spent 1L summer at SEC in Washington.

Interview with the second judge is in two weeks.

Goal is to practice in securities and to lateral to SEC enforcement after a few years.

[Danteshek]

No responses, eh? 0L and 1Ls, please refrain from comment

[ResolutePear]

No responses, eh? 0L and 1Ls, please refrain from comment

Er, why bar 0L and 1L's from the discussion? Some of them come from families of attorneys and could probably offer 2nd-hand advice. Either way, I was determined to post to this topic in some way, meaningful or not.

[d34d9823]

No responses, eh? 0L and 1Ls, please refrain from comment

I'm going to comment as a 0L just because of the sheer douchiness of this remark.

Answer: No, bad idea, your life is fucked up, sun will never shine again on your career prospects. HTH

[Danteshek]

This is exactly what I expected from a couple 0Ls. All talk, no substance.

[Anonymous User]

Rising 2L. I don't think there is much of a point in interning for two federal judges. Neither of them will make post-employment offers, and there will be overlap in the experiences you receive at each internship. I'd say go for the magistrate this fall, and work your ass off to get some sort of paying job for next summer, preferably some firm that at least dabbles in securities.

[ResolutePear]

This is exactly what I expected from a couple 0Ls. All talk, no substance.

I didn't think my comment was devoid of substance, just asking you to reconsider your request.

And I agree with d3 - bad idea, you're fucked, etc.

[Danteshek]

Rising 2L. I don't think there is much of a point in interning for two federal judges. Neither of them will make post-employment offers, and there will be overlap in the experiences you receive at each internship. I'd say go for the magistrate this fall, and work your ass off to get some sort of paying job for next summer, preferably some firm that at least dabbles in securities.

I can't bank on finding a firm that is even a moderately good fit. I have not identified many small firms that have securities practices. I'm not sure I can plan on the Magistrate helping me find a job.

And if if I go interview the judge, protocol is to accept any offer. If I don't want to work for the judge, I have to decline the interview. I know this judge through family, so that may change the equation slightly.

DJs also see a much broader range of case than MJs. I could get closer to the trial process whereas most of what MJs do are pretrial hearings, discovery and settlement conferences.

[tome]

What do you mean you missed the boat on OCI as a transfer? They had their OCI before you got accepted or something?

[2009 Prospective]

Rising 2L. I don't think there is much of a point in interning for two federal judges. Neither of them will make post-employment offers, and there will be overlap in the experiences you receive at each internship. I'd say go for the magistrate this fall, and work your ass off to get some sort of paying job for next summer, preferably some firm that at least dabbles in securities.

I can't bank on finding a firm that is even a moderately good fit. I have not identified many small firms that have securities practices. I'm not sure I can plan on the Magistrate helping me find a job.

And if if I go interview the judge, protocol is to accept any offer. If I don't want to work for the judge, I have to decline the interview. I know this judge through family, so that may change the equation slightly.

DJs also see a much broader range of case than MJs. I could get closer to the trial process whereas most of what MJs do are pretrial hearings, discovery and settlement conferences.

Agreed RE interning with the district court judge 2L summer. While interning with a Federal judge is a great experience after 1L summer, it's not likely to result in any sort of post LS employment. As a transfer going into Loyola, I think you'd be better off networking your ass off and writing targeted cover letters to firms which practice in securities. Also, do you have any connections from the SEC internship you could play up for a 2L summer job of some sort?

[Danteshek]

Basically all the firms that practice in securities hire through OCI or don't hire SAs. I'm not going to waste my time applying to firms that won't hire me.

There are however some solo securities plaintiff's attorneys (who sue stockbrokers) who might hire a summer law clerk. But that type of job is probably not going to lead to post LS employment either.

My SEC contacts are all in Washington, not Los Angeles.

It might be worth it to work for the judge just to get to know her better in case I ever practice before her. It may help with networking too post law school.

[Anonymous User]

What do you mean you missed the boat on OCI as a transfer? They had their OCI before you got accepted or something?

I missed bidding deadline for Phase I, which is when ~85% of employers interview at Loyola, including all the big firms. I applied direct to many of the firms but only got one interview, and I've already been dinged.

I have ~12 bids outstanding for Phase 2, but none of them are places I actually want to work.

[Anonymous User]

Rising 2L. I don't think there is much of a point in interning for two federal judges. Neither of them will make post-employment offers, and there will be overlap in the experiences you receive at each internship. I'd say go for the magistrate this fall, and work your ass off to get some sort of paying job for next summer, preferably some firm that at least dabbles in securities.

I can't bank on finding a firm that is even a moderately good fit. I have not identified many small firms that have securities practices. I'm not sure I can plan on the Magistrate helping me find a job.

And if if I go interview the judge, protocol is to accept any offer. If I don't want to work for the judge, I have to decline the interview. I know this judge through family, so that may change the equation slightly.

DJs also see a much broader range of case than MJs. I could get closer to the trial process whereas most of what MJs do are pretrial hearings, discovery and settlement conferences.

Previous 2L poster. While a DJ is likely to be a better experience than a MJ, neither is the type of experience you want in 2L summer. You want full-time paying employment that can lead to a permanent offer, even if it isn't in your preferred specialty. A judicial internship won't provide that. Take the MJ in the fall and during that time ask the MJ for advice on your job search, use the opportunity to network.

[Danteshek]

Yeah. I'm not confident I can get a SA position, even in an unrelated specialty. But to give it my best shot I have to turn down the judge. If I turn down the judge, I will probably end up settling for some other, less desirable, unpaid job.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah. I'm not confident I can get a SA position, even in an unrelated specialty. But to give it my best shot I have to turn down the judge. If I turn down the judge, I will probably end up settling for some other, less desirable, unpaid job.

Me again. While it may be more educational, I just don't think the DJ will give you any opportunities the MJ won't. You can network through the MJ at the same time you are looking for a summer firm job. If you take the DJ for the summer, you foreclose the chance of a firm job, and won't get much for it.

[Danteshek]

I definitely see your point. But I think my chances of getting a worthwhile firm job are extremely minimal.

[Renzo]

You want full-time paying employment that can lead to a permanent offer, even if it isn't in your preferred specialty.

[Danteshek]

You want full-time paying employment that can lead to a permanent offer, even if it isn't in your preferred specialty.

So, basically, you are telling me what I want? I would rather be unemployed than practice insurance defense, or personal injury (for example).

[Renzo]

You want full-time paying employment that can lead to a permanent offer, even if it isn't in your preferred specialty.

So, basically, you are telling me what I want? I would rather be unemployed than practice insurance defense, or personal injury (for example).

So, you'd rather be permanently unemployed than take, for example, a litigation job that would allow you to lateral to a securities lit firm once you have some experience?

[Danteshek]

.

[Danteshek]

Got the offer today from the District Judge for next summer.