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Ideally I'd like to get a 1L SA for this summer, but I don't have any major WE (1 yr. after college at a 50-attorney law firm working as a paralegal) and was a political science major (i.e. no math/science/engineering background).

Quick question: is it worth spending what would likely be an entire day working on putting everything together in time for Dec. 1st? Exams are a priority right now, so if I have no chance then I would rather not waste the day. So, is it worth spending a day creating a mail merge to send out to ~150 firms?

sfdreaming09 wrote:Ideally I'd like to get a 1L SA for this summer, but I don't have any major WE (1 yr. after college at a 50-attorney law firm working as a paralegal) and was a political science major (i.e. no math/science/engineering background).

Quick question: is it worth spending what would likely be an entire day working on putting everything together in time for Dec. 1st? Exams are a priority right now, so if I have no chance then I would rather not waste the day. So, is it worth spending a day creating a mail merge to send out to ~150 firms?

150 sounds a bit intense, but yeah it is one day. i say go for it. sure exams are 'priority' -- but one day for possible 1L SA? im assuming you mean in NYC? chances are low, but you do have some WE (way better than me) @ 1yr as a paralegal.

imo, id rather have a 1L SA than an extra HP.

I'd only apply to firms in your home market that you'd like to interview with over winter break. The rest can wait until after finals.

DoubleChecks wrote:

sfdreaming09 wrote:Ideally I'd like to get a 1L SA for this summer, but I don't have any major WE (1 yr. after college at a 50-attorney law firm working as a paralegal) and was a political science major (i.e. no math/science/engineering background).

Quick question: is it worth spending what would likely be an entire day working on putting everything together in time for Dec. 1st? Exams are a priority right now, so if I have no chance then I would rather not waste the day. So, is it worth spending a day creating a mail merge to send out to ~150 firms?

150 sounds a bit intense, but yeah it is one day. i say go for it. sure exams are 'priority' -- but one day for possible 1L SA? im assuming you mean in NYC? chances are low, but you do have some WE (way better than me) @ 1yr as a paralegal.

imo, id rather have a 1L SA than an extra HP.

True, same with me, but I feel chances of getting an extra HP are a lot higher than getting a 1L SA at this point. But 150 wouldn't take that much longer than, say, 50, if you're using a mail merge.

I was actually going to target CA since that's where I'm from. I know its really competitive to break into the CA market, but I thought my ties to the area would help, and would probably render my chances better over there than in NYC (I know NYC doesn't care about ties). Do you think a native Californian's chances would actually be better in NYC? I never even gave it much thought but, yeah, I suppose that could be true.

I'd probably wait till after exams... Firms aren't going to make choices until after your 1st semester grades come out anyways, so there's no pressing need to get applications in so early

Na_Swatch wrote:I'd probably wait till after exams... Firms aren't going to make choices until after your 1st semester grades come out anyways, so there's no pressing need to get applications in so early

depends on the firm; i dont know the CA market, but for example, TX (my only target) def has firms that hire before grades are out

and once again, im always shocked -- are people really studying 24/7 at this point for law school exams? a resume and cover letter are not that hard to put together in a day...

Na_Swatch wrote:I'd probably wait till after exams... Firms aren't going to make choices until after your 1st semester grades come out anyways, so there's no pressing need to get applications in so early

I disagree with this. I waited until after exams, and it cost me at some top firms. Getting them out on December 1 shows dedication and (more importantly) organization. Don't single out any market. Just apply broadly, and see who's interested.

JazzOne wrote:

Na_Swatch wrote:I'd probably wait till after exams... Firms aren't going to make choices until after your 1st semester grades come out anyways, so there's no pressing need to get applications in so early

I disagree with this. I waited until after exams, and it cost me at some top firms. Getting them out on December 1 shows dedication and (more importantly) organization. Don't single out any market. Just apply broadly, and see who's interested.

Which kind of firms did you apply to jazzone? It doesn't really seem likeany firms are actually hiring for 1l SA positions (so does spamming your resume out to 150 firms actually get you anywhere?)

Nom Sawyer wrote:

JazzOne wrote:

Na_Swatch wrote:I'd probably wait till after exams... Firms aren't going to make choices until after your 1st semester grades come out anyways, so there's no pressing need to get applications in so early

I disagree with this. I waited until after exams, and it cost me at some top firms. Getting them out on December 1 shows dedication and (more importantly) organization. Don't single out any market. Just apply broadly, and see who's interested.

Which kind of firms did you apply to jazzone? It doesn't really seem likeany firms are actually hiring for 1l SA positions (so does spamming your resume out to 150 firms actually get you anywhere?)

I only sent resumes to a few big firms in Texas. I got interviews at 2 but no offer. Then I landed a 1L SA at a smaller firm through our spring OCI at UT. The firms might not be hiring in December, but I would want my materials to come in with the first wave, not after the holidays. Everyone has free time over Christmas break. Only the really organized and dedicated students have time to do this right now. Firms know that.

Edit: Oops, misread your question. Are firms hiring for 1L SAs? Not really. But a few of them do. And if you write a good (short) cover letter that shows genuine interest in the firm, they might call you. Even if you get an interview and don't get a job, you'll have one more interview under your belt by the time OCI rolls around. Break the ice, you know? Use it a chance to get to know who the firms are.

What type of WE would help land a 1L SA?

JazzOne wrote:

Nom Sawyer wrote:

JazzOne wrote:

Na_Swatch wrote:I'd probably wait till after exams... Firms aren't going to make choices until after your 1st semester grades come out anyways, so there's no pressing need to get applications in so early

I disagree with this. I waited until after exams, and it cost me at some top firms. Getting them out on December 1 shows dedication and (more importantly) organization. Don't single out any market. Just apply broadly, and see who's interested.

Which kind of firms did you apply to jazzone? It doesn't really seem likeany firms are actually hiring for 1l SA positions (so does spamming your resume out to 150 firms actually get you anywhere?)

I only sent resumes to a few big firms in Texas. I got interviews at 2 but no offer. Then I landed a 1L SA at a smaller firm through our spring OCI at UT. The firms might not be hiring in December, but I would want my materials to come in with the first wave, not after the holidays. Everyone has free time over Christmas break. Only the really organized and dedicated students have time to do this right now. Firms know that.

Edit: Oops, misread your question. Are firms hiring for 1L SAs? Not really. But a few of them do. And if you write a good (short) cover letter that shows genuine interest in the firm, they might call you. Even if you get an interview and don't get a job, you'll have one more interview under your belt by the time OCI rolls around. Break the ice, you know? Use it a chance to get to know who the firms are.

Umm so how can you disagree with me when all those who ACTUALLY hired did look at 1L grades? [Outside of hometown exceptions like TX which require special connections]

You can't really disagree when your views don't actually change the chance of getting hired at all except maybe in a particular state.

Na_Swatch wrote:You can't really disagree when your views don't actually change the chance of getting hired at all except maybe in a particular state.

None of the firms I submitted a resume to after the holidays hired me. That's why I disagree. Plus, I was #1 in my class after first semester, so if 1L hiring is based on grades, that should have made a difference, but it didn't. I don't really know what they look for in a 1L SA, but if I could do it all over again, I'd mail 100 resumes on December 1. I had a friend who did that, and he spent his 1L summer at a V50.

These views are not limited to Texas. I am suggesting that it looks much better for you to submit your resume on December 1 than it does to submit on January 3, regardless of what state you're in. In other words, I think I didn't get the jobs I really wanted because I waited too long to submit my resume. My friends who were ready to go on December 1, they got the best jobs. Some of the people who got these 1L SAs at top firms didn't get terrific grades and didn't make law review. Yet, they still have a shot at biglaw because they got their feet in the door early in the process.

Na_Swatch wrote:I'd probably wait till after exams... Firms aren't going to make choices until after your 1st semester grades come out anyways, so there's no pressing need to get applications in so early

No.

I don't know how much this matters, and it probably varies by markets, but most (if not all) of the firms in my home market reccomend that 1Ls apply for SA positions on December 1. Look in the NALP directory on their NALP forms for more info, and to see if the firms you're applying to even hire 1Ls.