I'm a 2L and will be interviewing for a summer position with a mid-sized firm pretty soon. It's not a NALP firm, and I have no idea how much their SAs are paid or whether they get permanent offers post-summer. I know that compensation should not be brought up until an offer is in hand.** But what about the permanent employment thing? Is it okay to ask during the interview whether they consider their summer associates for permanent positions, or is this also something that should wait until I have an offer? It's not something that I absolutely must know right away, but it could inform some of my other questions about the firm (ones that go above and beyond the SA position).
**On a related note, does anyone have an idea of what I might expect as summer compensation at a mid-sized law firm (30-50 people) in a secondary market ? I've heard of people getting anywhere from $10/hr at firms of an unspecified size to $25/hr helping solo practitioners to the weekly salary of an entry-level attorney (which I don't know in this firm's case).
Mid-law interview questions Forum
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Anonymous User
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Re: Mid-law interview questions
Bump. Anyone?
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Aqualibrium
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Re: Mid-law interview questions
With regards to your question about permanent positions, I don't see why it should be a problem if tactfully raised. I asked about it in a few of my interviews and still got offers at those firms. Just ask about the summer program in general, it's specific, then ask if the firm views the program as a recruiting tool and generally looks to hire from the class. You can also go to their website and look at attorney bios to see if any of them clerked there. One thing I always liked to see was firms that had a lot of people working there that had clerked for them both 1L and 2L summer.
The salary thing depends. Some mid-sized firms are the market's equivalent of biglaw firms (i.e. these firms are the ones that pay the most/that the better students in the class are aiming for/that generally have the best work and most prestige in that given city or market). For those types of places, the salary is usually in line with the salaries of other firms in the area, so you can look on NALP and see what similar firms pay. Other firms are midlaw in terms of actual size, but aren't in terms of type or quality of work or with the idea I expressed earlier of being the secondary market equivalent of a biglaw job. For places like that, you might see a more hourly structure like you talked about.
The salary thing depends. Some mid-sized firms are the market's equivalent of biglaw firms (i.e. these firms are the ones that pay the most/that the better students in the class are aiming for/that generally have the best work and most prestige in that given city or market). For those types of places, the salary is usually in line with the salaries of other firms in the area, so you can look on NALP and see what similar firms pay. Other firms are midlaw in terms of actual size, but aren't in terms of type or quality of work or with the idea I expressed earlier of being the secondary market equivalent of a biglaw job. For places like that, you might see a more hourly structure like you talked about.
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Re: Mid-law interview questions
+1Aqualibrium wrote:With regards to your question about permanent positions, I don't see why it should be a problem if tactfully raised. I asked about it in a few of my interviews and still got offers at those firms. Just ask about the summer program in general, it's specific, then ask if the firm views the program as a recruiting tool and generally looks to hire from the class. You can also go to their website and look at attorney bios to see if any of them clerked there. One thing I always liked to see was firms that had a lot of people working there that had clerked for them both 1L and 2L summer.
The larger midsize firms in my area pay $1,000 to $1,500 a week. I've had two small firms (less than ten lawyers) offer $10/hr and $15/hr.
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