Taking time off after law school Forum

[shuttlesworth]

I know, one of the cardinal rules of law school is to get all your traveling and gallivanting done before you go, but just hypothetically, would it be career suicide to take a year (or two) off and travel after law school graduation, assuming that debt miraculously is not a problem? Has anyone ever heard of anyone asking a firm for a deferral on a hire, or is that totally absurd and outlandish?

[Renzo]

I don't know about career suicide, but it would be biglaw suicide.

[XxSpyKEx]

I so wish I could do this without the career suicide part. I remember during clerkship hiring I was thinking to myself, "damn, it would be awesome if a judge hired me for the year a year after I graduate" so I could just chill out, drink my face off, and not do shit for a year. But to answer the question, yeah, it's close to career suicide. Employers are going to want to know what you were doing for a couple years after graduation. Worse yet, many will just assume you couldn't find any legal employment and figure if no one else hiring you, why should they. A dying mother in some other country story might get you past that, but I'm not sure that "well, I just thought I would take some time off so I could go jerk around in other countries for the hell of it" story will fly. I know I wouldn't hire someone with a 2 year employment gap on their resume with no better of an explanation of it then that.

If you actually get an offer from a large firm and ask them if you can defer a couple years to travel, you are absolutely fucking crazy. I mean more power to you if they actually allow you to do that, but I highly doubt they will be ok with that. I could even see a firm no-offering/rescinding an offer to someone who asked that question.

[worldtraveler]

You could volunteer doing legal work in another country. Some people do that while awaiting bar results or on deferral from a law firm.

[vamedic03]

I know, one of the cardinal rules of law school is to get all your traveling and gallivanting done before you go, but just hypothetically, would it be career suicide to take a year (or two) off and travel after law school graduation, assuming that debt miraculously is not a problem? Has anyone ever heard of anyone asking a firm for a deferral on a hire, or is that totally absurd and outlandish?

This isn't directed at the OP to be snarky, but as a lesson to 0L's:

This is why you do not go straight to law school from undergrad. Before you go to law school, or any other professional school, go do whatever you want beforehand. Once you're in a professional school, you are on the professional track - and that doesn't involve take a year or two off right after graduation.

[vanwinkle]

I know, one of the cardinal rules of law school is to get all your traveling and gallivanting done before you go, but just hypothetically, would it be career suicide to take a year (or two) off and travel after law school graduation, assuming that debt miraculously is not a problem? Has anyone ever heard of anyone asking a firm for a deferral on a hire, or is that totally absurd and outlandish?

This isn't directed at the OP to be snarky, but as a lesson to 0L's:

This is why you do not go straight to law school from undergrad. Before you go to law school, or any other professional school, go do whatever you want beforehand. Once you're in a professional school, you are on the professional track - and that doesn't involve take a year or two off right after graduation.

This. So very this.

[iagolives]

I know, one of the cardinal rules of law school is to get all your traveling and gallivanting done before you go, but just hypothetically, would it be career suicide to take a year (or two) off and travel after law school graduation, assuming that debt miraculously is not a problem? Has anyone ever heard of anyone asking a firm for a deferral on a hire, or is that totally absurd and outlandish?

This isn't directed at the OP to be snarky, but as a lesson to 0L's:

This is why you do not go straight to law school from undergrad. Before you go to law school, or any other professional school, go do whatever you want beforehand. Once you're in a professional school, you are on the professional track - and that doesn't involve take a year or two off right after graduation.

This. So very this.

+1. I really, really wish I would have figured this out beforehand.

[random5483]

I know, one of the cardinal rules of law school is to get all your traveling and gallivanting done before you go, but just hypothetically, would it be career suicide to take a year (or two) off and travel after law school graduation, assuming that debt miraculously is not a problem? Has anyone ever heard of anyone asking a firm for a deferral on a hire, or is that totally absurd and outlandish?

This isn't directed at the OP to be snarky, but as a lesson to 0L's:

This is why you do not go straight to law school from undergrad. Before you go to law school, or any other professional school, go do whatever you want beforehand. Once you're in a professional school, you are on the professional track - and that doesn't involve take a year or two off right after graduation.

This. So very this.

Agreed. However, if you work after your undergrad you are unlikely to get a year or two years off. Not doing anything is an option if you have the financial support. I worked for 3 years after my undergrad. The money I earned was nice, but I got very little time off. I got around this by taking the summer before law school off to have some fun.

[missinglink]

I know, one of the cardinal rules of law school is to get all your traveling and gallivanting done before you go, but just hypothetically, would it be career suicide to take a year (or two) off and travel after law school graduation, assuming that debt miraculously is not a problem? Has anyone ever heard of anyone asking a firm for a deferral on a hire, or is that totally absurd and outlandish?

Yep

[shuttlesworth]

Fair enough. I still wonder if one could almost "bait" an employer into granting a deferral by writing in a cover letter that "I want this job so badly that I'm even willing to accept a deferral of a year." Theoretically, one could even land a better job than normal using this method and finagle a year off to go abroad.

[09042014]

Fair enough. I still wonder if one could almost "bait" an employer into granting a deferral by writing in a cover letter that "I want this job so badly that I'm even willing to accept a deferral of a year." Theoretically, one could even land a better job than normal using this method and finagle a year off to go abroad.

lol

[dr123]

Lawyers without borders, dude.

[LurkerNoMore]

Fair enough. I still wonder if one could almost "bait" an employer into granting a deferral by writing in a cover letter that "I want this job so badly that I'm even willing to accept a deferral of a year." Theoretically, one could even land a better job than normal using this method and finagle a year off to go abroad.

Deferrals were the way law firms dealt with oversubscribed classes. They have since gotten their hiring in line with staffing needs. Deferrals would not be "bait" for them. They hate hiring a 2 years out as it is. Committing to someone for a period even further out isn't an incentive for them.

[shuttlesworth]

Deferrals were the way law firms dealt with oversubscribed classes. They have since gotten their hiring in line with staffing needs. Deferrals would not be "bait" for them. They hate hiring a 2 years out as it is. Committing to someone for a period even further out isn't an incentive for them.

noted.

[AP-375]

What about just taking a solid 2-3 week vacation? Any harm in that if you are on the firm path (big or mid)? Or do firms expect you to start immediately after graduation?

[missinglink]

What about just taking a solid 2-3 week vacation? Any harm in that if you are on the firm path (big or mid)? Or do firms expect you to start immediately after graduation?

I imagine that is possible. But you'll also need to devote time after graduation to studying for the bar.

[09042014]

--ImageRemoved--

[vanwinkle]

What about just taking a solid 2-3 week vacation? Any harm in that if you are on the firm path (big or mid)? Or do firms expect you to start immediately after graduation?

I think that if you get a firm job your 2L summer, then you should find time on either side of it to do this. Most firms require you work a minimum of 10 weeks, and many summer vacation at many law schools runs 14 weeks or more. If you could find 2-3 weeks before/after your SA position, that's the perfect time to do it, and you'll have the money from working that summer to pay for it.

As a graduate, I think you'd be a little too preoccupied with studying for the bar prior to starting work at your firm.

[AP-375]

What about just taking a solid 2-3 week vacation? Any harm in that if you are on the firm path (big or mid)? Or do firms expect you to start immediately after graduation?

I think that if you get a firm job your 2L summer, then you should find time on either side of it to do this. Most firms require you work a minimum of 10 weeks, and many summer vacation at many law schools runs 14 weeks or more. If you could find 2-3 weeks before/after your SA position, that's the perfect time to do it, and you'll have the money from working that summer to pay for it.

As a graduate, I think you'd be a little too preoccupied with studying for the bar prior to starting work at your firm.

Thanks for the info. All of my 0L dreams--chilling on a tropical island for three weeks after law school with a JD degree in one hand and a $160k job offer in the other--have just been flushed down the toilet.

[keg411]

Thanks for the info. All of my 0L dreams--chilling on a tropical island for three weeks after law school with a JD degree in one hand and a $160k job offer in the other--have just been flushed down the toilet.

Bar Exam is at the end of July. Take trip in August for 3 weeks. Start job in mid-September/October (when most of the start dates are). Win at life.

[LawSchoolWannaBe]

What about just taking a solid 2-3 week vacation? Any harm in that if you are on the firm path (big or mid)? Or do firms expect you to start immediately after graduation?

I think that if you get a firm job your 2L summer, then you should find time on either side of it to do this. Most firms require you work a minimum of 10 weeks, and many summer vacation at many law schools runs 14 weeks or more. If you could find 2-3 weeks before/after your SA position, that's the perfect time to do it, and you'll have the money from working that summer to pay for it.

As a graduate, I think you'd be a little too preoccupied with studying for the bar prior to starting work at your firm.

Thanks for the info. All of my 0L dreams--chilling on a tropical island for three weeks after law school with a JD degree in one hand and a $160k job offer in the other--have just been flushed down the toilet.

You'll have 3 weeks to chill after the bar and before you start work. Don't worry. Lots of people take bar trips that are 3 weeks long.

[johnnyutah]

Well, if there ever were a time to do it, this is it. Your time off might not look as worrisome if it happens during a year when lots of people can't find jobs.

[thesealocust]

Have you all really never heard of a bar trip? It's extremely common to take time off between the bar and beginning work at a firm.

http://abovethelaw.com/2008/07/post-bar ... en-thread/

[vanwinkle]

Have you all really never heard of a bar trip? It's extremely common to take time off between the bar and beginning work at a firm.

http://abovethelaw.com/2008/07/post-bar ... en-thread/

Honestly, I hadn't. Then again, I hadn't really looked into what life is like for those who go work at law firms until recently, either.

[thesealocust]

Have you all really never heard of a bar trip? It's extremely common to take time off between the bar and beginning work at a firm.

http://abovethelaw.com/2008/07/post-bar ... en-thread/

Honestly, I hadn't. Then again, I hadn't really looked into what life is like for those who go work at law firms until recently, either.

Before I decided to apply to law school, I read law school confidential cover to cover, and the part at the end about taking a sweet vacation after the horrors of LS / the bar has never strayed far from the front of my mind.