Top Law Schools

I'm trying to figure out options for summer employment and had a few questions:

1. What type of 1L summer employment opens up the most opportunities in the future? The options I am aware of are firm experience, judicial clerkship, and the USAO, are there others to consider?

2. Is it too late to land an interview for these positions? While I'm participating in spring OCI, I'm worried the ship has sailed on landing something outside OCI since I know a lot of people started securing interviews as early as Fall semester.

3. Side question: I am eligible to take the CPA exam at the end of this year and have considered taking the summer off to focus on the exam and hopefully pass it and have it on my resume come Fall OCI. Would CPA exam > 1L summer employment come 2L OCI or no?


(For the record, long term, I am most interested in working for a firm doing corporate law, tax law, or M&A but I am interested in all areas and believe right now is the time to try things I wouldn't otherwise)

My stats are: 1L, top 9%, secondary journal, at a regionally respected T3 (but not the region I want to practice in)

As of now, I have all my employment documents ready to go but I'm just a bit flustered as to what moves I'm supposed to be making. Any help would be very, very much appreciated!


Edited for conciseness

You can get on a journal as a 1L? Interesting.

Most USAOs are probably done, a good amount of federal judges wrap up in December/early January but certainly not all of them. If I were you, I'd be getting off TLS and sending cover letters and resumes to the entire federal bench, magistrates included, in your law school's district. I would check the DOJ's website to see if any divisions or USAOs are still hiring. I think you will be in trouble in the more active districts (DC, SDNY, EDNY, NDIL, all of CA) but there could be some good secondary gems. Apply to judges that went to your school. Don't overlook state appellate courts and even the state supreme courts.

I had interviews with the chief justice of my law school's state supreme court and several fed judges just off cover letter and resume but that was in December. Start typing.

how do you find openings or know who still has openings or do you just send a packet to every name and address you can find?