help!! Forum

[Anonymous User]

1L at T20.
Before grades come in I apply to federal judges and local judges (by accident). One local judge calls offering a job, but he told me to ask about getting a stipend. As per career counselor advice, I called and said school doesn't offer stipends for judicial internships but for PI work. So I told him I wanted to try to split summer so i could get a stipend. He said he understands and of course I want to get paid and me to let him know and rushes me off the phone.

I continue to apply to internships. One of these internships happens to me with a large federal organization and its PAID. Long story short, interview went tremendously will, and because of some networking I had someone who works in the office told the interviewer I come highly recommended etc etc. Point being, I feel as if I have a good shot. However, the internship runs from early May to the end of August; meaning no opportunity to split summer. Is there any way out of getting out of internship with the judge, the job does pay really well, could I justify it by telling the judge I'm in a poor financial situation? Or would this completely discredit my reputation.

[thwalls]

Be honest. Tell the judge that you have more than one opportunity in front of you and you really need a paying job for your summer to cover your bills. Chances are that you're not going to please everybody and there's a possibility that he could be pissed. But if you're honest with him then you've done your due dilligence.

[MrKappus]

I'm always amazed by humanity's (not just lawyers') aversion to talking to people in an upfront and honest way. It's not painful. Just make your argument to the judge in the most persuasive way possible. He's either going to be OK with it or not, but there is no magic fix here. Just have an honest conversation with the judge.

Also, since you seem to like going off half-cocked (no offense, but how the hell do you "accidentally" apply to local judges?), wait until you're actually offered this job before you talk to the judge.

[JazzOne]

1L at T20.
Before grades come in I apply to federal judges and local judges (by accident). One local judge calls offering a job, but he told me to ask about getting a stipend. As per career counselor advice, I called and said school doesn't offer stipends for judicial internships but for PI work. So I told him I wanted to try to split summer so i could get a stipend. He said he understands and of course I want to get paid and me to let him know and rushes me off the phone.

I continue to apply to internships. One of these internships happens to me with a large federal organization and its PAID. Long story short, interview went tremendously will, and because of some networking I had someone who works in the office told the interviewer I come highly recommended etc etc. Point being, I feel as if I have a good shot. However, the internship runs from early May to the end of August; meaning no opportunity to split summer. Is there any way out of getting out of internship with the judge, the job does pay really well, could I justify it by telling the judge I'm in a poor financial situation? Or would this completely discredit my reputation.

Pissing off a judge might be one of the few ways to blow 1L summer. It's too late to fix it though. You already messed up. Didn't anyone tell you not to apply to judges unless you were willing to accept an offer on the spot? That's probably why he rushed you off the phone. He regretted offering the position to someone who didn't want it.

[Anonymous User]

Also, since you seem to like going off half-cocked (no offense, but how the hell do you "accidentally" apply to local judges?), wait until you're actually offered this job before you talk to the judge.

OP here... fair enough but I found a website listing Judges in my area and I thought they were all federal, and they were state and local judges as well... It's not an excuse and i realize I was careless and messed up. Also, the only reason I ask is in the event that I do get an offer, I wanted to know what I was going to do.

Pissing off a judge might be one of the few ways to blow 1L summer. It's too late to fix it though. You already messed up. Didn't anyone tell you not to apply to judges unless you were willing to accept an offer on the spot? That's probably why he rushed you off the phone. He regretted offering the position to someone who didn't want it.

This is my original concern. Although, I don't think your assertion about why he rushed me off the phone is true. They used to pay there interns but the state cut the budget, so his concern through this entire process is that I get paid. When I told him I wanted to split the summer his first reaction was I understand that you want to make money.

Thanks for everyone's help though.

[xyzbca]

This is my original concern. Although, I don't think your assertion about why he rushed me off the phone is true. They used to pay there interns but the state cut the budget, so his concern through this entire process is that I get paid. When I told him I wanted to split the summer his first reaction was I understand that you want to make money.

I think you owe the judge the same general courtesy you would expect from him. What would you think of the judge if he called you next week and told you he had to withdraw your offer b/c he just had a better candidate apply?

I agree with JazzOne about why the judge rushed you off the phone. Most employers don't tell prospective employees that they are in the process of fucking up. They just let the candidate make the mistake and file the information away for future reference.

[Anonymous User]

You should check w/ career services. At my school, in 1L year, we signed an agreement that said if you basically violated any part of it that you couldn't participate in OCI or recruiting. One of the provisions was rescinding an offer from a judge.

[JazzOne]

You should check w/ career services. At my school, in 1L year, we signed an agreement that said if you basically violated any part of it that you couldn't participate in OCI or recruiting. One of the provisions was rescinding an offer from a judge.

This is great advice. Even if your CSO does not have such a rule, they probably know how to handle this type of situation better than we do. I was thinking about reneging on one of my employment offers, and I went to see my CSO counselor about it. She gave me some very good advice.

[Anonymous User]

You should check w/ career services. At my school, in 1L year, we signed an agreement that said if you basically violated any part of it that you couldn't participate in OCI or recruiting. One of the provisions was rescinding an offer from a judge.

This is great advice. Even if your CSO does not have such a rule, they probably know how to handle this type of situation better than we do. I was thinking about reneging on one of my employment offers, and I went to see my CSO counselor about it. She gave me some very good advice.

OP here... I went to our Career people who reflected the advice consistent with some of the posters. They seem to think that I should explain the situation fully and sort of feel it out. They seem to think especially since its a local judge, and that he offered to find me another judge if i wasn't interested in the kind of cases he hears he would understand that ITE I would want to get paid.