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Hey guys, 2L here

I am looking for some opinions. 3 "decent" choices I have which recently materialized for me.

1. Attorney General's office. Civil department. Particular section TBD. unpaid. about an hour commute from my house. minimum of 20 hours a week.

2. Summer associate at a small but respected plaintiff's firm. Pays decent. Hours are about 9-5 or 6 surprisingly enough. Past interns have been hired full-time after graduation based on the firm's need.

3. In-house counsel for a closed corporation. unpaid. 30-40 minute commute. Lot of transactional and corporate governance stuff. Also soft IP issues ( which is the practice field I like the most). Possible employment litigation issues as well. Works without outside counsel from firms that I was a finalist for during Fall OCI but could not land an offer after the CB. Though unpaid now, was told that if I performed well over the summer there might be an opportunity to be paid for work done remotely during fall and spring semesters of next academic year.

Additional info:

I mostly have litigation experience in my resume. I am good and legal research and writing. Comfortable drafting motions and briefs. don't mind arguing motions or going to trial, but I definitely don't feel like that is my one and only calling. I have limited transactional experience, but did enjoy drafting contracts during my 1L summer job. End goal is to get with a firm after graduation.

I am hoping that maybe if I work in-house and interact with attorneys at the bigfirms I did not latch onto before that maybe that increases my chances of getting a second look with those firms. Ultimately I just want to put myself into a good position to be hired 3L year. I already committed to the AG office back in January when I panicked and didnt land any jobs. The Plaintiff's firm knows about the AG office and said I could do part time with it and the AG. The In-house gig also said I could do the same, but recommended that I should do full-time since I would likely not really get much out of the experience. I am really leaning toward in-house. I know it is bad etiquette to reneg on the AG offer, but (1) it is unpaid, (2) it is state gvt which I have no interest in a future there and (3) they hired over 50 interns so its not like I could not be replaced and (4) I have not committed to any particular section yet so no section would be screwed it I pulled out at this point.

Is there any reason why I should not do the in-house gig?

Thanks for your opinions.

I'd vote #2 based on the chance to be hired full-time. Neither of the other two options seems to offer as good of an opportunity for full-time employment, which should be the goal of 2L summer.

While #3 sounds great since you're interested in it, have they given any indication it could lead to full-time employment down the line?

You should pick determined by your chance of being hired.

If they're all equal, maximize your interest in the work balanced by pay.

It sounds like the firm gives you the best shot at employment, so unless I'm missing something, take it.

#2, because it's paid and you may get a job from it. Don't overestimate how much interaction you'll have with outside counsel at the in-house position -- it will likely be little to none.

Wherever you have the best chance to be hired is where you should go. I have heard many people say to simply ask at the interview if they have a hiring plan and what chances are of being hired if you are selected as an intern. The one interview with a large firm I had flat out told me what the chances are without me even asking cause they said they knew the economy was bad and didn't want to string anyone along. It was actually pretty awesome.

OP here. My dilemma is that I believe I might want to be a transactional lawyer. Issue is that I did a little transaction work 1L summer, but did mostly litigation. I dont mind litigation, but I really enjoyed what little transactional work I did. So taking the in-house gig gives me a chance to do much more substantive transactional work and decide if that is for me. There are options for me to maybe intern at litigation-focused externships during the school year so that is why I am thinking maybe I should take the in-house gig for the summer for piece of mind.

Although the firm has hired in the past, it really is based on need and timing. So no guarantees there.

Take the Plaintiff's firm and do litigation. March of 2L year is not the time to be dreaming of transactional work and it sounds like that plaintiff's firm position is both 1) paid and 2) gives you the best shot at post-graduation employment which should be your only goal right now. Better to be employed in lit then unemployed still looking for corporate/transactional work.

OP here. Why not Keg?

No guarantee of employment after 2L summer at the small firm. They hire based on need. For instance, last 2 years no one was hired. The year before that there was 1 hire. In the 4 years before that there was only 1 hire. Because most law students just do whatever their first summer, the 2L summer typically is the first real opportunity for law students to do some heavy corporate/transactional work. Although there may be no direct opportunity to get a job from the in-house corporation, it still will give me exposure to the transactional practice likely as much as a firm would. And if I realize that is truly the career field for me ( transactional vs litigation), then all the better.

I dont see any of these 2L summer internships becoming full time jobs post grad. I want to see which one puts me in the best position to market myself for a job.

Anonymous User wrote:I dont see any of these 2L summer internships becoming full time jobs post grad.

If you really feel that way, do whichever you think you will enjoy the most. I still would probably take the money at #2, but if you can get by without making any and really feel that the in-house will be best for you, there is no strong reason not to work there.

Anonymous User wrote:OP here. Why not Keg?

No guarantee of employment after 2L summer at the small firm. They hire based on need. For instance, last 2 years no one was hired. The year before that there was 1 hire. In the 4 years before that there was only 1 hire. Because most law students just do whatever their first summer, the 2L summer typically is the first real opportunity for law students to do some heavy corporate/transactional work. Although there may be no direct opportunity to get a job from the in-house corporation, it still will give me exposure to the transactional practice likely as much as a firm would. And if I realize that is truly the career field for me ( transactional vs litigation), then all the better.

I dont see any of these 2L summer internships becoming full time jobs post grad. I want to see which one puts me in the best position to market myself for a job.

It seems like your really leaning towards the in-house gig. Money is great, as as is any chance of post-grad employment, but do what you love. That's ultimately what will make you the happiest, and give you the most relevant experience towards what you one day want to do. No sense in working a job you don't like.