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Does, has, or will this work in the future of legal hiring? I know in this TTT economy, I've heard stories of pretty capable lawyers offering to work for a firm for nothing, in hopes they'll be hired on after proving themselves, etc, etc.

How prevalent is this whoring yourself out approach? Does it ever work in getting your foot in an altogether nicer/more $$$$ door?

I'm against it.

I've heard a couple stories about firms (biz, not law) turning applicants away for "not valuing their own time" when they report that they "worked for free"

Also, I pay for school and get paid to work. That's just m'style.

It's illegal, so no.

BobSacamano wrote:It's illegal, so no.

+1. Following the law is pretty chill.

I used to work as a legal assistant before law school. One day I was answering the phones when a recent law graduate called, offering to work for free. The most awkward part was that he was after MY position. I forwarded the message to my boss and asked, jokingly, if my job was in jeopardy. He said that the graduate's offer wreaked of desperation and it was obvious that all he was interested in was a hand out.

Frankly, the foot in door theory is not a good idea. If a firm wants to hire you then they would offer you a paying position. Also, you will need to put in at least several months, maybe a year, in order to be noticed.

I've heard of people volunteering with DA and PD type offices, but not with firms.

A good buddy of mine now making $1M+ yr got his foot in the door by saying "I'll work for free for 1 entire year. But, 1 year from now, if you appreciate what I did I want to be back-paid."

shepdawg wrote:A good buddy of mine now making $1M+ yr got his foot in the door by saying "I'll work for free for 1 entire year. But, 1 year from now, if you appreciate what I did I want to be back-paid."

Was he working as a lawyer? Sounds like an interesting story, can you elaborate?

LjakW wrote:

shepdawg wrote:A good buddy of mine now making $1M+ yr got his foot in the door by saying "I'll work for free for 1 entire year. But, 1 year from now, if you appreciate what I did I want to be back-paid."

Was he working as a lawyer? Sounds like an interesting story, can you elaborate?

i am interested in this as well

This whole working for free thing is crazy if you really think about it. You would never see a police officer, a firefighter, or even a janitor work a day for free. And those people didn't pay $200k + 7 years of their life into an education. I'm against the idea. But I know a lot of governmental agencies do have volunteer positions, and sometimes those can lead to paying jobs (e.g. I think the orange county PD's office explicitly says (or at least did say) that they are more likely to hire someone who volunteered for them, than someone who did not). I think it's got to be tough to do this though. I mean you still need to make money somewhere to cover your life expenses. So you would work your prime working hours (probably something like 8:30-6:00pm) volunteerings at least a couple days a week, AND still have to work another job to cover your expenses. Also, presumably the other job would not be any type of professional job being that you are already working normal working hours at least a couple days a week volunteering (i.e. professional employers, say, e.g., sears, are not going to hire you as an account to work 3 days a week or less). Sounds like this would be pretty rough imo.

Lol most firms will let you do so, give you the shit work + coffee making opportunity, then when the 1 year is over they tell you to get the fuck out.

Have a bit of dignity, working for free won't prove anything.

BobSacamano wrote:It's illegal, so no.

You can thank Obama and the Democrats for that one; it's illegal to work for free for a company/firm, unless you're working for free for a Congressman - then unpaid labor is perfectly ok.

I'd rather be a day laborer. Also you will also stop searching as hard for a real job. Probably a bad bet.

gabbagabba wrote: You can thank Obama and the Democrats for that one; it's illegal to work for free for a company/firm, unless you're working for free for a Congressman - then unpaid labor is perfectly ok.

Care to elaborate on that?

If I'm not mistaken, you can work for free for any government or non-profit agency, not just congressmen, but there are strict rules about unpaid internships with for-profit firms. And this has been the case since B.O. (Before Obama.)

Noval wrote:Lol most firms will let you do so, give you the shit work + coffee making opportunity, then when the 1 year is over they tell you to get the fuck out.

Have a bit of dignity, working for free won't prove anything.

Which firms? I haven't heard of any that would do that. Working for free to get your foot in the door is not a new idea. I had to work for 6 months for free as a teacher to get my credential.

gabbagabba wrote:

BobSacamano wrote:It's illegal, so no.

You can thank Obama and the Democrats for that one; it's illegal to work for free for a company/firm, unless you're working for free for a Congressman - then unpaid labor is perfectly ok.

Idiot...

Would never, EVER do this without some kind of defined path (e.g. the person above who worked 6 months free to get a teaching credential). You have to ask yourself what kind of a garbage firm would even want someone unpaid to do real work. Take away the pay and you take away one of the biggest incentives for continued performance.