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Ask me anything: work, life, attorneys, etc..

Firm has around 400 attorneys total

How'd you get a paying job as a 1L?

1L OCI

Not a minority, no relevant work experience.

Do you enjoy the work?

maxm2764 wrote:Do you enjoy the work?

I do. I think it's all a matter of perspective though. I come from a blue-collar background, so being in this position is already exciting in and of itself.

solotee wrote:

maxm2764 wrote:Do you enjoy the work?

I do. I think it's all a matter of perspective though. I come from a blue-collar background, so being in this position is already exciting in and of itself.

That makes sense. Well congrats btw, I'm sure you're stoked to have a paint gig!

Did you also mass-mail other firms or apply for externships? If so, what was that process like for you?

What type (t14, t25, etc) did you go to and approximately what is your class rank?

maxm2764 wrote:

solotee wrote:

maxm2764 wrote:Do you enjoy the work?

I do. I think it's all a matter of perspective though. I come from a blue-collar background, so being in this position is already exciting in and of itself.

That makes sense. Well congrats btw, I'm sure you're stoked to have a paint gig!

Did you also mass-mail other firms or apply for externships? If so, what was that process like for you?

I mass mailed other firms, though I think I did it too late. 12/1 is the date you want to send everything out. I got a lot of kind rejections.

bball25 wrote:What type (t14, t25, etc) did you go to and approximately what is your class rank?

T30, exactly top 10%

I see you did some 0L networking. Any advice on that?

Is your job in a primary (NY, Chicago, etc.) or secondary (Seattle, Minneapolis, Denver, etc.) legal market? Or maybe your job is in the region of your law school? Do you think the market in which the firm is located had anything to do with you landing the position?

Thanks.

Is there anything that stands out on your resume, or do you feel you got this job mostly because of your grades? Any tips for those of us hoping to get a 1L SA?

Thanks, and congrats.

japes wrote:I see you did some 0L networking. Any advice on that?

Yes, 0L networking actually helped a lot. One of the interviews I received for a 1L SA position was because I networked with the attorney before I began law school and talked with him about my interests. When his firm came to my school for interviews, I shot him an email and got on the list.

I kept a list of all the attorneys I met and from what firm, where I met them, what we talked about, and their contact information (if possible a picture from their firm website for memory). Before any networking event, I reviewed this list. I cannot tell you how good name-dropping works when you meet other attorneys. The legal community is very small.

By the time 1L interviewing season came, I was very comfortable during my interviews because networking helped me learn how to talk with attorneys. Before I networked, I was scared to death about having a conversation with an attorney.

Lastly, try to get an informational phone interview from an attorney at a firm you want to work at. Usually those lead to lunches. This is a good way to establish rapport so that you may call them when you're in your job searching process. I reached out to all of the attorney's I met during my 1L summer job search. All were very helpful, and most of them circulated my resume around the community (one of these leads led to another job offer with another firm).

Just go out there with a positive attitude. Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. In the end it's all worth it and frankly, you have to do everything you can in this market.

BackToTheOldHouse wrote:Is your job in a primary (NY, Chicago, etc.) or secondary (Seattle, Minneapolis, Denver, etc.) legal market? Or maybe your job is in the region of your law school? Do you think the market in which the firm is located had anything to do with you landing the position?

Thanks.

Secondary market. Though I am not going to comment on whether my school is in the same market my firm is, I will say that connections or a tie to a secondary market is HUGE. You will pass this threshold as long as you have some kind of legitimate reason to be in the secondary market where you are interviewing.

beachbum wrote:Is there anything that stands out on your resume, or do you feel you got this job mostly because of your grades? Any tips for those of us hoping to get a 1L SA?

Thanks, and congrats.

Nothing stands out on my resume. Crappy undergrad and one year ago I was working at a fast food restaurant.

My first semester grades were high (top 5%) though I dropped second semester (top 10% as stated earlier). I know the grades of about 20-30 1L SA's. I'd say you are competitive for a 1L SA if your grades are top 10% or above (regardless of school in the 1-100 range). I met 1L SA's from TTT schools (though you have to be top 3% or above from those schools to get a 1L SA gig). I also noticed that people from T20 or above were competitive if in the top 40% or above range.

solotee wrote:

beachbum wrote:Is there anything that stands out on your resume, or do you feel you got this job mostly because of your grades? Any tips for those of us hoping to get a 1L SA?

Thanks, and congrats.

Nothing stands out on my resume. Crappy undergrad and one year ago I was working at a fast food restaurant.

My first semester grades were high (top 5%) though I dropped second semester (top 10% as stated earlier). I know the grades of about 20-30 1L SA's. I'd say you are competitive for a 1L SA if your grades are top 10% or above (regardless of school in the 1-100 range). I met 1L SA's from TTT schools (though you have to be top 3% or above from those schools to get a 1L SA gig). I also noticed that people from T20 or above were competitive if in the top 40% or above range.

Fantastic, thanks for your help. I have a pretty weak resume, but a good law school and solid connections to a secondary market. Now I just gotta get those grades...

beachbum wrote:

solotee wrote:

beachbum wrote:Is there anything that stands out on your resume, or do you feel you got this job mostly because of your grades? Any tips for those of us hoping to get a 1L SA?

Thanks, and congrats.

Nothing stands out on my resume. Crappy undergrad and one year ago I was working at a fast food restaurant.

My first semester grades were high (top 5%) though I dropped second semester (top 10% as stated earlier). I know the grades of about 20-30 1L SA's. I'd say you are competitive for a 1L SA if your grades are top 10% or above (regardless of school in the 1-100 range). I met 1L SA's from TTT schools (though you have to be top 3% or above from those schools to get a 1L SA gig). I also noticed that people from T20 or above were competitive if in the top 40% or above range.

Fantastic, thanks for your help. I have a pretty weak resume, but a good law school and solid connections to a secondary market. Now I just gotta get those grades...

That's the easy part