Getting an in-house gig? Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any idea about how to go about getting an in-house gig straight out of law school? I go to GULC/VANDY/UT and struck out at OCI. I've been researching different companies in my target market, but there doesn't seem to be a clear way to get one's foot in the door. I know they are usually experienced attorneys from firms that come into in-house, but anecdotally I've heard of graduates getting jobs in-house too. Thoughts?

[minnbills]

I know a couple of companies in MN hire in-house people, but they do it through OCI.

The NALP should have this sort of info too.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any idea about how to go about getting an in-house gig straight out of law school? I go to GULC/VANDY/UT and struck out at OCI. I've been researching different companies in my target market, but there doesn't seem to be a clear way to get one's foot in the door. I know they are usually experienced attorneys from firms that come into in-house, but anecdotally I've heard of graduates getting jobs in-house too. Thoughts?

These jobs are pretty much non-existent outside certain niche pairings; think Tax LL.M. to GE, Patent Bar Exam to Google, or Media/Comm Law concentration to the Discovery Channel. Since you say you did OCI, I am going to assume you are either litigation or corporate focused, and outside of tax, you won't find litigation in-house. You might find some corporate work on compliance/drafting type things, but again, it would be very industry specific and you would almost certainly need to have worked in the industry/family connections to get in the door.

[Void]

Anyone have any idea about how to go about getting an in-house gig straight out of law school? I go to GULC/VANDY/UT and struck out at OCI. I've been researching different companies in my target market, but there doesn't seem to be a clear way to get one's foot in the door. I know they are usually experienced attorneys from firms that come into in-house, but anecdotally I've heard of graduates getting jobs in-house too. Thoughts?

These jobs are pretty much non-existent outside certain niche pairings; think Tax LL.M. to GE, Patent Bar Exam to Google, or Media/Comm Law concentration to the Discovery Channel. Since you say you did OCI, I am going to assume you are either litigation or corporate focused, and outside of tax, you won't find litigation in-house. You might find some corporate work on compliance/drafting type things, but again, it would be very industry specific and you would almost certainly need to have worked in the industry/family connections to get in the door.

Hmmm.

[Anonymous User]

Best way to do it is work as an in-house intern over the summer, and then intern throughout your 3L year. Treat this internship like a full-time job, and be there so much that they think you already work there. Make the right connections, show that you can already do the work, and they could hire you upon graduation.

[174]

Seems like dropping out and shooting for a compliance or contract position would be a safer bet than betting another year and a half worth of tuition and living expenses on unlikely prospects.

[Aberzombie1892]

Seems like dropping out and shooting for a compliance or contract position would be a safer bet than betting another year and a half worth of tuition and living expenses on unlikely prospects.

But the JD would help with acquiring that position. While it is true that most of those positions do not require a JD (or even a BS/BA in some situations), it's not difficult to sell the value of a JD to employers for them.

[174]

Seems like dropping out and shooting for a compliance or contract position would be a safer bet than betting another year and a half worth of tuition and living expenses on unlikely prospects.

But the JD would help with acquiring that position. While it is true that most of those positions do not require a JD (or even a BS/BA in some situations), it's not difficult to sell the value of a JD to employers for them.

Sure it would help, but would it help enough to justify 1.5 years of tuition, living expenses and opportunity cost?

[Anonymous User]

I went in-house straight out of law school, but it is certainly a different track. Briefly, prior to law school I worked in the construction field. A job opened up in the legal department of a construction company. My pre-law experience definitely helped me get the job. I understand the business of construction and the associated legal issues.

The jobs are out there, but finding out about them is tough. Also, if you do not have experience in the field, it may be a tougher road. Some of the big companies do make a point of hiring straight from law schools and do not seem as focused on previous work experience.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any idea about how to go about getting an in-house gig straight out of law school? I go to GULC/VANDY/UT and struck out at OCI. I've been researching different companies in my target market, but there doesn't seem to be a clear way to get one's foot in the door. I know they are usually experienced attorneys from firms that come into in-house, but anecdotally I've heard of graduates getting jobs in-house too. Thoughts?

These jobs are pretty much non-existent outside certain niche pairings; think Tax LL.M. to GE, Patent Bar Exam to Google, or Media/Comm Law concentration to the Discovery Channel. Since you say you did OCI, I am going to assume you are either litigation or corporate focused, and outside of tax, you won't find litigation in-house. You might find some corporate work on compliance/drafting type things, but again, it would be very industry specific and you would almost certainly need to have worked in the industry/family connections to get in the door.

Meanwhile, corporations come to my school in the springtime for OCI and often hire their summer clerks for full time positions after graduation, absent any such "niche pairings."

I think region might make a difference though- I'm in a city where a particular industry is very strong, and most executives are MBAs from my university, so they're probably biased in favor of the law school.

I'm at a T-14 and the only in-house to come on-campus was Exxon (Tax), a cable TV company, a life insurance company, and a medical research institute that said it specifically does not hire from its summer program. My only friend with in-house options is a former communications person who got in-house at a media company and is doing the summer intern to school intern to full-time move.

[Void]

Anyone have any idea about how to go about getting an in-house gig straight out of law school? I go to GULC/VANDY/UT and struck out at OCI. I've been researching different companies in my target market, but there doesn't seem to be a clear way to get one's foot in the door. I know they are usually experienced attorneys from firms that come into in-house, but anecdotally I've heard of graduates getting jobs in-house too. Thoughts?

These jobs are pretty much non-existent outside certain niche pairings; think Tax LL.M. to GE, Patent Bar Exam to Google, or Media/Comm Law concentration to the Discovery Channel. Since you say you did OCI, I am going to assume you are either litigation or corporate focused, and outside of tax, you won't find litigation in-house. You might find some corporate work on compliance/drafting type things, but again, it would be very industry specific and you would almost certainly need to have worked in the industry/family connections to get in the door.

Meanwhile, corporations come to my school in the springtime for OCI and often hire their summer clerks for full time positions after graduation, absent any such "niche pairings."

I think region might make a difference though- I'm in a city where a particular industry is very strong, and most executives are MBAs from my university, so they're probably biased in favor of the law school.

I'm at a T-14 and the only in-house to come on-campus was Exxon (Tax), a cable TV company, a life insurance company, and a medical research institute that said it specifically does not hire from its summer program. My only friend with in-house options is a former communications person who got in-house at a media company and is doing the summer intern to school intern to full-time move.

Sometimes being at a T-14 doesn't mean that opportunities fall into your lap, I guess!

[174]

Sometimes being at a T-14 doesn't mean that opportunities fall into your lap, I guess!

Advising people to aim for positions that actually exist != advising people to wait for things to fall into their laps.

[Void]

Sometimes being at a T-14 doesn't mean that opportunities fall into your lap, I guess!

Advising people to aim for positions that actually exist != advising people to wait for things to fall into their laps.

What? I wasn't saying that. It sounded like the anon poster was insinuating that since prospects for in-house are terrible from a T-14, they must be terrible everywhere. Having already said that in-house is possible from my school (which is not a T-14), I was saying that it seems like the old "T14-or-bust" adage doesn't always apply.

[Anonymous User]

Sometimes being at a T-14 doesn't mean that opportunities fall into your lap, I guess!

You're right, outside of biglaw and a select few gov't agencies/consulting firms, very little falls into T-14 laps. But I've also tried on my own at a few hundred in-house places and it was made clear that unless I had a specialty in what they did or some kind of connection, they weren't interested in talking. There are some exceptions, HP, GE, Exxon, etc, but they still want you for a specific purpose and are probably more remote an opportunity then small firms or state gov't given the effort required for most students with a general law school background.