Top Law Schools

Top 20, Secondary Journal, around the median. 25 screeners, 2 CB, 0 offers


OCI season has been depressing, but I'm moving on and getting over it. I have no leads on any legal jobs. I mass mailed every NLJ250 firm in cities I could live in, I went to several job fairs, I networked with some attorneys in my city. I've talked with career services and they suggest mailing small firms during winter and more "networking"

My question is how bad is it if I can't find a law job for 2L summer? I found out yesterday I have an all but guaranteed paid nonlaw job available next summer. If I take a non law job, will I be boned if after graduating/passing the bar I want a law job?

A bird in the hand.... You take it. You may discover that you like the non-law job and it has better advancement opportunities than 3/4 of the jobs you could get in the legal industry, and that your employer is impressed by your JD, no matter how useless it is in the new environment immediately. You may love the job so much you don't want to go back to school. Anything could happen. Take whats in front of you. Worry about tomorrow tomorrow.

Doing a nonlegal job for one of your summers will kill your future job prospects. It tells employers you're not committed to practicing law and you have less legal experience than your peers. Also, how have you struck out? Its only October. Plenty of legal jobs hire in the spring. If you mean you struck out of big law even some of those places are still hiring, there's a whole thread dedicated to it.

MrAnon wrote:A bird in the hand.... You take it. You may discover that you like the non-law job and it has better advancement opportunities

I think that is some really healthy advice.

I think that is some really healthy advice.

OP, what industry is the offer in? One that you would be comfortable in as a career?

It is unlikely that working in a non-legal position will foreclose any law related jobs after law school. Certain professions feed clients to attorneys. A little real world experience in a different industry should make you a better lawyer.

P.S. Everyone understands that the economy is bad & that jobs are scarce. Better to be employed, than unemployed.

newyorker88 wrote:Doing a nonlegal job for one of your summers will kill your future job prospects. It tells employers you're not committed to practicing law and you have less legal experience than your peers. Also, how have you struck out? Its only October. Plenty of legal jobs hire in the spring. If you mean you struck out of big law even some of those places are still hiring, there's a whole thread dedicated to it.

No, plenty of people don't do legal work 1L summer and 2L SA's and legal employment post graduation, it's all about the grades.

working a non law 2L summer is a bit worse though.

Nor sure if serious about "plenty of legal jobs" hire in spring. If that were true, why are so many people who miss the big law boat still unemployed at graduation?

CanadianWolf wrote:It is unlikely that working in a non-legal position will foreclose any law related jobs after law school. Certain professions feed clients to attorneys. A little real world experience in a different industry should make you a better lawyer.

P.S. Everyone understands that the economy is bad & that jobs are scarce. Better to be employed, than unemployed.

The bolded is the only part of this I agree with; the rest is rubbish.

OP: if you want to be a lawyer, you need to continue working on finding legal employment. Particularly if the other job is "all but guaranteed." Not having a legal job over the summer will hurt you twice: you won't have any experience to sell in applying places post graduation, and you will miss the opportunity to network inside the profession.

If you've struck out on biglaw and the NLJ250, so be it. Keep looking. Start calling/emailing small firms. Look for a term-time job that might let you stay on over the summer. Take you career service folk's advice, and do some networking; perhaps by joining the local bar ass'n and going to some meet-and-greets. If you are in mid-size to big city, see if there are businesses with GC's that might take clerks for the summer. Spamming large firms with resumes is not sufficient job search strategy.

There are enough lawyers and law students hungry for jobs that firms that you need to prove you are hungrier and more willing to do what it takes to practice, and working in a non-law job sends just the opposite signal.

However; all that said, it is better to be employed than not. If you aren't dying to practice law, or you don't hate the industry this other job is in, then maybe you should take it. Legal hiring is tough, and unless you are really willing to suffer for it, there are probably paths of less resistance to finding gainful employment.

Anonymous User wrote:

newyorker88 wrote:Doing a nonlegal job for one of your summers will kill your future job prospects. It tells employers you're not committed to practicing law and you have less legal experience than your peers. Also, how have you struck out? Its only October. Plenty of legal jobs hire in the spring. If you mean you struck out of big law even some of those places are still hiring, there's a whole thread dedicated to it.

No, plenty of people don't do legal work 1L summer and 2L SA's and legal employment post graduation, it's all about the grades.

working a non law 2L summer is a bit worse though.

Nor sure if serious about "plenty of legal jobs" hire in spring. If that were true, why are so many people who miss the big law boat still unemployed at graduation?

Why are you anonymous? Why are you talking about post graduation in response to what I said?

I'm very serious about legal work in the spring. In fact small firms usually don't even start hiring until then and a lot of gov't jobs have deadlines in February. By no means have you struck out of the legal profession by not having a gig in October. Big law maybe, legal profession, absolutely not.

If that were true, why are so many people who miss the big law boat still unemployed at graduation?

Because big law jobs lead to employment after graduation other legal work tends not to. It's very possible to get a still get a 2L job i.e. government, small firms. I said nothing about that equaling a job from them after graduation. You're comprehension skills are weak. Maybe, that's why your hiding behind the cloak of anonymity

Renzo wrote:

CanadianWolf wrote:It is unlikely that working in a non-legal position will foreclose any law related jobs after law school. Certain professions feed clients to attorneys. A little real world experience in a different industry should make you a better lawyer.

P.S. Everyone understands that the economy is bad & that jobs are scarce. Better to be employed, than unemployed.

The bolded is the only part of this I agree with; the rest is rubbish.

OP: if you want to be a lawyer, you need to continue working on finding legal employment. Particularly if the other job is "all but guaranteed." Not having a legal job over the summer will hurt you twice: you won't have any experience to sell in applying places post graduation, and you will miss the opportunity to network inside the profession.

+1

Bull. You'll have experience, but it may be real estate or financial analysis. Noone suggested giving up your search for legal employment, but employment is important. OP is unlikely to be a strong contender for biglaw since OP is only "around median" at a Top 20 & has been unsuccessful even at getting interviews.

OP: In what industry is your non-law job opportunity ?

Drop out and run with the new career?

A non legal 2L summer job is not a good idea. This is something you can consider as a 3L if you strike out with other decent legal jobs. A non-law summer 2L job will not give you the experience other legal employers are looking for. Basically, you will be at a disadvantage during 3L hiring.

I think that everyone understands that. The OP's concern seems to be whether or not non-law related 2L summer employment will foreclose any opportunity for legal employment after graduation. It won't, although it may foreclose biglaw & make getting a job as an attorney more difficult.

If the choice is between no job during 2L summer & a non-legal job, take the non-law job while continuing to search for law related employment.

CanadianWolf wrote:I think that everyone understands that. The OP's concern seems to be whether or not non-law related 2L summer employment will foreclose any opportunity for legal employment after graduation. It won't, although it may foreclose biglaw & make getting a job as an attorney more difficult.

If the choice is between no job during 2L summer & a non-legal job, take the non-law job while continuing to search for law related employment.

No. Don't take the job and continue your search. Continue your search, and if all else fails, take the job.

Certainly the job offer will wait until all legal related positions have been exhausted.

Depends upon whether or not you need a paid position over the summer & how long your current offer will remain open.

OP could recive better advice with more details regarding type of position offered & what type of legal employment he is willing to consider. And whether a paid position is necessary in his situation. If not, then do an unpaid internship.

have fun brewing coffee at starbucks bro

dood wrote:have fun brewing coffee at starbucks bro

Ouch. Cold, dude.

zomginternets wrote:

dood wrote:have fun brewing coffee at starbucks bro

Ouch. Cold, dude.

I think you mean "Frappe, dude"

newyorker88 wrote:Doing a nonlegal job for one of your summers will kill your future job prospects. It tells employers you're not committed to practicing law and you have less legal experience than your peers. Also, how have you struck out? Its only October. Plenty of legal jobs hire in the spring. If you mean you struck out of big law even some of those places are still hiring, there's a whole thread dedicated to it.

I don't agree with this completely. I did my 1L summer in investment banking, because that is much more relevant than going to clerck for a judge for the summer and doing mind numbing drafting (maybe more relevant for lit, but I am corp).

On the other hand, I would think that 2L is time to go into the legal market. However, if that isn't a possibility, just try to do something that your future legal employer will value if law is still your end goal.

174 wrote:Drop out and run with the new career?

This. Either keep looking for something legal for 2L (and hiring is far from over at this point) or take the non-legal job and drop out before you accumulate more debt.