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How useful will it be in terms of long-term career prospects to work during the Spring as a (paid) law clerk for a major non-profit in my practice area of interest? Do law firms look at that experience as good, or is it bad to get into non-profit even if its just for a few hours in the Spring, in terms of getting a job at a firm? (2L top 20% t20 school)

Anonymous User wrote:How useful will it be in terms of long-term career prospects to work during the Spring as a (paid) law clerk for a major non-profit in my practice area of interest? Do law firms look at that experience as good, or is it bad to get into non-profit even if its just for a few hours in the Spring, in terms of getting a job at a firm? (2L top 20% t20 school)

Do you have an a firm SA position lined up for your 2L summer? That is far more crucial than any semester internship. A non-profit won't hurt you unless it's diametrically opposed to the type of work done at firms (think working for an anti-death penalty group if you want to be in a state AG's office). Sometimes a non-profit will help to show interest in what a firm does (like if you worked for a local EEO office and wanted to do L&E at a firm), but it almost is never make or break.

No SA position unfortunately :\. I still want to participate in 3L OCI though, even if it's a long shot, and I'm mostly aiming for midlevel firms when they start recruiting in March. I guess I just want to be sure that if I took a position at this non-profit, and it's actually a huge organization and is very specific to my practice (L & E actually) area of interest, I wouldn't be pegged as a "non-profit" guy.

On a side note, what's a fair salary for a 2L Law clerk part-time spring position btw? (hourly)

Anonymous User wrote:No SA position unfortunately :\. I still want to participate in 3L OCI though, even if it's a long shot, and I'm mostly aiming for midlevel firms when they start recruiting in March. I guess I just want to be sure that if I took a position at this non-profit, and it's actually a huge organization and is very specific to my practice (L & E actually) area of interest, I wouldn't be pegged as a "non-profit" guy.

On a side note, what's a fair salary for a 2L Law clerk part-time spring position btw? (hourly)

I can't speak to being pegged as non-profit or not for midlevel L&E. Just be careful though if the non-profit has a specific L&E bent (think union-side or management-side) as that can close some doors. As far as salary goes, for a 2L semester internship, anything above zero and certainly no more than $15/hour would be great ITE.