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Nevermind- too hard to maintain anonymity while explaining my situation, it's too weird and specific to me!

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I'm only a 1L, but I'm also a former BigLaw support-staffer. Don't take classes during your SA.

I'm like you, I think; I like have a lot on my plate and am comfortable juggling more than most can handle. However, the way the summer program at my former firm is run (which I believe is the norm), they expect you to belong to the firm completely for the time you're there. Now granted, it's not like being an associate, where they own you and you're working 100+ hour weeks. It's fun stuff: dinners, shows, beach parties, etc. BUT you're still expected to be there. The only excuse for not being at everything social is doing substantive work for the firm. Your full-time offer is yours to lose, and some firms are more forgiving than others, but I wouldn't want to risk the offer just to finish school earlier when you can just as easily finish your credits next fall.

I'd recommend committing yourself entirely to your SA during that time period, then look into going back to your old job in the fall while finishing up your remaining credits at night if you can manage to go back for 9 months or so without burning bridges (assuming you would still be interested in taking the bar and going into BigLaw after that...not clear from your description of that option).

Congrats on landing an SA position!

You should talk to your firm and see what they think you should do. For one thing, what if you don't get an offer? Then you're screwed royally. Second, see what they think about you working, as well as their opinion on the value of an LLM. They may even bring you on earlier if they have room for you and if you pass the bar.

I also think you should be hesitant to take classes during your SA. There are going to be firm events going on, as well as some occasional night/weekend work to do.

This is a really weird situation, and I think working with the firm you're going to is the best thing to do.

Eh I wrote out a big response but decided that I'm giving out way too much info and no matter which avenue I pursue, I'll be screwing over at least one employer so I think I should remove this post.

Thanks to those who replied, I definitely took note of your opinions.