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2L summer at DoJ Field Office
Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 10:30 pm
by Anonymous User
I've just been given the opportunity to spend my 2L summer interning at the field office of a hyper-specialized DoJ branch in a flyover state. I spent my 1L summer in public interest and was hoping to do something at a firm this year, but it's almost March and I still haven't found anything.
How good/bad is this job going to look at 3L LOLCI? Should I continue trying to force myself on a shitlaw firm somewhere so I can say I was an SA my 2L summer or take the sure thing?
Re: 2L summer at DoJ Field Office
Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 10:33 pm
by vanwinkle
I don't understand the problem here.
1) This is DOJ vs. nothing. DOJ wins by default.
2) DOJ will never look bad to employers. (You can make yourself look bad after being at DOJ, but that requires sticking your foot in your mouth by saying things like "I only went there because it was the Tax Division and I only ever want to do ta... what do you mean you don't have a tax division?" or "Yeah, I didn't work on any cases against you guys, but boy did we talk about how your regulatory practice is borderline incompetent!" But that's on you, not the DOJ.)
Re: 2L summer at DoJ Field Office
Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 11:01 pm
by Anonymous User
vanwinkle wrote:I don't understand the problem here.
1) This is DOJ vs. nothing. DOJ wins by default.
2) DOJ will never look bad to employers. (You can make yourself look bad after being at DOJ, but that requires sticking your foot in your mouth by saying things like "I only went there because it was the Tax Division and I only ever want to do ta... what do you mean you don't have a tax division?" or "Yeah, I didn't work on any cases against you guys, but boy did we talk about how your regulatory practice is borderline incompetent!" But that's on you, not the DOJ.)
OP here. I thought it might be that obvious, but I didn't know how the niche branch (I'm not sure that most biglaw firms even deal in the kind of law this branch does) and town-no-one-has-heard-of location changed the calculus as opposed to, say, Antitrust in D.C.
I'm pretty sure that with my school/grades I could find
something in the private sector, but I think I'll just lock up the DoJ gig. I just wanted to turn here before I did so.