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Excuse the anon feature, but the company involved is extremely paranoid, so better safe than sorry.

I have been working with/for a gentlemen for a few months and we collectively just made him look extremely good in front of his client. The two of us sat down, talked for a while today, and he seemed to take a liking to me.

He apparently is the CEO of a defense/law enforcement contracting company (essentially a smaller version of Dynacorp/Haliburton/the Former Blackwater) that he wants me to work for. I am fairly confident I can convert the offer into a possibly paid internship with the legal division (looks to be about 3-4 people).

Is this a good lead, a good backup, or a waste of a 1L summer?

Some additional background:
-Have a strong National Security Background
-Going to Boalt
-90% sure I want biglaw corporate restructuring, with a dream exit into a GC in the public sector if and when I don't make partner
-Job would allow me to gain residency since its in CA

If you can land a job in legal, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Any legal experience is fine for 1L summer, this gig sounds particularly interesting (read: will be of particular interest to employers in OCI), and there's a potential for pay? Go for it without looking back. (Plus, it's *awfully* late in the 1L job hunt: you're into the "find and take SOMETHING" stage, and this is a lot better than "something, anything!")


I have to ask though: Corporate restructuring --> public sector GC? Bwa? I'm on the corporate restructuring path myself, but public sector GC isn't on my short list of plausible exit strategies.

ToTransferOrNot wrote:If you can land a job in legal, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Any legal experience is fine for 1L summer, this gig sounds particularly interesting (read: will be of particular interest to employers in OCI), and there's a potential for pay? Go for it without looking back. (Plus, it's *awfully* late in the 1L job hunt: you're into the "find and take SOMETHING" stage, and this is a lot better than "something, anything!")


I have to ask though: Corporate restructuring --> public sector GC? Bwa? I'm on the corporate restructuring path myself, but public sector GC isn't on my short list of plausible exit strategies.

OP Here,

Sorry, meant to put this is my background section, I am a 0L. This opportunity just fell into my lap and I was wondering if I could take it easy on the 1L job search, shot extra high since I had a backup, or shelve the offertill I get creamed by grades

Anonymous User wrote:

ToTransferOrNot wrote:If you can land a job in legal, I'd take it in a heartbeat. Any legal experience is fine for 1L summer, this gig sounds particularly interesting (read: will be of particular interest to employers in OCI), and there's a potential for pay? Go for it without looking back. (Plus, it's *awfully* late in the 1L job hunt: you're into the "find and take SOMETHING" stage, and this is a lot better than "something, anything!")


I have to ask though: Corporate restructuring --> public sector GC? Bwa? I'm on the corporate restructuring path myself, but public sector GC isn't on my short list of plausible exit strategies.

OP Here,

Sorry, meant to put this is my background section, I am a 0L. This opportunity just fell into my lap and I was wondering if I could take it easy on the 1L job search, shot extra high since I had a backup, or shelve the offertill I get creamed by grades

Oh. Never take the job search easy until you have an offer in-hand. Once you actually have an offer from these folks, though, I would only apply to paying jobs--and if the offer is going to close on you before you hear back from paying jobs, I'd take this one without looking back. Until you actually receive an offer, though, I'd apply just as broadly as anyone else.

Note that PSCs are prone to scandal and seem to change their name every three years or so. All it takes is one crazy mf to go apeshit and you're resume will be tainted. Even to right-leaning hiring partners, they'd probably rather see work for a company engaged in outward revenue generation more so than a band of mercenaries groveling for government contracts. Veterans in particular frequently take a disliking to security contractors. This is 95% conjecture though, * here's the grain of salt to come along with it.

Yeah, I think it sounds like a good opportunity but I would just be aware that some people will find your defense contractor work a bit icky. Hard to predict what impact, if any, it would have on your future hiring potential, but it may be polarizing for some. I'm certainly no hiring partner but personally, I might feel a little skeptical of someone with that in their background.