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1L here, don't have any offers yet for this summer. any advice is appreciated

What have been your efforts so far? Have you tried public interest stuff? Applied to be an RA?

..

Cold call everywhere. There are jobs out there (especially smaller firms, maybe some in-house). Some of the lesser known/popular federal and state agencies may still be hiring as well. There may also be some judges who have just gotten around to hiring. These jobs may still be out there but you have to call because you really don't have time to wait for responses at this point.

adonai wrote:Cold call everywhere. There are jobs out there (especially smaller firms, maybe some in-house). Some of the lesser known/popular federal and state agencies may still be hiring as well. There may also be some judges who have just gotten around to hiring. These jobs may still be out there but you have to call because you really don't have time to wait for responses at this point.

couldn't emphasize the small firm thing enough. They need help, and they often don't go out and recruit law students. I just sent e-mails to random partners at smaller firms and that's how I got my 1L job. I had a phenomenal experience. Fair warning, some small firms might see you as free labor to take care of there "secretary" tasks so just be clear that you want substantive legal experience and be willing to be proactive in seeking out real substantive legal work.

If you're cool with unpaid I would literally just call up the clerk for every single state judge wherever your school is. Guaranteed job in two weeks unless you're really awkward or have horrendous grades.

u gotta cold call/email. it's late in the game, but not too late. unlike big firms, small firms don't know or cannot predict how much work they'll have in teh summer so they cannot hire too far in advance. So, you might still have a shot at landing a spot at one. Last year I began my job search in february and was freaking out when i didn't here anything for a month or two. It wasn't until mid april where the interviews began to roll in a batch. but in order for you to get the opportunity to interview you have to reach out to literally every firm in town. hop onto martindale and begin emailing.

Working for a state trial judge can be a very enjoyable experience. You'll get to see a lot of trials (bench and jury), you'll get to see a lot of lawyers with a lot of different litigation styles, and you'll learn a lot about whatever areas of law the judge handles. If you call up their chambers and ask to speak with their clerk, you'll definitely be able to find one who can accommodate an unpaid intern. If the judge brings you in for an interview and likes you, you'll get an offer on the spot which you are (somewhat) obligated to accept.

patentlaworbust wrote:Working for a state trial judge can be a very enjoyable experience. You'll get to see a lot of trials (bench and jury), you'll get to see a lot of lawyers with a lot of different litigation styles, and you'll learn a lot about whatever areas of law the judge handles. If you call up their chambers and ask to speak with their clerk, you'll definitely be able to find one who can accommodate an unpaid intern. If the judge brings you in for an interview and likes you, you'll get an offer on the spot which you are (somewhat) obligated to accept.

also true, i split last summer with a small firm state trial judge. Both great experiences.

Not that unusual for a 1L but you could keep trying and may still land something. If you were a 2L, then you would be in some serious stuff.

yup, there aren't that many 1L positions to begin with. Most of them are snatched up by 2Ls too! A lot of my 1L classmates just ended up RA'ing and taking summer school classes. some went abroad.

Avoid just taking classes like the plague. Go on westlaw/martindale and find people who are alums of your UG/law school who work in small firms. Email them. Email small firms from your hometown. Ask professors if they are hiring an RA/know a professor who is. Look on symplicity and see if there are any judges up--a lot of them are just now posting.

If it is crunch time (last minute to do a class) and you still have nothing, sign up to a criminal defense clinic or some other clinic where you are doing substantial work off-campus. The more off-campus it is, the better. [Criminal defense where you work at PD office>>>>>>land use clinic]. Do NOT take legal profession or some other lecture class.

Yeah, cold call like a mother (so to speak). I made 70 calls to judges and got 4 interviews, but that was 5 weeks ago (and still pretty late in the process; of the 70 judges, 20 didn't take summer help and 30 had already found someone). Honestly, make an enormous list (like, 200+ names/numbers) of judges, firms, and the like, and set aside half a day to call every single one. Have it all listed in a spreadsheet so you can quickly mark who is still looking and how they want you to submit application materials.