How to talk about 'shitlaw' internship in oci Forum

[Anonymous User]

Have a "shitlaw" internship for the summer, and i want to make it abundantly clear that i dont want to do this kind of law in the future (and instead want litigation or corporate). Whats the best way to talk about my summer to interviewers?

[2012JayDee]

Well if you're a 1L and you worked at a firm then thinking about it as shitlaw is already wrong. Even if it wasn't a firm but was some government or public interest organization.

Nobody assumes that what you do 1L summer is the actual type of work you want to do after graduation. That's not the point of the first internship. What you should be talking about is what you learned. What kind of work you did. You can also articulate why you don't think that it is what you'll pursue, but valued the experience. Did you work with any clients or individuals? Was any of your work used in a brief or motion or for a client?
Hopefully, you did you come away with a good writing sample? If so, it will be extremely important for you to be able to talk about the nature of the case, your research, how you came about your outcome, and anything else they ask you (all confidential information left out of course).

You shouldn't immediately start explaining away that you worked in an area of law that you're not interested in, especially if you want to work in litigation. I assure you litigation will probably have a ton of cases that really don't interest you. You're not going to just get the awesome litigation work.

So you need to put a shiny new spin on your previous experience. After all, you did take the job! And how much legal experience do you actually have? If this is all you have then you better talk it up like it was the best legal experience anyone could have hoped for. Don't be the person that seems like they're complaining about having legal experience.

[Anonymous User]

Well if you're a 1L and you worked at a firm then thinking about it as shitlaw is already wrong. Even if it wasn't a firm but was some government or public interest organization.

Nobody assumes that what you do 1L summer is the actual type of work you want to do after graduation. That's not the point of the first internship. What you should be talking about is what you learned. What kind of work you did. You can also articulate why you don't think that it is what you'll pursue, but valued the experience. Did you work with any clients or individuals? Was any of your work used in a brief or motion or for a client?
Hopefully, you did you come away with a good writing sample? If so, it will be extremely important for you to be able to talk about the nature of the case, your research, how you came about your outcome, and anything else they ask you (all confidential information left out of course).

You shouldn't immediately start explaining away that you worked in an area of law that you're not interested in, especially if you want to work in litigation. I assure you litigation will probably have a ton of cases that really don't interest you. You're not going to just get the awesome litigation work.

So you need to put a shiny new spin on your previous experience. After all, you did take the job! And how much legal experience do you actually have? If this is all you have then you better talk it up like it was the best legal experience anyone could have hoped for. Don't be the person that seems like they're complaining about having legal experience.

Its a great internship with tons of valuable experience! I actually hate the term shitlaw but there doesnt seem to be a nicer shorthand for that type of law. It will be clear by the fact that im interviewin for biglaw tht i dont want to do this type of law as a real job though, right? I dont want to have a 'stink' about me bc im interning in this area one summer.

[fatduck]

Well if you're a 1L and you worked at a firm then thinking about it as shitlaw is already wrong. Even if it wasn't a firm but was some government or public interest organization.

Nobody assumes that what you do 1L summer is the actual type of work you want to do after graduation. That's not the point of the first internship. What you should be talking about is what you learned. What kind of work you did. You can also articulate why you don't think that it is what you'll pursue, but valued the experience. Did you work with any clients or individuals? Was any of your work used in a brief or motion or for a client?
Hopefully, you did you come away with a good writing sample? If so, it will be extremely important for you to be able to talk about the nature of the case, your research, how you came about your outcome, and anything else they ask you (all confidential information left out of course).

You shouldn't immediately start explaining away that you worked in an area of law that you're not interested in, especially if you want to work in litigation. I assure you litigation will probably have a ton of cases that really don't interest you. You're not going to just get the awesome litigation work.

So you need to put a shiny new spin on your previous experience. After all, you did take the job! And how much legal experience do you actually have? If this is all you have then you better talk it up like it was the best legal experience anyone could have hoped for. Don't be the person that seems like they're complaining about having legal experience.

Its a great internship with tons of valuable experience! I actually hate the term shitlaw but there doesnt seem to be a nicer shorthand for that type of law. It will be clear by the fact that im interviewin for biglaw tht i dont want to do this type of law as a real job though, right? I dont want to have a 'stink' about me bc im interning in this area one summer.

shitlaw isn't a practice area, duder. i don't think your interviewer is gonna be like "man, this guy seems solid, but i'm worried that he's gonna bolt for DUI defense at the first opportunity."