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Do firms contact who you worked for 1L summer? I have a feeling that I'm not going to get a great reference from my boss right now. I had a serious family health emergency my first week on the job, and its been a major distractor and has seriously effected my work. I feel terrible and am trying desperately to make up for it, but the damage has been done and I don't think I've made a great impression. Am I totally screwed?

FWIW, I'm working for a small firm in a market that I never plan to return to and is not where my school is located.

In the same boat. I would guess it's only natural that they would request a reference from a previous summer employer and if you don't list one, then it might raise an eyebrow, so I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed and hope that my professors and legal employers from before I entered law school will suffice.

I'm in the boat with you guys. Luckily I have some interviews before I finish here, so maybe I can get to the callback stage before my internship is finished and they'll hold off on getting the reference.

OP here. I have great references from an attorney I did pro bono work for over the school year, as well as a supervisor from a pre-LS job. I'm just wondering how bad it will be if I don't have a reference from 1L summer, and if they'll want to contact my boss anyway even if I don't list him as a reference.

I've also read that you should have three references, and I only have those two. I could get another one from the pre-LS job, but it would be substantially the same as the other reference. I also never really spoke with any of my professors or went to office hours, so I don't know what to do.

I had a great experience at my 1L firm but didn't plan to list it as a reference because it might be awkward to have a future potential firm contact my 1L firm while I'm still seeking an offer with them. I don't think future employers will assume it's because I couldn't get a reference though.

Not a single firm over OCI last year even asked for my references.

Don't know market or firms you're interviewing with, but in NYC only Covington & Burling asked for references and a writing sample. Not a single other firm asked for anything besides unofficial transcript and resume (maybe one asked for a writing sample?).