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I know corporate summers can be very hard to come by, and it's even hard to get a corporate position as an associate. However, I do have a business background and am very interested in a career in corporate. Has anyone spent a summer with a corporation? If so, where? Thank you!

Are you talking about going in house with a corporation? It's basically impossible to do straight out of law school. The path is almost always starting as an associate at a biglaw firm and then going in house after a few years of experience. Doing in house as a summer is sort of rare too but I know a few people who have done it. But it doesn't lead to a job after graduation

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Ludovico Technique wrote:Are you talking about going in house with a corporation? It's basically impossible to do straight out of law school. The path is almost always starting as an associate at a biglaw firm and then going in house after a few years of experience. Doing in house as a summer is sort of rare too but I know a few people who have done it. But it doesn't lead to a job after graduation

It happens, though it is not common. Alcoa and Dish Network hire straight out, with summer programs and everything, but they've been done with hiring for a while. I know the WSJ did an article on HP hiring straight out of school but I'm not sure if they do it anymore.

Just an anecdote: I talked to the HR manager who does legal hiring for a Fortune 1000 company. They're looking to add ~9 attorneys but won't consider law graduates.

I worked part of the summer in-house. It was strictly for a paycheck / experience. They were very explicit from the start that no job would be forthcoming.

kalvano wrote:I worked part of the summer in-house. It was strictly for a paycheck / experience. They were very explicit from the start that no job would be forthcoming.

What was the pay like for an in house summer and is it pretty standard across big companies?

2014 wrote:

kalvano wrote:I worked part of the summer in-house. It was strictly for a paycheck / experience. They were very explicit from the start that no job would be forthcoming.

What was the pay like for an in house summer and is it pretty standard across big companies?

Not standard at all. I have some friends who also did in-house work, and the pay varied wildly. Keep in mind, it wasn't Dell or HP or any huge company, but still pretty good-sized places.

It was less than Biglaw but much better than $12 /hour.

2014 wrote:What was the pay like for an in house summer and is it pretty standard across big companies?

For 1L I legal-interned at a fortune-100 that paid $40/hr, but I had to bargain for it.

legallymidwestern wrote:I know corporate summers can be very hard to come by, and it's even hard to get a corporate position as an associate. However, I do have a business background and am very interested in a career in corporate. Has anyone spent a summer with a corporation? If so, where? Thank you!

I don't think it is any harder than getting a job at a firm.

It was a really great experience to work "in house," but the idea wasn't to get a permanent job offer. I cannot imagine someone "going in house" right out of law school. The thing is, in-house jobs are cushier and there are fewer of them. When attorneys w/ a few years of experience want quit the grind they go in-house. So your competition for the spot will be a big law 5th years associate who's worked with the company for years.

So basically, working in house is good 1L experience. If you don't have a 2L job offer at a firm, then sure, go for it and hope for a permanent offer or luck at 3L OCI.

I could answer any specific question you have. IMO, working in house 1L is much, much, much more valuable than working at a firm, unless you're at a v-30.

Summer/entry level positions with corporate legal departments are few and far between, but probably not especially competitive to get relative to a biglaw job. The rest of the details have been well-covered in the other responses.

One quick terminology point: I'm pretty sure the term associate is unique to law firms, I doubt inhouse companies refer to their legal staff as associates.

Any of the above who worked in-house have any tips on getting these summer gigs?

Anonymous User wrote:Any of the above who worked in-house have any tips on getting these summer gigs?

There really isn't any special trick to it, all you do is apply. You should have a good narrative for why you want to work there for the summer, be it in the specific industry or the company. One thing that they emphasize is skills-building, since they know your career path will likely take you to a firm before you get in-house after school. I worked in-house before law school and during my 1L summer and the most important things I gained were business etiquette, networking skills, the ability to talk to clients to explain legal consequences and alternatives, and amazing mentors. I got my firm job and many other offers through the connections my boss had at various firms.

Anyway, that aside, there's no trick. Just search for openings and apply.