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I will graduate in May 2013 from a law school ranked in the 50's in Florida. My grades put me in the middle of the class. I'm heavily involved with Moot Court and the Mock Trial team (exec board positions on both + many competitions and a few wins), and I did an externship this past summer at the State Attorney's office and did 8 jury trials.

I want to be a trial or appellate lawyer (most likely trial > appellate but I'm open to both), and I'm seeking the advice/insight of the TLS collective about what my best options are upon graduation to accomplish that goal? All things being equal, I'd try to return to the State Attorney for a few years to load up on the trial experience, but the pay is very low, and I will graduate with significant debt.

Basically, do you all think it is better to suck it up and get the trial experience that the SA would offer? Or maybe try to get into a smaller plaintiff firm that would push to go to trial? Or just take whatever I can get?

Thanks in advance, everyone. I've used this site since I was a 0L, from the admissions process and on through my law school career. Best legal resource I've ever found.

Have you seen the market? Just get any job.

Do you have anything lined up at all right now? If not, you need to start hustling.

Anonymous User wrote:I will graduate in May 2013 from a law school ranked in the 50's in Florida.

The 50th best law school in Florida?

Richie Tenenbaum wrote:Do you have anything lined up at all right now? If not, you need to start hustling.

I have a soft offer from the SA office where I did the externship. I'm hesitant to take it because of the money issue, but from what most of my attorney mentors have told me, that kind of job is the "best experience" for a young attorney who wants to do active litigation. Their main argument is that you'll get dozens of trials in your 3 years as an SA; compared with a civil litigation firm, where you may see 1 trial in that same amount of time. In other words, they put a premium on the trial experience over whatever experience you'd get doing heavy motion practice in a civil lit firm. I'm also aware of IBR, but I would not want to be a career prosecutor, and a 10-year commitment to get the debt forgiven is not what I'm looking for.

Do you all agree that SA is the "best" experience and gotta just deal with being broke? Or is there another alternative that might provide just-as-valuable experience? My thought was a plaintiff-oriented firm, like a personal injury/tort place, because they'd push to go to court.

I apologize for the "thinking out-loud" approach, but I sincerely appreciate the feedback. Thank you.

Anonymous User wrote:

Richie Tenenbaum wrote:Do you have anything lined up at all right now? If not, you need to start hustling.

I have a soft offer from the SA office where I did the externship. I'm hesitant to take it because of the money issue, but from what most of my attorney mentors have told me, that kind of job is the "best experience" for a young attorney who wants to do active litigation. Their main argument is that you'll get dozens of trials in your 3 years as an SA; compared with a civil litigation firm, where you may see 1 trial in that same amount of time. In other words, they put a premium on the trial experience over whatever experience you'd get doing heavy motion practice in a civil lit firm. I'm also aware of IBR, but I would not want to be a career prosecutor, and a 10-year commitment to get the debt forgiven is not what I'm looking for.

Do you all agree that SA is the "best" experience and gotta just deal with being broke? Or is there another alternative that might provide just-as-valuable experience? My thought was a plaintiff-oriented firm, like a personal injury/tort place, because they'd push to go to court.

I apologize for the "thinking out-loud" approach, but I sincerely appreciate the feedback. Thank you.

Don't do PPI unless you want to spend the rest of your career doing PPI. At least the SA is somewhat valuable, even if it is crim.

rad lulz wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

Richie Tenenbaum wrote:Do you have anything lined up at all right now? If not, you need to start hustling.

I have a soft offer from the SA office where I did the externship. I'm hesitant to take it because of the money issue, but from what most of my attorney mentors have told me, that kind of job is the "best experience" for a young attorney who wants to do active litigation. Their main argument is that you'll get dozens of trials in your 3 years as an SA; compared with a civil litigation firm, where you may see 1 trial in that same amount of time. In other words, they put a premium on the trial experience over whatever experience you'd get doing heavy motion practice in a civil lit firm. I'm also aware of IBR, but I would not want to be a career prosecutor, and a 10-year commitment to get the debt forgiven is not what I'm looking for.

Do you all agree that SA is the "best" experience and gotta just deal with being broke? Or is there another alternative that might provide just-as-valuable experience? My thought was a plaintiff-oriented firm, like a personal injury/tort place, because they'd push to go to court.

I apologize for the "thinking out-loud" approach, but I sincerely appreciate the feedback. Thank you.

Don't do PPI unless you want to spend the rest of your career doing PPI. At least the SA is somewhat valuable, even if it is crim.

I'm curious why that is? Others have told me that the SA is mobile to some degree, i.e., you can lateral to something else. But why is that not possible with PPI? Thanks again for the help.

Anonymous User wrote:

Richie Tenenbaum wrote:Do you have anything lined up at all right now? If not, you need to start hustling.

I have a soft offer from the SA office where I did the externship. I'm hesitant to take it because of the money issue, but from what most of my attorney mentors have told me, that kind of job is the "best experience" for a young attorney who wants to do active litigation. Their main argument is that you'll get dozens of trials in your 3 years as an SA; compared with a civil litigation firm, where you may see 1 trial in that same amount of time. In other words, they put a premium on the trial experience over whatever experience you'd get doing heavy motion practice in a civil lit firm. I'm also aware of IBR, but I would not want to be a career prosecutor, and a 10-year commitment to get the debt forgiven is not what I'm looking for.

Do you all agree that SA is the "best" experience and gotta just deal with being broke? Or is there another alternative that might provide just-as-valuable experience? My thought was a plaintiff-oriented firm, like a personal injury/tort place, because they'd push to go to court.

I apologize for the "thinking out-loud" approach, but I sincerely appreciate the feedback. Thank you.

Your question is difficult to answer, because it seems unbelievable that you would expect to have other, better options. Why do you think you can afford to be choosy right now? A better experience if you want to make money and be a civil litigator would be to clerk for a federal district judge and then go work for Susman, but that fact doesn't really help you out.