Bombed 1L, Now practicing at DC agency Taking Questions Forum

[Anonymous User]

So I bombed one of my 1L semesters (personal stuff), and pretty much no one would talk to me at OCI. My gpa was pretty shitty which pretty much ruled me out of a lot of jobs. But I did a lot of things that got me back on track and landed a job at a large federal agency that deals directly with the type of law i wanted to get into. I'm in my first year of practice and pretty happy with how things played out.

Not here to brag, just want to give some hope to anyone who wants it and who might be in a similar situation that I was in when I was in law school.

[Anonymous User]

What were the "things that got you back on track"?

[target]

Did you apply directly or through any program?

[Anonymous User]

What were the "things that got you back on track"?

got my grades up, took on 3 internships my last year of school, and networked like hell

[Anonymous User]

Did you apply directly or through any program?

applied directly. usajobs.

[Tom Joad]

School level?

Class rank?

Please. Congrats, though.

[Anonymous User]

School level?

Class rank?

Please. Congrats, though.

T25.

Probably just above median.

[Tom Joad]

School level?

Class rank?

Please. Congrats, though.

T25.

Probably just above median.

Well done.

[target]

does the agency you work hire new attorney frequently?

[sportsaholic763]

.

[Anonymous User]

does the agency you work hire new attorney frequently?

I guess that answer depends on the division hiring. We have three divisions that typically hire attorneys: general counsel's office, litigation department, and a regulatory division. From what I've seen, the attorneys that typically get hired are those referred by attorneys already in the agency, or were legal interns at one point. Aside from those hires, our agency hires fairly heavily from schools in the DC area (American, GW, Gtown, UMD, UVA primarily). I can't speak to how frequently new attorneys are hired, but it seems, at least anecdotally, like it happens a lot given the size of the agency and the number of divisions that staff attorneys. Sequester didn't really impact us, so hiring will likely continue.

[Anonymous User]

School level?

Class rank?

Please. Congrats, though.

T25.

Probably just above median.

Well done.

Thanks.

[Anonymous User]

Did you participate in any school activities in your last two years like journal, moot court, etc? Or did you solely focus on getting your grades up?

[Myself]

.

[Anonymous User]

Did you participate in any school activities in your last two years like journal, moot court, etc? Or did you solely focus on getting your grades up?

I did moot court, but that was pretty much it. I took on a bunch of internships in my last two years during the semesters and did research for a boutique firm. Basically, I did whatever I could get my hands on. In my opinion, internships in my practice area paid off way more than being a class rep or something similar would have.

[Another]

.

[Anonymous User]

You got your job through USAjobs.gov? How the heck did you swing that? Don't those attorney positions posted there usually require at least 3 years of practice?

To be honest, I have no idea. Usajobs seems like it would have been the most unlikely means through which I would eventually get a job. Luck I guess. Apply to everything you see.

I don't think all postings on usajobs are for experienced attorneys, necessarily. I'm not an expert on the subject, but I would guess that experienced attorney postings are probably more frequent, though not exclusive.

[Anonymous User]

Does your agency typically hire entry-levels?

I think most entry-level hires come from our internship program. I don't have numbers on this, but that is my sense. Other entry-levels, from what I can tell, also come through attorney referrals from within the agency. Anecdotally, interns and referrals make up the most of the entry-level hires, but I know that they also hire people without either of these (such as myself). With respect to entry levels that were not referred or interns, it seems like they tend to prefer people with a demonstrated interest in the agency's subject matter.

[Jimbo_Jones]

How's the pay and work/life balance? Do you feel like you're getting meaningful experience?

[Anonymous User]

Does your agency typically hire entry-levels?

I think most entry-level hires come from our internship program. I don't have numbers on this, but that is my sense. Other entry-levels, from what I can tell, also come through attorney referrals from within the agency. Anecdotally, interns and referrals make up the most of the entry-level hires, but I know that they also hire people without either of these (such as myself). With respect to entry levels that were not referred or interns, it seems like they tend to prefer people with a demonstrated interest in the agency's subject matter.

This sounds 100% like my DC fed job.

I have pretty much an identical story to OP's.

[Anonymous User]

How's the pay and work/life balance? Do you feel like you're getting meaningful experience?

The pay is fine. It's not as much as a large firm obviously, but I live pretty comfortably. Money isn't really ever a concern and I haven't ever had to turn something down because it cost too much. My agency is viewed as a feeder into biglaw after about 2-3 years though, so hopefully one day I'll be making bank.

Work/life balance is pretty good. I usually work only about one weekend per month, and work anywhere from 9-12 hour days, depending on what's coming up. Not too bad.

The experience I'm getting is really substantial, in my opinion. I'm doing a lot more substantive work than a lot of my friends at big firms it seems like (e.g., I haven't had to do any doc review or anything like that), but I'm sure they're doing pretty cool things that I'm not doing. I think the amount of work you get is proportional to the initiative you show to your supervisor. If you show an aptitude and enthusiasm for the work, I've found that you're given a lot of responsibility fairly quickly. There are plenty of people in my agency (like many other agencies) who just want the bare minimum assigned, but I would get bored with that. I've been assigned to some big cases so far, but I felt like I had to be proactive about it in order to get assigned to those dockets. I'm not familiar with how assignments are doled out in firms, but I'm happy with how my agency does it.

[Anonymous User]

Does your agency typically hire entry-levels?

I think most entry-level hires come from our internship program. I don't have numbers on this, but that is my sense. Other entry-levels, from what I can tell, also come through attorney referrals from within the agency. Anecdotally, interns and referrals make up the most of the entry-level hires, but I know that they also hire people without either of these (such as myself). With respect to entry levels that were not referred or interns, it seems like they tend to prefer people with a demonstrated interest in the agency's subject matter.

This sounds 100% like my DC fed job.

I have pretty much an identical story to OP's.

sounds like a happy hour is in order!